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Lakland Owners Group #69

#22,081
nervous said:
As I go through this one, cleaning, tweaking in my attempt to return it to as nice a condition as possible I thought it would be fun to share that process here because we all love pics and stuff. If at any point you get like "oh geez, not this guy with this thing again..." just say the word and I will cut back on everything except the things that vex me. But, this one has me excited and I am enjoying the ride. And remember, it's all your faults for lighting this fuse so you'll now have to endure my endless babbling about it. :laugh:

With that, I have started the testing and disassembly portion of the process. Most importantly the truss rod works as it should and it too all adjustments beautifully. And the playability is very good so that tells me the neck should have no issues. Two big hurdles cleared for me as I have had surprises in the past.

It looks like the EMG's that were in there were indeed a 4 string set, at least the P side of things. And, whoever installed them and did the setup should really pack up their tools and move to a new hobby. If they're calling themselves a tech and charging folks that is a crime. Wiring was a mess, and the setup was just so wrong. Thankfully I have corrected the set up and the electronics have been gutted so that is all in the rearview.

I do enjoy the questions that older guitars present but too often without satisfactory answers. In this case it had one of the most sticky and unexplainable schmutz under the pickguard. What was it and how did that much sticky liquid get into that tiny gap and then distribute itself nearly 100% across the pickguard area, you not pool into the P pickup rout? It was borderline disgusting and about had the PG glued to the body. Thinking that the event that caused that mess must have been interesting. PG and body cleaned up nicely though.
View attachment 7111603

I also decided to remove the neck inlay stickers. Had they been real I would have loved them, but stickers, not so much. My greatest concern was if there would be any fretboard ghosting or discoloration where the blocks were vs. the surrounding areas because of the time they had been on there, the way that body paint will fade or yellow with time while remaining the original color underneath the PG, like my current white DJ5 has done. But happy to report that, with some careful effort and cleanup, they were removed without incident with no signs of any fretboard variations. And that appeared to uncover some very nice birdseye maple position markers (that's my guess anyway). I think now that it would have been a shame to have left those hidden.
View attachment 7111607

View attachment 7111608

A little builders note left in the P pocket:
View attachment 7111610

Frets are interesting. They show very little signs of wear which would be unusual for a 15 year old bass, especially when most other things would indicate some age appropriate, but well cared for use. So my first though was that it likely had a level and crown at some point that would explain their current state. But after taking some measurements and doing some quick research that may not be the case. I don't know what size fret wire is, or would have been used, on these USA models. One old post I found showed an option of '.041 x .085' frets. And I know these are smallish compared to a lot of basses, but these actually consistently measure at .0455 x .0845 so if the first info is correct then these would be hardly worn at all. And I don't see any obvious signs of a refret so that's more positive news.

Next up will be body and PG buffing polishing. The body will require far less that I expected,

The PG is a consumable I know and can be replaced. But since it's original I will take a crack at restoring it as much as possible and I think it will be just fine. The only nitpicky area that get in my head are these seeming delaminations around a few screw holes. Probably from overtightening. Not sure what I can do about that. I may try wicking a bit of thin CA glue into those spaces to see if I can make them visualy disappear I have seen that done with a similar condition around finish lifting around fret ends.

View attachment 7111630 View attachment 7111631

And, that's all for my Day 1 adventures.
Click to expand...
Loving the pictures and the process journal! Please keep it coming.
 
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#22,083
Johnny Alien said:
That is a LOT of pickguard scratching which seems odd based on the frets having limited wear. Are you positive that the plastic isn't still on that to peel off? I can't tell you how many times I find that to be the case. After a few years it starts to bond in a way that makes it harder to tell it's there.
Click to expand...
Agreed. They don't match and that's baffling. And I have been thinking about the plastic layer. I had an experience a few years back with a Chandler PG that I peeled one layer and thought I was good. It was marking up prematurely for my liking at which time I was told there was actually a second protective layer. Peeled that and Voila! it was new again. So with that in mind I have been lightly poking at that area just to see if I can get a clean release. But also being cautious because if I am wrong then I will ruin the pickguard as it currently sits. I'll let you know what I find after I spend more time with that under some magnification. It would be crazy if it did peel and revealed a nearly new 15 yo PG beneath. And yes, also knowing that if it is the aging may not make peeling it easy.
 
