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NBD Mike Lull PJ4


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I've been having a few shoulder problems since the start of the year, after exactly 30 years of playing bass, and realised i finally needed a lighter instrument.

Bit sad to see my two great, but heavy (for me) Fenders go as part of the deal to get this, but i couldn't afford it otherwise.

So having gone to Bass Direct for the afternoon and trying out more or less everything lightweight there, i came away with a Mike Lull PJ4, in baby blue semi transparent over a lightweight swamp ash body, rosewood board, Lindy Fralin P/J set etc.

Wow what can i say?

I'd done a bit of homework on these beforehand, and while my Fenders probably beat it in terms of sheer massive thud, the Lull is so articulate, well balanced and ergonomically fantastic, that it was hard to say no. The Fralins sound lovely too.

I keep picking it up for a noodle and being surprised all over again by how light and just playable it is. Can't wait to gig it.

I've still got my very old Fender and an Epi Jack Casady, which are both under 3.8kg, but this one weighs in at just 3.5kg. That's more or less the same weight as my Strat and lighter than my Bernie Marsden PRS. Insane.

My phone has decided to pack up so i can't email any pics to attach, but here it is from the Bass Direct website.

http://www.bassdirect.co.uk/bass_guitar_specialists/Mike_Lull_PJ4_Baby_Blue_Burst.html

I do hope it turns out to be a keeper. I've only had it two days so not had a chance to gig yet, and my month old baby is keeping me from even cranking it up at the mo, but if it turns out to be as good as I hope then my shoulders will thank me for it, even if my wallet doesn't...

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Here you go - as ever they seem to be at strange angles but hey, you get the idea.

My missus said; "Ooh i love the colour" but to be honest i wasn't sure, tho its growing on me now.

Its kind of bluey or greeny depending on the light, with the woodgrain visible beneath it. Sort of somewhere close to Fender 50s sea foam green colour, but a tad more bluish.

Can't wait to get home and have another play of it!

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When you find a really good Lull they are excellent basses :)

I have a gold flake one (originally custom ordered for Adam Clayton) that's still my favourite P bass after a couple of years of ownership - I'm really not a P bass person so it takes a lot to make me hold on to them!

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Thanks for the kind words folks. Yes I reckon some flats might be just the thing - already got them on my other two remaining basses.

Was due to gig the Lull last night but the gig turned into a strange quasi-acoustic hodge podge affair down the local boozer, so I ended up mashing away on my Jack Casady Epi instead, which fitted in better.

Really looking forward to getting some miles on the clock with the Lull tho. It's still a bit new and stiff compared to basses which I've played week in week out for years. Only one way to get thru that...!

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I love the flats I've got - Labellas on my old precision, and TIs on my Jack Casady.

What flats are we using for a Lull?

I must say I generally prefer the feel of the Labellas, but both them and the TIs sound lovely,

The Lull is more modern sounding than my Fender so maybe flats will take that sound back a bit. Hmm.

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  • 2 weeks later...

Got round to finally gigging the Lull this weekend, in two very different gigs.

First was a loud, sweaty pub rock covers gig, the second a gentler, stripped back alt trio in a Victorian former church hall cum music venue. Both using a Littlemark head into a Schroeder 1210.

Pleasantly surprised by how lively and touch sensitive it was - no fighting for notes, and very even response across the whole neck. Tone control actually very usable too; set to half for a good standard fingerstyle sound, turned up full gave a really sparkling aggressive tone and the clearest slap sound I've ever had. The lows are tight and punchy rather than the really huge thud I'm used to from precisions, but with a bit of EQing and the LM3's VLE and VPF dials on about 9 o clock smoothed it and filled things out beautifully.

I must say it such a pleasure to play a gig with a bass weighing so little. I was sweating from the effort, rather than from the ordeal of singing and playing for two hours with a dead heavy bass round my neck.

It's got rounds at the moment which it had when I bought it, but I may well venture towards flats as both my other basses already have on, and I really love that sound and feel.

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You won't regret trying flats on a Lull - those pickups really respond well to them.

I have GHS on my 5-string and TI on the 4-string. Those two sets are so wildly different in performance and feel that I try to avoid moving straight from one to the other.

The GHS are firm, will take any amount of digging in, and work well playing a rock gig in a decent pub.

The TI are [i][b]very [/b][/i]compliant, soft under the fingers, and respond well to a very light touch.

Disclaimer: I don't slap, tap or sweep. I just play bass. YMMV.

;)

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The neck is lovely - its got a beautiful smooth satin finish that's almost too smooth to feel, if you know what I mean!

The fretboard is pretty flat - might be 12" radius or thereabouts - and the frets feel slightly smaller than medium jumbos, but larger than vintage frets. The rosewood board is a slab rather than a veneer, with an overhanging fretboard to accommodate the last few frets.

Its a very very comfortable neck in hand - i did two gigs with the Lull on the weekend, and I didn't have to fight for any notes or fluff them with my left hand - everything felt very easy to play on it. In fairness the really good balance of the whole instrument contributed too, as I'm not having to hold up the neck while playing it.

Really good bass.

I was going to put my old precision bass tort scratch plate on it (the holes line up perfectly, apart from needing a longer truss rod access rout) to make it look a bit more vintage, but i'm really warming to its original looks now. Looks quite 50s onstage under lights etc.

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  • 4 weeks later...

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