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The Mike Lull Club Part 3

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#781
FWIW, my first experience with Mike was I had a Roscoe LG5 that needed a fret level... turned out it actually needed a refret because the fingerboard needed to be trued. This was before he had the Plek system. Anyway, the bass played well enough when I sent it to him, though I knew it needed to be better. When I got it back, it was night and day. Played like magic. That coupled with what I've played/seen/heard at NAMM, as well as just getting to know what a nice guy he is, and I've been a fan ever since on every level... personally and professionally.
 
#783

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#784
So, does anyone have an issue with seeing the side dots on their Lull w a rosewood board. They are very small on my T4. I left it on the stand all night because of it. During soundcheck, I just could not see them.
 
#786
I've had my Lull P4 for a few months now, and I love it more than any bass I've ever put my hands on. However, I have one small issue, and I'd like some feedback on it. I can not get the neck relief on my P4 to stay set for very long at all. It seems like it moves every week.

As a disclaimer, let me say that I am very careful to keep it out of extreme temperatures, and it always stays in the case when not being used. I do, however, live in the very southern US, where the humidity is always insanely high, and the weather changes constantly. But I take great care of my basses, and always try to keep them in a room temperature setting.

I always set my neck relief at around .012" (0.3 mm), which is exactly where I like it for my taste. I've been setting up my own basses for years now, and have gotten pretty good at it. I can set the relief on my 2011 Lull V4, and it'll stay put for a month or more. But it seems like the relief on my new P4 won't stay put for longer than a few days at a time. It doesn't move a tremendous amount, but enough to make me have to readjust it back to my preference. I'm wondering if it has to do with the fact that my V4 has a quarter-sawn neck, and my P4 has a flat-sawn neck. I wouldn't think that would be a big deal though, since the necks are graphite reinforced.

Does anyone have any solutions or ideas? It's not a huge deal, since I can always readjust before a gig. But it would just be nice for my P4's neck relief to remain as stable as my V4.
 
#788
Killens84 said:
I've had my Lull P4 for a few months now, and I love it more than any bass I've ever put my hands on. However, I have one small issue, and I'd like some feedback on it. I can not get the neck relief on my P4 to stay set for very long at all. It seems like it moves every week.

As a disclaimer, let me say that I am very careful to keep it out of extreme temperatures, and it always stays in the case when not being used. I do, however, live in the very southern US, where the humidity is always insanely high, and the weather changes constantly. But I take great care of my basses, and always try to keep them in a room temparature setting.

I always set my neck relief at around .012" (0.3 mm), which is exactly where I like it for my taste. I've been setting up my own basses for years now, and have gotten pretty good at it. I can set the relief on my 2011 Lull V4, and it'll stay put for a month or more. But it seems like the relief on my new P4 won't stay put for longer than a few days at a time. It doesn't move a tremendous amount, but enough to make me have to readjust it back to my preference. I'm wondering if it has to do with the fact that my V4 has a quarter-sawn neck, and my P4 has a flat-sawn neck. I wouldn't think that would be a big deal though, since the necks are graphite reinforced.

Does anyone have any solutions or ideas? It's not a huge deal, since I can always readjust before a gig. But it would just be nice for my P4's neck relief to remain as stable as my V4.
Click to expand...
It's just wood. Some blanks are more stable than others. I'd say as long as it's not actually "problematic", it's just the nature of the beast, no big deal, and something to do when needed as a matter of routine.
 
#789
RocketMusic said:
Hey, Kody - have you tried one of those in-case humidifiers? That might help keep a more constant humidity situation this time of year. We're almost into spring when the heat goes off for good and the moisture comes back in the air...
Click to expand...

I haven't looked into those. For the most part, living in south MS, the moisture pretty much never leaves here. There are many days even during mid winter when we can wear shorts and t-shirts. And the humidity is always high all year. It's not a big problem at all. I'd just like the relief to remain as stable as my V4. This P4 is still hands-down my favorite bass I've ever played.
 
