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Lakland Owners Group #69

#23,281
68Goldfish said:
I have them both and honestly I can go either way. The AG definitely sounds cleaner/more modern and has a more normal EQ section. Not sure what you don't like about the TH but I usually keep the gain and drive knobs all the way down on the to get it as clean as possible. They both sound great to me actually. Probably my favorite setup is the AG with a pair of DB112's but the SL's are definitely no slouch either.
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Thanks for the feedback. I'll have to experiment more with keeping the drive knob low. I've found keeping the gain at 0 really helps with the bottom end.

I've found the TH + SL112s sound great with my Fenders, but have been struggling with the Stingray and Lakland. Really wanna try the AG and see if it's what's missing.

Thanks for the feedback! Happy New Year

The rig in question being played by my very talented partner
IMG_4283.jpg
 
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#23,282
jlo95 said:
Thanks for the feedback. I'll have to experiment more with keeping the drive knob low. I've found keeping the gain at 0 really helps with the bottom end.

I've found the TH + SL112s sound great with my Fenders, but have been struggling with the Stingray and Lakland. Really wanna try the AG and see if it's what's missing.
Click to expand...
I'm not sure what you're not liking about the TH so it's hard for me to give advice one way or the other. I would recommend finding the big TH thread over in the amps section where they go over the peculiarities of the way the gain and drive knob interact with the EQ section. Maybe you're already familiar with all that. Honestly I find that both amps set flat (I don't use any effects other than a compressor at times when I want to hassle with it) through either the DB's or the SL's sound fantastic. Especially with the 55-94 where you have practically all the controls you need on the bass.
Great pic of your partner there by the way. You can tell she was in mid rock move there with the earring flying backwards.
 
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#23,283
Bought my 3rd Lakland yesterday (had a 4-94 and a 55-01)

This is a barely used 44-os i got for a good deal at a pawn shop. Got it home and realized it was tuned BEAD (a bad sign). First thing i thought was "Oh boy, the neck is screwed"

Tuned it to EADG, adjusted the truss rod and everything worked correctly. Lowered the action, set intonation, and the bass settled in perfectly. Big sigh of relief

Its a nice bass. Love the neck, has a good mid range honk/growl to it. I like the offset body shape better than the rounded 44-01 style.

Bought it on a whim, so far it has all my attention
 
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#23,284
jlo95 said:
Thanks for the feedback. I'll have to experiment more with keeping the drive knob low. I've found keeping the gain at 0 really helps with the bottom end.

I've found the TH + SL112s sound great with my Fenders, but have been struggling with the Stingray and Lakland. Really wanna try the AG and see if it's what's missing.

Thanks for the feedback! Happy New Year

The rig in question being played by my very talented partner
View attachment 7400356
Click to expand...
I struggled more with the TH series as well to find "my tone".......the drive knob is a key element to find the right tone. I found my happy place with the AG700 though. It is a clean platform to add color as needed with pedals if you want some drive or want to add fun fx filters/chorus/etc.....So, I always lean towards the AG series. Good luck on the tone search!!!!!
 
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#23,287
I was pretty pumped about the optional roasted or roasted and flamed necks. I reached out and talked with John at Lākland. I found that all the US Series will still all have quartersawn necks regardless of the neck chosen. US Classics may get flat sawn necks if roasted or flamed are chosen, based on blank availability. All necks will still use carbon rods along side of the truss rod, and the truss rods will remain a single action traditional style truss rod even though the industry seems to be going to dual action truss rods (which IMHO are useless on a bass).
 
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#23,288
Hey all,

Before I dive into this and tear it apart - I was hoping someone could point be in the right direction.

I have a 55-02 Deluxe with a buzz in the neck pickup position. The bridge pickup is OK.

When I tried another 55-02 through the same rig- it was totally silent.

The neck pickup buzzing gets worse when I take my hand off the strings. It's seems like a a grounding issue - but I don't know where to start being this is an active system.

When I got the bass, the D/G side of the neck pickup was weak 1/2 the level of the other strings. The spring holding the pickup height on that side was messing with the signal of the pickup. I moved the spring. and the pickup came back to life.

Anyway - any help would be appreciated!
 
#23,289
While there is a preamp the pickups themselves are passive so if the noise is from the neck pickup AND its caused by a grounding issue (which I agree it sounds like it is) then it should be easy to spot as there will be two wires off of that pickup. The hot goes to the blend pot and then the ground should go wherever the ground goes. If its a grounding issue then I would assume it would be with that wire.
 
