Lakland Owners Group #69

[macribas]

I'm wondering if KL really stands for Korea, or it just corresponds to the series, like SL= ShoreLine, KL =sKyLine Japan maybe?

Been LAKLANDless for way too long and am currently lookin at Skylines Japan or Edwards Tetsuya or GrassRoots Tetsuya (ESP's homemade brews of the LAKLAND 55-69 Tetsuya clones)

Interestigly, my old Shoreline 55-94SL went back to Japan where it was born, and a new Delano MM/MM set was installed in the ESP Craft Shop, so I may be getting back the USA custom LH-3 MM/MM overwound set I'd ordered for it.
Also, I may be getting back the bridge from my old USA 55-94.
Looks like some sort of a frankenlakland is coming together at me , ha ha

I didn't assume anything about the KL letters meaning. I just knew that Lakland serial numbers starting with KL are the Skyline Japan. In fact, since that post I found out that the Skyline Japan series is not made in Korea but in China. So I guess you're right about the meaning.

 

[denchiq]

I didn't assume anything about the KL letters meaning. I just knew that Lakland serial numbers starting with KL are the Skyline Japan. In fact, since that post I found out that the Skyline Japan series is not made in Korea but in China. So I guess you're right about the meaning.

yes, China has been my guess too. If anything, a few signs about the Skyline Japan make me think of GrassRoots / lower tier LTD.

 

[Joeykun]

For those that like DR Strings especially Hi-Beams like me, you have to try the new Dragon Skin+ Strings. I have been testing them on my Sadowsky 4 string bass since July and they still sound like new even after several shows in various temperatures. I now have them on my Lakland 55-AJ. Just like the box says “Superior Sound - Long Life” Grab a set…you’ll love them!
The DBS5-45 set fits Lakands perfectly!

 

[denchiq]

kono rakurando wa, sugoooi
omedetou


I had a 55-02 with all black hardware, was cool too. Other than that, I think I never saw much black-hardware Laklands.

As for the DR HiBeams, they are my best choice for a 55-. Thanks for the info
Also, if you like the sound of coated DRs, you may want to try out the MarkBass LongEvo coated strings. They are not AS good but for a fraction of the price come really damn close. I like them a lot better than, say, the Elixir

 

[macribas]

kono rakurando wa, sugoooi
omedetou


I had a 55-02 with all black hardware, was cool too. Other than that, I think I never saw much black-hardware Laklands.

As for the DR HiBeams, they are my best choice for a 55-. Thanks for the info
Also, if you like the sound of coated DRs, you may want to try out the MarkBass LongEvo coated strings. They are not AS good but for a fraction of the price come really damn close. I like them a lot better than, say, the Elixir

Black hardware used to be very rare, only one-offs, but now they have production Skyline models with black hardware. I happen to have modded a few with black hardware.

Oh, and I had no idea DragonSkins+ were coated, thanks for that info. I usually don't care for coated strings.

 

[Joeykun]

I had no idea DragonSkins+ were coated, thanks for that info. I usually don't care for coated strings.

Neither do I. But, you would never know they were coated. Great feel and tone!!

Also, if you like the sound of coated DRs, you may want to try out the MarkBass LongEvo coated strings. They are not AS good but for a fraction of the price come really damn close. I like them a lot better than, say, the Elixir

Thanks, but Im fortunate to be a DR Artist! Thanks for the Nihongo too!!

 

[overit]

I just picked up a 44-02 Deluxe and can’t put it down. Now I’m gassing for a 55-02, specifically the purple Sweetwater exclusives since they are currently price dropped. 2 questions:

1) The 44-02 neck is wonderful, anyone NOT get the same feeling from a 55-02 - assuming you are a player that is comfortable on 4s and 5s?
2) My 44-02 has a rosewood board and I generally prefer that but the purples only come with an ebony board. Can anyone with both Lakland fingerboards give a comparison?

Thanks!

