Lakland Basses... just in general

[denchiq]

All this is accurate except for one thing. Bill Bartolini did, in fact, design the mk1 pickup. He was working with Hoshino on a simple passive pickup of conventional construction that they could build and put in many of the basses they produced. I worked with Bill in Livermore, CA during this era.

That is interesting to know. I contacted Bill exactly on the matter of the mk-1 and he redirected me to the EDIT: Bartolini technical support who replied Bartolini had nothing to do with the mk-1, had no idea of its contsruction and technical details, was not responsible for it in any way, shape or form nor could not provide any information.
Also, I can't remember now exactly how I found it was a G&B product but I could bet a dime for a dollar I would be able to find that info again if I re-did the reseach. If there is any connection between Hoshino Gakki and G&B on this matter was beyond my sphere of interest but I've seen mk-1s on several brands beyond Ibanez that Hoshino defnitely has no deal in

 

[johndb]

Was this before or after Bill sold to Clyde, and production moved from Livermore to San Luis Obispo? Bill stayed on as consultant, but his decling health probably prevented too much interaction. The mk1 design dates way back to 1999/2000 at least, and I don't know what deals were in place. Cort used mk1's as well as several other brands.
I have no doubt that anyone involved in Bartolini since the sale in 2012 would give any information or take any responsibility for support of the mk1.

 

[denchiq]

well yes, when I think what could be common about the brands on the top of my memory who have used the mk-1 I think all of them had budget models manufactured by CorTek at some time or another. That includes Cort - many models, Ibanez of course, Lakland, MTD, Elrick and probly a few more
As for the time span, I would say it should have been before Bill sold to Clyde, my best guess is somewhere between '04 and '07. I think it was the year Ibanez stopped building basses in Japan, and there were only MIK basses available in shops at the time, so that must be closer to '06-'07 I guess.