Please Help...Lakland 55-94 PU Questions

tallboybass · #1 05-31-2007, 05:00 PM

Hi, I've got a lefty 55-94 with Barts in it, and I need to replace the PUs with something more aggressive and/or vintage sounding. Been talking to Kirk at Lakland who says the Seymour Duncans are a 6-week wait, but the LH-3s are readily available. Another option would be Nordies from bestbassgear.com. I'd like to keep it humbucking in all modes, and not have to rely on the preamp to get the upper mids I need. What PUs would get me closest to a passive, more-vintage-than-Barts sound?

KJung · #2 05-31-2007, 05:29 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by tallboybass

Hi, I've got a lefty 55-94 with Barts in it, and I need to replace the PUs with something more aggressive and/or vintage sounding. Been talking to Kirk at Lakland who says the Seymour Duncans are a 6-week wait, but the LH-3s are readily available. Another option would be Nordies from bestbassgear.com. I'd like to keep it humbucking in all modes, and not have to rely on the preamp to get the upper mids I need. What PUs would get me closest to a passive, more-vintage-than-Barts sound?

Seymours... VERY grindy and aggressive in the Lakland 94-55. Also, the MM and J pickup do not balance well... the MM is much louder than the J, no matter how you adjust the height.

I recently played the new Lakland pickups and really liked them. I don't know if I would call them vintage, but they are definitely more open, wider, and somewhat more organic... you can hear a lot of 'wood' from the bass with them if that makes sense. The new pre is nice also, and the pickup/pre swap-out is pretty inexpensive if you trade your bart pre / pickups.

I just played Mikebass's Valenti with the Nordy MM and jazz bass pickup, and it sounded great... but I wouldn't call it Vintage. That MM pickup (in exact MM position) sounded very much like a MM.

I would highly recommend the Lakland pickups and pre.

tallboybass · #3 05-31-2007, 11:06 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by KJung

Seymours... VERY grindy and aggressive in the Lakland 94-55. Also, the MM and J pickup do not balance well... the MM is much louder than the J, no matter how you adjust the height.

I recently played the new Lakland pickups and really liked them. I don't know if I would call them vintage, but they are definitely more open, wider, and somewhat more organic... you can hear a lot of 'wood' from the bass with them if that makes sense. The new pre is nice also, and the pickup/pre swap-out is pretty inexpensive if you trade your bart pre / pickups.

I just played Mikebass's Valenti with the Nordy MM and jazz bass pickup, and it sounded great... but I wouldn't call it Vintage. That MM pickup (in exact MM position) sounded very much like a MM.

I would highly recommend the Lakland pickups and pre.

Thanks Ken, the sound I'm going for is a Jazz bass with Duncan vintage PUs or Fralins. Which PU system would get the closest to this in the Lakie?

Thanks, Alan

KJung · #4 06-01-2007, 04:01 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by tallboybass

Thanks Ken, the sound I'm going for is a Jazz bass with Duncan vintage PUs or Fralins. Which PU system would get the closest to this in the Lakie?

Thanks, Alan

I'm not sure you are going to get there. My 55-94 with Duncans sounded nothing like a J bass (and the original Barts were even farther away). I really didn't get a J Bass vibe from the new pickups either.

Similarly to the 55-94 not really sounding like a Music Man with the MM pickup solo'd, I really don't hear a true J Bass sound with the MM tapped and both pickups on. That bass sounds great, but has its own tone. I'm not sure if its due to the pickup placement, or the pickups themselves.

If you really want that tone, I'd consider a true J Bass.

tallboybass · #5 06-01-2007, 11:54 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by KJung

I'm not sure you are going to get there. My 55-94 with Duncans sounded nothing like a J bass (and the original Barts were even farther away). I really didn't get a J Bass vibe from the new pickups either.

Similarly to the 55-94 not really sounding like a Music Man with the MM pickup solo'd, I really don't hear a true J Bass sound with the MM tapped and both pickups on. That bass sounds great, but has its own tone. I'm not sure if its due to the pickup placement, or the pickups themselves.

If you really want that tone, I'd consider a true J Bass.

Thanks for the input Ken. Okay, let me approach this a different way...which PUs would get the closest to a passive Jazz "neck PU-only" sound? That should be quite achieveable, yes? It doesn't have to be exact, that's just the direction I'm headed.

KJung · #6 06-01-2007, 12:34 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by tallboybass

Thanks for the input Ken. Okay, let me approach this a different way...which PUs would get the closest to a passive Jazz "neck PU-only" sound? That should be quite achieveable, yes? It doesn't have to be exact, that's just the direction I'm headed.

