High-Fives
Pedulla Rapture J2000
Bass Guitar magazine

By J.D.Considine

HIGH-END basses are objects of lust—eye-catchingly beautiful instruments with the sort of exotic woods and gorgeous detailing usually found only in ultra-pricey guitars. Typical of the bourgeois breed are Pedulla's Rapture J2000 and Specter's Euro5. Both are top-end five-string basses that would make any player drool, yet each boasts a very distinctive look and sound.

PEDULLA RAPTURE J2000
As with its four-string predecessor, the Rapture J2, the five-string J2000 is intended
for those who like the growl and punch of a Fender Jazz bass. But to be honest, the J2000 is to a J-Bass what a Ford Shelby Cobra is to a stock Mustang. In other words, this is one serious hotrod.

Like the J2, the J2000 features a bolt-on, 22-fret bird's-eye maple neck and custom-designed Bartolini J-style pickups. The J2000 also retains its little brother's 19mm spacing at the bridge , with the result that your fingers never feel crowded on the fretboard. At the same time, the 34-inch scale is extremely playable, and the handlathed neck is thin enough to ensure that even those without Stanley Clarke-length digits may easily reach the low B string well past the octave marker.

But it's the guts of this bass that really make the difference. Pedulla tweaked the active circuitry to make the most of that low B. Between Pedulla's house-brand strings and a four-knob system that includes notched pan, bass and treble controls (±15dBs on the bass and treble), the J2000 delivers low notes as crisp as a grand piano. Perhaps my only objection is that its bottom is so deep that when playing on a small stage, the audience may hear more of it than you will!

THE BOTTOM LINE
High-end basses aren't cheap, but in this case they deliver what they cost; it's up to you to decide if your playing style and salary support the outlay. If you're looking for the ultimate in J-Bass tone and playability but have graduated to five-strings, then the Pedulla Rapture J2000 just may be the ax for you.

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