Thanks man. I will eventually need to have the fingerboard redone done at some point as we all will. It would be good for everyone to start compiling a list of reliable luthiers Who can do this kind of work. There’s a lot more to it than slapping on a coat of epoxy.
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I can vouch for Mark Florio; he did a refinish on my Buzz fretboard and did a terrific job. I will recommend him to anyone who needs to have work done on their Pedulla instrument.
Pedulla Luthiers
I'm starting a list. Please feel free to add to or comment. If you have somebody who did good work on your bass please share.
“Pat Wilkins (in CA) does a fantastic job on fingerboards.”,Mking
“John Mauradian, Mouradian Guitar Co. here in the Boston area worked on my bass for me. ...Mouradian Guitar is a three generation guitar builder/ repair co. Ive heard great things about them and I can see why. Great service Great people.”, bmoriarty
“I didn't see a response to this, but I was browsing the thread and found a good word for this guy in CT, didn't work for Michael but does do a poly refin:
Florio Guitars – Custom Guitar Works in New England” bargeOn
I'm starting a list. Please feel free to add to or comment. If you have somebody who did good work on your bass please share.
“Pat Wilkins (in CA) does a fantastic job on fingerboards.”,Mking
“John Mauradian, Mouradian Guitar Co. here in the Boston area worked on my bass for me. ...Mouradian Guitar is a three generation guitar builder/ repair co. Ive heard great things about them and I can see why. Great service Great people.”, bmoriarty
“I didn't see a response to this, but I was browsing the thread and found a good word for this guy in CT, didn't work for Michael but does do a poly refin:
Florio Guitars – Custom Guitar Works in New England” bargeOn
Hello all. I finally registered my account here. I am the proud owner of a Series II #157 that I bought new in the late 80's or 1990 from a Pedulla salesman that I met on the Staten Island Ferry. She is my number 1. I have a question for you guys if you wouldn't mind. I am going thru some medical issues and have decided to learn fretless during the treatment. I'm looking for an coated ebony fretboard fretless 4 or 5 string. Doesn't have to be a Pedulla but I really love their instruments. I have a lead on a 5 string Rapture J/J. Price is $2,900 though. I know that the prices went up since Mr. Pedulla retired, but isn't that a bit high for a Rapture even approaching Buzz range if I added a few hundred. Any thoughts would be appreciated. Thanks in advance
Hi Rob, I’m sorry you’re having medical issues. I’m not really sure about prices at the moment as I’ve been out of the market for a fretless for a long time. However, in regards to learning fretless, John Patitucci has a fantastic course on artistworks.com and I found his techniques on upright bass to be a tremendous help with fretless bass. John is no longer teaching on the website, that is participating in video exchanges with students, but the whole curriculum is still available online.
I hope your treatment goes well and that you recover quickly.
BM
I hope your treatment goes well and that you recover quickly.
BM
Seeking some advice re a potential p/u change in my Rapture Single Soap bar bass. The bass has the original electronics in it, Bart Soap bar and two band pre with mid cut switch.
My goal is to get the bass to "open up" more than it can with the Bart currently in it. Now, I am basing my thoughts re a change, based on a change I made to my Moon Jazz, swapping out the Bart Jazz p/u's and installing Sadowsky Single coils. That change completely changed the sound of that bass, so I may be wrong, but that is what I am hoping for for my Rapture.
I have reached out to the folks at Nordy, but I am left somewhat more confused than before I connected. I have been considering the Nordy Big Single and am hoping to solicit advice re the following...
-will it fit? Nordy guys aren't sure...
-will it work well with the Bart pre in the bass
-any other suggestions other than the Nordy that will fit without removing any wood. I have been gravitating to single coil p/u's as I seem to prefer that sound.
Many thanks in advance for your consideration Pedulla friends!
Fishheadjoe
My goal is to get the bass to "open up" more than it can with the Bart currently in it. Now, I am basing my thoughts re a change, based on a change I made to my Moon Jazz, swapping out the Bart Jazz p/u's and installing Sadowsky Single coils. That change completely changed the sound of that bass, so I may be wrong, but that is what I am hoping for for my Rapture.
I have reached out to the folks at Nordy, but I am left somewhat more confused than before I connected. I have been considering the Nordy Big Single and am hoping to solicit advice re the following...
-will it fit? Nordy guys aren't sure...
-will it work well with the Bart pre in the bass
-any other suggestions other than the Nordy that will fit without removing any wood. I have been gravitating to single coil p/u's as I seem to prefer that sound.
Many thanks in advance for your consideration Pedulla friends!
Fishheadjoe
I'd say the easiest option would be swapping the pickup for the same size Bartolini Classic Bass soapbar. It made a huge difference in my Pedulla Thunderbolt, which uses the same Pedulla OEM pickups.
I have seen a couple, not played though.....I take that back, played an orange MVP5 with a bunch of signatures on it with the typical old peeling, flaking finish on the back of it at a GC up in West Palm Beach. It played really nicely and sounded great, not as warm as my PJ PentaBuzz. It was a little more bark and not as fat. Played it through a MarkBass 101 combo though, if I remember. Like I said, Flakey finish and a $2500 tag on it and I should have bought it but didn't because I really stole my PentaBuzz for $1300 and my ThunderBolt 6 was $1200! So, to me it was pricey! Should have bought it, but would have really really really rather have had an MVP6. (STILL DO) Anything with 6 strings will have Soapbars on it. I also played a JJ Rapture quite a long time ago.It was really nice and was just like a Jazz on steroids and refined 300%!
