Bass of the Week: Mike Lull JT4/JT5

Mike Lull mashed up his M-series body and T-bass pickups to create the JT4 and JT5, a bass with a modern yet familiar feel and “T-bass boom.” And while the body is a modern take on a classic style, Lull designed the pickups by trying to get the same sound of an original Thunderbird bass while creating his own T-Bass.

“One of the things I had to have my basses sound like was the ’60s Thunderbird bass,” the luthier told us in an interview. “The original Thunderbird pickups were a very special design that nobody has made since 1968. I took it upon myself to take apart a set of original pickups from 1964 that a friend of mine had and found out exactly what it was that made them tick, then I reverse engineered a pair of pickups. They sounded identical to the originals, so I knew I had the pickups, I knew I had the ergonomics of the body, and I knew I could have all the parts made for me.”

Like every Lull bass, the JT4 and JT5 are hand-built by Mike Lull himself in his Bellevue, Washington shop. The body is crafted with an alder, swamp ash or mahogany body, while the neck is maple with either a maple or rosewood fingerboard. Other features include chrome hardware, a bone nut, Hipshot Ultralite tuners, an aluminum bridge, and full electrostatic shielding.

Mike Lull JT4/JT5 Bass Photo Gallery:

Mike Lull JT4/JT5 Bass Specs:

• Alder, Swamp Ash or Mahogany Body
• Graphite Reinforced Maple Neck
• Maple or Rosewood Fingerboard
• Contoured Neck Heel
• 34? Scale Length (JT4)
• 35? Scale Length (JT5)
• 21 Frets
• 12? Radius Fingerboard
• 1 1/2? or 1 3/4? Nut Width (JT4)
• 1 7/8? Nut Width (JT5)
• Bone Nut
• Chrome Hardware
• Hipshot Ultralite Tuners
• Custom Mike Lull T-Bass Pickups
• Aluminum Bridge
• Full Electrostatic Shielding