Chris2112

Sounds like an utterly cack lineup of awful acts for the feckless masses. Typical Glasto then.

They can indeed, but I get the impression that Pedulla Guitars was a very personal thing to Michael. I don't think he has ever commented on the possibility of handing it over. I don't blame him for saying 'that's it's. Effectively, he has closed his shop having had the final say on every instrument to bear his name.

There was a period between the late 80's and early 2000's when he was running a team. Notably, he took a contract with guitar centre during this time which is how his basses made it to all corners of America. I believe the team was between 10-15 strong with individual luthiers working on separate processes. Michael continued to work in the shop but apparently felt that the management side of things had taken him away from the start-to-finish build process, so he cut production back to working on his own again. As far as I know, in the later years he worked entirely alone and his wife did all the admin work. He did very, very well to maintain such a close relationship with his instruments over the years and to have personally overseen each build. His works over the last few years have really seen him demonstrating the most absolute attention to detail and reaching for the most stunning pieces of wood in his store. No-one in the business can do a finish like Pedulla. His dedication to solid wings of figured maple is also commendable, there are so many Buzz and MVP's out there with stunning figured wings.

I think so. I know a few other builders around the same age have established continuity plans to keep the legacy going (Ken Smith handing over to Brubaker, Spector handing over to Korg etc). I don't think there is anything like that in place with Pedulla and I assume it's a case of Mike finishing out his booked in work and sailing off into the sunset. We will need to turn to our trusted local techs for work in future.

To those who may be interested to know, Michael Pedulla has announced his retirement after 45 years in the business of building bass guitars. An announcement was made today via the www.pedulla.com website. I speak for the bass community as a whole in saying that to have been regarded as Mike has, being one of the best luthiers in the world for such a period of time and with so many changes to the industry, is commendable. Personally, I hope he enjoys his well-earned retirement. I would like to extend my thanks personally to Mike and Christine Pedulla for all the hard work they've put in over the years and for bringing us such tremendous instruments. I first played a Pedulla bass at the age of 17 or 18, whilst working at the Marriott hotel in Gosforth. I've told this story many times but the upshot was that I decided there and then that I had to own a Pentabuzz at some point and I finally got there in 2017, a decade later. I have never played another fretless as good as this. Truly, bass nirvana for me.

I always thought he did a top job on the Van Halen records. Really rock solid playing.

I was never really a fan of the Buzzard shape but I will admit that it is a stunning piece of construction in full-graphite Status form with Roman numeral inlays and gold strings. The story of it's extinction is one I have taken a great deal of interest in as a former Status Graphite owner and longtime enthusiast. I understand that, following legal threats from Warwick, Rob Green was forced to destroy the moulds and the tooling cost alone would mean they will never be made again (never mind the legal trouble that could cause). I have sought information over the years that would lend more clarity to this account, but it seems relatively thin on the ground. I understand the subject is no longer up for discussion from Rob Green (and I do not blame him at all for laying this matter to rest). What I still want to know is: Is it correct that the Buzzard shape and name is now property of Warwick and if so, how did that come to be? When did Warwick first challenge Status over the production of the Buzzard? What was the nature of their complaint and the threat over non-compliance? What plans have Warwick, if any, for future production of Warwick Buzzards? Will Alembic still make a Buzzard shape if asked? How many Status Buzzards were made and where did they all end up? I would love answers to these questions. If anyone has any knowledge on this and would prefer not to post publicly then please PM me.

I suppose that I could sit all day and list great rhythm sections but I always thought that Jeff Berlin and Steve Smith were an absolutely killer combo. I know most listeners would think of Bill Bruford as being the obvious choice and it's fair to say that he and Jeff certainly kicked donkey together (just listen to the live concerts of Jeff, Bruford and Kazumi Watanabe). But I always felt that Steve Smith gave loads of of punch and power when he was locked in with Jeff. There was just something about the way that they could catch each other's accents and really nail the parts. I would also nominate Bunny Brunel and Dennis Chambers as another amazing rhythm section. Their work on the first two CAB records in the Chambers/MacAlpine/Brunel group was amazing. Dennis is rightly respected as the drummer's drummer. I believe there may be no finer drummer around today. Even Jeff Berlin spoke of the learning experience in playing with Dennis and what a challenge it can be to find the one with such a sensational drummer who can displace beats all day. On the CAB records, Bunny plays super silky lines that leave loads of space for Dennis to really let fly on his kit. The effect is sensational. I think CAB are surely one of the most underrated fusion groups around and are well worth a listen.

Probably George Michael. You just expect these larger-than-life talents to live forever.

What a terrible shame. He will be remembered by the tremendous music that he was such a big part of. My thoughts are with his friends and family.

