Looking down from the headstock to the bridge, counter-clockwise will reduce the the action. A little goes a long way in his designs.
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Looking down from the headstock to the bridge, counter-clockwise will reduce the the action. A little goes a long way in his designs.
Careful.
The result is the opposite of what you might expect from the traditional adjustment.
RR: Right raises the strings
LL: Left lowers the strings
Yes, I know technically it adjusts the neck, not the strings, but that's a convenient formula.
As Mamoru said, it dosen't take much.
I should have been clearer -- when I wrote "customer support" I meant basic things that don't require his/his family's time or energy such as the pages of the website that describe how to adjust the reverse truss rod, serial number/year chart and color descriptions for starters. (The serial number webpage is gone, btw).
It's very curious... here is a guy who clearly cared about the basses he built. He retires and does not leave so much as a webpage to support the future of all he built?! There's a story there. Yes, he has right to do as he pleases; Yes, health may be a factor -- Life happens. But how difficult is it to leave a web-based reference? How difficult to call on an experienced luthier he's already met/heard of and leave shorthand maintenance tips? (Not looking for a debate, just would like to understand.)
A copy of the Pedulla owner's manual is available here
Table Of Contents - Pedulla MVP Owner's Manual [Page 2]
You may have to register to download it, but you can read it on line.
It's probably on the Internet Archive as well, I haven't checked.
Table Of Contents - Pedulla MVP Owner's Manual [Page 2]
You may have to register to download it, but you can read it on line.
It's probably on the Internet Archive as well, I haven't checked.
I have a hard copy of a manual if anyone wants a copy scanned and uploaded.
As mentioned, sites like the internet archive or wayback machine can pull info from old Pedulla site captures.
Here's the serial number list for reference:
As mentioned, sites like the internet archive or wayback machine can pull info from old Pedulla site captures.
Here's the serial number list for reference:
Just send a mail to Bartolini, they are able to advise you. I already did it for my MVP6, but my bass hasn't come back from repair yet because of Covid 19. See this: M. V. Pedulla Guitars - Bartolini Pickups & Electronics. You need to send a pic of the serial on the back of the headstock. It's one of those peculiar things in Michael's character. He wants to keep the legacy and quality intact, but he stepped out of it a bit abruptly. I agree with that.
I remember Christine posting on their Facebook page saying they had had some real issues with it. I think the page was deactivated by Facebook a couple of times over some wrangling about the business status of the page, such that Christine could not reliably access it to deal with customer enquiries there. If that were the case, then I can understand them ditching the Facebook page when they closed shop.
On the other hand, I support the option for a time-served one man band business owner to just say that 'that's it' and retire on any given day, but the continuity arrangements for Pedulla now are a disaster. We are lucky that they are not complex basses and that the owner community is strong, as that helps us spread the knowledge and keep these basses going. Can you imagine any other cornerstone of the industry, and by that I mean other luthiers I hold in the same regard as Mike Pedulla such as the Wickershams, Fodera, Ken Smith etc, just closing shop one day and leaving nothing in place for their customers?
On the other hand, I support the option for a time-served one man band business owner to just say that 'that's it' and retire on any given day, but the continuity arrangements for Pedulla now are a disaster. We are lucky that they are not complex basses and that the owner community is strong, as that helps us spread the knowledge and keep these basses going. Can you imagine any other cornerstone of the industry, and by that I mean other luthiers I hold in the same regard as Mike Pedulla such as the Wickershams, Fodera, Ken Smith etc, just closing shop one day and leaving nothing in place for their customers?
I’m actually not having any issues at the moment the bass is great. Just looking ahead.
Bartolini is very, very helpful.
I was fussing with an old Burbank era Tobias, and I received three wiring diagrams, as well as suggestions on how to combine them to complete the customized setup from the early 90's.
I think they'd likely have better records of Pedulla stuff since it was still being made as of a couple years ago.
hey fellow pedulla owners!
I have a 1994 Thunderbuzz 6 string with a zebrawood top - pictured here sandwiched between the butt of a dingwall and alembic:
Beautiful bass (nicest looking bass i own) and pretty much perfect condition.
I'm at a loss as to what to do however.
Because the neck (& body) has a natural finish it has this great woody organic sound that is great - and very easy to get a upright sound out of it. However a few years ago I bought a NS NXT5a upright bass that nails that sound better (esp since you actually have to play it like a upright), and since I bought that I haven't been playing the pedulla as much, if at all.
So I either want to sell it or make a bunch of mods to it, including:
- new preamp - the thunder preamp is really hot, and the eq switch does nothing for me.
