Club Moollon

#3,821
Rumblefisher said:
Alright guys, I have to say, I'm really smitten with the idea of a Moollon bass. Right now, I'm the proud owner of some Alleva P basses, which are serving as my reference guide to what I might like on a Moollon. All in all, I don't think there are any wrong choices, just different ones. As I don't have the option of trying a Moollon beforehand, I am kindly asking to lean on your experiences to try and make a decision I'm most comfortable with.

Quick background...weekend warrior, can scratch out a bassline but technique is not the picture of perfection. I enjoy bass gear and it's really my only hobby, so it does mean something to me. I LOVE my 1.75" nut Alleva neck (1963 profile, thin but not a '62 blade). I've always felt "meh" about standard P bass necks, and J bass necks are fun but ultimately I keep returning to the 1.75.

Andi has been AWESOME about answering my 1000 questions, but even with the narrowed options I feel a little lost. I've never seen a Moollon in actuality so it's all theoretical to me.

What's decided so far:
P bass
Mac board

Where I'm stuck:

P vs J neck --> Leaning toward the P but again, not the biggest fan of "meaty" necks. Then again, J width is fun for a change of pace but not my #1 choice either. 1.75" nut is not an option, which I completely understand and respect. YJ is 1 human being making instruments with the utmost attention to detail...have to give the man a break with the options he can offer :D What do you guys think? I'm inclined just to stick with the P and not overthink it any more than I already have...

Finish --> completely subjective, I know. Is there maybe a signature color YJ is known for? Olinto has their "Carbonetti gold" theme, Alleva Coppolo's Olympic White is held in high regard...Is it Inca Silver for YJ? ALL of his finishes look pretty damn fantastic...kind of stuck between Inca Silver/Tort Guard, Sonic Blue/Parchment Guard, Fiesta Red/Tort Guard or maybe Vintage White/Tort Guard (my AC is Olympic White already though...). Kind of liking the idea of Inca Silver I think...

Relic? --> not even sure if this is an option anymore...leaning towards yes (if available) even though the finishes naturally relic anyway... if it already has dinks/donks then I don't feel badly when I inevitably put in a few myself!

Andi, if you see this post, again THANK YOU for your replies, I feel badly asking you even more questions so I'm roping some kinds souls from the TB community in ;)

Thanks in advance for your thoughts guys! Glad to be a member of the TB community :)
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Andi recently announced there is no more relic options available, so you can scratch that decision off your list! Don’t worry, it will relic itself. At no extra charge!

I also don’t like huge chunky necks, so I went with a j neck on my moollon P. It’s a unique profile, kind of a U shape. Hard to describe. I love it, though some may not.

My personal favorite colors of moollon instruments are the classic fender blues and oly white. Though I think he’s known for his sparkles other than classic pre-cbs colors
 
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#3,822
Rumblefisher said:
I'll ship mine out to you in like...5 years apparently :)


Thanks much! I actually haven't had Facebook since 2004...on purpose :D

I'm in Jersey a lot though, in-laws live in Bergen. Maybe I make the drive if you're free!
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Send me a message ahead of time. I’m near cherry hill. If I know anyone with a P4 is nearby I’ll try to snag one. You’ll be impressed with the P5 and 56’ though.
 
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#3,823
I picked up this used P5 from a dealer last year, but haven't been playing it much - it has a fair amount of fret buzz even with medium high action and the back of the neck is sticky with some finish scrapes and dings. Not a great player right now, but I can tell the tone and resonance are there so I'm going to take it to get plek'd.

Anyone have advice for the back of the neck? The scrapes are quite shallow, I'm trying to decide if I should get it sanded with an oil and wax finish applied or see if the finish can be spot filled and buffed perfectly smooth. An instrument of this caliber deserves some love.

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#3,825
Type-55 said:
Very curious how Moolon single coil jazz bass pickups sound compared to the many other options out there.
Any info is appreciated.
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I haven’t heard any in person, but own a Moollon P and have heard many Moollon jazz basses in online demo videos. I think it’s safe to say Moollon pickups (precision or jazz) will sound as close to vintage pre-CBS fender pickups as you can find.
 
