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Lakland Owners Group #69

#2,043
GregC said:
Nice, congrats! BigBeatNut has it right. The stock pickup in the Glaub (and Dunn, for that matter) until late 2007/early 2008 was a Fralin, after that it's the Lakland-Hanson Neopunch (which is more aggressive in the upper mids compared to the old-school-ish Fralin). Since the Skyline Glaubs haven't had the CAR finish in years and that one is MIK, I'm betting yours is pre-pickup transition.
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AFAIK doesn't the 4/55-64 come with Hanson 'Vintage P' pickups? Possibly post 2012.

They are very different from the Neo Punch. Supposedly more similar to Fralins.
 
#2,044
GregC said:
Nice, congrats! BigBeatNut has it right. The stock pickup in the Glaub (and Dunn, for that matter) until late 2007/early 2008 was a Fralin, after that it's the Lakland-Hanson Neopunch (which is more aggressive in the upper mids compared to the old-school-ish Fralin). Since the Skyline Glaubs haven't had the CAR finish in years and that one is MIK, I'm betting yours is pre-pickup transition.
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thanks all for the help-

The tone is very-much that perfect hollow-vintage P tone, so I'm guessing they must be the Fralin pickups- I pulled 'em up to look but there were no markings underneath. They definitely look like the standard alnico design with the polepiece magnets. The bass is a bit darker than I'm used to coming from a Ric and an Alembic-equipped P, but sounds so sweet that I may just leave it as is and get some more aggressive strings (I haven't had a rosewood fretboard on a bass for years either). My second alternative is to flip in a G&L P pickup, as those have always done me well in the past (but don't do that hollow vintage sustainy tone to the same degree.
lomo said:
Beautiful. I love the look of a solid color P with white guard.....it has the vibe of elegant simplicity....everything one needs, and nothing one doesn't :-) I'm gonna mod a 5501 in that image....
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It is actually the first non- see through finish I've had on a bass in maybe 6 years, but I really dig it. The light minty/yellowy pickguard really sets it off (hard to photograph in the shadows!).
 
#2,046
Received my Hollowbody 30 last night. And I also traded emails with the guys at Lakland. There is some misinformation out there so let me clarify (you tube, retailers).

The bass ships with stainless steel round wounds
The pickups are not chi sonic but what they call vintage single coils with a chrome plated cover
A case is not included but available

It's a cool little bass, I slapped on a set of flats unfortunately I only have light gauge long scale strings at the house. So I'm not sure I'm getting the best out of the bass just yet. A short scale set of Labella deep talking flats is on it's way. There was a little tag on the bass that said it was Plek'd in Chicago, it's set up out of the box pretty nice but when I get the right set of strings on I'll really dial it in.

I really think this bass is going to give me the vibe I'm going for, thus far I can pull out a nice hollowbody tone with both pickups on and the tone up. favoring the neck pickup and rolling off the tone gets that Gibson mudbucker type tone. The shortscale doesn't seem to be an issue at all and you don't have that awkward feel of a full size hollowbody. Give me some time and I'll have a better feel for it.
 
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#2,048
One of the guys in the Jules/Monique thread posted this video which is the original inspiration for looking at a bass like this. This is an Epiphone batwing, just a very unique tone combined with great playing and feel. In looking for more info and sound clips on this bass I also came across a bunch of info on the Harmony H22 Batwing.

True neck pick up, short scale, hollowbody....The Lakland Hollowbody 30 just seems to be a good choice we'll see.

 
#2,054
I can totally cop the vibe in the clip I posted. Neck pickup, tone rolled off. If that's all the bass could do I would have been happy. To get there you really have to have a soft touch with the right hand. Digging in gives this bass a totally different and wonderful over driven tone. The right hand sensitivity may also have something to do with having long scale strings on the bass. I ordered a set of short scale light gauge black Nylon Labellas and extra light deep talking Labella flats hopefully I will have them soon. I've got a pretty extensive string box but nothing short scale. I tend to spend a bunch of time figuring out what strings really work for a bass, it takes a bit longer with flats as they have to settle in. Hoping I figure this out once and never have to change them again.