 

[Thumpinshelton]

I just picked up a 44-02 Deluxe and can’t put it down. Now I’m gassing for a 55-02, specifically the purple Sweetwater exclusives since they are currently price dropped. 2 questions:

1) The 44-02 neck is wonderful, anyone NOT get the same feeling from a 55-02 - assuming you are a player that is comfortable on 4s and 5s?
2) My 44-02 has a rosewood board and I generally prefer that but the purples only come with an ebony board. Can anyone with both Lakland fingerboards give a comparison?

Thanks!
View attachment 7039818

First.....welcome to the Lakland family!!!!

I love the 44-02 necks just as much as the 5 string necks. A couple things to remember. The 5'r has 19mm spacing and also a 35" scale compared to the 34" scale on the 4's. In my hands though I can switch back and forth with no issues. I never feel like it is a 35" scale compared to some other basses by other manufacturers. Very comfortable and easy to play.

I have Laklands with Maple, rosewood, and the ebony fingerboards. IMHO I cannot tell the difference in sound between any of the 3. I will say though that the ebony at first feels a little more softer and slick than rosewood, but after some play time I do not feel that at all. Kind of weird to describe, but I would not shy away from ebony at all.

Hope this helps a little!!!!

 

[MaxSpinrun]

Love my 44-02, my board is maple. Yes the neck is my favorite profile.

 

[overit]

First.....welcome to the Lakland family!!!!

I love the 44-02 necks just as much as the 5 string necks. A couple things to remember. The 5'r has 19mm spacing and also a 35" scale compared to the 34" scale on the 4's. In my hands though I can switch back and forth with no issues. I never feel like it is a 35" scale compared to some other basses by other manufacturers. Very comfortable and easy to play.

I have Laklands with Maple, rosewood, and the ebony fingerboards. IMHO I cannot tell the difference in sound between any of the 3. I will say though that the ebony at first feels a little more softer and slick than rosewood, but after some play time I do not feel that at all. Kind of weird to describe, but I would not shy away from ebony at all.

Hope this helps a little!!!!

Thanks! Interesting to hear that the ebony feels softer than the rosewood to you. I've always felt that rosewood has a little more forgiveness and softer attack than maple - maybe more "bloom", and I tend to think of ebony closer to maple than rosewood (?) - snappier, more immediate... Scale length usually isn't a problem for me, spacing on the other hand can vary. I think ultimately it's the whole neck feel and if it's as comfortable as the 44-02 I'll probably be thrilled.

Also, I just set up the action to factory spec from the website, lowering the saddles a fair bit (the relief was already spot on) and wow, the fingerboard just flies.

 

[Z-Bass]

I recently had some work done on my Lakland Skyline 44-60. It's the Ice Blue Metallic finish with matching headstock and maple board. Quite the looker. It's very comfortable and lightweight. The neck is incredibly stable, seems to stay in tune even after I've had it in the case for a while. However, I've always struggled with the tone of the bass, and the noise especially in certain situations. The pickups were the weakest pickups I've encountered in a while and they had this weird midrange quality (not a good one) that only got worse if I turned up my volume to gigging levels. After inspecting the pickups and trying a few things, we decided to swap out the electronics. I ordered a new passive harness from Best Bass Gear but wanted to Volume-Blend-Tone configuration. I know V/V/T is traditional but I prefer the V/B/T setup. We put in a set of Dimarzio Model J pickups and also shielded the pickup and electronics cavities while we had everything open. The results turned out great and I really like the sound of the Model Js. Output is improved for sure and the electronics are whisper quiet. Overall very pleased.

