• TalkBass has been independent since 1998. Add your voice.
    Create a free account to reply to discussions, view embedded media, and browse with fewer display ads.
    Join free Log in
    Want zero display ads or expanded classifieds tools? Compare plans.

The Mike Lull Club Part 4

#4,003
Hey Lullers, I'm interested in a 5 string PJ Lull with 18mm spacing at the bridge. I see a couple in the classifieds. They are passive and a bit older. Would buying one of these and then later adding a preamp be equivalent to getting one of the new MV5 type instruments? Does that seem like a reasonable way to get into a Lull?
 
#4,004
smeet said:
Hey Lullers, I'm interested in a 5 string PJ Lull with 18mm spacing at the bridge. I see a couple in the classifieds. They are passive and a bit older. Would buying one of these and then later adding a preamp be equivalent to getting one of the new MV5 type instruments? Does that seem like a reasonable way to get into a Lull?
Click to expand...
A Lull PJ5 comes standard with a precision body passive electronics. Of course, you can pay the shop an upcharge to make it active. A Lull M5V has a slightly undersized jazz body and it comes standard as active. I'm not sure if that helps answer your question.
 
  • Like
Reactions: smeet
#4,005
smeet said:
Hey Lullers, I'm interested in a 5 string PJ Lull with 18mm spacing at the bridge. I see a couple in the classifieds. They are passive and a bit older. Would buying one of these and then later adding a preamp be equivalent to getting one of the new MV5 type instruments? Does that seem like a reasonable way to get into a Lull?
Click to expand...
I bought a passive Lull P/J five from Rocket music and they added a preamp, and it worked out great. I also have a passive P/J just like the one in the classifieds and it is a very fine bass.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Joshua, kevk and smeet
#4,010
There was a very good luthier/manufacturer discussion with Spencer, Carey Nordstrand, Zon, and a guy from Spector Bass during the recent Bass Space extravaganza. Spencer held his own discussing everything from neck construction to how wood selection really matters. I really enjoyed listening to it and recommend you take a listen if you are an SBL member, or on their email list.
 
  • Like
Reactions: bdgotoh, vates, crucislancer and 6 others
#4,013
Good morning Lullians-

I got back into playing about 2 months ago, and have been searching for 'my' main bass, after about a decade hiatus. I foolishly sold my late 90's Lakland 55-94 which was perfect as it was 35" scale, 24 frets, and had a J/HH Bartolini + pre setup that just those thick, solid lows which fit perfectly for my original hard rock act of about 4 years, being a 3-piece most of that time. Really filled in the space.

I currently am testing out some new stuff (like the MM Stingray Special 5), but the longer I'm with it, the longer I realize why I never kept one in the past tbh... lol. I'm spoiled, coming from MTD USA, Modulus, Spector USA, Warwick Germany, Dingwall CAN, numerous Wals, aforementioned Lakland, etc.

I'm intrigued by the Lull M5 as it has things that check my list- 35" scale, 24 frets, and knowing Brian Beller uses these for all of his crazy rock/metal/trio stuff, and being a longtime fan of his, I'm curious if anyone can really spot the differences in the 'traditional' M5 vs. the BBM5 signature? Latter of which is a recreation of his late 90's M5 that was unfortunately stolen. I'd read, maybe wrongly, that the neck on his model is asymmetrical, which is how the MTD USA ones are made, and IMO my favorite bass I've ever played. Including the one and only Ritter I got to try out, and that's a close second!

My current needs are for a hard rock outfit, not venturing really into anything metal, although we play in drop C, so the 35" scale will sound nice, hopefully, on the lower B and E strings. I love the B string thru-body design as well.

I have someone bringing by a 2022 M5 that's pretty decked out, but I'd reached out to Lull themselves about the specific differences in the M5/BBM5, as the neck makes all the difference on these 'turbo Jazz" style instruments, and why I've never kept a Sadowsky for more than a week lol.