I've owned a bunch of USA Lakland's over the years but never a skyline. You can see the difference in the tuners and bridge saddles. They don't seem to be chrome plated but more of a silver paint? I'm not sure it is going to matter at all otherwise I'd consider swapping them. The neck and headstock have that really new white wood look to them, I wish they used a bit of vintage tint but it's totally just an opinion cosmetics really aren't that important and the neck feels great. The center of the burst on the body has the slightest of green hue which I now can see in the photos online as well, is that how a burst on mahogany looks?

Just some observations the bass plays and feels wonderful and with your eyes closed you'd think you were hearing an active bass, with a boat load of pedals through a tube amp. It is very cool!
 
#2,055
Hey guys! My 55 94 arrived and it kills. I love the feel and the Bartolini pickups are awesome. I am not completely sold on the preamp, though. My other bass is a Fender Jazz with the Sadowsky pre in it and I love it. I just think I want a little more versatility with this bass. I'm thinking about putting in the Mike Pope 4-band with tone control.

I have a couple of questions for those who have done this mod. First, did you have to modify the control cavity to fit all of the components and two batteries? I measured 1 1/4" which is what I think the pope needs. Just want to be sure. Also, does the tone control work in active mode as well, like the Sadowsky? Any other tips or ideas if I want to try to do the install myself?

Thanks a lot to anyone who can offer some advice.
 
#2,058
I had my first gig with the 55 94 last night. Halfway through the first song, our sound man got my attention and gave me the universal hand sign for "your new bass sounds freaking incredible". He's a good bit cranky most of the time, but he's a good dude and knows his stuff. Anyway, the whole band loved the way the Lakland sat in the mix. Mind you, they were in love with the tone from my DLX Jazz V with Aguilar 70's single coils and Sadowsky preamp. Aa amazing as that bass sounds, the Lakland just fits...every situation. We do a huge variety of covers and this bass nailed everything I was going for. Electronics aside, it just responds to my articulation a lot more than the fender. I feel like this bass can actually keep up with me when I go fro staccato patterns and faster passages.

I already ordered the Pope 2.2stk with tone control and will drop it in, when it arrives. I'm not sure I don't love the Bart pre, but I need to see what something else sounds like to decide.

Texan said:
If you decide to sell the pre, let me know.
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Once I get it all hooked up and do some a/b testing, I'll let you know. If I decide to sell it, I'll give you first dibs.
 
#2,059
M Sterling said:
I had my first gig with the 55 94 last night. Halfway through the first song, our sound man got my attention and gave me the universal hand sign for "your new bass sounds freaking incredible". He's a good bit cranky most of the time, but he's a good dude and knows his stuff. Anyway, the whole band loved the way the Lakland sat in the mix. Mind you, they were in love with the tone from my DLX Jazz V with Aguilar 70's single coils and Sadowsky preamp. Aa amazing as that bass sounds, the Lakland just fits...every situation. We do a huge variety of covers and this bass nailed everything I was going for. Electronics aside, it just responds to my articulation a lot more than the fender. I feel like this bass can actually keep up with me when I go fro staccato patterns and faster passages.

I already ordered the Pope 2.2stk with tone control and will drop it in, when it arrives. I'm not sure I don't love the Bart pre, but I need to see what something else sounds like to decide.



Once I get it all hooked up and do some a/b testing, I'll let you know. If I decide to sell it, I'll give you first dibs.
Click to expand...

Thanks, I'd really rather have a Lakland spec Bart pre in my 55-01 to match my 55-02 with Bart's.

In regards to your soundmans response, I've never had as many compliments on my sound as I have had since switching to Lakland. There is something special in the sauce.
 
#2,060
I played a Skyline 44-02 today in a shop. I was very surprised because it's probably 5lbs lighter than my 2009 55-01 Skyline. The shop owner said that Lakland has a new technique for drying the wood that makes it lighter. He also said the reason my bass is heavier is because I wasn't fully dried so the tone won't be as good. Are either of these statements true?
 

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