The Mike Lull Club Part 3

[vates]

That was me actually.

I've seen some interviews with Mike re.body weight. He tells that it is hard to find good-sounding lightweight alder nowadays and thus he has to route chambers in alder bodies.

Apparently, considering that in my case they wanted an up-charge for solid ash, they're rooting the ash bodies by default as well now.

So while ordering you need to double-check that you'll get a solid-bodied instrument if it's important to you.

 

[Vic]

That was me actually.

I've seen some interviews with Mike re.body weight. He tells that it is hard to find good-sounding lightweight alder nowadays and thus he has to route chambers in alder bodies.

Apparently, considering that in my case they wanted an up-charge for solid ash, they're rooting the ash bodies by default as well now.

So while ordering you need to double-check that you'll get a solid-bodied instrument if it's important to you.

"Solid" advice!

This is why I tend to bring this up when people talk about weight... in particular with ash. I hadn't heard about alder also being a challenge to find light stuff in (tho clearly it'd have to be for a different reason).

Chambering a body is of course not at all a bad thing, and honestly, I doubt most people would even really notice, but just as with anything else in core construction, it has tonal characteristics, so for the (likely relatively few) people it might matter to, you should make sure and get exactly what you want.

 

[LeonD]

I would think that there would be a difference between chambering a body vs. hollowing out a body. Chambering would be done primarily for making the bass lighter and could be done to have little if no impact on the tone. Hollowing out a body would have more of a sonic impact.

 

[Vic]

I would think that there would be a difference between chambering a body vs. hollowing out a body. Chambering would be done primarily for making the bass lighter and could be done to have little if no impact on the tone. Hollowing out a body would have more of a sonic impact.

True, though many refer to both using the same name "chambering". As you're an MTD user, you may already know Mike (Tobias) does it with tonal impact as a primary goal. Roger Sadowsky does it with weight reduction as the primary goal. But clearly, in both cases, both aspects are involved. It's just a matter of which direction the scales are tipped between the two.

 

[basswalker2004]

my 2 cents.. one of the things that drew me to Mike was the fact that he does honeycomb (I think that is the correct term) his basses as does Sadowsky.. I need the lighter weight due to back/neck issues. Of course, I was concerned about what that would do to the tone. I spent a lot of time out at NAMM playing Mikes basses (and many others) and I found the tone of his basses to be spot on. Man that P-bass I was playing out there was great. Seems to me he's figured out how to reduce the weight and keep the tone happening.

 

[Vic]

my 2 cents.. one of the things that drew me to Mike was the fact that he does honeycomb (I think that is the correct term) his basses as does Sadowsky.. I need the lighter weight due to back/neck issues. Of course, I was concerned about what that would do to the tone. I spent a lot of time out at NAMM playing Mikes basses (and many others) and I found the tone of his basses to be spot on. Man that P-bass I was playing out there was great. Seems to me he's figured out how to reduce the weight and keep the tone happening.

I haven't seen Mike Lull's pattern, but I'm not sure I'd call it "honeycomb" if it's like Roger's. Here's a pic I snagged from a video with him where he shows what it looks like "under the hood"...

Keep in mind once the pickup routes, neck pocket, and electronics cavity are all cut out, a LOT of wood has been removed.

 

[basswalker2004]

I haven't seen Mike Lull's pattern, but I'm not sure I'd call it "honeycomb" if it's like Roger's. Here's a pic I snagged from a video with him where he shows what it looks like "under the hood"...

Keep in mind once the pickup routes, neck pocket, and electronics cavity are all cut out, a LOT of wood has been removed.

Hi Vic.. yeah wasn't sure about the correct term.. I think it was was something to make the distinction between what they do as opposed to large cavities.
Have you found that it affects the tone on the Sadowsky's or Lulls in a bad way? Would love to hear input on this since I'm planning on ordering a bass. thanks

 

[Vic]

Hi Vic.. yeah wasn't sure about the correct term.. I think it was was something to make the distinction between what they do as opposed to large cavities.

True... and honestly, I don't know what the correct term for that kind of pattern is, either, so FWIW.

Have you found that it affects the tone on the Sadowsky's or Lulls in a bad way? Would love to hear input on this since I'm planning on ordering a bass. thanks

NO! Definitely not "bad". Just different in some (at least IMHO) fairly predictable ways. If it was "bad", there's no way in heck Mike, Mike, or Roger would be doing it.

IME, there's a couple things that happen when you reduce weight/mass on a bass. The notes tend to sound a little "bigger" and "punchier", but, you lose a little compression and sustain. Just a trade off. I think chambering kind of amplifies things a bit... even more so if the chambers are large enough to be intended to add more of an "acoustic" character to the sound (only one I currently know of is USA MTD on that tho).

So it's just a balance of big/punch and compression/sustain.

My personal prefs are to have a solid body, but not crazy heavy (keeping in mind an ash bodied bass can fairly easily hit 11-12 pounds these days). That translates in my case more specifically to a preferred weight range of 8-9 pounds.

Again tho, this is very definitely not a good/bad thing... just a personal pref thing.

Hope this helps.

