I'm a bit late to this one, but you sound like me for the last 6-8 years up until about this time last year. I went through all those basses and many more. I really like a bunch of them, but at the same time they didn't fit just right. I tend to lean towards a traditional sound, but I like a bit of zing. I really like modern sounding basses as well, but don't want them to sound sterile, and I want some variation when I get ready.
The 44/55 series basses and their US counterparts are just that for me. They feel and play like vintage basses. They can do the Precision, Jazz and Stingray thing pretty convincingly, but the MM/J tone is what I use 99% of the time for live gigs. It vintage meats modern to me. Lots of bottom end, but not necessarily WIDE like an MTD. The same goes for the top end. Somewhat like a Ken Smith perhaps, but not pingy. It's just perfect. If you scoop the mids it sounds incredible for slap, urban or contemporary jazz. If you boost the low-mid it has a throaty growl. The P-bass tone it pulls of is great, and works well for rock gigs. And as a jazz bass it does as good a job. The Stingray thing is the last "convincing" of what it can do, but it does get the job done.
Funny thing is, as much as I love the "Lakland" MM/J tone, when I recorded with the 55-02 late last year, it was the "jazz" setting that sounded the best in the studio. It tracked better and had a better voice. If you go to www.romanstreet.com you can listen to the clips from the "Amore" album. The whole album is me with my 55-02 using the front and rear pickups blended straight down the middle, with the rear single coil tapped. And get this. Absolutely ZERO EQ used on the bass during recording or mixing. I kid you not. The tone you hear is that bass dead flat across the board, with some light 2:1 compression to make it track better.