Thanks for the suggestions folks, but I am really trying to move away from Barts if I can.
Thanks,
Fishheadjoe
Thanks,
Fishheadjoe
Aero Pickups makes some great "open-sounding" single-coil pickups. From what I can tell they often already have models that can serve as direct-drop-ins for lots of commercially available sizes, including various soapbars, and I believe they will make anything custom to fit. I will warn though that it pays to be very careful in confirming measurements and going over all possible issues, as I did get one set from them that we thought were a standard replacement size but the screw holes ended up not exactly match the locations on my bass. The first set I bought from them was perfect, however.
Edit: Just thought I should mention that I have not specifically tried Aeros in a Pedulla.
Sorry for being a pain....
I believe that I have these p/u's installed, hoping someone can confirm. I ask because I don't know if Pedulla used a proprietary Bart shell/coil size.
BD Soapbar
Thanks,
Fishheadjoe
I believe that I have these p/u's installed, hoping someone can confirm. I ask because I don't know if Pedulla used a proprietary Bart shell/coil size.
BD Soapbar
- 3.95" [100.3mm] Long,
1.41" [35.8mm] Wide,
0.68-0.78" [17.3-19.8mm] Thick + 0.15" [3.8mm] Cable - 2 holes on bass end and 1 on treble end for your #4 pan head screws
Thanks,
Fishheadjoe
Neat!
As it turns out, there was JJ for sale here a couple weeks ago and I missed it, but the guy had sense enough to pull it back. Rare as hen's teeth they are. Your impression fits with what I've heard. Also, Egan reviewed a 'Buzz with soap bars a couple yrs ago but the video went down when Michael closed up. It was fat, as you'd expect. Given a choice I think I'd go for the soaps. Fat chance.
Replaced the dark Bartolini humbucker in my RB-5 with a Q-tuner, which has higher output and is much more open in the highs. The treble response is more like a single coil, but without the hum. It works with the NTBT preamp, though loses a little sheen in the process. Also have an pull active/passive switch on the volume control which provides fully passive tone on demand.
Q-Tuner Review with Bartolini Comparison Samples
Original pickup is a Bartolini 66BD5C-T. The comparison samples are no longer available.
Yes, the Rapture's Bartolini 66BD5C-T is a proprietary Pedulla-only design, customized for the radius and string spacing of the Rapture. The shell is regular BD size, but the coil is proprietary. As such, I found that the string-to-string balance was off when I replaced it with a standard Bartolini 72BD5CX-T, though I was able to correct the imbalance with the adjustable pole pieces on the Q-tuner BL-5.
@12bass, thanks so much for your suggestions, I really appreciate you taking the time.
After some back and forth with Stew at Nordy, I have gone ahead and ordered their "Big Blade" p/u for my Rapture. Hoping that the string balance will be even with the blades. Should easily drop in place, leaving a few millimetres space inside the cavity.
@Turnaround will do the install when I receive the p/u.
Fishheadjoe
After some back and forth with Stew at Nordy, I have gone ahead and ordered their "Big Blade" p/u for my Rapture. Hoping that the string balance will be even with the blades. Should easily drop in place, leaving a few millimetres space inside the cavity.
@Turnaround will do the install when I receive the p/u.
Fishheadjoe
Hi!
Here is a little video with an audio clip of my Pentabuzz
Hope you will enjoy
Here is a little video with an audio clip of my Pentabuzz
Hope you will enjoy
Hello all, just wondering if anyone else is having the same "what now" crisis that I am struggling with.
My 2010 Thunderbass ET5 is still my favorite bass to play, but I had to replace the original preamp about 6 months ago, which led to replacing the original pickups as well (OBP 3 and DCB D1). I like the new sound, but I don't love it anymore the way I loved that original Pedulla sound. My bass has also become very buzzy in recent years. I had it PLEKed a few months ago, which confirmed for me that the neck is still straight and I had been doing a decent job with my setups and truss rod adjustments throughout the years. Maybe just due to the amount of use the frets have seen? Unfortunately my Kiesel is getting all of the compliments nowadays and my most beloved bass gets meh. It breaks my heart, but I am coming to the realization that I have to move on to something else as my daily driver. If Pedulla was still in business there is no question that I would have already ordered another Thunderbass and the used options out there are not doing it for me. What I have always loved most about my Pedulla is the neck profile and body shape/size. Just wondering if anyone else is having thoughts about what now and if they have found something similar in terms of playability.
My 2010 Thunderbass ET5 is still my favorite bass to play, but I had to replace the original preamp about 6 months ago, which led to replacing the original pickups as well (OBP 3 and DCB D1). I like the new sound, but I don't love it anymore the way I loved that original Pedulla sound. My bass has also become very buzzy in recent years. I had it PLEKed a few months ago, which confirmed for me that the neck is still straight and I had been doing a decent job with my setups and truss rod adjustments throughout the years. Maybe just due to the amount of use the frets have seen? Unfortunately my Kiesel is getting all of the compliments nowadays and my most beloved bass gets meh. It breaks my heart, but I am coming to the realization that I have to move on to something else as my daily driver. If Pedulla was still in business there is no question that I would have already ordered another Thunderbass and the used options out there are not doing it for me. What I have always loved most about my Pedulla is the neck profile and body shape/size. Just wondering if anyone else is having thoughts about what now and if they have found something similar in terms of playability.
