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The Pedulla Club!

#3,061
Thanks! It was a dream bass for me for over a decade. I’ve only had it since March and 99% of the time I choose it over my fretted basses. As far as playin it in a worship setting, I’d like to use a quote I read from @Brad Johnson, “It’s not hard. The notes don’t move”. The lines sure helped me early on and I still look quite a bit but I’ve been forcing myself to close my eyes and really listen. I actually find it easier to play in a worship setting vs the rock and country gigs I normally play. Regardless of what music I play, it just sounds “right”.
 
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#3,062


Pedullist said:
True! Sounds sweet, Wayne. :) I always wondered about how a Thunderbuzz would sound, so thanks for the insight. :)
Click to expand...

The Thunderbass’s tone is actually pretty versatile. I opted for a “medium mwah” sound for that recording. You can get a more aggressive “mwah” by panning fully to the bridge pickup, more like we’re used to hearing with the standard Buzz (albeit with a different tone).

Here’s another recording with the Thunderbuzz. For this one I wanted to do some silky-smooth slides with a “regular” bass sound instead of a fretless “mwah” sound. As you can see, it hardly sounds like a fretless at all until I get to the really high notes.





Regards,
Wayne A. Pflughaupt

Pedulla Club #45 Unique Arrangements of Hymns, P&W Standards, and Original Tunes
Administrator, Tobias Club #133
Administrator, Fretless Club #943
Big Cabs Club #23
My Basses
Pedulla Club #45
Tobias Club #133

 
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#3,063
Just noticed that my post...well, it didn't post. :P .... looked more like an extension to your quote. I'll try here again.

My other basses are 5s and 6s, 1 4s, but all are lighter, even the Lakeland 5595 with the longer range, more neck, more wood....and it's still less neck heavy than this Pentabuzz I picked up. I dunno....I still love to play it and have moved the neck button up off axis, like most modern luthiers are doing as a standard placement now, and it's helped a LOT.

Hey Wayne. Thanks for the response. My Pentabuzz, at about 11.5 pounds with the strap, is weighing in at 1 pound heavier than my Fender P (4-string 1984) and Lakeland 5594 (5-string 1997) and a solid 2 pounds heavier than my Ibanez 6 (not my most glorious bass but I'm not a big 6-shooter). So she just must be one of the heavier ones of the bunch, which happens. I've got a good ergo strap on there with the neck cut out slot, of course that adds some weight to it because it is full leather, but I have the same one on the Lakeland and it surprisingly balances and barks more than the Pedulla,....ironically the Pedulla is the one that I need more bark from.


WayneP said:
Curious, a search of the thread only got one other post where someone didn’t like the weight. Pedulla says the Buzz is between 9-10 lbs. (I assume the actual weight is determined by if it’s a 4, 5, or 6-string), which I think is fairly average. What are your other basses?

Hey Wayne. Thanks for the response. My Pentabuzz, at about 11.5 pounds with the strap, is weighing in at 1 pound heavier than my Fender P (4-string 1984) and Lakeland 5594 (5-string 1997) and a solid 2 pounds heavier than my Ibanez 6 (not my most glorious bass but I'm not a big 6-shooter). So she just must be one of the heavier ones of the bunch, which happens. I've got a good ergo strap on there with the neck cut out slot, of course that adds some weight to it because it is full leather, but I have the same one on the Lakeland and it surprisingly balances and barks more than the Pedulla,....ironically the Pedulla is the one that I need more bark from.

Pedulla Club #45 Unique Arrangements of Hymns, P&W Standards, and Original Tunes
Administrator, Tobias Club #133
Administrator, Fretless Club #943
Big Cabs Club #23
My Basses
Pedulla Club #45
Tobias Club #133
Click to expand...
 
