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The Pedulla Club!

#3,324
Yes, that's a neck-thru. Pedulla never made a set neck model, and their first bolt-on model (I think it was called the "Series II" or something blandly generic like that) didn't come out until the middle-1980s.
 
#3,327
rhs1856 said:
If you schedule a fingerboard refin, Michael will refinish just the board ($395), which is cheaper than a complete refin ($795). He's worked on 3 Buzz basses for me: 1 fingerboard just needed a good buffing, 1 got just a fingerrboard refin, & 1 was completely refinished. All his work is top-notch. I'm debating a complete refin (+ pickups & electronics update) of the 2nd one above, 'cause the scratches on the body catch on my clothes...
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It's now $500 to refinish the fingerboard! @rhs1856: For your "good buffing"... were you charged the full price? $500 and shipping is a big expense for my level of use -- My board is not bad, but the previous owner did a lot of bending of the E string and left bad marks. Also, I can't be sure if the sound would be improved by a setup or a board refinish (could anyone recommend a good set-up person in the Berkeley, CA area? (not Gary Brawer. He's too far and too pricey). Thanks!
 
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#3,328
Because Pedulla doesn't do services overseas, I had my first Pentabuzz epoxied by a Dutch luthier and it turned out well. Maybe the attack wasn't as pronounced but it's a matter of taste whether you like that.

Still, if you don't hear anything it might not be a big problem. Just cosmetic.
 
#3,330
Gusdfunk said:
It's now $500 to refinish the fingerboard! @rhs1856: For your "good buffing"... were you charged the full price? $500 and shipping is a big expense for my level of use -- My board is not bad, but the previous owner did a lot of bending of the E string and left bad marks. Also, I can't be sure if the sound would be improved by a setup or a board refinish (could anyone recommend a good set-up person in the Berkeley, CA area? (not Gary Brawer. He's too far and too pricey). Thanks!
Click to expand...
Unless you're buying computers or other commodity goods, prices rise... I don't think Michael charged me anything at all for buffing the board, since he was doing other work + a setup. I did pull the trigger on the second PentaBuzz refinish/refurbish recently; my green/blue burst is now purple(!) & equipped with current pickups (p/j) and electronics (4-knob only - I'm not a fan of the Thunderguts circuit.) I figure the investment turns my 20+ y.o. basses into (virtual) new ones - the only hardware unchanged is the bridge & tuners.

Michael may choose to retire at any time, so I'm considering having him refurbish 1 more bass, a T-Bolt 5 in natural maple. Currently she's wearing a lot of retro / "nose-art" pin-up decals to help disguise the finish problems.
 
#3,331
rhs1856 said:
Unless you're buying computers or other commodity goods, prices rise... I don't think Michael charged me anything at all for buffing the board, since he was doing other work + a setup. I did pull the trigger on the second PentaBuzz refinish/refurbish recently; my green/blue burst is now purple(!) & equipped with current pickups (p/j) and electronics (4-knob only - I'm not a fan of the Thunderguts circuit.) I figure the investment turns my 20+ y.o. basses into (virtual) new ones - the only hardware unchanged is the bridge & tuners.

Michael may choose to retire at any time, so I'm considering having him refurbish 1 more bass, a T-Bolt 5 in natural maple. Currently she's wearing a lot of retro / "nose-art" pin-up decals to help disguise the finish problems.
Click to expand...
Sounds awesome! I don't fault MVP for raising prices at all -- it is just a lot of dough for my personal enjoyment and finances. I would hope he's secretly training someone to take over for him when it comes time. Maybe the smart thing for me to do is have him simply do an inspection and go from there. My Buzz is 1990 and the body finish is in excellent shape, so no need for a full refin. Congrats on the refins that you've done. I like that purple! That blue/green burst may be falling out of fashion; I think it was one of the more popular finishes recently.
 
