Just wanted to post a few more words of praise for my Landing LDS2. I wanted to say more now that I've owned it for a while. I've been playing it a lot lately (more than when I first got it - was still really into my p at that time), and it wins me over a little more each time I pick it up. It is a really, really nice bass. It is in fact nicer than my other basses in any arena I can think of. The finish is truly a cut above average, with a subtlety and attention to detail that to me only seems to come on handmade instruments. The neck is satiny smooth, a perfect thickness for me, and the glue job on the rosewood fretboard is again superb - it looks like the neck wood (not sure what it is) just seamlessly becomes rosewood, like they grew together that way. The balance is perfect (or at least, was originally - the previous owner did some mods that lightened the body, making it *slightly* neck-heavier than I would ideally like it. But it is clear that Jimmy carefully ensured that it had a perfect balance to it before it left his shop). And the tone... oh, the tone... Partial credit here is due to Mr. Hammon for his fantastic Darkstar pickups, and to DR strings for the Lo-Riders she's currently wearing, but Jimmy Landing really does deserve kudos here as well. The intonation is perfect, and each string retains clarity all the way up to the last fret. I've never played a bass that sounded so good playing chords, or that delivered the level of clarity and just plain fidelity that this bass has. She stays in tune, she's easy to GET in tune, the neck pocket is tight, the pots have a "weight" to their action that feels quality, the pickguard is beautiful, she's in the 8lb. sweet spot for overall weight, the shielding is excellent... and on and on and on.
My ONE gripe (and it's not insignificant): the strat style body on this bass means that the strap button on the upper horn floats above the 14th fret instead of the standard 12th. This means that there's an extra inch or two of reach to get to first position, which negates some of the point of getting a shorter scale instrument to begin with, for me anyway. However, I have contacted Jimmy to see if anybody has requested he modify this before, and he hasn't, but we discussed a couple of ideas and he's looking into it. The level of service he has given me so far is really noteworthy (lengthy email help and discussion, and sending me spare parts for FREE), considering I haven't paid him a dime - this is a used bass. He's proud of his instruments and he wants people to love them.
I've been playing basses and guitars for well over a decade, and I think I've learned a thing or two about how a good instrument is made, how it should sound and feel. This bass is a success. It is an instrument at whose quality I marvel every time I pick it up. Not everybody is going to like what Jimmy is going for, stylistically and tonally, but I can't imagine anybody finding fault in the build quality of this instrument. This is not a "new bass rave review" - I really just find it to be that good. At the price Jimmy sells these for, I feel they are peerless.