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#3,064
Guys i switched my strings on my Thunder 5 to Pedulla Steels from many years of using DR HI Beams. I like them a lot! They are tapered and I think I heard they are actually LaBella Super Steps. Regardless what they are the Pedulla Light Gauge strings play nicely. They are tapered too. I still like the sound of Steels on the Ebony neckthrough. I keep DaDario Nickels on my MTD Ash Neck Maple board. Has anyone else on here compared DR's to the Pedulla's on their Thunderbass? Experiences?
 
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#3,065
When I was 15-20 I experimented a lot (with very mixed results). Then I played Ernie Balls Slinky's for 15 years. Never really liked them, but I didn't want to start experimenting again. But then I tried Pedulla strings...on my Pedulla's. Loved them! Stainless steels on the fretted, nickels on the Pentabuzz. Currently experimenting with tapewounds on the Pentabuzz. Really smooth. I just put on DR's on my Jazz. Works very nice. :)
 
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#3,066
Hey, all.

No reason for posting this other than I'm supremely happy with how my old Buzz sounds after swapping electronics.
It came with the old circa 1987 setup with Vol/Vol/Master Vol/Pickup select switch, and preamp bypass toggle and some active EMG's.

I put in a passive Lace Sensor P/J set and an Audere 4 band EQ.
I highly recommend it if you have a Pedulla without modern electronics.
It retains all the characteristics I know and appreciate, I get a huge bump in output, and I get to adjust the midrange frequencies I love so much.

I really, really like the proprietary Bartolini setup, and would never swap that out, but these old setups are weird (to me) and I wanted some more tone control.
 
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#3,067
On the subject of the electronics, my Pentabuzz has three knobs: balance, volume and tone control.

It's a bit of an odd setup as the tone control seems to boost bass and treble output for a scooped sound. I also find that the neck pickup is rather louder than the bridge pickup, which isn't such an issue since I never use it!

I haven't had the back plate off to look inside yet. Are there trim pots to adjust the sound for the tone control or is the boost it provides fixed from the factory? I just leave the tone control set in the middle detent as it is.

I'm not much one for fiddling with on-board controls though I prefer passive with tone control or mid boost, if I'm to have anything!
 
#3,068
@India_Sierra im not sure on the trim pots on the older model electronics. If there even are adjustables inside the cavity. I know you can purchase the new setup from Mike. Pickups, electronics, pots, knobs... the whole bit. On my year old Penta, it has 3 trimpots. One if for overall volume, and the other 2 are for the mid boost or cut frequencies. I experimented a bit with them and found my happy place. Boost stayed at the same point. Cut, I had it a little less scooped than factory set.
 
#3,069
Thanks for the reply. I took the back plate off this evening and this is what I found...

ielNg0F.jpg


The preamp box says Bartolini TC4. Nothing adjustable, as far as I can see.

aEyA7xs.jpg


My daughter loves this bass though! I think I got the best tones out of it that I have ever had whilst playing tonight. I kept the tone control flat, rolled the volume off slightly and boosted the high mids on my Markbass Jeff Berlin CMD151P combo - it was just magic. I've never heard it sound better. That's the dream fretless tone!
 
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#3,071
Life of Brian said:
Guys i switched my strings on my Thunder 5 to Pedulla Steels from many years of using DR HI Beams. I like them a lot! They are tapered and I think I heard they are actually LaBella Super Steps. Regardless what they are the Pedulla Light Gauge strings play nicely. They are tapered too. I still like the sound of Steels on the Ebony neckthrough. I keep DaDario Nickels on my MTD Ash Neck Maple board. Has anyone else on here compared DR's to the Pedulla's on their Thunderbass? Experiences?
Click to expand...

When I had my Thunderbasses my favorite strings were Pedulla and DR highbeams. I like them both a lot... Can't really say which I like better. Try them both. I like the tapered ends of the Pedulla.
 
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#3,072

Nice score, Scuba!

India Sierra,

Aside from electronics-cavity pots, another way to reduce the perceived volume of the pickup is to lower it – i.e., get it further from the strings. It can be accomplished with the three screws. How much it can be lowered, if at all, will depend on the depth of the pickup cavity thickness of the pickup itself.

