I had a privilege to have my hands on this extremely rare Coppolo bass.  A LG4 Classic Supreme Resurrection that was build for NAMM 2005 that showcase what Jimmy Coppolo is all about. 

Background:
This is one of the earliest batch coming out from Jimmy’s NYC shop, serial number 13, some says it’s the first bass coming out from Jimmy’s NYC shop .  This was a show bass built to impress people in a world class musical instrumental trade show, and I think Jimmy totally did it. 

Specs:

• Old cut old growth Alder body
• Maple neck in painted neck and matching headstock
• African rosewood fingerboard
• Professor shot Nitro in Burgundy mist
• AC pickups
• AC preamps
• controls are: Vol / Vol /  Hi boos / Lo boost , active/passive switch
• Hipshot tuners
• Bent plate bridge

Playability:
usual exceptional built quality, this is the standard Jimmy has been holding since the early days.  This 16 years old bass has a perfectly straight neck, fretwork is top notch .  action can get very low buzz free. ver well balanced and plays like butter.    Bass has quiet a bit of natural relicing from actual play wear and has that nicely worn in, smooth feel.  There’s no doubt about the playability no matter it’s from 2005 or 2021 . 

Sound:

This is the most contraversal part about this bass.   Throughout the years, Alleva Coppolo bass made their reputation by nailing that vintage fender tone in a modern format.  But apparently somehow this LG4CSR has disappointed quite a few people just because the tonal spectrum lands on the brighter, modern end.   Im my opinion and. To my ear, African rosewood fingerboard is a warm sounding but not necessary big like Indian rosewood, with the sweetness that’s slight on the upper mid range than Brazilian rosewood but not as bright as CNL boards.    However, how come a bass like this with all that CS limited edition spec never receive the love it deserves?        2 main things I believe are :

• The preamp is naturally mid scoop;  it’s a bit unclear about the background of this preamp.   It’s an early day built, it could be a Proto type electronic, or it could be other oem product from others.   Someone says it’s more pensa sounding, someone says it could be a suhr preamp.  I would say it could be a Bartolini TCT or something like an Aguilar obp2 or even Sadowsky ..    AND, if you want to listen to Jimmy’s basses, listen to them in passive ..    
• There’s no tone control …    extra resistance from a tone pot plus the capacitance rolls off the high frequency, and that’s what most 60s style jazz bass players are used to ….    if you want a bass that sounded like that old thing ….  Find something with the same receipt ..   magnetic pickup will sounded at the brightest when there’s no passive tone control …. 

Overall this is a more modern sounding bass, and from my studio and gigging experience, this bass works better than my beloved LG5s when it comes to modern pop/rock music ….       I might consider putting in a tone control and see how the overall package turns out . 

Thoughts:
Well ..   like I always say:  there are many Fender inspired instruments from many brands in all price levels, but noone archive it the same as Jimmy when it comes to jazz basses.    In my opinion, Jimmy is more of an artist than a Luthier …     Try to figure out why when  gears turn out not sounded like what you’re hoping ..   try to find out what was the mindset put behind the instrument that’s on your hand.    There are often people spending lots of time over the internet gathering info and photos, trying to analyze things based on information from reading and tend to think it’s real.   Musical instruments are tend to be making music, it’s hard to comment on something without having your hands on.   Every single instruments have their potential, even they don’t always fit your playing or style, that doesn’t mean they suck ..   versitility of an instrument depends on how versatile the player is . 

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