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#23,290
Johnny Alien said:
While there is a preamp the pickups themselves are passive so if the noise is from the neck pickup AND its caused by a grounding issue (which I agree it sounds like it is) then it should be easy to spot as there will be two wires off of that pickup. The hot goes to the blend pot and then the ground should go wherever the ground goes. If its a grounding issue then I would assume it would be with that wire.
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Thanks. Yes. It does the same thing in passive mode too.

The pickup side seems to be connected OK.
Not sure where that ground wire goes from the the pickup.
I'd have to take the entire harness and pots out of the bass to see whats going on.
Everything is so crammed in the control cavity.


IMG_5631.jpeg
 
#23,292
I finally cracked the code. This 55-60 Custom was the second Lakland I purchased (from @Lovep I believe?) back in 2018. It sounded ok but the tone always seemed flat and lifeless to my ears. It was passive so I ran it with all sorts of strings to see if I could find it, to no avail. Then I got “Old Glory” and this one got relegated to the wall.

About a year ago, I thought maybe if I put in a preamp, it would bring it to life. I had an Audere in Old Glory so I decided to go with a John East and wouldn’t you know it?! Still lifeless but at least with a little punch to it. I thought maybe it was the pre (never tried a John East before…) so back on the wall it went.

Around August last year, I was fortunate to get another Audere right before they announced they were going out of business so I took it down off the wall and swapped it. Ugh. Flat. No sparkle. Back on the wall.

Well, I got a little extra change around the holidays after many gigs so I thought I’d give some new pickups a whirl. Got myself a set of Nordstrand NJ5FS split coils and finally had the opportunity to get them installed last evening. The initial sound test was positive but I didn’t get a chance to truly work them out until just now and my lord! It finally does that Jazz thing my ear absolutely craves! Dead silent too. Very pleased about that as Old Glory has a persistent buzz when I play it at home, plugged in. (Wireless at gigs so no buzz issues thankfully).

IMG_8843.jpeg


I have to tweak pickup height a little bit yet as they are a bit hot but I’ll likely take her out for our gig tomorrow.

This was my #2 right after I got it back then but it was purely a backup…like this gig right after a broke a string on my 55-02 mid-set. 😳

IMG_2738.jpeg
 
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#23,293
mixbus said:
Thanks. Yes. It does the same thing in passive mode too.

The pickup side seems to be connected OK.
Not sure where that ground wire goes from the the pickup.
I'd have to take the entire harness and pots out of the bass to see whats going on.
Everything is so crammed in the control cavity.
Click to expand...
I would think that if you remove the two screws and lift the PCB board you should be able to see where the ground goes. I am not near mine at the moment or I would crack it open and peek. I don't know for sure but I would bet that it should ground to the back of one of the pots
 
#23,294
Johnny Alien said:
I would think that if you remove the two screws and lift the PCB board you should be able to see where the ground goes. I am not near mine at the moment or I would crack it open and peek. I don't know for sure but I would bet that it should ground to the back of one of the pots
Click to expand...
Thanks. I did take the back cover off and checked all the wiring. Nothing looked out of place, no loose connections, or wires touching that I could tell.
 
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#23,296
Since my New Year’s resolution is to not buy any basses in 2026, here are two great opportunities for the LOG:

Brand new (open box) US Classic 44-64 $2100:
www.guitarcenter.com

Platinum Lakland Classic 44-64 Maple Fretboard Electric Bass Guitar Tobacco Sunburst | Guitar Center

Get the best price on our Platinum Collection Lakland Classic 44-64 Maple Fretboard Electric Bass Guitar, only at Guitar Center!
www.guitarcenter.com www.guitarcenter.com

Brand new (open box) US 55-94 $3100:
Platinum Lakland Deluxe 55-94 5-String Bass 3-Color Sunburst Maple Fretboard | Guitar Center

Need to select “Demo Gear” on the right side of the page to get the discounted prices.
 
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#23,300
mixbus said:
Thanks. I did take the back cover off and checked all the wiring. Nothing looked out of place, no loose connections, or wires touching that I could tell
Click to expand...
I once had a huge problem after an EMG install and one of the techs over there helped me figure out that it was the SPRINGS. Something about the active electronics and induction and a coil of wire….
…anyway, have you tried it with the springs removed?
 
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