The Mike Lull Club Part 3

[gregbackstrom]

I just went thru all this with string tension on my Lull M5V. I like to be able to bend strings but not too loose of tension where they are floppy. I came to the conclusion that (being a big fan of steels) Dunlop as well as D'Addario's. I play Dunlop religiously and like lights 40 60 80 100 125/130 but also D'Addario Pro Steel 40 60 80 100 130XL is a great set for M5V's with std tuning. I say 130XL because the taper on a std Long Scale 130 will be right over the nut.... Not Good. You can go the rout of Hex core DR LoRiders but go light 40 60 80 100 125/130 on the Lull. It will be very good string tension due to the 35" scale.

All this is subject to personal taste but I hate stiff strings and this has worked well for my playing.. Good Luck!!

I also love light-gauge MTD steel strings on my M5V. I use
40/60/80/100 and a wound 130. The wound B really balances well with the rest of the set!

 

[rb1968]

My advice would be to fire the sax player and stop playing in Eb. LOL. I keed, I keed.

On a more serious note, you might try a string change and see if that has any effect. It probably won't, but you never know when a bum string might induce a symptom like this.

thanks, did that, same issue. I did put a heavy capo on the headstock and it significantly improved the sustain on this note, so i ordered a fatfinger. Spoke with an employee at lull and this is not uncommon for this bass to have a less sustaining note on this string than the rest. my lakland 4-94 has no issues like this but it also does not sound as good as this bass! so i will live with it.

 

[vates]

Finally found some time to make shots of my couple:

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[pauliebass]

Love it!

Finally found some time to make shots of my couple:

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[Holdsg]

Yesssss

 

[droskobass]

thanks, did that, same issue. I did put a heavy capo on the headstock and it significantly improved the sustain on this note, so i ordered a fatfinger. Spoke with an employee at lull and this is not uncommon for this bass to have a less sustaining note on this string than the rest. my lakland 4-94 has no issues like this but it also does not sound as good as this bass! so i will live with it.

"Dead spots" are a strange issue. Some people really can't stand them, others ( myself included) accept them as part of the instrument. If the bAss has the overall tone and playability then you just gotta live with that 8th fret Eb. The alternative is the old" the cure is worse than the disease" scenario where you run to Badass bridges, graphite necks, EMG pickups with less magnetic pull etc, which can all relieve or displace dead spots, but that can have a detrimental effect on the natural bark and woodiness that we love about Lulls. I once asked a very famous local bass player if he ever had issues with string to string volume drops on his vintage musicman. His response was " no instrument is perfect, that's why we have to PLAY these things...".

I find that a lighter touch overall makes the relative dead spot less apparent, but I happen to prefer that technique for many reasons and not specifically because of any dead spot ( in fact I don't look for them and never notice of remember dead spots on any of my basses.).

On the other hand, let us know how the fat finger works out. Godspeed !

 

[droskobass]

dual pickup PT4 Mahogany body, jazz RW neck.

Mother of God! That is going to rattle the rafters!

Quick question: does anyone know if the pickups on a PT4 are closer to the bridge than those on a JT-4 or T-4? Also you have a TC4. In your opinion How does it sit in the mix vs standard jazz style basses like the m4v or s jazz with single coils? Any thoughts?

Thanks!

 

[prd004]

Have a brand new mv4 with ash body, maple neck. Plays like a champ however I have a dead spot with little sustain on the G string, 8 fret (Eb). I love this bass and got a fatfinger sustain clamp coming, anyone else have a similar issue on their lull? just curious. thanks

That is a pretty common dead spot on most 34" bolt on basses. I asked Mike about it in person and he was kind enough to sit down with me and explain the science behind the dead spot. I can't remember everything he said but headstock mass was mentioned. I also seem to recall something to the effect of you can fix that spot but it may just move elsewhere. Paraphrasing of course, I had this chat with him a while ago.

On my M4V it's barely noticeable, the note is fairly loud, it just decays quickly and doesn't sustain like the rest of the notes. I can play with it it's not a problem and the bass is phenomenal IMO.

I remember reading a Marcus Miller quote somewhere where he said his bass has the same dead spot and he just adjusts his technique and or plays around it and it's not a problem.

