Lakland 55-01 Damaged Body Question
 

I came across this bass and can get a good deal on it, but I would like opinions on if the chip would effect the tone at all over time?

Nah, I wouldn't think so. Knowing my luthier/tech, he would smooth out the area and refinish it.

Affect the tone??

Really?

Sheesh!!!!!

:eyebrow:

Nope.

Buy it if you like it. A quick touch up and you'll never have to worry.

The prognosis is not good, I've seen chips like that before. We, in the biz call them "tone chips". In the beginning it's not too serious, but over a period, sometimes as short as two days, the tone of the instrument deteriorates very quickly to the point where it is unrecognizable. The horrible sound that these instruments put out can only be compared to a kazoo, and there's usually nothing that can be done to rectify the problem.

Personally, I would never buy an instrument with a tone chip as serious as that, no matter how cheap.

cosmetic only

Really tone chip what would it be called if it was sanded so that ergonomically it fit the body better? Sand and refinish have yourself a nice bass. 

Affect the tone? If that would be case, Sheehan, SRV, Jaco, etc., would've been screwed, don't you think? Have you seen the instruments those guys have used in their careers? That's just a bruise on that Lakland.

:D just :D. Carry on.

Edit: I belong to the camp where "tone chips" are prized commodities. :p

Ok, So after serious thought I decided to pull the trigger and go ahead and buy this one. At only $450 for a 55-01 I really had trouble walking away from it. I also sent the picture to Lakland and although it is a Skyline series they have helped me in the past with Skyline questions. They responded and their opinion was also that it should be fine with no issues. It is being shipped as I type this.

Thats a tone hole forming right there!

This is a tone hole caused by the recent purchasing of a Crate guitar stack "because its 100 watts and I sound like Dimebag now!"



Tone holes only get worse over time. The same guy then went onto Harmony Central and flamed people who told him his Crate amp sucked.



Best get it sorted now. Tone holes suck your tone away until nothing is left. Where the tones go is not well understood. The earliest known record of a tone hole is probably Duane Allman's slide playing on Layla. Notice how there is a doppler shift (making him play badly out of tune) whilst the tone hole opens up and drags the tone down.


Your best bet is to get this stuff. Wooden bass? Wooden tone filler!