 

[ejschultz]

I recently had some work done on my Lakland Skyline 44-60. It's the Ice Blue Metallic finish with matching headstock and maple board. Quite the looker. It's very comfortable and lightweight. The neck is incredibly stable, seems to stay in tune even after I've had it in the case for a while. However, I've always struggled with the tone of the bass, and the noise especially in certain situations. The pickups were the weakest pickups I've encountered in a while and they had this weird midrange quality (not a good one) that only got worse if I turned up my volume to gigging levels. After inspecting the pickups and trying a few things, we decided to swap out the electronics. I ordered a new passive harness from Best Bass Gear but wanted to Volume-Blend-Tone configuration. I know V/V/T is traditional but I prefer the V/B/T setup. We put in a set of Dimarzio Model J pickups and also shielded the pickup and electronics cavities while we had everything open. The results turned out great and I really like the sound of the Model Js. Output is improved for sure and the electronics are whisper quiet. Overall very pleased.
View attachment 7040171View attachment 7040170View attachment 7040173View attachment 7040172

I still have my stock pickups in my 44-60, but I did shield it with paint. My biggest complaint with any vintage style instrument is the lack of factory shielding. It makes such a huge difference. Good job. I’ve tried swapping pickups on mine but I keep going back to the originals. Fralins fit but were super tight. I didn’t like how tight the neck pickup was in the cavity so I went back to stock. I’ve also thrown in a set of SD QPs, but they’re out for the stock pickups again. They have a weird mid scoop, even when soloed. Aside from shielding, I also changed out my stacked knobs for VVT. I built my own harness/control plate and used linear volumes. You probably get similar functionality with your blend, assuming it’s an M/N blend. Audio taper volumes are good when you have one volume. When you have two, they should be linear. I did a deep dive on pot selection and that was the consensus, which I agree with after messing around a lot.

 

[Z-Bass]

I built my own harness/control plate and used linear volumes. You probably get similar functionality with your blend, assuming it’s an M/N blend. Audio taper volumes are good when you have one volume. When you have two, they should be linear. I did a deep dive on pot selection and that was the consensus, which I agree with after messing around a lot.

Thanks. I will note that the pickup and electronics cavities did have shielding paint. May not have needed to have the copper shielding done but thought may as well since it was all open. Funny that you should mention the deep dive on pots. I probably should have looked into this more as well. I noticed is the volume has not taper at all. Like it's off and then when you move the control the slightest, it's full on. No gradual increase or decrease as you move the volume knob.

 

[denchiq]

I noticed is the volume has not taper at all. Like it's off and then when you move the control the slightest, it's full on. No gradual increase or decrease as you move the volume knob.

Guess this isn't a bug it's a feature. Seems like Lakland prefer this taper for some of their passive JBs for a reason.
I had a custom order 55 Dual J CS (basically two ChiSonic singles on a 55 body, passive), got it directly from the factory and the volume pots worked as you describe. It seemed like amost 1/2 of the pot range it wasn't effective, then it came in and them bloomed fast in the last 1/3 of the range.
I understand some people like it like that (you use less of a turn to go full-on volume), but I personally prefer a more gradual increase

 

[denchiq]

Thanks, but Im fortunate to be a DR Artist! Thanks for the Nihongo too!!

どういたしまして。
a DR Artist, that's great! Speaks for itself. DR is my favorite brand as I metioned above.

EDIT: speaking of Nihongo, the current song im the playlist happened to be King Crimson - Matte Kudasai ))))

 

[denchiq]

I just picked up a 44-02 Deluxe and can’t put it down. Now I’m gassing for a 55-02, specifically the purple Sweetwater exclusives since they are currently price dropped. 2 questions:

1) The 44-02 neck is wonderful, anyone NOT get the same feeling from a 55-02 - assuming you are a player that is comfortable on 4s and 5s?
2) My 44-02 has a rosewood board and I generally prefer that but the purples only come with an ebony board. Can anyone with both Lakland fingerboards give a comparison?

Thanks!

congrats on your choice! that's a great bass and a nice looking one too!