 

[droskobass]

That is a pretty common dead spot on most 34" bolt on basses. I asked Mike about it in person and he was kind enough to sit down with me and explain the science behind the dead spot. I can't remember everything he said but headstock mass was mentioned. I also seem to recall something to the effect of you can fix that spot but it may just move elsewhere. ...

So I'm guessing the fat finger will help in some keys by displacing the dead spot, but in other keys you may want to remove it...

 

[mark beem]

Finally found some time to make shots of my couple:

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Beautiful!!

 

[Killens84]

I've been wanting to get a Lull P4 for a long time to add to my V4 and M5V, but it's been hard saving up the money. I for sure want an alder body and rosewood fretboard, but I have a few questions for you guys who can answer them.

I've been looking at a few of the upgrades that I would possibly want on a new P4, and I want to get your opinions on them. A Madagascar rosewood fretboard is a $500 upcharge, stainless steel frets are a $200 upcharge, and a quartersawn maple neck is a $200 upcharge. Granted, those are MSRP prices, but those are the upgrades I'm interested in. I could obviously pay for a new stock P4 with no upgrades a bit quicker than I could pay for a P4 with those upgrades. So what I want to know is, how much better would those three upgrades make the bass in reality?

I know a Madagascar rosewood board is a bit prettier than the stock Indian rosewood, and I even heard Mike say before that the Madagascar board would give you just a bit more clarity in the high-mids. But I'm not sure if those differences would even be noticable enough to justify paying the $500 upcharge.
My V4 has a quartersawn neck, and my M5V has a stock flat-sawn neck. Both play great, even though I prefer the feel of the V4 just a bit more. But that could have more to do with it being a 34" scale versus my M5V's 35" scale, or just the fact that the narrower 4-string neck is easier to play. So would you guys think the $200 upcharge for a quartersawn neck is worth it?
And I really don't know anything about stainless steel frets in comparison to the stock frets that come on the bass. I don't know what the benefits of stainless steel frets are, or if it's worth the $200 upcharge.

So can you guys give me your opinions? Would all or any of those upgrades make a new Lull P4 significantly better? In a perfect world, I would get the bass upgraded to the max. But in reality, my budget would allow me to get an all-stock P4 much sooner. If any of those upgrades are really worth getting, I'd be willing to wait longer to save more money for it.

 

[theaterbass29]

A lil trick for dead spots. You can do one of two things. Place the headstock butt end against a wall and play, or you can fret an octave below the dead spot without plucking that note as well. It will hold the dead note almost indefinitely. Works for ballads or whole notes, doesn't really help in quicker passages, but you usually don't need sustain in those moments : )

 

[prd004]

I've been wanting to get a Lull P4 for a long time to add to my V4 and M5V, but it's been hard saving up the money. I for sure want an alder body and rosewood fretboard, but I have a few questions for you guys who can answer them.

I've been looking at a few of the upgrades that I would possibly want on a new P4, and I want to get your opinions on them. A Madagascar rosewood fretboard is a $500 upcharge, stainless steel frets are a $200 upcharge, and a quartersawn maple neck is a $200 upcharge. Granted, those are MSRP prices, but those are the upgrades I'm interested in. I could obviously pay for a new stock P4 with no upgrades a bit quicker than I could pay for a P4 with those upgrades. So what I want to know is, how much better would those three upgrades make the bass in reality?

I know a Madagascar rosewood board is a bit prettier than the stock Indian rosewood, and I even heard Mike say before that the Madagascar board would give you just a bit more clarity in the high-mids. But I'm not sure if those differences would even be noticable enough to justify paying the $500 upcharge.
My V4 has a quartersawn neck, and my M5V has a stock flat-sawn neck. Both play great, even though I prefer the feel of the V4 just a bit more. But that could have more to do with it being a 34" scale versus my M5V's 35" scale, or just the fact that the narrower 4-string neck is easier to play. So would you guys think the $200 upcharge for a quartersawn neck is worth it?
And I really don't know anything about stainless steel frets in comparison to the stock frets that come on the bass. I don't know what the benefits of stainless steel frets are, or if it's worth the $200 upcharge.

