The Mike Lull Club Part 4

[BlueTalon]

Question for the club. My first instrument that could be considered high(er) end consists of Warmoth neck & body, Schaller hardware, Fender Super 55 pickups, and Turnstyle electronics. Mike Lull assembled it, set it up, and PLEK'd it. When I went to pick it up, and test-played it, I could literally play faster than I ever could before, because that's how perfect it was.

Does it count as a Lull?

 

[warptheory]

Question for the club. My first instrument that could be considered high(er) end consists of Warmoth neck & body, Schaller hardware, Fender Super 55 pickups, and Turnstyle electronics. Mike Lull assembled it, set it up, and PLEK'd it. When I went to pick it up, and test-played it, I could literally play faster than I ever could before, because that's how perfect it was.

Does it count as a Lull?
View attachment 7147020

Tell me more. VVVT? but I see 5 knobs. Is there a preamp in there? How does the neck pickup sound?

Maybe not Lull by name, but sounds like it's a Lull by heart.

 

[NickyBass]

Tell me more. VVVT? but I see 5 knobs. Is there a preamp in there? How does the neck pickup sound?

Maybe not Lull by name, but sounds like it's a Lull by heart.

I think it's the Turnstyle system. The 4 knobs in line are stacked. Pretty interesting:

 

[NickyBass]

I've been noticing a lot of ash/rosewood combos on the Lull basses. I tend to not overthink what Leo Fender was doing with wood, assuming he used what was available. And I'm sure that if Lull is doing it, there must be a better reason than Leo had. Does anyone have any thoughts?

 

[kevk]

I've been noticing a lot of ash/rosewood combos on the Lull basses. I tend to not overthink what Leo Fender was doing with wood, assuming he used what was available. And I'm sure that if Lull is doing it, there must be a better reason than Leo had. Does anyone have any thoughts?

From my discussions with Spencer, he likes doing ebony fb's, but he'll (of course) build whatever is requested.

I prefer my (passive and active) Lull's to have alder body's, either solid or chambered. Putting aside Leo or "norms"—alder works best for my ear…
• alder/ebony
• alder/rosewood
• alder/roasted bem
• roasted alder/rosewood

 

[BGroovy]

From my discussions with Spencer, he likes doing ebony fb's, but he'll (of course) build whatever is requested.

I prefer my (passive and active) Lull's to have alder body's…just works for my ear best.
• alder/ebony
• alder/rosewood
• alder/roasted bem
• roasted alder/rosewood

I love Alder/Ebony. Spencer has it right there I think.

 

[NickyBass]

I just picked up a passive Jazz harness and plate for my J5. I don't know when I'll have time to do this properly, but at least I have the parts that I need. I decided to start with the passive option and do it myself. If I decide to go with an active pre, I would have to research more and maybe have a tech install it. Passive seemed to be the easiest place to start. I think I'll be very pleased with it.

 

[Jim C]

Upgraded my M4V with a set of EMG classics and a LHZ pre which is a clone of the classic Spector Haz pre. I love the look and feel of the bass but I couldn't stand the Bart pre that was in it. Now I'm happy again!

Does it sound similar to your NS2?
Thought that maybe neck through or body shape could make a difference.

 

[68Goldfish]

Does it sound similar to your NS2?
Thought that maybe neck through or body shape could make a difference.

I'm not going to say that it sounds exactly like my NS2's but it sounds way better and definitely more in the ballpark. I did upgrade to active EMG's along with the LHZ so it's bound to sound more like the NS2 than it did with the Duncan/bart setup. To me you can hear the NS2 is it's own animal even playing it completely unplugged. I guess it's the maple and the neck through construction. I've never been one to dime the Haz in any of my Spector's but I have been playing the jazz/LHZ that way and it sounds fantastic. Actually one of the best parts of the conversion to me is the active balance control. I like how the neck pickup isn't twice as loud than anything else when solo'd.

 

[NickyBass]

I also just picked up a set of Nordstrand Big J Blades. I might as well try new pickups while I'm at it.

 

[Smallmouth_Bass]

I've been noticing a lot of ash/rosewood combos on the Lull basses. I tend to not overthink what Leo Fender was doing with wood, assuming he used what was available. And I'm sure that if Lull is doing it, there must be a better reason than Leo had. Does anyone have any thoughts?

I ordered my Lull M5V (10 years ago now) with a chambered ash body and rosewood fingerboard. The only other Jazz I can compare it to is a Fender Road Worn Jazz bass. The Lull is bigger and fuller sounding (active Bart pre) and the Fender sounds more like what I expect a Jazz would sound like.

 

[NickyBass]

I ordered my Lull M5V (10 years ago now) with a chambered ash body and rosewood fingerboard. The only other Jazz I can compare it to is a Fender Road Worn Jazz bass. The Lull is bigger and fuller sounding (active Bart pre) and the Fender sounds more like what I expect a Jazz would sound like.

Thanks. I'm assuming that the Fender has an alder/rosewood combo?