#790
There might be something to be said about how that unstable neck transfers vibrations to the body. If you love it... adjust and play on! Try to not let having to adjust it get to you. With that being said, my necks don't move that much. With THAT being said, being a double bass player, if my strings do creep up, I'm not loosing sleep. Do you notice that they always go high, or is it random in both directions?
 
#791
pauliebass said:
There might be something to be said about how that unstable neck transfers vibrations to the body. If you love it... adjust and play on! Try to not let having to adjust it get to you. With that being said, my necks don't move that much. With THAT being said, being a double bass player, if my strings do creep up, I'm not loosing sleep. Do you notice that they always go high, or is it random in both directions?
Click to expand...

It's random in both directions. And it's really not even enough to make me uncomfortable. I've just noticed how much it changes in comparison to my other Lull bass.
 
#793
The neck should be stable. Maybe you put high tension strings on it? Just a wild guess. I haven't adjusted mine in years.
If you bought it new I would take it back. I know you love the feel of the neck, but it should be rock solid, there might be something wrong.
 
#794
pauliebass said:
There might be something to be said about how that unstable neck transfers vibrations...
Click to expand...
I would really hesitate to label it as "unstable". I don't get that at all from the tone of his comments. He seems to say it does not move an extraordinary amount, just that it moves a bit more than his other Lull is all. I still say it's just a matter of one piece of wood being a little more stable than the other, but both being well in the range of good quality stable wood.

pauliebass said:
This might be a dumb statement but maybe the larger neck on the p4 is more affected by changes in humidity compared to the smaller v4 neck. That's probably a stretch to say that. Just thinking out loud.
Click to expand...
I've typically found the opposite to be true... the thinner the neck the more susceptible to change IME.

I'm sensing this is really a minor "it's just a typical wood" thing, and just a matter of curiosity on his part at all.
 
#795
Killens84 said:
I've had my Lull P4 for a few months now, and I love it more than any bass I've ever put my hands on. However, I have one small issue, and I'd like some feedback on it. I can not get the neck relief on my P4 to stay set for very long at all. It seems like it moves every week.

As a disclaimer, let me say that I am very careful to keep it out of extreme temperatures, and it always stays in the case when not being used. I do, however, live in the very southern US, where the humidity is always insanely high, and the weather changes constantly. But I take great care of my basses, and always try to keep them in a room temperature setting.

I always set my neck relief at around .012" (0.3 mm), which is exactly where I like it for my taste. I've been setting up my own basses for years now, and have gotten pretty good at it. I can set the relief on my 2011 Lull V4, and it'll stay put for a month or more. But it seems like the relief on my new P4 won't stay put for longer than a few days at a time. It doesn't move a tremendous amount, but enough to make me have to readjust it back to my preference. I'm wondering if it has to do with the fact that my V4 has a quarter-sawn neck, and my P4 has a flat-sawn neck. I wouldn't think that would be a big deal though, since the necks are graphite reinforced.

Does anyone have any solutions or ideas? It's not a huge deal, since I can always readjust before a gig. But it would just be nice for my P4's neck relief to remain as stable as my V4.
Click to expand...

It could be (but I hope it's not) the "soft neck"-issue that was reported with another lull in this thread:
http://www.talkbass.com/forum/f192/new-arrival-used-2011-mike-lull-m5-trans-black-820722/index3.html
(see post 50)
 
#796
MKA said:
It could be (but I hope it's not) the "soft neck"-issue that was reported with another lull in this thread:
http://www.talkbass.com/forum/f192/new-arrival-used-2011-mike-lull-m5-trans-black-820722/index3.html
(see post 50)
Click to expand...
Highly unlikely based on the description of the situation in this thread. I know about that "soft neck" type of issue... it's very rare with a high end luthier and has more to do with wood that hasn't fully stablized yet, which is why it tends to just keep going one direction (in some cases far enough to get to the end of truss rod adjustment like it did in that other thread). That's a much more significant issue, and is really only resolvable by the luthier taking care of it (as Mike did), which typically solves it once and for all (also as stated in the other thread). This seems nothing like that.
 
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