So can you guys give me your opinions? Would all or any of those upgrades make a new Lull P4 significantly better? In a perfect world, I would get the bass upgraded to the max. But in reality, my budget would allow me to get an all-stock P4 much sooner. If any of those upgrades are really worth getting, I'd be willing to wait longer to save more money for it.

I personally think the stainless frets may be a waste of money. I have an M4V with whatever the stock frets are, it's almost ten years old, been played VERY heavily, gig, studio, rehearsal, multiple bands and there is minimal fret wear. The stock flat sawn neck has been rock solid too.

 

[droskobass]

I personally think the stainless frets may be a waste of money. I have an M4V with whatever the stock frets are, it's almost ten years old, been played VERY heavily, gig, studio, rehearsal, multiple bands and there is minimal fret wear. The stock flat sawn neck has been rock solid too.

I agree, Mike is quite proud of his stock fret wire ( it's german nickel and the hardest nickel you can get according to mike) he has gone to great lengths to source excellent quality woods and components, but if people want specialty stuff he'll do it. The up charges have more to do with the extra time it takes him, he can't just pull a p neck off the wall, he's got to go to step one right away...

The frets on my 2006 are good as new after hundreds of gigs with stainless steel strings. Quartersawn is overkill on his basses too, the graphite reinforcement and truss rod keep the necks rock solid. So if you were to go for just one upgrade go for the exotic rosewood, even that doesn't sound better, just different...

 

[vates]

pauliebass , Holdsg, and mark beem, thank you for your comments

Killens84, in your case I'd go with rosewood upgrade only. However, I noticed that there's no Brazi RW option anymore, so I'd skip even this up-charge.
As pointed by others: no need in QS neck (graphite rods make it stiff enough) and no real need for SS frets (besides, they do sound different).
So, if you want something special and you're short on money I would recommend painted headstock option (looks exceptionally well with RW fretboards). IMHO, of course

 

[bdgotoh]

Have a brand new mv4 with ash body, maple neck. Plays like a champ however I have a dead spot with little sustain on the G string, 8 fret (Eb). I love this bass and got a fatfinger sustain clamp coming, anyone else have a similar issue on their lull? just curious. thanks

I have owned a bunch of Lull basses and only one had a deadspot. It was an alder body / rosewood board P4 and I finally traced it to a bridge setup problem. When I got both of the saddle height screws for that string in firm contact with the bridge, it went away.

 

[LeonD]

I don't think any of those upgrades would necessarily make a bass sound better. They would have some impact on tone but it might be so minor that it'd be hard to hear.

Plus, better depends on what your perspective is.

I have a P4 that I don't believe has any of those upgrades. It's my number one gigging bass and wouldn't even think of letting it go.

I've been wanting to get a Lull P4 for a long time ...

So can you guys give me your opinions? Would all or any of those upgrades make a new Lull P4 significantly better?

 

[Holdsg]

Mother of God! That is going to rattle the rafters!

Quick question: does anyone know if the pickups on a PT4 are closer to the bridge than those on a JT-4 or T-4? Also you have a TC4. In your opinion How does it sit in the mix vs standard jazz style basses like the m4v or s jazz with single coils? Any thoughts?

Thanks!

I would just call Paul and ask the pickup placement question. When I was doing my research on this bass, I seem to recall the difference between this and the JT pickup placement, us that the forward, or neck, pickup is in the classic P position, with the bridge pickup halfway between there and the bridge. so yes, the pickups are generally closer to the bridge than on a jazz bass. That's what I recall. I am kinda trusting Mike on this, and I'm sure it will be worth it. I played a T bass at Mesa Boogie Hollywood before I ordered to make sure I'm gonna love these pickups, and I'm very confident that I will.

And the TC4 Rivals my Sadiowsky Metro as my favorite active Jazz right now. I've plaed it at several gigs and it sits vey well in a mix, played thru a Streamliner 900 and a Bergantino Ae212.

 

[pauliebass]

I don't think any of those upgrades would necessarily make a bass sound better. They would have some impact on tone but it might be so minor that it'd be hard to hear.

Plus, better depends on what your perspective is.

I have a P4 that I don't believe has any of those upgrades. It's my number one gigging bass and wouldn't even think of letting it go.

"stock" Lulls will get you where you need to go.

 

[j.kernodle]

I got the quartersawn neck on my v4 but only because I preferred the look.