Muckelroy HMC5 - Mucking Around With This Boutique Beauty Bass - LowEndLobster Fresh Look

[@BassOnDrums]

I was fortunate to connect with Brady after I moved to Austin a decade ago. I took a couple of basses to him for repair work and he let me play a couple of his while I waited. I was blown away and vowed to get one some day. Very recently he created his ‘pro player’ series which is a budget friendly version of his basses. The HMC name has also been changed to the Ensemble. I placed an order in April of 21 and got mine after 8 months. Brady is a one man shop and doesn’t take any shortcuts so all of his basses are built to the highest standards. Great work Lobster!

[@dougmael]

Muckelroy basses are fantastic, which is why I own two of them (a fretless HMC5 and a fretted 4-string). Of course, I also own four Valenti basses, including one full-custom 5, two semi-custom 5s, and a 4-string that Nino re-necked before I purchased it). Over the last 9 years, I have owned a total of four Muckelroy basses, two of which were 100% custom models, built completely to my specifications (including my current HMC5). Brady Muckelroy not only does fantastic work, he is also great to work with at every step of the process - as is Nino Valenti! Two distinctly different builders with different styles who both deliver fabulous instruments with impeccable build quality and superb playability.

[@KevinFlatt]

Brady is an absolute wizard in making and setting up basses. Never played a Muck I didn’t like! Get A Muck 👏🏻👍🏻🤘🏻💕

[@jonathangroomsbassist]

Most transparent, clear tone of any bass you've reviewed. Would love to hear one in a mix. Very defined notes on the low B as well.

[@MrSparks54]

Wowzer, that's incredibly smooth top to bottom. Thanks Lobster

[@sunn_bass]

Love the tone of that bass. So warm fingerstyle yet great for slap. And it is so beautiful and clean looking. Great review Lobster.

[@expertmechify]

Never thought I would get a custom bass but, when COVID hit and I thought we were all going to die I said #### it.... And I couldn't be happier - Jumped at the Price at that time with the 1st run of Pro Players (now Ensemble) - One of the best decisions ever... I wouldn't even know where to go if I wanted a bass sweeter than this and it would be impossible in the price range. I thank Brady for curing my lust for any other basses - this thing is all I could ever ask for other than one day maybe having one made to other specs and woods like a crazy Burl..... Just an Amazing bass. And for being a "lower level" and not totally custom, I still got the treatment of seeing every step of the production as well as a video of Brady playing it just so I know it's my fault if the thing doesn't sing out. lol

[@josephjordan2883]

Mucks are so cool! And, I love his demo videos! He’s one hell of a player, as well as a phenomenal builder!

[@kevinkwmiller]

Beautiful bass. Looks and sounds great! Thanks for sharing Nino!

[@richshields6692]

Wow. Great sounding bass. Nice burp sound. Great clear sound too. Very even sounding. Impressive.

[@Bassic778]

I've known about Muckelroy basses for a while now. That bass has a great Alembic tone to my ears!!!

[@tysher7353]

Watching this man in pajama pants while wearing pajama pants, absolute magic! Rockin on that bass, it does sound good.

[@sharnoldpapa7339]

One of the reasons I like Lobster is he is himself. Do that pajama thing man.

[@astevenson1008]

Great job of showing the quality of the Muckelroy Bass. I have a HMC 5 that is my #1 bass. Mines have the Muck pre-amp electronics. I would and do recommend the Muckelroy basses. Again, great job.

[@grantkoeller8911]

It has a beautiful tone!!!

[@1lug]

That bass sounds..................wonderful.

[@jonathonmcmillan9410]

I love my Muck! I have a fretless 5 with walnut wings, maple neck-through, ebony board, and custom Honey Badger FRS dual humbuckers. There's not a sound I can't get out of that bass. It records beautifully and sounds fantastic live. This is about as close to a fretted Muck 5 as I would spec.

[@budduggly7781]

Sounds as beautiful as it looks! Nice review.

[@msimsy]

Amazing sounding and looking bass! Definitely a unique and great design!

[@BassOnDrums]

Also…I believe Nino said in one of the Muckelroy clubs that this bass also had another push/pull on the volume that puts the pickups in series. When I had mine built I kept it passive but had Brady add coil switches for each pickup…I can run mine in parallel, single coil or series. Gives it some nice variety.

[@LowEndLobster]

Yup! I flubbed there haha.

[@BassOnDrums]

@@LowEndLobster - Well….that’s not a common feature on a lot of basses so it could be easily overlooked. Still an awesome vid! Keep up the great work…

[@rustfeather1070]

I am fortunate enoughto have a pair of headless Mucks and they’re just fantastic. They’re my #1 and #2

[@rickrolli7091]

Lobster. I'd have to say that right off the bat, That B has got some girf. It's hard and rare to find a B that has that much solidity at a 34in scale. The only other ones would be the RKS or the MTD. I'm unsure of the scale on the MTD. Very solid. The amount of tonal availability is impressive as well. Good job Brady. Keep it up 👍👏😊. The biggest thing with having a wide tonal palette is keeping it simple for adjustments. 4 knobs. That's the impressive part. Keep up the good videos Lobster. Until we groove again ✌️😎👍🦞🎸

[@craigcourtney2054]

A close friend of mine whom I have known for decades recommended that I have a custom Muckelroy built some years back. He is a monster player and a trusted friend. I asked him, "Do you own one"? He said, "I own three". I now own two Muckelroy basses. One is a custom HMC with Delano quad coils (switchable) and the Aguilar OB3 preamp. The second one is a complete one off Solo model with Delano dual coils and a Nordstrand preamp. If you have never played one of these basses, you are missing out. Also, I disagree with the chunky neck assertion. Probably on the Pro Player in this demo. Both of my basses have thin necks (by request) with graphite rods embedded along side of the trust rod. Brady build nothing but quality.