1. Dan Lakin explained he'd designed the neck of the 4-94 / 44-02 as a cross btw a JB and a PB so most 'convetional' bass players would feel instantly at home with it.
The 55-94 / 55-02 however isn't a seemless transition from the 4-94/ 44-02. It feels wider and less rounded, the higher up the neck the more it feels 'flatter' and 'edgier'. If anything , it makes me think on the 'regular' position frets (1-9) for a usual bass player it is a 'riffing' neck whereas on the higher frets (12-22) it's more of a 'soloing' neck
2. I only had ebony on a fretless Lakland but various types of maple and rosewood on fretted Laklands. I'm not exactly in the tonewood corksniffing camp but somehow it always turned out that my most favorite Laklandsalways happened to be ash/maple, but ash/rosewood or alder/rosewood, less so. I did have ash/maple Laklands that I didn't connect with, of course; but somehow, there was never an ash/rosewood let away alder/rosewood bass that I loved, just never happened.
So there is definitely A difference, but it is up to you if it matters to you. As for ebony, I'd say it feels closer to maple maybe, and gives a faster response to arrack it seems

 

[overit]

congrats on your choice! that's a great bass and a nice looking one too!

1. Dan Lakin explained he'd designed the neck of the 4-94 / 44-02 as a cross btw a JB and a PB so most 'convetional' bass players would feel instantly at home with it.
The 55-94 / 55-02 however isn't a seemless transition from the 4-94/ 44-02. It feels wider and less rounded, the higher up the neck the more it feels 'flatter' and 'edgier'. If anything , it makes me think on the 'regular' position frets (1-9) for a usual bass player it is a 'riffing' neck whereas on the higher frets (12-22) it's more of a 'soloing' neck
2. I only had ebony on a fretless Lakland but various types of maple and rosewood on fretted Laklands. I'm not exactly in the tonewood corksniffing camp but somehow it always turned out that my most favorite Laklandsalways happened to be ash/maple, but ash/rosewood or alder/rosewood, less so. I did have ash/maple Laklands that I didn't connect with, of course; but somehow, there was never an ash/rosewood let away alder/rosewood bass that I loved, just never happened.
So there is definitely A difference, but it is up to you if it matters to you. As for ebony, I'd say it feels closer to maple maybe, and gives a faster response to arrack it seems

Thanks for the detailed response! I guess the only way to really know is to get a hold of one - I believe I've only tried another Lakland 4 and possibly a 5 but at the time (at least 5 years back) I was adverse to 35" scale so I didn't give it a true go. I'd prob go used Skyline if I can't find one to try rather than shell out for a new one. I do agree with maple and ebony having that faster response to attack. Depending on strings and genre though, it might not matter so much.

 

[Texan]

Has anyone converted their 55-02 from volume/balance to volume/volume? If so, did you use 250k pots for both pickups or 250k for the neck and 500k for the humbucker?

 

[JB Player]

I just picked up a 44-02 Deluxe and can’t put it down. Now I’m gassing for a 55-02, specifically the purple Sweetwater exclusives since they are currently price dropped. 2 questions:

1) The 44-02 neck is wonderful, anyone NOT get the same feeling from a 55-02 - assuming you are a player that is comfortable on 4s and 5s?
2) My 44-02 has a rosewood board and I generally prefer that but the purples only come with an ebony board. Can anyone with both Lakland fingerboards give a comparison?

Thanks!
View attachment 7039818

Welcome to the Club JD! and congrats on the very nice 44-02 deluxe! I had the same one, with roasted maple neck and rosewood fretboard. I currently own a 55-02 with maple fretboard, which is an amazing bass. The feel between 44-02 and 55-02 is very different, but both feel and play amazingly well, especially when well set up - this is the Lakland magic. I prefer the maple fingerboard, it's the way it feels under my fingers but likely more about the overall feel of that particular bass. I find the maple fingerboard snappy and brighter, but again from one bass to the next, it's more perception than fact. I never had an ebony fretboard on a bass, but on my gretsch guitars and some of my acoustics, my impression is faster attack and sustain comparable to rosewood - there are many variables, it's really great to try different Lakkies if you can access them; I think you will be surprised of how great they all feel, while different, the common thread is.. inspiring to play. Enjoy

 

[overit]

...it's really great to try different Lakkies if you can access them; I think you will be surprised of how great they all feel, while different, the common thread is.. inspiring to play. Enjoy

This... thanks! Hopefully I can.