An interesting bass indeed. I'll admit that I have never been keen on either Buzzard shape but I always found this slightly blobby-looking thing a bit unusual, because the body and the headstock are so entirely different. With regard to the string angles leaving the nut, I agree that straight would naturally seem to be the best but I've played and owned plenty of basses over the years that have had the strings diverge from nut to tuner without any issues in setup or tuning.

The wood selection definitely says 'Empathy' to me, they're usually adorned with really great topwood.

Exciting times! Which model did you go for?

My brother has an Attitide Ltd II that is just incredible. One of the most awesome rock and funk basses I've ever played. These basses all kick donkey.

That is very interesting Joe, and I shouldn't be surprised that Mr. Heß came up with such a process. I had always assumed those ones were finished by flicking the paint over the finished bass and then clear coating, but to add the colour to the mix before curing is a better solution indeed. I had often thought about sending my bass back down to Mansons in Exeter for a refinish in a flat, bright yellow, but I rather like blue paint and feel as though I should keep it in the fashion in which it was seen in Stuart Clayton's video. If anyone is interested in Bogart basses, please check out the Facebook owner's group started by Karl Clews. It has a number of owners onboard already and we hope that it could become a useful repository of experience and shared enjoyment of these basses. Indeed, I was reliant on the advice of another Bogart owner to successfully restring my headed five string, so clearly there is some benefit to sharing what we know.

@Joe Krus That is simply magnificent and the fact you've kept it so long is testament to your enjoyment of it. I absolutely adore that colour scheme. No matter how you finish a Bogart, they look great. I love these arty paint finishes though, they're really stylish and distinctive and I know that with those Barts, that bass will sound great! @itu I think regarding innovation, it feels like there is little left to be found or innovated with. Certainly the bass world is not in a good place with this at the moment. Even ten or fifteen years ago, when I first started reading Talkbass, the discussion was more interesting and people were excited about boutique basses and high tech instruments. Sadly, the pervasive interest in vintage tat has changed the tone of that forum and every other place where we can talk bass guitars. Now it's all 'which scratchplate to go with my muddy sounding P bass'. Frankly, we reached a peak of material development in the 80's and carbon fibre still hasn't been surpassed. Until race cars are made of something lighter and stronger, carbon fibre will continue to be the best neck material around (IMO). I like Bogart's Blackstone material though.

I'm not surprised to hear these getting good reviews, Basstheworld.de have made no secret of the fact that they like Cort basses and I think it's great that Cort are not only on the up, but these 'budget' level instruments are now very serious and worthwhile propositions. Between Cort and Sire, players shopping for £500 basses have some really great options. As mentioned earlier, Cort have long been a massive ghostbuilder for big brand names and over the past few years they've really started building their own reputation. I can remember playing an early second generation Artisan 6 string and being really impressed at what it offered for the price, and had kept my eye on Cort basses since then. The brand is also now getting the attention of some great players. Frank Gambale has a signature acoustic guitar with them that looks and sounds outrageous and Jeff Berlin is the leading light on the bass division. On the subject of the Cort Rithimic Jeff Berlin model, I have had one coming up two years now and I believe it's the best instrument I've ever owned or played. I regularly flip-flop between thinking which bass in my collection I like the most and that seems to change from day to day but the Rithimic is the one that I consistently come back to and it feels like home. The fittings are all top-spec, with the Babicz bridge being an absolute work of art and the matched topwoods being gorgeous to look at. Interestingly, it has a true, accurate recreation of the original pickups that Bill Bartolini wound for Jeff that ended up in the parts bass he was usually seen playing in the 80's. The original specification for those pickups had been thought lost and though Jeff had subsequently continued to use Bartolini pickups, they were not to that original specification. Fortuitously, the original diagram was recovered (IIRC from the back of a drawer, as it happens) and so the Cort Rithimic is fitted with 'Jeff Berlin signature' Barts. I absolute love the sound of these pickups though I rarely need to use anything other than just the bridge with the tone rolled off ever so slightly from open. There is something special in the midrange on these pickups that just makes them sing and punch through. Jeff used his Rithimic to record 'Joe Frazier Round 3' and I think it sounds tremendous.

I had one of the Zebrano topped Rebop DLX 4 models years ago, that I bought from Sound Control in Preston for £549 brand new. Yes, they were great value for money at the time and it was an exceptionally good bass in every respect. Amazing tone and so easy to play. Long since gone, but fondly remembered.

Jacp recorded it with a fretted bass. I don't think I've ever known him play the piece on a fretless bass.

He's 23. Basstheworld.de wished him a happy 17th birthday on Facebook in 2013.