Any input on that from those that use the M5 in a more rock/semi-metalish setting, would be appreciated! Also something that plays nice with pedals, as I like different drive/fuzz/modulation stuff, but nothing too insane, say on the level of Mr. Doug Wimbish or anything! :D

Thanks, and I'll be scouring the Club thread, which took me a while to find as I kept searching for "Group" and nothing came up!
 
Last edited:
  • Like
Reactions: macribas, Gougedeye and TonyP-
#4,014
spector_boogie said:
Good morning Lullians-

I got back into playing about 2 months ago, and have been searching for 'my' main bass, after about a decade hiatus. I foolishly sold my late 90's Lakland 55-94 which was perfect as it was 35" scale, 24 frets, and had a J/HH Bartolini + pre setup that just those thick, solid lows which fit perfectly for my original hard rock act of about 4 years, being a 3-piece most of that time. Really filled in the space.

I currently am testing out some new stuff (like the MM Stingray Special 5), but the longer I'm with it, the longer I realize why I never kept one in the past tbh... lol. I'm spoiled, coming from MTD USA, Modulus, Spector USA, Warwick Germany, Dingwall CAN, numerous Wals, aforementioned Lakland, etc.

I'm intrigued by the Lull MV5 as it has things that check my list- 35" scale, 24 frets, and knowing Brian Beller uses these for all of his crazy rock/metal/trio stuff, and being a longtime fan of his, I'm curious if anyone can really spot the differences in the 'traditional' MV5 vs. the BBM5 signature? Latter of which is a recreation of his late 90's MV5 that was unfortunately stolen. I'd read, maybe wrongly, that the neck on his model is asymmetrical, which is how the MTD USA ones are made, and IMO my favorite bass I've ever played. Including the one and only Ritter I got to try out, and that's a close second!

My current needs are for a hard rock outfit, not venturing really into anything metal, although we play in drop C, so the 35" scale will sound nice, hopefully, on the lower B and E strings. I love the B string thru-body design as well.

I have someone bringing by a 2022 MV5 that's pretty decked out, but I'd reached out to Lull themselves about the specific differences in the MV5/BBM5, as the neck makes all the difference on these 'turbo Jazz" style instruments, and why I've never kept a Sadowsky for more than a week lol.

Any input on that from those that use the M5 in a more rock/semi-metalish setting, would be appreciated! Also something that plays nice with pedals, as I like different drive/fuzz/modulation stuff, but nothing too insane, say on the level of Mr. Doug Wimbish or anything! :D

Thanks, and I'll be scouring the Club thread, which took me a while to find as I kept searching for "Group" and nothing came up!
Click to expand...
You have nice taste…
Every condsider a TP5 ;)

 
  • Like
Reactions: macribas, direwolf333 and spector_boogie
#4,015
TonyP- said:
You have nice taste…
Every condsider a TP5 ;)

Click to expand...


I have not, but will check it out! Is the neck profile along the lines of a P-bass though? I do see the 5 sting is 35" scale which is a plus, but only 21 frets, which is possibly doable. The neck is the breaking point for me, as even the new Laklands don't have the same profile as my 90s model.
 
  • Like
Reactions: TonyP-
#4,016
spector_boogie said:
Good morning Lullians-

I got back into playing about 2 months ago, and have been searching for 'my' main bass, after about a decade hiatus. I foolishly sold my late 90's Lakland 55-94 which was perfect as it was 35" scale, 24 frets, and had a J/HH Bartolini + pre setup that just those thick, solid lows which fit perfectly for my original hard rock act of about 4 years, being a 3-piece most of that time. Really filled in the space.

I currently am testing out some new stuff (like the MM Stingray Special 5), but the longer I'm with it, the longer I realize why I never kept one in the past tbh... lol. I'm spoiled, coming from MTD USA, Modulus, Spector USA, Warwick Germany, Dingwall CAN, numerous Wals, aforementioned Lakland, etc.