- maybe new pickups depending on how swapping the preamp goes
- put an epoxy layer on the fretboard so it gets more mwah.
- I have flatwounds on it now, would prolly go to nickel wounds.
But I fear that making all the mods on it would ruin the integrity of the bass - Pedulla designed and built it to be a certain thing, and I would be changing the thing that it is. It would also kill its resale value, but if i get something I love out of it I dont really care about that as much.
What I'm looking for is a fretless that has a more modern mwah-ey sound and not as much wood in the tone. that might be a Pedulla MVP or might be something else completely. Having something with a 35" scale would be nice as well.
Another point - when I bought it it cost $2600, the last time I saw it on Pedulla's web site it was >$5k. There is no way in hell I can justify buying a $5k bass, so I wouldn't be able to get anything this nice (the maple on the back is amazing, and zebrawood is really unique).
anyway thx for any thoughts on what I should do (I'm not doing this fishing for a sale either, I'm not going to make up my mind for a while)
-ts
I have a 1994 Thunderbuzz 6 string with a zebrawood top - pictured here sandwiched between the butt of a dingwall and alembic:
Beautiful bass (nicest looking bass i own) and pretty much perfect condition.
I'm at a loss as to what to do however.
Because the neck (& body) has a natural finish it has this great woody organic sound that is great - and very easy to get a upright sound out of it. However a few years ago I bought a NS NXT5a upright bass that nails that sound better (esp since you actually have to play it like a upright), and since I bought that I haven't been playing the pedulla as much, if at all.
So I either want to sell it or make a bunch of mods to it, including:
- new preamp - the thunder preamp is really hot, and the eq switch does nothing for me.
- maybe new pickups depending on how swapping the preamp goes
- put an epoxy layer on the fretboard so it gets more mwah.
- I have flatwounds on it now, would prolly go to nickel wounds.
But I fear that making all the mods on it would ruin the integrity of the bass - Pedulla designed and built it to be a certain thing, and I would be changing the thing that it is. It would also kill its resale value, but if i get something I love out of it I dont really care about that as much.
What I'm looking for is a fretless that has a more modern mwah-ey sound and not as much wood in the tone. that might be a Pedulla MVP or might be something else completely. Having something with a 35" scale would be nice as well.
Another point - when I bought it it cost $2600, the last time I saw it on Pedulla's web site it was >$5k. There is no way in hell I can justify buying a $5k bass, so I wouldn't be able to get anything this nice (the maple on the back is amazing, and zebrawood is really unique).
anyway thx for any thoughts on what I should do (I'm not doing this fishing for a sale either, I'm not going to make up my mind for a while)
-ts
I have a fretted birdseye maple ThunderBolt 6 That im in the same Boat with sound wise. It plays like a dream and it’s tight with the 17.5mm pacing but it has the old 3 knob thunder switch layout and it has a kinda nasally P bass sound that’s not real adjustable tone wise.
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Unrelated but I have the 5 string twin of that bass. Looks beautiful as a 6.
@thumbslapper, do this first: put nickels on it for more bite or La Bella white copper wounds for a more double bass kind of sound, adjust the neck so it's almost straight (the key to more mwah), open the compartment and look for for miniature pots: if you're lucky you can adjust both the output level as the frequency centre of the mid switch. My 90's Pedulla's don't have it, but the newer ones do. Epoxy doesn't give you more mwah (I know because I've had both types of Pedulla's). It only removes some of the bite.
if anyone here has swapped out the active preamp and thunder switch what did they switch to? I've put in a Glockenklang preamp in my dingwall AB1 and that worked great, but not sure if that would work on a fretless pedulla...
the preamp in the thunder* is really hot - i've always had to dial back the volume knob a couple notches.
@Pedullist - great suggestions, i may go back to nickels again (I put on flats so i wouldn't have to change them and to tame the high C string - it was always a little twangy). but interesting about the epoxy/hard coating on the necks, i always thought that it would lead to a more mwah-ey sound (its been a long time since i've played one tho). I would think at least would get less of a woody sound with it. I'll look in the compartment as well but i dont remember seeing changeable pots inside - mine is a '94... thx!
-ts
the preamp in the thunder* is really hot - i've always had to dial back the volume knob a couple notches.
@Pedullist - great suggestions, i may go back to nickels again (I put on flats so i wouldn't have to change them and to tame the high C string - it was always a little twangy). but interesting about the epoxy/hard coating on the necks, i always thought that it would lead to a more mwah-ey sound (its been a long time since i've played one tho). I would think at least would get less of a woody sound with it. I'll look in the compartment as well but i dont remember seeing changeable pots inside - mine is a '94... thx!
-ts