Regards,
Wayne A. Pflughaupt

Pedulla Club #45 Unique Arrangements of Hymns, P&W Standards, and Original Tunes
Administrator, Tobias Club #133
Administrator, Fretless Club #943
Big Cabs Club #23
My Basses
Pedulla Club #45
Tobias Club #133

 
#3,073
Hey guys...I've got a Pedulla Rapture V. It's stock other than the Bartolini preamp I had to replace. It's currently sporting a replacement Bartolini hr-4-5ap918-2/. This adds the passive push pull and adjustable gain pot (internal). It made no difference in tone that I could tell but it brought the output WAY up from where it was....but the basic tone was the same. That being said, I discovered that I don't really dig the stock Barts. They seem very dark to me and don't have enough treble response for my tastes. I also have a DeArmond Pilot V that I play, and I swapped the horrible pickups in it with some Bart J (bright tone) pickups. The bass sounds wonderful now (I replaced the pre too). Course that's a different animal altogether. However, the DeArmond sounds on detents what the Pedulla sounds like with the EQ wide open. Just not enough treble (or really bass)_. What do you guys think about those in a Rapture? I don't want to throw needless money at it either if it's not going to be a significant upgrade. As said, I know what they sound like in the DeArmond....any of you guys got experience with other Barts etc in the Pedulla Rapture. It's a 5 string J setup by the way and it is a 2005 model.

http://www.musiciansfriend.com/acce...5-string-bass-pickup-set?rNtt=59CBJD_&index=8

The bass has brand new strings on it too by the way. That's not the problem. I'm pretty disappointed in how the bass sounds. It plays wonderfully though.
 
#3,074
Hey Pedulla-holics!

I just want to share a song with you guys. I recorded bass with my 1994 Pedulla Thunderbolt and produced the rest using Ableton Live 9, Waves plugins, and EZ Drummer 2.

I've basically been without collaborators for the last year and decided that its no excuse to give up! I hope you enjoy!

CHEERS and Happy New Year!

Invalid Link Removed
 
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#3,075
jimmykicker said:
Hey guys...I've got a Pedulla Rapture V. It's stock other than the Bartolini preamp I had to replace. It's currently sporting a replacement Bartolini hr-4-5ap918-2/. This adds the passive push pull and adjustable gain pot (internal). It made no difference in tone that I could tell but it brought the output WAY up from where it was....but the basic tone was the same. That being said, I discovered that I don't really dig the stock Barts. They seem very dark to me and don't have enough treble response for my tastes. I also have a DeArmond Pilot V that I play, and I swapped the horrible pickups in it with some Bart J (bright tone) pickups. The bass sounds wonderful now (I replaced the pre too). Course that's a different animal altogether. However, the DeArmond sounds on detents what the Pedulla sounds like with the EQ wide open. Just not enough treble (or really bass)_. What do you guys think about those in a Rapture? I don't want to throw needless money at it either if it's not going to be a significant upgrade. As said, I know what they sound like in the DeArmond....any of you guys got experience with other Barts etc in the Pedulla Rapture. It's a 5 string J setup by the way and it is a 2005 model.

http://www.musiciansfriend.com/acce...5-string-bass-pickup-set?rNtt=59CBJD_&index=8

The bass has brand new strings on it too by the way. That's not the problem. I'm pretty disappointed in how the bass sounds. It plays wonderfully though.
Click to expand...
I replaced the stock Bartolinis in mine with those Bright Bartolinis... best move I ever made. I love the brighter, more open tone.
 
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#3,076
bgartist said:
I replaced the stock Bartolinis in mine with those Bright Bartolinis... best move I ever made. I love the brighter, more open time.
Click to expand...
Which bass and pickups? Bartolini CB?

I replaced the Bartolini C humbucker in my Rapture 5 with a Q-tuner BL-5, which is much more open sounding. The original Bart has a nice warm midrange voice which sits well in a mix, IMO. Was just lacking in clarity for my taste.
 

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