#3,332
Gusdfunk said:
Sounds awesome! I don't fault MVP for raising prices at all -- it is just a lot of dough for my personal enjoyment and finances. I would hope he's secretly training someone to take over for him when it comes time. Maybe the smart thing for me to do is have him simply do an inspection and go from there. My Buzz is 1990 and the body finish is in excellent shape, so no need for a full refin. Congrats on the refins that you've done. I like that purple! That blue/green burst may be falling out of fashion; I think it was one of the more popular finishes recently.
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Hey! Would you mind posting some photos of your refins? Especially the headstock because the newer Buzzes have a single piece of veneer and the older ones have "skunk stripe" up the middle (though the color of the "stripe" matches the wings). I'm curious how it turns out/how Michael handles that. :-)
 
#3,333
Gusdfunk said:
Hey! Would you mind posting some photos of your refins? Especially the headstock because the newer Buzzes have a single piece of veneer and the older ones have "skunk stripe" up the middle (though the color of the "stripe" matches the wings). I'm curious how it turns out/how Michael handles that. :)
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Pics of the quilted maple (Aura Lea) refin are here: URL="The Pedulla Club!"] I'll post some of Mr B later this week.
 
#3,334
rhs1856 said:
Pics of the quilted maple (Aura Lea) refin are here: URL="The Pedulla Club!"] I'll post some of Mr B later this week.
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Here are some before-and-after photos of Mr B, my first 5-string bass, a '94 PentaBuzz purchased used 11 years ago. The Green-Blue Burst was the original hue. IMG_20181214_182300.jpg IMG_20181214_182716.jpg IMG_20181214_182348.jpg IMG_1541.JPG IMG_1547.JPG
 
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#3,335
I have had a Rapture J2 5 since the late 90s and have always had trouble with the volume of the bass. Because of that it has never been my go-to bass. Last year I finally got around to having the electronics checked out. Even though I bought the bass "new" from Guitar Center (back when they carried decent basses) apparently a real hack job had been done to the preamp. Maybe the store tried to "repair" something and made a mess of it.
I replaced it with a Aguilar pre. Now I'm thinking about upgrading, or rather fixing, the pickups as well. The bass is still pretty quiet, and I have to crank the highs all the way up to get any real bite out of it. I have contemplated this before, but there is a big problem that become immediately noticeable. The pickups are 4 string sized but supports 5 strings. Finding a replacement means finding a blade magnet so a string doesn't fall into a dead spot between the poles, and is still humbucking so I can solo a pickup without hum. This hasn't been easy.
Of course Pedulla says to get the replacement from them because they are custom made for Pedulla by Bartolini. At the cost of $300.

Can anyone offer me some advice on replacing the pickups in my Rapture J2 5?
 
#3,336
#3,337
socialleper said:
I have had a Rapture J2 5 since the late 90s and have always had trouble with the volume of the bass. Because of that it has never been my go-to bass. Last year I finally got around to having the electronics checked out. Even though I bought the bass "new" from Guitar Center (back when they carried decent basses) apparently a real hack job had been done to the preamp. Maybe the store tried to "repair" something and made a mess of it.
I replaced it with a Aguilar pre. Now I'm thinking about upgrading, or rather fixing, the pickups as well. The bass is still pretty quiet, and I have to crank the highs all the way up to get any real bite out of it. I have contemplated this before, but there is a big problem that become immediately noticeable. The pickups are 4 string sized but supports 5 strings. Finding a replacement means finding a blade magnet so a string doesn't fall into a dead spot between the poles, and is still humbucking so I can solo a pickup without hum. This hasn't been easy.
Of course Pedulla says to get the replacement from them because they are custom made for Pedulla by Bartolini. At the cost of $300.

Can anyone offer me some advice on replacing the pickups in my Rapture J2 5?
Click to expand...

I replaced mine with these Bartolini Bright Split coil J's and made a tremendous difference.
Bartolini 57CBJD L3/S3 5 String Jazz AS L/S Size Bright Tone Split Coil Set - Best Bass Gear
 
#3,338
Has anyone ever tried passive EMG pickups in a Pedulla bass? I used the Search function but only found references to active EMGs.

I have a Pedulla Series 2 with P/J Bart pickups and passive V/B/T controls. I am toying with the idea of dropping in a set of EMG GZR pickups and rewiring V/V/T for a more "vintage" sound. I'm wondering if the EMG's will install easily without any routing? Also, do Pedulla basses use standard-diameter pot shafts, that the EMG wiring harness would slide right in, or would I need special pots?

(For those unfamiliar, the EMG GZR's were developed in collaboration with Geezer Butler to mimic a 70s Fender tone. They get rave reviews and are very different from what most people think of as EMG sound.)
 

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