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#22,085
Made more progress today than I anticipated. Planned on some general futzing and disassembly but actually completed PG and body polishing. The PG was rough but the body was not in need of much, more an exercise because it's already disassembled.

So, if you recall the before picture of the PG in my last post I had minimal expectations. But a few applications of each Meguiars Scratch-X, Griots Complete Compound and finally Griots Complete Polish the final result was very nice. And that delaminating screw hole issue is not a second removable protective layer, I can't lift in those areas and cannot wick any CA glue into them. They seem closed off. So they stay as is. Interesting side note on the PG wear markings. They were odd bass player patterns. I play guitar as well and the long, deep diagonal markings are usually associated with a pick and a strum, a pretty aggressive strum at that. But after everything is mostly polished out there are a lot of those that remain.

So, here is what we. Shine is hard to capture, as are the remaining markings but here you go:
IMG_6926.jpg


IMG_6927.jpg



And same for the body:
IMG_6935.jpg


IMG_6936.jpg


And paired up:
IMG_6937.jpg
 
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#22,086
On another note, I found additional notations on the neck and body that may mean something to the folks that know the Lakland team.

The neck heel.

There are a couple dates noted, the 7/7/08 (who are M with the line, and DGW?)
IMG_6928.jpg


And the 5/9/08 (+16?):

IMG_6929.jpg


And the neck pocket.

It is much harder to read and capture this info.

Enhanced:
IMG_6930.jpg


Unenhanced:
IMG_6931.jpg


Do these look familiar to anyone?
 
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#22,088
nervous said:
Made more progress today than I anticipated. Planned on some general futzing and disassembly but actually completed PG and body polishing. The PG was rough but the body was not in need of much, more an exercise because it's already disassembled.

So, if you recall the before picture of the PG in my last post I had minimal expectations. But a few applications of each Meguiars Scratch-X, Griots Complete Compound and finally Griots Complete Polish the final result was very nice. And that delaminating screw hole issue is not a second removable protective layer, I can't lift in those areas and cannot wick any CA glue into them. They seem closed off. So they stay as is. Interesting side note on the PG wear markings. They were odd bass player patterns. I play guitar as well and the long, deep diagonal markings are usually associated with a pick and a strum, a pretty aggressive strum at that. But after everything is mostly polished out there are a lot of those that remain.

So, here is what we. Shine is hard to capture, as are the remaining markings but here you go:
View attachment 7112172

View attachment 7112174


And same for the body:
View attachment 7112180

View attachment 7112181

And paired up:
View attachment 7112182
Click to expand...
Wow!!!!

Awesome job!..

Remarkable
 
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#22,091
I keep forgetting there is a lot of Lakland discussion on Talkbass outside of the LOG thread.

This thread in particular has really nice info on early Laklands. It’s kind of interesting, it is a thread that originally should have been in the “Wanted” section (if I were the mods and saw the original post I’d immediately move it), but it ended up like a great chat. It wouldn’t happen in the Classifieds.

Post in thread 'Early Laklands 4-94, 44-94'
https://www.talkbass.com/threads/early-laklands-4-94-44-94.1664242/#post-28823765
 
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#22,099
Si-bob said:
Nice, thanks. So the only difference between a Dual J and a 44-63 is the name?! Appreciating that the name somewhat denotes whether it’s a Classic or a Custom.

Thanks
Si
Click to expand...
Yes ...the names on many models were changed when Dan sold the business to the Pirruccello brothers
 
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