"Weak" A String on brand new Lakland 55-94

[bigsnack]

Greetings,

I'm having an issue with a newly purchased Lakland Deluxe 55-94 (with Lakland pickups). First, I want to preface with the fact that I've been in contact with Lakland and they have been extremely helpful and cool about the issue. I have no doubt they will help me get it resolved. I figured I'd post on here to see if anyone had experienced the same issue as me, or if someone could give me any further advice.

Basically the A string on my 55-94 sounds noticeably weaker, quieter, and less present than all the other strings on the bass. It's an issue I noticed right out of the box. I even sent the bass back to Lakland once already, and they replaced the pickups, but it hasn't completely resolved my problem. The A string sounds fine when I'm fretting, but when I pluck the A String open, it's about 4 db quieter than all the other strings. The issue is intensified greatly when I play the bass with a pick. When I pluck the open A with a pick, it not only sounds quieter, but it almost sounds like the A string has a chorus effect on it, or like it's out of phase. The issue persists when I roll between just the J style pup and just the MM style pup.

Has anyone ever noticed an issue like this before? In my discussions with the guys at Lakland, they've mentioned that because the A string shares poles with the E and D strings, it could possibly be causing this issue. At this point they are wondering if it's something I might always hear in Laklands, due to the configuration of the pickups. However, I've played 55-94's before and never noticed this issue! Is it possible there's something in the wood that is causing this issue? Any advice would be super appreciated. Thanks.

[Relic]

ugh I hate that sort of thing!! I've had a few basses like that.

If the string is noticably louder when fretted, but soggy when open, it might be that the nut/string channel is cut badly... it seems super unlikley on a Lakland but what you described can certainly be caused by that.
Is the A string wrapped properly on the tuner? If it sits too high it can also have that effect.

[bigsnack]

You know, I brought it to a local sales/repair shop, and the rear poles of the soapbar pickup died while the repair guy was testing the bass!! Looks like I may have ended up with a lemon. Once again, I am 100% confident that Lakland's stellar customer service will prevail.

[pickles]

That happens on a 5 string when the pickup's strength doesn't follow the radius of the fingerboard closely enough. I've got a 55-94 with barts and have never had this problem.