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#3,827
Type-55 said:
Very curious how Moolon single coil jazz bass pickups sound compared to the many other options out there.
Any info is appreciated.
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Hey there - I have a pair of Moollon J's and also a spare set of pickups that i've placed in various J-style instruments over the years and can safely say after A/Bing all of the above with modern and vintage instruments that they get the 'vintage' jazz sound as well or better than any other modern option. I'd call them dark in tone overall, but not muddy. The low-mid presence is thick and the highs are present without ever sounding too bright or brittle. The fatness of the bridge pickup was what really sold me on both these basses and the pickups themselves. That said, an outboard preamp with some EQ and gain can modernize their sound easily if you find that you need to get that Marcus Miller vibe :)
 
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#3,828
yankeeblues said:
I picked up this used P5 from a dealer last year, but haven't been playing it much - it has a fair amount of fret buzz even with medium high action and the back of the neck is sticky with some finish scrapes and dings. Not a great player right now, but I can tell the tone and resonance are there so I'm going to take it to get plek'd.

Anyone have advice for the back of the neck? The scrapes are quite shallow, I'm trying to decide if I should get it sanded with an oil and wax finish applied or see if the finish can be spot filled and buffed perfectly smooth. An instrument of this caliber deserves some love.

View attachment 7024412View attachment 7024413
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Beautiful bass! To be honest, I think you should get at least the back of the neck refinished. I can't imagine this costing all that much compared to the price of that bass and it's going to give a like new. I'm not sure if you would have someone local, but even if you have to ship just the neck it shouldn't be too cost prohibitive.
 
#3,830
yankeeblues said:
Anyone have advice for the back of the neck? The scrapes are quite shallow, I'm trying to decide if I should get it sanded with an oil and wax finish applied or see if the finish can be spot filled and buffed perfectly smooth. An instrument of this caliber deserves some love.
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Nice bass, congrats! I would definitely fix up the neck, but do it however you like. Oil and wax is nice, but so is a glossy nitro finish. Seems a lot of people on talkbass prefer a satin, non-glossy feel. I happen to like both and not care. If you prefer one over the other go with that! Or if you don’t care, go with whatever’s cheaper or will be easier for you to maintain. Make it yours! (Just don’t change the pickups, tuners, hardware lol)

I’m curious to hear how the plek goes. I heard from one person that a lot of earlier moollon had fret issues that needed attention. I’ve owned mine for 6 years and now should probably get a fret level sometime soon. The high F-F# on the D string has a slight-but-noticeable fret buzz.
 
#3,833
SLO Surfer said:
Nice bass, congrats! I would definitely fix up the neck, but do it however you like. Oil and wax is nice, but so is a glossy nitro finish. Seems a lot of people on talkbass prefer a satin, non-glossy feel. I happen to like both and not care. If you prefer one over the other go with that! Or if you don’t care, go with whatever’s cheaper or will be easier for you to maintain. Make it yours! (Just don’t change the pickups, tuners, hardware lol)

I’m curious to hear how the plek goes. I heard from one person that a lot of earlier moollon had fret issues that needed attention. I’ve owned mine for 6 years and now should probably get a fret level sometime soon. The high F-F# on the D string has a slight-but-noticeable fret buzz.
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I acquired my old (2009) J classic earlier this year and the frets were in great shape but did have a bit of sprout around frets 8-10 on the D/G strings which isn’t terribly surprising for an instrument that has moved through a few climates in its life. Local luthier sorted it out easily. I know many modern builders run a touch of superglue or something similar into the ends of the fret slots after seating and before trimming the excess fret material but given the penchant for traditional methods I doubt that’s a part of the Moollon prescription (no complaints from me haha)
 
#3,834
I'm hoping someone can help steer me in the right direction. Ever since the TB update, I have trouble finding older posts and saved stuff.
I seem to remember a few years back, there was a nice writeup with all the neck specs and info on of the different models.
Nut widths, depths etc.

Can anyone help me locate that info?

Thanks in advance!
 
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#3,836
Ian Trusheim said:
I'm hoping someone can help steer me in the right direction. Ever since the TB update, I have trouble finding older posts and saved stuff.
I seem to remember a few years back, there was a nice writeup with all the neck specs and info on of the different models.
Nut widths, depths etc.

Can anyone help me locate that info?

Thanks in advance!
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What's up my man? I found these, maybe not exactly what you were referencing, but I hope they are helpful nevertheless:

Here's the last "big update": https://www.talkbass.com/threads/club-moollon.1030334/post-27166485

Previous big update from 2019: https://www.talkbass.com/threads/club-moollon.1030334/post-23374637

Some others mentioning necks and nuts:




 
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#3,839
Mayo Fan said:
This one has been on and off on Reverb for over 5 months now: https://reverb.com/item/82360954-moollon-j4-jazz-bass-red

I know shipping to the US might be a bit steep, but the price seems right from what I've seen. What's up with this to take so long to sell? Not that I've good the spare change to snag it up now, just curious...
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Over 4k for a 2019 J4 seems a bit steep. If it were $3500 max shipped would seem more in the market price.
 
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