[@quickwashtheraccoon7601]

I love this bass .

[@etpslick100]

Man! That bass sounds nice and tight on the high end frets. Never care for walnut. Sounds kinda dark to me; but the delanos and preamp brings out the brightness in the bass. I really like it! Sounds great!😌🎶👍🏾

[@stefanfaustmann256]

A good few years ago I read about Brady Muckelroy's basses and have become interested. The tone is super clear at any register. I am not a big fan of the sterile sounding Delano pickups but in this model, it looks like a perfect choice. I am wondering how it holds up against those non-vintage style basses such as Roscoe, Spector, or Warwick. If the price is right these Muck basses can be serious contenders

[@hekzter3895]

hey, i’ve been loving videos for a year or so now, thanks for all the excellent work. i’d love to see you make a video with the reverend mercalli 5

[@thenightlifezero9154]

Brady Mucklroy... so many positive to be said. An excellent bass player and luthier.

[@ramshaar2597]

Good bass cool player keep on grooving !its an order 😉☕️

[@teopatl]

@LowEndLobster what electronics would you have used if not the Aggie/Delano combo?

[@funkypunk1001]

What a handsome sounding bass. All its tonal varieties are just fantastic

[@turbo7757]

Yeah Brady.

[@RaulTorresMorfin]

OBP-1 is 18v. The tone control in passive mode is outdated in IMO. It should be wired so it can affect both passive and active tone. Sadowsky calls it Vintage tone control. You can wire it to the blend pot to work both on passive and active, I have done it to 3 or my basses

[@LowEndLobster]

Thanks Raul! The tone control is effective in both modes here and in the Sadowsky preamp.

[@RaulTorresMorfin]

@@LowEndLobster sorry I misunderstood! Thanks Lobster

[@slapinfunk]

OBP can be configured 9v or 18v, user preference.

[@toppfade5892]

Ken Lawrence, Muck, MTD ,Ken Smith and of course Alembic and Fodera

[@russellzauner]

Just sayin goin in that there's a pecan one up for grabs and man...it's pretty even though I have yet to really feel what pecan is going to be like. And for what it is, it's super reasonable. The heel carve is super pretty and looks extremely comfortable. (Muckelroy HMC 5 string fretless 2022 Texas pecan)

[@russellzauner]

3:50 lol exactly what I'd expect from a nicely crafted walnut/maple beast but that alder block is doing some work at helping it all blend...sort of like a transition wood or regeneration collision zone, if you well, as it were. Delano + Aguilar = can't go wrong with meaty but clear tones that have richness and granularity. Neither the construction or the electronics get in the way of each other and man I'm already jazzed about the rest of this - the only way it could have been more spec'd out is if it had some passive "boost" (ala CLFR OMG).

[@russellzauner]

oof it's piano-y without being piano-like or maybe it's the vice versa

[@russellzauner]

8:35 can you say "burping cream" lol but honestly it's burpy but also almost more creamy than the thiccer tones. Yeah that's nice.

[@russellzauner]

9:35 yes this is not a buttery tone. It's very ... um ... salty? Yeah salty is not a bad word for this tone. It kind of commands attention by sneaking up on you.

[@russellzauner]

12:00 whooo goes woof woof woof

[@NeauxLA_Man]

Would love to see the Muck Bass head to head with your MTD 535!

[@n00dyl69]

I'm a new subscriber. i like what you do.

[@LowEndLobster]

Thank you

[@n00dyl69]

@@LowEndLobster do you still have you tagima tw66?

[@LowEndLobster]

@@n00dyl69 Nope that's long gone

[@n00dyl69]

@@LowEndLobster my tagima tw66 just arrived today and i was shock on how light weight it is. it really sounds good. im so happy with this.

[@LowEndLobster]

@@n00dyl69 Congrats :) enjoy

[@AirChurch]

Sweet!

[@toppfade5892]

Straight Butter

[@revlewisrees9880]

What does the alder tone block do that a straight on neck thru doesn’t?

[@LowEndLobster]

Great question Rev. I've seen other 'tone block' implementations but personally can't really attest to their effectiveness or impact on the tone.

[@cunjoz]

would you ever consider reviewing a wal bass?

[@lunacy_bass]

Brady makes phenomenal basses and he's great to deal with. Do yourself a favor and get one or five.

[@tigerscott2966]

Great bass...

[@Mike-li5uv]

Lobster where you been? I hope everything is okay.

[@kevmac1230]

What is the cost of a Pro Player Series bass?

[@BassOnDrums]

I know prices have gone up….that said my 5 string I got was $2k and $50 per coil switch for a grand total of $2100.

[@calvincurry8496]

Wow I wish I had about 10 000 000 or so. I would build a Special Home called " THE BASS ABODE" Where there would be many Rooms for the Many Beautiful Brands of Gorgeous Wonderful Sounding snd Wonderfully Made Basses. " SO MANY GOOD BASSES, SO LITTLE MONEY 💰 OMG 😱

[@isaacwang1926]

No diss to this company but why are so many basses finished like this? I personally think it isn't very good looking but maybe I'm a minority.

[@hjs6752]

...and another headstock design fail...

[@BassOnDrums]

What makes you say that??