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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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$2,400.00
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10.0
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Description:
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high end 5-string USA-made bass
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Author
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silvermaneZ
Registered User
Registered: October 2000
Location: Houston, TX
Posts: 529
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Review Date: Mon November 27, 2006
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Would you recommend the product? Yes |
Price you paid?: $2,200.00
| Rating: 10
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Pros:
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Beautiful construction, variety of tone
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Cons:
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lack of battery compartment.
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This is my baby. SRV had his Stratocaster, and Jaco had his Fender. This is mine. I don't ever expect, nor do I intend to try to find another bass better suited for me.
Ok, enough gushing. I bought this bass in the fall of 2001 from the guys at Bass Central. (Side note. Be careful going there in the flesh. I made a trip from Georgia just because I had heard of the store, and left with almost 3 grand worth of gear I didn't know I needed. I am still using all of that gear today.)
Mine is a 55-94 Deluxe fretless. The neck is shaped almost like a Fender P-bass but with just enough extra width to accomodate the 5th string. There is no varnish on the back of the neck to cause your hand to slow down. The neck joint is a perfect fit into the body. The body itself is again similar to a P-bass but a little more rounded. They put a cutout on the back side of the bass at the top, and since I wear my bass up high the cut molds into the top of my abs perfectly. The 35" scale length means that you have an amazingly tight low B and yet the spacing for playing the fretless in tune is very manageable. I have rather small hands and I still have no problem doing two octave stretches.
Now the tone. The tone is what sold me on this beauty. It has a MM and a J pickup which I normally use blended. However, I can turn the J full on and crank the mids on the 3 band on-board EQ, and I get the nastiest vibrato fretless tone you can imagine. Crank it the other way with the MM pickup selected and the tone is bright, clear and very precise. You also have the option of selecting either coil on the MM or both together. There is also a push/pull active/passive volume knob. A wonderful selection of tones to work with. I don't use any effects to shape my sound since I can do everything I need to in the Country music realm right on the bass.
The balance of the bass is perfect, and the weight is very manageable. I have played county fairs where we played for two and half hours straight. My hands were cramping at the end but my shoulder was just fine.
My only gripe is the lack of a dedicated battery compartment which I know they have corrected in later model years. If you are looking for a good high end bass you owe it to yourself to play a Lakland Deluxe before you spend your cash. Thank you again to Gard when he was at Bass Central for putting that bass in my hand years ago. I am eternally grateful.
Robert
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Lakland owners group #156
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phat daddy
Registered User
Registered: June 2006
Location: Tampa Bay, FL
Posts: 1244
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Review Date: Mon May 12, 2008
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Would you recommend the product? Yes |
Price you paid?: $2,600.00
| Rating: 10
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Pros:
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Tone, build, versatiliy, the whole package
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Cons:
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none
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I bought my 55-94 Deluxe in 2006 at Bass Central. I actually went through 5 of them before I laid my money down (woods can be very subjective). First I will say that all the 55-94's I tried were built to perfection, finished and set up perfectly. Instrument to instrument the quality was amazingly comparatively accurate.
The one I bought has one of the most attractive tops I've ever seen, and the birdseye maple just glows. Neck pocket is tighter than any bass I've ever played, and the finish is flawless. Better hardware and electronics than any bass I've ever had, as well. My bass has the Barts, and I love their hi-fi crisp snappy high-end and velveteen low-mid bump. I have never felt so well expressed as on this instrument. The preamp is ingeniously set from the factory to be used like a scalpel to cut through sonic barriers. I love the preamp when I have to go direct for the gig and flat won't cut it in the mix.
The coil switching abilities on the MM pickup are great for Fenderesque, or Music Mannish tones, the neck pickup gets the P bass sound, and the pickups together provide one of the most robust, muscular sounds I've ever worked with.
This bass was worth every penny and a lot more considering I chose it over a custom NYC Sadowsky that cost $1500 more. And believe me, I chose it for the features, not the price as I was given an unlimited budget on this instrument.
I'm actually in the process of buying another one, that's how much I love mine.
I feel very confident in suggesting this bass to anyone looking in the high-end market for a possible end-all instrument. That's what it is for me.
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Lakland Owners Group #181
Lakland Deluxe 55-94 ('98 tts)
Lakland Deluxe 55-94 ('04 nat)
Markbass Owners Club #6
Markbass CMD 102P
Markbass STD 104HF
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