 

[basswalker2004]

True... and honestly, I don't know what the correct term for that kind of pattern is, either, so FWIW.

NO! Definitely not "bad". Just different in some (at least IMHO) fairly predictable ways. If it was "bad", there's no way in heck Mike, Mike, or Roger would be doing it.

IME, there's a couple things that happen when you reduce weight/mass on a bass. The notes tend to sound a little "bigger" and "punchier", but, you lose a little compression and sustain. Just a trade off. I think chambering kind of amplifies things a bit... even more so if the chambers are large enough to be intended to add more of an "acoustic" character to the sound (only one I currently know of is USA MTD on that tho).

So it's just a balance of big/punch and compression/sustain.

My personal prefs are to have a solid body, but not crazy heavy (keeping in mind an ash bodied bass can fairly easily hit 11-12 pounds these days). That translates in my case more specifically to a preferred weight range of 8-9 pounds.

Again tho, this is very definitely not a good/bad thing... just a personal pref thing.

Hope this helps.

Thanks man.. I appreciate the reply and the great input.
cheers

 

[Vic]

Thanks man.. I appreciate the reply and the great input.
cheers

No problem. Quick question... looks like that's the headstock from one of those super limited edition Fodera's... did you actually buy one of them?

 

[basswalker2004]

No problem. Quick question... looks like that's the headstock from one of those super limited edition Fodera's... did you actually buy one of them?

Hey Vic, nope, mine is an original. I actually bought my bass when Vinny and Joey first opened the shop in Brooklyn. It is serial number 11. I've been friends with them for 30 years.
I'll shoot u a pic from NAMM via a PM.. It was a great reunion party.
BTW I did get to play one of the new old ones and if I had the money, I'd buy it in a heart beat. It was exact to mine and Vic's.
cheers

 

[basswalker2004]

No problem. Quick question... looks like that's the headstock from one of those super limited edition Fodera's... did you actually buy one of them?

Vic, the band demo is awesome.. Great on every level, nice strong bass playing..

cheers

 

[Vic]

Hey Vic, nope, mine is an original. I actually bought my bass when Vinny and Joey first opened the shop in Brooklyn. It is serial number 11. I've been friends with them for 30 years.
I'll shoot u a pic from NAMM via a PM.. It was a great reunion party.
BTW I did get to play one of the new old ones and if I had the money, I'd buy it in a heart beat. It was exact to mine and Vic's.
cheers

Color me green, dude.

Vic, the band demo is awesome.. Great on every level, nice strong bass playing..

cheers

Wow, thanks!!

 

[Killens84]

My band's second album just released last week, and is now available on iTunes. It has 11 new original tracks, and I recorded all of them using a Lull V4 and Lull M5V. Check out the album "Something About Nothing" by the Adam Doleac Band on iTunes. The tunes "Why Do Girls" and "Another Town" are my favorite bass tracks, if you want to give those a listen.
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[Vic]

One down, one to go...

Put the new pot stack in today and it works GREAT. So now I have vol-blend-tone/mid-treb/bass (single-single-stack-stack).

The vol is push/pull for passive, so in passive mode I have vol-blend-tone, but the passive tone works all the time so it also gives me another option in active mode too.

Now, as soon as the hex truss rod cap comes in, and the bass is ready for new strings (at some point), I'll check that out.

 

[pauliebass]

One down, one to go...

Put the new pot stack in today and it works GREAT. So now I have vol-blend-tone/mid-treb/bass (single-single-stack-stack).

The vol is push/pull for passive, so in passive mode I have vol-blend-tone, but the passive tone works all the time so it also gives me another option in active mode too.

Now, as soon as the hex truss rod cap comes in, and the bass is ready for new strings (at some point), I'll check that out.

I might need to do this in my fretless... I have no idea why Mike isn't better known for his fretless basses.

 

[CaptainWally]

I might need to do this in my fretless... I have no idea why Mike isn't better known for his fretless basses.

Seems like Roscoe, Zon, and F Bass get the nod for fretless around here. As much as I love my M4V, I have to admit I chose Roscoe for my recent fretless purchase.

 

[Vic]

Seems like Roscoe, Zon, and F Bass get the nod for fretless around here. As much as I love my M4V, I have to admit I chose Roscoe for my recent fretless purchase.

+1

FWIW, though I'm sure Mike's fretless basses are truly great, at least in my case, Zon is the magic bullet. I can expand on that, but don't wanna' go OT in this thread.

 

[Vic]

I actually thought about this when I picked up my V5. As a 5 string with a solid one piece ash body, weighing only 8.2 pounds...

I need to post a correction... it's solid ash, but it's a typical two-piece body.

 

[Holdsg]

there I was, minding my own business, buying/selling basses when it hit me.
I have FOUR killer LULL basses! Really didn't set out to do this, but they are all really great. Gave up some good basses to get some of them, and two were built to my specs (the TC and the PT).

Presenting the Lull Family 2013

the P4 is the most recent acquisition. Jazz neck. Fralins. Sounds just like you want a P to sound.

And the PJ5 was Kai_Ski's and it fits just like a well-worn glove