Lakland Owners Group #69

[JEDI BASS]

It's a "McFarland neck".

Even Carl says those are great necks...

But.... You haven't played until you've played a Carlo neck!

Jus sayin....

I had Carl’s personal darkstar loaded 35” scale 4-76 for a while, remember? I still kick myself for selling it!! That was back when I was still 5 string addicted. That bass would be one of the two basses I gig with now. It would be perfect for the drop tuned songs! Ugh!!

 

[Tom P]

Visually? The JO headstock signature is obvious and the dots on both are quite redonkulously ornate. But I’d say it’s more a feel. Maybe close to the way a pre cbs Fender feels compared to the later ones?

My Lakland experience? First I bought a newer 44-14 and flipped it immediately - totally not my thing. But I didn’t give up. Then I tried more than a few USA Glaubs. I bought a couple here on TB. Bought Tim Gibson’s Glaub. Bought a newer Coral one as well. Tim’s was a nice bass but the other newer one was....meh. Then I picked up the USA Glaub 01 and it felt....almost sublime. It had this supple feel that seduced me immediately. I won’t blather on, but I still can’t keep it out of my hands. I dug it so much that I traded a ‘69 refin J for a sub 50 USA JO and it has that same supple feel - just freaking “royal”.
When someone puts their own name and reputation on the line when building a product, it’s going to be a different product when they leave it behind; even if it “looks” the same. Even if those who carry on promise to uphold or go above and beyond the previous quality of build, it’s going to be different - hence the Fender metaphor.
I have a ‘79 MM and it “feels” different than the EBMMs. Not to mention it sounds a lot mellower. When Leo left, it was the same but it was different.

IMHO, when Dan left, the feel was different. Not bad - different. YMMV

IB

Indeed! I own BG02 and its a killah.

 

[Tom P]

I agree with InnerBass. The necks on my ‘98 through ‘01 US Laklands were/are indescribably comfy. And, the BEM should have been called HBEM (hyper Birdseye).... unmatched amount of figuring! My SN 11 ‘95 4-94 with the McFarland neck, it beats every Lakland I’ve ever touched in comfort and feel. I wonder if it’s not just age and years of playing that makes them feel so good?

Agreed!

 

[InnerBass]

Indeed! I own BG02 and its a killah.

What color is your killah?

 

[blondmix3]

The absolute BEST Lakland neck I ever played was a bass they made for Adam Clayton.... It was remarkable!

I went to the shop one day...Carl saw me come in and said " You gotta play this!".... Not even a " hello"....

I went to the shop and he pointed to this gold flaked bass.... No words.. Nothing...I asked " who's is it?"... All he said was " play it".

My jaw dropped.... He said " yeah... Right?".... Then " dunno what we did but it's magic.... All of the crew says so".

It was super fast and felt like an old pair of shoes...

AC loved the neck but not the bass... That's a much longer and involved story

I remember that bass, it was unreal. I also remember Dan getting super bummed out when he saw my metal flake JO that Marty did, stating that bass would still be Adam's favorite if they had known about the Marty flake, lol.

 

[gotfunk21]

Ive heard a lot of people mention that newer laklands are the same. But I do think there’s something to the age and “miles” put on a bass. The way Lakland necks take hand oil and sweat just breaks then in beautifully. Like old jeans or an old baseball glove I think.

Although, some of the older BE maple boards were beautifully sourced.

And innerbass managed to land that killer BG01 somehow. It truly does smoke

 

[gotfunk21]

I have another Dan era BG going on the block soon too. It’s amazing, but I finally have my 44-51m in bound soon and will have to clear space.

 

[basspraiser]

Where is it now?

I believe the neck and body were separated at one point. ..Mr Clayton got the neck with a different body....

I'm not sure what happened to the original body ( originally painted metal flake copper)

 

[JEDI BASS]

Picky f’in rockstars

 

[Tom P]

Picky f’in rockstars

 

[5string_phunk]

I'm convinced that it takes a while for a new bass to 'settle in'. I always tell people the wood of a new bass still thinks it's a tree, and that it takes a while of use, vibration, sweat & oil etc for it to realize it's now a bass. Sure, there are some that are duds and some that are magical out of the gate, but IMO, it still takes a little while to make that determination. Also, one persons dud is another persons magical!

I have a pair of US Spector BO's that I ordered new and are now 4-5 years old. The fretless was magic from the get go. The fretted took a little longer to 'settle'. Now, after 3 solid years of gigging, the fretted is magical and I don't have to think about it when I play it.

Last November, I bought a 2017 44-64 from the classifieds. Some days it felt like it was 'getting there' and others felt like I had to fight with it. I decided to make it the only bass I played for 6 months, and after about 20-25 gigs and countless rehearsals.studio sessions, it's starting to feel/sound better. Hopefully, it'll continue to get sweeter with age!

Could this all be in my head, that's highly likely, but it's been my experience over the past few years.

 

[Tom P]

Although, some of the older BE maple boards were beautifully sourced.

True dat!

 

[GregC]

Picky f’in rockstars

When it comes to pickiness, I'm not sure rockstars have anything on TBers.

 

[Smooth_bass88]

I actually feel that Lakland is a better company overall under it's current ownership compared to the previous. I had a semi-weird interaction w/the previous. I've had nothing but pleasent/positive interactions with Leo, Carl and Johnny P.

 

[Eilif]

In regards to the figure in the BEM of basses from 20 years ago I'm not sure it's a fair factor to judge against the quality of today's Laklands.

Figured woods of many types are less common today than they were two decades ago. I wonder if it would even be possible for Lakland to source enough for what I think is a much higher USA output than in the 90s.

Further, it's allot more expensive today and unlike the early days of Lakland, today's Lakland actually has to pay the bills and turn a profit.

 

[Eilif]

But.... You haven't played until you've played a Carlo neck!

Jus sayin....

I have to agree with this. My 35" 4-94'ish Carlo goes to every gig.

 

[JEDI BASS]

Carl is a master!

 

[MaxSpinrun]

True dat!
View attachment 3062237

Why don’t we see spectacular examples of BEM fretboards from Lakland anymore?

 

[Tom P]

Interesting that the first two Glaub P style basses were built with jazz width necks.

 

[overbybr]

Why don’t we see spectacular examples of BEM fretboards from Lakland anymore?

Because the material is very hard to find in large quantities any more. Dan found a large supply back in the early days, but the new owners don't seem to be able to duplicate that material order for whatever reason.