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Lakland Owners Group #69

#4,861
Double E said:
Feeling like I hit the lottery! Just a few short weeks ago I only dreamt of having a Lakland...now I have two! The 'burst 55-02 Deluxe with an exceptional quilt top was a gift from my wife for 25 years of marriage! I dug it so much that I jumped at the chance to have another fiver...a 55-01 Deluxe Limited in trans blue, quite a beauty too.

I can't get over how much of a pleasure it is to play these. Until I laid hands on the 55-02, I hadn't played a Lakland fiver at all. It was a little scary considering it was a gift and I didn't want to think of how to deal with the situation had it turned out to be a bust. The wife picked this particular model on her own with no influence from me... I was impressed! However, I had played a friend's 44-64 Custom and his Skyline Hollowbody and knew how great the fit, finish and setup was. It turns out the 5 string neck seems like it was made for my hands.

I had both of these at a rehearsal last night and the proof is in the pudding, I dug them both! Now to ramp up my technical skills to match the basses!

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Wow! Those are two beautiful ladies you have there!!
 
#4,862
Double E said:
Feeling like I hit the lottery! Just a few short weeks ago I only dreamt of having a Lakland...now I have two! The 'burst 55-02 Deluxe with an exceptional quilt top was a gift from my wife for 25 years of marriage! I dug it so much that I jumped at the chance to have another fiver...a 55-01 Deluxe Limited in trans blue, quite a beauty too.

I can't get over how much of a pleasure it is to play these. Until I laid hands on the 55-02, I hadn't played a Lakland fiver at all. It was a little scary considering it was a gift and I didn't want to think of how to deal with the situation had it turned out to be a bust. The wife picked this particular model on her own with no influence from me... I was impressed! However, I had played a friend's 44-64 Custom and his Skyline Hollowbody and knew how great the fit, finish and setup was. It turns out the 5 string neck seems like it was made for my hands.

I had both of these at a rehearsal last night and the proof is in the pudding, I dug them both! Now to ramp up my technical skills to match the basses!

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That is indeed a double score, congrats!
 
#4,865
Double E said:
Thanks guys. I have been playing musical basses for a while. These have the potential to settle me down I think. I only have to worry about GASsing for more Lakands!
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It's a very real concern; Gassing for more Laklands! I'm up to four now!!

11012998_10206448402878382_8530173539592511799_n.jpg


Here's my latest... Plan on having it refin'd in piano black with a tort pickguard!

2564193_d71402afbb5dafb5d848daa38b252b82.jpg
 
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#4,867
Double E said:
Feeling like I hit the lottery! Just a few short weeks ago I only dreamt of having a Lakland...now I have two! The 'burst 55-02 Deluxe with an exceptional quilt top was a gift from my wife for 25 years of marriage! I dug it so much that I jumped at the chance to have another fiver...a 55-01 Deluxe Limited in trans blue, quite a beauty too.

I can't get over how much of a pleasure it is to play these. Until I laid hands on the 55-02, I hadn't played a Lakland fiver at all. It was a little scary considering it was a gift and I didn't want to think of how to deal with the situation had it turned out to be a bust. The wife picked this particular model on her own with no influence from me... I was impressed! However, I had played a friend's 44-64 Custom and his Skyline Hollowbody and knew how great the fit, finish and setup was. It turns out the 5 string neck seems like it was made for my hands.

I had both of these at a rehearsal last night and the proof is in the pudding, I dug them both! Now to ramp up my technical skills to match the basses!

View attachment 700795
Click to expand...

Nice on both counts! I have had a 55-02 for a little over 2 years now and had planned to add a 55-01 (trans-blue deluxe is my first choice) and change out the pickups and preamp. Some thing else became available that I couldn't pass up so the 55-01 will have to wait a while.

So what do you have "under the hood" on the 55-01? Obviously not the stock pickups. Has the preamp been changed out as well?
 
#4,868
Black Bart said:
Bummer, but I'm sure there will be some progress shortly :)

As far as guilt about an "early" graduation present. If you're still graduating and from Berklee no less, then there's nothing to feel guilty about. Just don't neglect your studies for that last class if you get the bass before you finish out. :D
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That's exactly it. I'm doing the online professional certificate, and I've really improved over 12mo, so motivation is high, and will be higher still when I get it just before my improvisation class starts. They just ripped off the training wheels in my jazz class; no more hooked on phonics (I.e., tab) only sheet music!drool

Thanks for the encouragement!
 
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#4,870
TedH said:
That's exactly it. I'm doing the online professional certificate, and I've really improved over 12mo, so motivation is high, and will be higher still when I get it just before my improvisation class starts. They just ripped off the training wheels in my jazz class; no more hooked on phonics (I.e., tab) only sheet music!drool

Thanks for the encouragement!
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So you like the online classes? I was a bit put off by the price, but could use to get my playing back on track.
 
#4,871
MattLplaysBass said:
So you like the online classes? I was a bit put off by the price, but could use to get my playing back on track.
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I'm very happy with Berklee, and I think it comes down to where you are and what you need like any other lessons. For me, I learned to sight read as a kid playing saxophone, was pretty good for an orchestra band kid (player bari sax in NJ state band, got to play the national anthem at the Meadowlands Arena twice, we played at Lincoln Center once, etc), but I learned to play bass completely by ear and I had no chord theory. I put the bass down a year or so after college and focused on my career and had an acoustic guitar that I had with me when I lived in Europe by myself (moved for work). Put that down in about 2003, and stopped playing altogether.

