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Lakland Owners Group #69

#3,401
danclaro said:
I got a CAR 55-14 last summer and it's a really fantastic instrument. Nicely balanced. The neck feels great. Notes seem to jump off of the bass, similar to my Joe Osborne from '99. It's a beautiful bass. The neck never moves, so the action always stays where I like it. Before I got my Joe Osborne 2-3 years ago, I had Skyline basses. Skylines are nice, great value for the money, but the US basses are really works of art. This 55-14 is a treat to play.

CAR-55-14.jpg
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I really like my Tobacco Sunburst 44-14 but that Candy Apple Red would be my Plan B. Beautiful!!
 
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#3,403
Holdsg said:
You are not missing anyThing. I spent the better part of a week 2 weeks ago trying lots of old fenders in Nashville vintage guitar shops. None of them felt or sounded, or had as good electronics as a modern bass like a Lakland. I'm just not sold on the whole vintage guitar thing. I like new, sleek, good sounding, well constructed basses.
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saltymonkey said:
I had a beautiful 62 P bass for about 15 years. I think I only adjusted the truss rod once in that whole time. It played great and sounded great. I sold it about 10 years ago for $7k because I could get $7k for it. Every US Lakland I've owned played better than that Fender though. I know it's been said many times before but it's the necks. The incomparable necks. I couldn't buy another Fender P knowing how a US Lakie plays and feels. Not as my only P anyway. Last week I received Bob Glaub #02. It has the lowest action and straightest neck of any bass I've ever played. It doesn't even seem to have any relief in it just a perfect angle. The action is so low it's unbelievable that it doesn't buzz. It's burg mist with a 1.5" nut and beautiful rosewood board. A magic P bass. I haven't had time to take any pics yet but hope to this weekend. I'll surely post them here after. Hey BigDBass RS Guitar Works does really nice nitro.
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I'm not a vintage expert as I've only owned one vintage Jazz and have only tried several vintage bass guitars in retail stores. ^^^^This pretty much sums up my experience. Give me a modern passive [well made] P, J, or MM any day!! My preference for a well made guitar is Lakland. They feel great, sound great, and just plain work.
 
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#3,404
saltymonkey said:
I had a beautiful 62 P bass for about 15 years. I think I only adjusted the truss rod once in that whole time. It played great and sounded great. I sold it about 10 years ago for $7k because I could get $7k for it. Every US Lakland I've owned played better than that Fender though. I know it's been said many times before but it's the necks. The incomparable necks. I couldn't buy another Fender P knowing how a US Lakie plays and feels. Not as my only P anyway. Last week I received Bob Glaub #02. It has the lowest action and straightest neck of any bass I've ever played. It doesn't even seem to have any relief in it just a perfect angle. The action is so low it's unbelievable that it doesn't buzz. It's burg mist with a 1.5" nut and beautiful rosewood board. A magic P bass. I haven't had time to take any pics yet but hope to this weekend. I'll surely post them here after. Hey BigDBass RS Guitar Works does really nice nitro.
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Cannot wait to see pics!!!

Congrats on getting a great bass!
 
#3,407
BigDBass said:
I'm thinking it might be pretty dumb that I'm GASsing for an old (say early 70s) P when I have this US Lakland:
IMG_20141202_230828511.jpg


But I've never had an old Fender... Reason tells me that the 1.5" J neck (my precious...), ease of adjustability, etc, etc, make the Lakie better.

Been thinking about a refinish in transparent white or blonde, but Pat doesn't do nitro as far as I know. (Who does do nitro?)

The only thing lacking or not easily addressable is that I'd like a maple fretboard.

But, like I said, I've never had an old Fender. :D
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I would take my usa bg over the 61 I used to own 100% of the time. But 70s Ps are different and awesome.
 
#3,409
ShowKing said:
For those with both passive and active Lakland basses, do you find the output levels are generally similar?

I'm curious as I've only owned active Lakland's.
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It depends on how you have trim set on the active preamp. Because a passive P is more mid present than a passive Jazz, the P seems to be louder and closer to the factory trim setting on the active basses when the outputs are actually very close. It easy to adjust the trim to level everything out.
 
#3,410
ShowKing said:
For those with both passive and active Lakland basses, do you find the output levels are generally similar?

I'm curious as I've only owned active Lakland's.
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My all passive 494 (converted that way by me), with Aero pups wired VVT, has PLENTY of output. How does that compare to an active Lakland...dunno. I do know that once you start comparing active/passive scenarios when you normally have the preamp NOT flat by either boosting treble, mids, or bass then your comparing apples to oranges.
 
#3,412
pickles said:
I would take my usa bg over the 61 I used to own 100% of the time. But 70s Ps are different and awesome.
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Funny...when I started playing in the mid-1980s EVERYONE said to NEVER buy a 1970s Fender "they are crap" is what I heard...never played one....but now, they are all the rage...must not have been "crap"...may have to play one for grins to see what I think!

The 1969/70 Fender in the RRHOF that belonged to Elvis is really sweet looking! 3TB and blocked neck....looked brand new (doubt he played it much).
 
#3,415
basspraiser said:
Funny...when I started playing in the mid-1980s EVERYONE said to NEVER buy a 1970s Fender "they are crap" is what I heard...never played one....but now, they are all the rage...must not have been "crap"...may have to play one for grins to see what I think!

The 1969/70 Fender in the RRHOF that belonged to Elvis is really sweet looking! 3TB and blocked neck....looked brand new (doubt he played it much).
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What they are is very different from the 60s basses. So if you want something like a 60s bass then they are "crap" for what you are looking for. But if you want punchy stringy snarl, they rock.
 
#3,417
If you remember I had some problems with low Link Removed on A string. It was better with flats, but essentially, I couldn't use rounds or Link Removed with a pick.
So, I decided to keep LH-3 pre and have Nordstrand pickups installed. it took them a while to get to Australia, but finally they are in. After having a Link Removed with a technician that replaced them, I decided to change toggle switch to humbucker-series, rear single coil and humbucker-parallel. I always preffered a rear coil and never used the front one. When I play humbucker only, series is just so much fuller, with a serious bite. And parallel sounds better when blended with a single coil in front. This is how it looks now.

20150222_020607_zpsa8066a67.jpg


20150222_020548_zps0ef8f82b.jpg
 
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#3,418
felixxx said:
If you remember I had some problems with low Link Removed on A string. It was better with flats, but essentially, I couldn't use rounds or Link Removed with a pick.
So, I decided to keep LH-3 pre and have Nordstrand pickups installed. it took them a while to get to Australia, but finally they are in. After having a Link Removed with a technician that replaced them, I decided to change toggle switch to humbucker-series, rear single coil and humbucker-parallel. I always preffered a rear coil and never used the front one. When I play humbucker only, series is just so much fuller, with a serious bite. And parallel sounds better when blended with a single coil in front. This is how it looks now.

20150222_020607_zpsa8066a67.jpg


20150222_020548_zps0ef8f82b.jpg
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That looks bada$$!!!! Love the look of the pole pieces against that quilt top. It just looks mean!
 
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