I was curious how these two compare. im thinking the mouse would probably be more of an upright sound and the buzz is more of a jaco esque tone. anyone else play both of these? what are your thoughts?
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Rob Allen Mouse vs. Pedulla Buzz
- Thread starter Bjazzman
- Start date
I own a Mouse 30 and a CB Ball 4 based kinda off the Pedulla. Yup, the Mouse 30 offers a nice upright tone and the Pedulla offers a sweet Jacoesque tone. Tonal opposites as far as fretless goes.
thats it. i want a mouse. i thought i wanted a buzz but i was more attracted to the finish. the mouse is it!
Andy Brown
Commercial User
- Jul 23, 2004
- 5,675
- 312
- Disclosures
- Founder/Owner: Wing Instruments
I can second that!
But, yes. Two totally different sounds.
I own a MPV and just before that I had the buzz for a short while. A buddy of mine also had the five string version.
In the 90's the buzz was a very sought after fretless bass. The popular pickup setup was a Pj, but there are plenty of JJ setups out there.
You might be able to find Will Lee playing one on youtube. I was also going to say Mark Egan, but he has an effects laden sound, so it's probably not the best example.
Yup, the Mouse 30 is probably one of the most fun basses to play. I especially enjoyed hauling it to practice because it was sooooo small and light.
Here was my modification to the Pedulla. Set neck construction and swamp ash wings, which cut the weight by a LOT. The bird's eye maple fingerboard doesn't really have any tonal impact under the polyester coat, but I liked it for looks. The Bartolini pre has an active treb boost, but it seems to cut passively like a tone knob, standard bass boost/cut, and push/pull (high/low) mid boost/cut. The newer Bart pre adds a lot of versatility and can tonally come close to an MB-2, although the mag lacks the percussive tone of a piezo.
and here is my Mouse 30. The tone isn't quite Jaco, but playing close to the bridge can get a fairly bright tone. Piezos are naturally very flexible in their tonal response. For a short scale, they have a very strong dropped D.
Here was my modification to the Pedulla. Set neck construction and swamp ash wings, which cut the weight by a LOT. The bird's eye maple fingerboard doesn't really have any tonal impact under the polyester coat, but I liked it for looks. The Bartolini pre has an active treb boost, but it seems to cut passively like a tone knob, standard bass boost/cut, and push/pull (high/low) mid boost/cut. The newer Bart pre adds a lot of versatility and can tonally come close to an MB-2, although the mag lacks the percussive tone of a piezo.
and here is my Mouse 30. The tone isn't quite Jaco, but playing close to the bridge can get a fairly bright tone. Piezos are naturally very flexible in their tonal response. For a short scale, they have a very strong dropped D.
The Rob Allens, and the Buzzes, are two of my favorite fretlesses out there. The only other I would consider having is a zon fretless.
that said, the zon and the buzz and wayyyyy different than the rob allens. It would be super tough to compare them.
If you need to sound kinda like an upright for whatever reason, there is nothing to talk about. Past that, there is nothing that wins one over the other IME. The buzzes are a freakin dream to play.
And the bluegreen bursts are just awesome.
that said, the zon and the buzz and wayyyyy different than the rob allens. It would be super tough to compare them.
If you need to sound kinda like an upright for whatever reason, there is nothing to talk about. Past that, there is nothing that wins one over the other IME. The buzzes are a freakin dream to play.
And the bluegreen bursts are just awesome.
Very true, get a Zon, Rob Allen, and a Pedulla and you've got virtually all fretless tones covered by a long shot! My Conklin has a Dymondwood fingerboard+Barts and really does well with the Zon vibe.