I'm intrigued by the Lull M5 as it has things that check my list- 35" scale, 24 frets, and knowing Brian Beller uses these for all of his crazy rock/metal/trio stuff, and being a longtime fan of his, I'm curious if anyone can really spot the differences in the 'traditional' M5 vs. the BBM5 signature? Latter of which is a recreation of his late 90's M5 that was unfortunately stolen. I'd read, maybe wrongly, that the neck on his model is asymmetrical, which is how the MTD USA ones are made, and IMO my favorite bass I've ever played. Including the one and only Ritter I got to try out, and that's a close second!

My current needs are for a hard rock outfit, not venturing really into anything metal, although we play in drop C, so the 35" scale will sound nice, hopefully, on the lower B and E strings. I love the B string thru-body design as well.

I have someone bringing by a 2022 M5 that's pretty decked out, but I'd reached out to Lull themselves about the specific differences in the M5/BBM5, as the neck makes all the difference on these 'turbo Jazz" style instruments, and why I've never kept a Sadowsky for more than a week lol.

Any input on that from those that use the M5 in a more rock/semi-metalish setting, would be appreciated! Also something that plays nice with pedals, as I like different drive/fuzz/modulation stuff, but nothing too insane, say on the level of Mr. Doug Wimbish or anything! :D

Thanks, and I'll be scouring the Club thread, which took me a while to find as I kept searching for "Group" and nothing came up!
Click to expand...

I have a '98 M5, and that bass works for everything. Bearing in mind that it doesn't have the string-thru B string, nor does it have the Duncan pickups (mine has Bartolinis) but that bass is a beast and will do everything you need it to do. The neck profile is awesome, very comfortable, and that's coming from playing 4 string Jazz basses for years. And 35" scale to boot!

Having said that, I haven't tried more recent M5 basses, so I can't compare them.
 
  • Like
Reactions: spector_boogie
#4,017
crucislancer said:
I have a '98 M5, and that bass works for everything. Bearing in mind that it doesn't have the string-thru B string, nor does it have the Duncan pickups (mine has Bartolinis) but that bass is a beast and will do everything you need it to do. The neck profile is awesome, very comfortable, and that's coming from playing 4 string Jazz basses for years. And 35" scale to boot!

Having said that, I haven't tried more recent M5 basses, so I can't compare them.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the vote of confidence! As I mentioned, it really does check all my boxes for basses of this nature, which is why I'm so intrigued. FWIW, here is the bass I'm considering. Not sure if that's a reasonable price, as I know new they can get into the 7-8k range all day.

Mike Lull M5 Custom 2022 - AAAAA Quilt top | Reverb
 
  • Like
Reactions: direwolf333
#4,018
spector_boogie said:
I have not, but will check it out! Is the neck profile along the lines of a P-bass though? I do see the 5 sting is 35" scale which is a plus, but only 21 frets, which is possibly doable. The neck is the breaking point for me, as even the new Laklands don't have the same profile as my 90s model.
Click to expand...

The neck profile is the same as current M5 and the TP5 is a 24Fret instrument.

What I find about 24 frets nice is that runs around the 15-18 fret area are easier on 24 fret then a 21z
 
  • Like
Reactions: spector_boogie
#4,019
TonyP- said:
The neck profile is the same as current M5 and the TP5 is a 24Fret instrument.

What I find about 24 frets nice is that runs around the 15-18 fret area are easier on 24 fret then a 21z
Click to expand...

Ah, I just saw the connection on their "Basses" page and your username lol. There isn't a hyperlink on the site for info on the instrument for some reason, like the stock models. Do you have the specs/info I could check out and compare to the others?
 
#4,020
spector_boogie said:
Thanks for the vote of confidence! As I mentioned, it really does check all my boxes for basses of this nature, which is why I'm so intrigued. FWIW, here is the bass I'm considering. Not sure if that's a reasonable price, as I know new they can get into the 7-8k range all day.

Mike Lull M5 Custom 2022 - AAAAA Quilt top | Reverb
Click to expand...

Yeah, that one has been on my watch list for a while LOL If I had the money, I would pull the trigger on this one.
 
  • Like
Reactions: spector_boogie

Latest posts

Top Bottom
Back