In my fifteen years as a musician I have owned a variety of different instruments. My primary instrument of choice has always been the bass guitar. As soon as I became confident in my own abilities, the quest for what would be my ideal instrument began. Through much trial and error (and an offensive amount of money spent) I was turned on to Pedulla Guitars by my bass teacher. At that point in time my search came to an abrupt end.
The exact model that I own is a 2001 Pedulla Rapture. This particular Rapture has a PJ pick-up configuration and birds eye maple fingerboard. Every time I pick it up, I notice how well balanced the instrument feels in my lap and while strapped on. Prior to owning my Pedulla, I was playing a Warwick Thumb Bolt On which was extremely bulky in its neck construction and headstock heavy. The Pedulla has such a thin neck construction with a wide face (.19mm string spacing). I am able to get an incredibly low action with the user friendly truss rod system and old school barrel bridge (careful not to lose the truss rod tool that Pedulla supplies, it is specific to his instruments). This makes for a very fast neck in addition to great tapping conditions.
Other structural features which I find useful and appealing are the medium body size and control layout. Unlike larger framed basses, I do not experience as much right arm fatigue while spending extended amounts of time playing. The smaller size of the body (in comparison to say, Lakland basses) just has a more comfortable fit to my 140 lb frame. The controls run along the bottom of the face on the body. This is awesome if the player wants to use a pick in addition to (or instead of) finger style. The last control in line lies about four inches away from the bottom of the bridge which is great if a player were to have an aggressive pick hand (you won’t have to worry about cutting or boosting your EQ while thrashing!).
The tone of this instrument is very versatile. The P gives you all the warm & fatness that could ever want, while if you need punch and crunch the J delivers the goods. If you prefer overdrive or distortion, this bass compliments those tonal options extremely well.
As far as durability, the Pedulla rapture is a tank considering its boutique vibe. This bass has been my main instrument for nine years and has been on at least six national U.S. tours. It has been covered in beer, crashed into drum sets, in and out of extreme weather (always in its case with time to acclimate), and played hard. Any work done to the bass has been minimal.
Pedulla advertise that “you’ve never played better”. This is an accurate statement based on my experience. The Pedulla Rapture is a quality instrument in every category. It plays, sounds and holds up like a dream come true. I highly recommend this instrument to anyone looking for a great sounding, sleek and durable bass guitar.