Fast forward to 2014 and I was looking for a hobby, missed music, was encouraged by a friend to pick it back up, and found myself working in Cambridge, MA 3 days a week, so I looked at Berklee to see what classes were offered to adults who were looking for theory and performance, and I found the online program. I had a few goals:
- improve my bass theory, and ideally learn to sight read again
- get technique instruction
- have enough of the above that I could get a decent gig as a weekend warrior musician. I figured since I have no recording of my own at this point to help shop me around to other bands, the fact that I put in some study time and finished the certificate program at Berklee would be beneficial for me. I play with a local School of Rock for gigging experience (a 23yr break is a long time let me tell you), and that's been great, but we don't record our songs live, so I can't use them for marketing purposes. Incidentally, I am the timekeeper and "theory geek" now when we are playing because I have a really strong command of the 4 T's (time, tone, timbre, taste).

So for me, the program hit all the marks. I knew about major and minor, but didn't understand a ii chord vs. a V chord, modes, etc, so really drilling into it and when to use it in a song was of supreme help to me. You record and submit assignments for review by the instructors and they give really good feedback, and since you're recording, you really get your timing and feel down. There is a weekly skype-type video/TC that I find really useful, although it's hard to make them all as the times vary. I have had a bunch of TC's that were just Danny Morris and me, which if you follow him in the Berklee section of TB, you see he is 1 - just really in love with playing bass, and 2- is good at teaching by asking you questions so that you can figure it out. I did the 101 and R&B classes with him, and he of course focused on approach notes, diatonic vs. non-diatonic, etc and I got very comfortable about when to use them and more importantly, got rid of the fear of trying something non-diatonic b/c I simply had no idea how to approach a "wrong" note sounding "right". I also had Anthony Vitti and my note articulation really improved with a lot of hard work and a ton of feedback from him (key to his class is playing legato). I didn't think the Rock Bass class would be difficult, yet he had us creating original lines for "simple" things like Texas blues, etc. What's so hard about that? Well it forces you to get creative with a "standard" approach, which I found very useful. We did a session on syncopation and another on odd meter and that took a lot of effort to get to the point where you could feel it without counting like a maniac. Then I had to write a 2min line over a piece of music that was mostly 7/4, went to 4/4, then a 2/3 turnaround. Going to see that everyday? No. Do I feel better about approaching such complexities and writing them if I need to? Absolutely. I just started jazz this week and while we are only working on walking lines, it is still enlightening to me as I didn't have a good concept at all.

So it depends what you are looking for. Maybe you don't need the 101 class, but a certain style is interesting. You can do a few things; I'm happy to discuss offline, or call the online department, or post up over in the Berklee section and I'm sure those guys will all chime in. It really comes down to what are your needs, then what the best solution is becomes more apparent. I got a lot of compliments at my gig last week from experienced musicians about the improvement in my note articulation over the past year and keeping the group tight during songs. The guys who run my School of Rock asked me to sub on a private gig with them when their bass player was out, including doing What's Going On? I wouldn't have been capable/had the audacity to do that if I hadn't done as much work and gotten as much feedback from people like Danny and Anthony.

So I'm a fan of the program; I hesitate to recommend anything unequivocally just because I don't know what's right for you and your current knowledge/ability.
 
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#4,872
Double E said:
Thanks guys. I have been playing "musical basses" for a while. These have the potential to settle me down I think. I only have to worry about GASsing for more Lakands!
Click to expand...
I had to thin the herd 2 weeks ago, I need the money to fix my truck, and it was between my 2 "backup"basses, an SR5 and a 55-02. My Fbass is my main player. It was a hard choice since I've had the SR5 for 20 years but hardly played it anymore. Bottom line the SR5 is gone the 55-02 stayed. It's Korean made ,2004, with US Barts. Just prefer it over the SR5 for several reasons, lighter weight, wider fretboard, my SR5 had the too close to the edge G string issue, more versatile sound with the two pups, can use the front pup to anchor my thumb when playing the B string, better balance on a strap, more comfy ergos up against my chest when strapped on. All important stuff when playing it for hours on end. For sentimental reasons I'll miss the SR5, but I've always felt when Dan designed the 55-94 it was to improve the already good SR5 and I believed he succeeded. I thought I would be safer to post this here than in the general forms, I would be crucified by the EBMM fans;) Jim
 
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#4,873
My Olympic White Lakland 44-60

My Olympic White Lakland 44-60

The second best playing bass I have ever owned, it can't quite match the pre-CBS Jazz but its...

The most expensive, and most premium bass I've ever owned., my USA Lakland 44-60. Have had it for a few years now. Incredible playing neck. Not quite as resonant as my 50 year old Fender Jazz, but it comes close.
 
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#4,877
I can't play her at my next show due to the fact that it's an outdoor gig with no stage or cover. I have had one rehearsal with it though, and I am completely smitten. This Bass is special.
 

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