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Recommended By
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Average Price
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Average Rating
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100% of reviewers
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$649.50
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9.5
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Description:
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Make/Model: Lakland 55-01
Year: 2003 (purchased used)
Neck: 5 bolt maple neck
Manufactured: In Korea, setup and fret dressing in Chicago.
Price paid: 500 w/OHSC
Woods/Finish: Cheryburst ash body with maple fretboard
Scale: 35"
Electronics: Bartolini MK1 Pickups and Preamp (vol, blend, hi, med and low)
Construction: The fit and finish of this bass is impressive to say the least. The cherryburst finish is even prettier than the pictures on the Lakland website. The multi piece body ash body is well matched on the front, but the individual pieces are visible on the back if you look closely.
The frettwork is very well attended to, with no sharp edges, as I would expect on an instrument for whom one of the selling points is that final setup and frettwork is done in chicago.
The hardware on the bass is of high quality. The licensed Hipshot ultralights are very smooth and hold their tuning well and the nut is standard but well attended to. I am not sure why Lakland doesn't use a more substantial cast bridge, rather than their current model, but I have not noticed any loss of sustain, so perhaps they have thier reasons for keeping thier trademark bridge.
Sound: The 55-01 sounds very good in a variety of tones. The preamp is not particularly noisy, and it cuts through the mix well. I don't believe that the 55-01 has any "weak" spots, but if I had to pick a "weaker" part of the instrument, it would be the preamp. As has been mentioned elsewhere, the bart mk1 preamp has some harshness and seems to be voiced for the more agressive player. Not surprising considering the MK1 is most commonly found on Ibanez basses. It is fairly difficult to get more deep vintagey sounds without cutting all the mids and most of the highs.
Smooth tones and deeper vintage sounds are possible, and the preamp is by no means inadequate, but a more versatile pre will probably be in order for my bass in the future.
In the live situation, I have found that it sounds very good and cuts well in my pop-rock group ( www.somethingordinary.com ) and hasn't sounded at all out of place partially replacing the passive jazz bass that previously was my main instrument. (now secondary)
Comfort/playablility: The 55-01 balances well on the lap or on a strap, and is not neck heavy. The super low action makes it very easy to play, and the neck has seemed very stable for the 2 months I have had it.
The flat neck profile makes the wide neck and coresponding wide string spacing very comfortable and playable. I have not found that the 35" scale creates a noticable difference, except in the fact that the string tension is nice and tight, and the "b" string feels particularly good. Playing the bass low on a strap could cause alot of wrist tension and stress due to the wide neck. This bass might not be a first choice for those with small hands and fingers, or those who prefer a tight string spacing Also, this bass is not a lightweight, but it's weight of 10 lbs puts it right about in the middle of bass weights.
Customer Service: Upon purchasing this instrment I emailed Lakland to find the year, model and electronics package, and truss rod information for this particular bass. I emailed them at the end of the day, and the next morning I had a message in my inbox from Dan Lakin himself with the answers to all of my questions. After researching Lakland, I have found that this kind of prompt service is standard for Lakland.
Other: I would like to take this opportunity to speak to the design asthetic of the 44-01, and the 44-02, the 55-01, 55-02 and their corresponding american models the 4-44 and 55-94. Even before getting the chance to play lakland basses, I was attracted to their modern/vintage design asthetic. Lakland has taken fairly traditional headstock, tuners and bridge, matched them with a variety of traditional instrument finishes and woods on a body that his half modern, half vintage, and an electronics package that is quite versatile. Thus, they have created a series of distinctive instruments that visually and sonically fit into almost any musical/visual melieu, while being always readily recognizable as a Lakland.
Conclusion: Though I have only owned this instrument for two months, I feel confident that it will be with me for quite a while.(though perhaps with a new preamp) If it were stolen I would definately buy another Lakland, though with the confidence I now have in Lakland quality, I might use the opportunity to purchase a product from the higher end of the Lakland product line.
I would definately recomend this bass as an excelent choice for the intermediate or advanced player who wants a long scale professional quality instrument, but wants to keep the price under 800 dollars (a new one goes for between 750 and 800).
As a former music salesman, I can say without exageration, that I have played most of the production basses out there at this price point (Ibanez, Cort, Dean, Fender, Yamaha, Rockbass, Musicman SUB, washburn, etc.) and with the exception of some used instruments of exceptional value, I have not found this bass's equal.
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Author
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Supertanker
My Other GSD Bad Ass!
Registered: June 2005
Location: CinCinNati
Posts: 3260
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Review Date: Mon February 20, 2006
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Would you recommend the product? Yes |
Price you paid?: $699.00
| Rating: 9
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Pros:
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The B String, Low Action, Unique Sound, Fit and Finish
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Cons:
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I can't think of any
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Make/Model: Lakland 55-01
Year: 2005 (new)
Neck: 5 bolt maple neck
Manufactured: In Korea, setup and fret dressing in Chicago.
Price paid: $699.00
Woods/Finish: Swamp Ash body with maple fretboard
Scale: 35"
Electronics: Bartolini MK1 Pickups and Preamp (vol, blend, hi, med and low)
I've owned this bass for one year now, so hopefully I can give a decent review. I also own a 4 other basses, A Fender MIM Jazz, a Marcus Miller Jazz, and 2 Fender P-Basses.
In the year that I've owned the Lakalnd I have only done two things to it. Play it and tune it. I have not done anything to to the truss rod or changed the intonation. The setup was spot on and it has not changed.
Fit and Finish are flawless. I could not find anything that I would change.
The Lakland plays like butter. My action is slammed low, there is no buzz and no dead spots on the Lakland neck. The neck is wide and flat. Perfect for me because I have big hands. Might be a problem for small hands.
The Lakland is built like a tank. The maple neck is hard as a rock and totally stable. The back of the neck is smooth and fast. The five bolts make for an incredibly strong neck pocket. I like the 35 inch scale and will probably require 35 inch scales for my 5 string basses. The Lakland B string is legendary. Nuff said.
The control knobs are solid and have the feel of quality. The pots are clean and quiet.
The Lakland sound:
Lakland's flagship basses (44's, 55's, and 94's) all have a signature sound. To hear it take anyone of the above mentioned basses, turn all the tone controls to flat and there you have it. It's a very unique sound. Sort of a modern growl. Now I can pick a Lakland out of a crowd. The sound fits in perfectly with just about every type of music. Like a key in a lock. The first time I heard it I was very impressed with the musical fit. With the tone controls you can get just about every popular bass sound from the 5501, from the dub reggae thud, to the grind of rock, to Motown, to a smooth jazz groove, all while maintaining that Lakland sound.
The bass is big, not big like a Ken Smith, but larger than any of my Fenders and heavier. But I'll take the size and weight to get the tone.
What will I change? More Lakland strings when I need new strings.
I think that's about it...
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SuperT
www.myspace.com/supertanker
Lakland Basses- Zoom FXs- PreSonus Preamps - QSC Power- fEarful Cabs
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juanete
Registered User
Registered: May 2005
Location: Philadelphia, PA
Posts: 286
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Review Date: Wed February 22, 2006
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Would you recommend the product? Yes |
Price you paid?: $600.00
| Rating: 10
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Pros:
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sound, playability, price
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Cons:
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a little too heavy
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This bass won't let you down!
For a little over 600 dollars you can get a bass that would be over 1000 bucks if it was manufactured by any other major brand.
pros: Wide range of sounds, great finish, PRICE, extremely easy to play, and more...
cons: it is on the heavy side (I felt some pain on my shoulders after playing a 2 1/2 hr. gig), original setup could have been better.
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