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Sadowsky vs Mike Lull

#61
Scott McArron said:
I'm terribly vain, I admit. I want my basses to look as good a they sound. Another reason I don't play Lulla any more is that I just can't stand the headstock. Same goes for Nordstrand. Allevas are not so bad, but well out of my price range, an I'd never want to take a bass to a gig that I'd have to baby.

Right now, I dig Laklands, mainly the 55-02s. Best deal around for tone, tonal versatility, great looks, and a very reasonable price. Other than that, I dig CS Fenders and also the German made Sandberg Fender-copy basses. Hasn't been anything else out there in the last few years that has piqued my interest. But thanks for the suggestions!
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Its funny you say that-I dont like the headstock on the Lull 4-strings but they look good to me on the 5'ers.I do love the Lull necks though,really among my favorites.In the end Id still play a Lull 4 if it did what I needed it to.
 
#62
jimc said:
In the past Lull only offered a 35" scale for his fivers but I hear now they you can special order 34". Both are fine basses. NYC Sadowskys can be very light because of the body chambering which I don't think Lull do.
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Is this really true? When I inquired about it last year, he was still saying he would only do a 35". Good news if that's changed :hyper:

I also asked if he could do a 5'er in a little under 8lbs, and the answer was yes.

/rick
 
#63
Jim C said:
I have 3 Fender P's from the 70's (one I bought new in 1973) and 2 Jazz basses from the 70's.
All are in excellant condition and only one has a perfectly straight neck without any ski jump. The fret work on most is OK but not great. Out of these 5, the one I bought new is heavy, the others were selected over the years from about 25others as many were stupid heavy.
They are great basses but not at the level of fit and finish as Sadowsky or Lull IMO.

My 1960 P is light, great neck and frets, and plays perfectly.
Unfortuneately the neck is extremely wide and flat backed which doesn't fit my hands so well.
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I don't mind if the bass is not quite on the high a level of fit and finish if it makes up for it in charachter and tone.
 
#64
RickC said:
Is this really true? When I inquired about it last year, he was still saying he would only do a 35". Good news if that's changed :hyper:

I also asked if he could do a 5'er in a little under 8lbs, and the answer was yes.

/rick
Click to expand...

I ordered mine around Christmas time and Mike told me he would do a 34". I opted for 35" though.
 
#65
I hear you Scott, on all points. The Lull bass is wonderful, but the headstock is too long and pointy.

Mike Tobias designs, MTD, in my opinion has the most elegant headstock design since the invention of the wheel.



Scott McArron said:
I'm terribly vain, I admit. I want my basses to look as good a they sound. Another reason I don't play Lulla any more is that I just can't stand the headstock. Same goes for Nordstrand. Allevas are not so bad, but well out of my price range, an I'd never want to take a bass to a gig that I'd have to baby.

Right now, I dig Laklands, mainly the 55-02s. Best deal around for tone, tonal versatility, great looks, and a very reasonable price. Other than that, I dig CS Fenders and also the German made Sandberg Fender-copy basses. Hasn't been anything else out there in the last few years that has piqued my interest. But thanks for the suggestions!
Click to expand...
 
#71
bassjam said:
Its funny you say that-I dont like the headstock on the Lull 4-strings but they look good to me on the 5'ers.I do love the Lull necks though,really among my favorites.
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I'm with you on the headstocks: not so keen on the 4s but have no problem with the 5s. And yes, the necks on Lulls are amongst the most comfortable I've played.
 
#72
IMO, this conversation boils form to your preferences of neck shape/size. The sadowsky 5 string neck is very chunky, IME chunkier than a Fender P5. The Lull neck is thinner but not small, and it spoke to me immediately. You should really go out and play one of each before buying.

Additionally, with Lull you get a US made (hand built by Mike) instrument for the price of a Metro. At that price point the Lull is definitely better. Sadowsky NYC does put out some enviable instruments, but I could never be comfortable with one of their 5ers.
 
#73
Scott McArron said:
I'm terribly vain, I admit. I want my basses to look as good a they sound. Another reason I don't play Lulla any more is that I just can't stand the headstock. Same goes for Nordstrand. Allevas are not so bad, but well out of my price range, an I'd never want to take a bass to a gig that I'd have to baby.

Right now, I dig Laklands, mainly the 55-02s. Best deal around for tone, tonal versatility, great looks, and a very reasonable price.
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To each his own, but the Lakland bridge makes me throw up a little every time I see one.
 
#78
CTC564 said:
LOL...it was a gut reaction...I've never had anyone make fun of my bridge before :-)
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Not to mention "your" headstock has a beak! ;)

Lakland builds good basses, but I don't like the aesthetic choices they have made -- particularly the quilt tops on the deluxe models, yuck!

Nordy headstocks are too flashy, Alleva's too big, Sadowsky has a good looking headstock. I think the Carvin SB headstock is nice lookin' too. They're all just trying to emulate Fender without picking up a lawsuit.

I don't think the Lull 5 is too pointy:

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#79
kai_ski said:
IMO, this conversation boils form to your preferences of neck shape/size. The sadowsky 5 string neck is very chunky, IME chunkier than a Fender P5. The Lull neck is thinner but not small, and it spoke to me immediately. You should really go out and play one of each before buying.

Additionally, with Lull you get a US made (hand built by Mike) instrument for the price of a Metro. At that price point the Lull is definitely better. Sadowsky NYC does put out some enviable instruments, but I could never be comfortable with one of their 5ers.
Click to expand...

Wow. Now, that's interesting. One of the reasons I went with Sadowsky was because the neck is so small-hands friendly. My P5 feels *much* more uh... Substantial.

I wonder if things like a difference in neck contour come off as a feeling of differing thickness?

I *did* hear at some point that the necks on the Metros are a little thicker than on the NYC Sadowskys, but I've never touched a Metro, so I won't even try to back that up. This being TB, we'll know if I got that right or not pretty quick ;)

I'm willing to deal with my P5's neck because that's just the P-bass magic, but otherwise, my Lakland's neck is the yardstick I grade necks against.

kai_ski said:
To each his own, but the Lakland bridge makes me throw up a little every time I see one.
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That bridge kinda made my head spin at first, but it's grown on me. It's a cool identity thing.
 
#80
roadkill2309 said:
I *did* hear at some point that the necks on the Metros are a little thicker than on the NYC Sadowskys, but I've never touched a Metro, so I won't even try to back that up. This being TB, we'll know if I got that right or not pretty quick ;)
Click to expand...

I've played several 5-string Metro's, never a NYC 5. I should try to track down a NYC 5 to play, but honestly, they're out of my price range anyway. I liked both the NYC and Metro 4's I've played.
 

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