My guess there would be the Nordy all the way, from what I experienced recently in Mikebass's Valenti with MM and J.

jmain · #7 06-01-2007, 02:41 PM

If you haven't already, check out the recordings on the Lakland site for more info.

tallboybass · #8 07-01-2007, 11:49 AM

Jmain, I've heard the clips and they DO sound great, I've just heard that the LH-3 system is a little too close to the Barts, and that scares me! I'm looking for a passive J sound that doesn't need the preamp to sound right. I'd get a Joe Osborn, but I'm a lefty and those things don't grow on trees! Hopefully, the 55-94 will get close enough, AND have more sound options.

It looks like I'm going with Nordies from Blueberry Hill. Jay is awesome....nice guy, very helpful.

Anyone know why I shouldn't go this route?

Thanks, Alan

Lorenzini · #9 07-01-2007, 12:08 PM

If you want a more passive, vintage sound than the Barts, IMO the LH-3 system is not the way to go.
When I played a 55-02 with the LH-3, I thought it was way more hi-fi and more modern sounding than the Barts.

The SD Basslines are just in your face grind.

Nords just might be the way to go.

The MM Nordstrand is supposed to sound like a vintage pre-EB Musicman pickup.
And the Humbucking J Nordstrand just sounds great, and similar to the single coils.

Not sure man. You might want to get some more opinions before you shell out the $300+ to do this change...

tallboybass · #10 07-01-2007, 12:35 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lorenzini

If you want a more passive, vintage sound than the Barts, IMO the LH-3 system is not the way to go.
When I played a 55-02 with the LH-3, I thought it was way more hi-fi and more modern sounding than the Barts.

The SD Basslines are just in your face grind.

Nords just might be the way to go.

The MM Nordstrand is supposed to sound like a vintage pre-EB Musicman pickup.
And the Humbucking J Nordstrand just sounds great, and similar to the single coils.

Not sure man. You might want to get some more opinions before you shell out the $300+ to do this change...

Thanks for your response. I've been debating this for quite a while. Anything that is 'hi-fi' is a 'no-go' with me. That's why I ruled out the LH-3.....and I'm not looking for a super-grindy rock tone, so the SDs don't make sense. The Nordstrands make the most sense to me too. I'm just wondering how the MM pup sounds split into a single coil (with dummy coil for HB).

pickles · #11 07-01-2007, 12:50 PM

I was thinking about this when you were posting on the other thread. You're not really going for an MM tone, and the problem with the typical duncan set is that the MM pickup is louder than the J. What you want at the bridge in the 55-94 is really a "twin humbucking jazz" pickup ... which is something totally different.

I was thinking you could email kevin beller about getting a custom set made to your requirements, but I've never really heard of anybody that likes a hum canceling duncan J. You could get something custom from nordstrand, but again I think the key is that its not really an MM pickup at the bridge.

Lorenzini · #12 07-01-2007, 01:10 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by pickles

I was thinking about this when you were posting on the other thread. You're not really going for an MM tone, and the problem with the typical duncan set is that the MM pickup is louder than the J. What you want at the bridge in the 55-94 is really a "twin humbucking jazz" pickup ... which is something totally different.

I was thinking you could email kevin beller about getting a custom set made to your requirements, but I've never really heard of anybody that likes a hum canceling duncan J. You could get something custom from nordstrand, but again I think the key is that its not really an MM pickup at the bridge.

+1

Will a Roscoe Beck pickup fit in there?

Nordstrand can custom make a pickup for you to fit in there as well, like pickles stated.

pickles · #13 07-01-2007, 01:54 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lorenzini

+1

Will a Roscoe Beck pickup fit in there?

I don't think so, but it would sound great if it did!

tallboybass · #14 07-01-2007, 06:20 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lorenzini

+1

Will a Roscoe Beck pickup fit in there?

Nordstrand can custom make a pickup for you to fit in there as well, like pickles stated.

Wow, that would probably do it! A double jazz made to fit in a MM pickup cover. Sounds expensive.

pickles · #15 07-02-2007, 07:48 AM

Really, since 55-02s and 55-94s are so popular, it seems like it'd be worth the builder's time to get a custom set exactly right ... so they might not rake you over the coals on the custom work. Never hurts to get a quote.

tallboybass · #16 07-02-2007, 11:20 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by pickles

Really, since 55-02s and 55-94s are so popular, it seems like it'd be worth the builder's time to get a custom set exactly right ... so they might not rake you over the coals on the custom work. Never hurts to get a quote.

Now that I think about it, Delano sort of has something like that. I'm a lefty, so the jazz part of the PU would end up in the wrong place though....

Lorenzini · #17 07-04-2007, 11:50 AM

I just picked up a 55-02 at a great price with the LH-3s on.
Currently has Hi Beams strung thru bridge, not my preferred setting.
Will have to put some Sadowsky Nickels thru the body and see how it fares.
Right now the sound is not nearly as punchy or well defined as the Barts, but does have that "hi-fi" sound. I can't judge yet though. Needs to have different strings and setup.