 

[Smallmouth_Bass]

Thanks. I'm assuming that the Fender has an alder/rosewood combo?

Yes, that is correct. It is more growly, especially if you dig in. It's hard to say it's just the body wood, because it's not a direct comparison and there are other variables (pickups, hardware, even strings). The M5V is a 34" scale length one though.

 

[BlueTalon]

Tell me more. VVVT? but I see 5 knobs. Is there a preamp in there? How does the neck pickup sound?

Maybe not Lull by name, but sounds like it's a Lull by heart.

I think it's the Turnstyle system. The 4 knobs in line are stacked. Pretty interesting:

View attachment 7148097

Nicky nailed it. In fact, this was the exact diagram generated by Michael at Turnstyle for my bass. It was a proof of concept -- stacking that many tone controls was an experiment, aided by the fact that all of the tone controls are no-load, so when any particular tone control is full open, that pot takes itself out of the circuit. It works great, and it sounds wonderful. But the multiple tone controls is not something I'd do again. The added weight of the stacked knobs, for me, doesn't offset gain of tonal flexibility -- for my purposes, a single tone knob works well enough. Oh, and there's no preamp, it's all passive.

 

[NickyBass]

Yes, that is correct. It is more growly, especially if you dig in. It's hard to say it's just the body wood, because it's not a direct comparison and there are other variables (pickups, hardware, even strings). The M5V is a 34" scale length one though.

Thanks. I was asking because I see so many rosewood Lulls with ash bodies. I typically judge a bass by it's overall tone and not really by the woods. But, yeah, there are so many other factors involved. I thought maybe there was a back story about why they use that combo a lot. I spoke to Spencer about it briefly, but I was mostly looking for info on one particular bass.

 

[NickyBass]

Nicky nailed it. In fact, this was the exact diagram generated by Michael at Turnstyle for my bass. It was a proof of concept -- stacking that many tone controls was an experiment, aided by the fact that all of the tone controls are no-load, so when any particular tone control is full open, that pot takes itself out of the circuit. It works great, and it sounds wonderful. But the multiple tone controls is not something I'd do again. The added weight of the stacked knobs, for me, doesn't offset gain of tonal flexibility -- for my purposes, a single tone knob works well enough. Oh, and there's no preamp, it's all passive.

It's an intriguing setup. I had a jazz bass (2 pickups) with independent tone knobs. I'm in agreement about not needing to do it again. But, I did love trying new things.

 

[BlueTalon]

It's an intriguing setup. I had a jazz bass (2 pickups) with independent tone knobs. I'm in agreement about not needing to do it again. But, I did love trying new things.

Agreed. And it felt really cool to have an idea popping around in my head become a reality, with the help of someone who really knows what he's doing -- especially after being told several times by others that the idea wouldn't work or that it wasn't worth doing.

 

[TonyP-]

Hi Folks,
Im selling 35" scale alder/ebony PJ on the cheaper side.
Here it is

For sale Mike Lull PJ5

35” Alder/Ebony, Nordstrand Preamp

• TonyP- (+156 /0 /-0)
• Feb 17, 2025
• Views: 665
• Reaction score: 5
• Comments: 9
• Category: For Sale: Bass Guitars
• ebony mike lull bass mike lull pj5

$2,600.00

11 watching

 

[NickyBass]

Man, that is really tempting. I have another P bass with an ebony board and it feels great.

 

[NickyBass]

I also just picked up a set of Nordstrand Big J Blades. I might as well try new pickups while I'm at it.

So, it turns out that replacing pickups didn't take too long, but I kind of "cheated". I ended up with the Obsidian prewired plate since I wasn't sure where I'd end up with pickup choices, and the quick connect seemed to be a good way to change them back and forth. I now have my J5 wired up passive with the Nordstrand Big J Blades. I always liked the bass, but there was something that just wasn't right. I had a suspicion that the bridge pickup was damaged--the output was a bit weak and thin. The bass is a 2005 and, when I got it, it was very well played. There were no major issues, but it was definitely played hard and put away dirty. I spent some time cleaning it up and fixing a few minor bumps and bruises. So, it wouldn't have been out of the question that the bridge pickup was shot. I could compensate with the preamp and simply turning up the gain on my amp. But, it didn't really seem like it should be necessary. My first thought was to wire it passive and use the tone knob instead of the high eq on the preamp. But, I decided to go all in with it. I really don't know how I ended up on the Big J Blades. It's so out of my wheelhouse to not go with a traditional looking pickup. But, there are fewer choices with the pickup sizes in the Lull and I liked the tonal description--which, to be honest, I usually find to be marketing speak. But, I went with them, and it turned out that the description was pretty much spot on. And, it also turned out that I was right---something was up with the stock bridge pickup. This seems like a long story for a pickup change, and I guess the TLDR version is that the bass has come alive again and I'm really liking it. It's like having a new bass. I wouldn't expect much going from one set of pickups to another, but going from one semi-functioning set to a brand new set has made me smile.