The Mike Lull Club Part 3

[Vic]

Hey Robin. My two Lull 5ers are the main gigging basses right now. The Fender is an uncommonly good '05 that has the S1 switch and sounds great for flatwound duty. I have a MTD 635 for six string stuff, but have a Skjold Slayer 6 on the way. I bugged Mike more than once about adding a 6 to his line, but he doesn't want to get into that... Which I dig. Throw in a 160yo double and a fretless ubass and I'm pretty happy in bass land. As far as bass guitars are concerned though, the Lulls are ruling the roost. I have big hopes on this Skjold, however. I need to do another vid for that M5V fretless... With Chromes on it, it absolutely sings while being "ballsy" at the same time. Pretty much my perfect definition of a FL.

Nice vids... I remember watching them a long time ago when you first posted them. Just FYI, my M5V is a 34" scale and the B is every bit as strong. In short, it's Mike, not the inch.

But it's true that there are a lot of folks who prefer a 5 to be 35" scale, so he serves what the market demands, which is good.

FWIW, anyway.

 

[Robin Ruscio]

Both off-the-charts good, although I play the 4 a lot more than I do the 5. Flats on both.

And if you had to pick one? Do you notice much difference in tone or playabilty?

 

[Holdsg]

Not enough to make me go hmmmm.

i play the 4 more because of the old school music I play, not because its somehow superior.

 

[Robin Ruscio]

Nice vids... I remember watching them a long time ago when you first posted them. Just FYI, my M5V is a 34" scale and the B is every bit as strong. In short, it's Mike, not the inch.

But it's true that there are a lot of folks who prefer a 5 to be 35" scale, so he serves what the market demands, which is good.

FWIW, anyway.

Hmm, you're making me thinking I should stick to my theory about design, which is that a good B is about more than scale length, and usually the extra inch isn't the factor that makes for the great ones.

 

[pauliebass]

Thanks guys for your comments on the videos.

My question when considering between the two scale lengths would be: does one scale length have less tendency for dead spots? Probably not but something also to think about when pondering a build. You never know with a new bass from ANY builder.

If I were a one finger per fret player in the lower register I would go for a 34. For me, I play with the double bass (1,2,4) hand position most of the time and fan out to one finger per fret only when the line demands it, so 35 is fine for me. I can play for hours on end without even thinking about fatigue. Not that you cant play a 35 with one per fret, but I think a 34 is more comfy for this. I only bring this up to throw out other factors to think about.

Hand position and dead spots all in one post?! There's a can of worms for you.

For me, I like 35 on these basses because I feel like I can attack the string a little harder and send more vibrations into the body wood from the slightly tighter strings. In my head? Yeah probably.

 

[Robin Ruscio]

Hand position and dead spots all in one post?! There's a can of worms for you.

I like those points actually. I use URB fingerings in the low positions as well on 34 or 35.

 

[Vic]

Hmm, you're making me thinking I should stick to my theory about design, which is that a good B is about more than scale length, and usually the extra inch isn't the factor that makes for the great ones.

I'm a strong advocate for this thinking, after having several truly great 5's on a 34" scale.

I will say this... it is easier for a builder/luthier to get better focus from a B that's a little bit longer, but truly great builder/luthiers (like Mike and some others) don't need it.

So what's the difference then if the B is great in both cases?

Overtones, and IMHO, it probably matters a little more on fretless than fretted, and even then, it's probably fairly subtle, but, let's face it, at the high end, we're super particular about detail, so the tonal diff between a 34 and a 35 might matter.

Other than that, maybe the slight extra reach for first position, but it's my experience that's also fairly minor given good design.

It's definitely easier to shop for strings on a 34, tho.

In my case, I've pretty much gone all 34... and it's not to "dis" the 35's, it's just me trying to focus my stable with a bit more consistency (as ridiculous as that still really is since I still own too many basses... but at least it's a step in the right direction).

 

[Vic]

My question when considering between the two scale lengths would be: does one scale length have less tendency for dead spots? Probably not but something also to think about when pondering a build.

After playing several basses from multiple sources with both scales, it's been my experience the answer is no. BUT, the typical location of the dead/dull spot will not be the same. It moves around more than you might think on both scales for several reasons, but most typically, on a 34" scale, it seems to land on the G string around the 5th-8th fret area. On a 35" scale, one fairly common location is around the 9th fret on the D string.

Again tho... can be various locations depending on LOTs of design/construction criteria (or even undetectable) in both cases... just ultimately saying the overall "risk" is the same between both scales.

 

[pauliebass]

I like those points actually. I use URB fingerings in the low positions as well on 34 or 35.

Me too. I tell BG students to drop there hand relaxed down to their side and then put it up to the neck. Where do the frets fall? It's not natural to spread those fingers out. Play comfy when you can. Kind of a hard concept for a young student only wanting to play BG and I'm not sold on it for everybody. Now, this thought process doesn't work at all for double bass where every lesson is spent getting the first finger to point up...so why not spread for BG? My answer again is comfort and endurance. I know you know all of this, I'm just throwing it out there.

Back to Lulls

 

[pauliebass]

In the end, I tell students they can hold the string down with their forehead as long as its in time and tune!

 

[pauliebass]

And great comments about overtones Vic.

 

[Holdsg]

all I know is that y'all inspired me to go home and play my 5 string tonight, just for kicks.

 

[Vic]

all I know is that y'all inspired me to go home and play my 5 string tonight, just for kicks.

I'm going to do the same at rehearsal.

 

[dedpool1052]

I've been all over the rocket page. Someone should grab that P4 while it lasts!

I'm pretty good buddies with Dan at Premier Bass Guitars, my local AD and he's going to order a bass to my specs and then give me the option to buy it. If I don't love it, he's gonna put it in his shop . . how cool is that? We went over specs today and he's gonna talk to lull about a few things, like chambering alder to keep weight down.

For now, I'm going Oly white, vintage tort guard, Madagascar RW and matching headstock (at Dan's suggestion).

that is cool. the oly white/tort/MRW will look great together. another sidenote when i was at Mike's shop. we were talking about his p-basses and how the neck profile was based off of his own '59 P, and he happened to have it there and he let me play it. it's beat to snot, but it's light and resonant and thumps like a good p should. before he handed it to me he says "don't scratch it". good sense of humor.

 

[pauliebass]

Mike's not shy about pulling out his old Fenders. Did you play his jazz?

 

[Bipslapper]

Pauliebass - I checked out your videos, great stuff. I appreciate your knowledge.

Coolness...

 

[jebmd]

Hello Lull Lovers!

Picked this up a few weeks ago. Circa 1997, Mike swapped out the Barts with his pups. They sound amazing.

 

[FunkyMcNasty]

That is a cool lookn bass. How would you describe those pickups as far as tone? I don't know much about Mike's pickups.

 

[Holdsg]

nice Jeb

Mike's reverse-engineered T-bird pickups. To describe, think very agressive, modern, cut-thru the mix tone for a passive pickup it's quite a treat. Much like a Darkstar. I don't have the most discriminating ear. They just sound good.

 

[FunkyMcNasty]

Cool. I have a hard time explaining tones as well. They looked like T-bird pups, but I wasn't sure. Nice bass man.