Lakland Owners Group #69

[Texan]

My little minions? Yes, they do keep me company. Although, I'm down to four, was at three for a while, but since I mostly do recording and composition these days, it's nice to have a few variations. Oh, lest I forget - black is not a phase

Minions? No, equal opportunity offenders. I would think that it would be more like Sir Simon Milligan and Manservant Hecubus.

Black and tort looks killer, but would love to have a pick guard that looks like Leatherface's mask or the Necronomicon from Evil Dead with a black bass.

 

[Black Bart]

Well, formally they are collectively called Der Schwarzwald

Speaking of which, I am playing around with some ideas on adding a thumb rest to the 94 and others. Requirements: needed to be a black matte finish, easy to work with using hand tools and stick on without screws or double-sided residue leaving tape.

So after a bit of research on materials I ended up using 0.25" ABS plastic sheet which I cut and then shaped using 180 grit sand paper and then 800 grit for a silky smooth matte finish. I attached it using Microsuctiontape which uses adhesive to attach to the thumb rest, but the other side is thousands of micro suctions cups that form a 'vacuum' and stick to the pickguard or other smooth surface. The first time I placed it, it was a little crooked and it took quite a bit of effort to remove and place down again. But, it didn't leave any residue. Played for a while and it did not move one bit, so the next step is to start getting a little more ergo and creative with the shape, this was just to test the mechanical bond before burning more time on shaping.

And yes I painted my studio desk matte black since you last saw it.

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[overbybr]

So you prefer to pluck the strings over the top of the bridge pickup, rather than in-between the two pups?

 

[Holdsg]

tres chic

 

[Texan]

Well, formally they are collectively called Der Schwarzwald

Speaking of which, I am playing around with some ideas on adding a thumb rest to the 94 and others. Requirements: needed to be a black matte finish, easy to work with using hand tools and stick on without screws or double-sided residue leaving tape.

So after a bit of research on materials I ended up using 0.25" ABS plastic sheet which I cut and then shaped using 180 grit sand paper and then 800 grit for a silky smooth matte finish. I attached it using Microsuctiontape which uses adhesive to attach to the thumb rest, but the other side is thousands of micro suctions cups that form a 'vacuum' and stick to the pickguard or other smooth surface. The first time I placed it, it was a little crooked and it took quite a bit of effort to remove and place down again. But, it didn't leave any residue. Played for a while and it did not move one bit, so the next step is to start getting a little more ergo and creative with the shape, this was just to test the mechanical bond before burning more time on shaping.

And yes I painted my studio desk matte black since you last saw it.

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Nice! I misread Schwarzwald and thought it said Schwanzwald..ROFL.

 

[Makoa Johnson]

I'm gonna sneak in here with my happy little family.

I've had the 55-01 since '09, and I just got the 55-64 in trade from another TBer a few weeks back. He was looking for a 55-60 of which I had a custom model, and I was looking for a P copy so it all worked out great!
The 55-64 had a tortoiseshell pickguard on it, which actually looked pretty nice! (I'm usually not a huge tortoiseshell on sunburst guy.) But I went ahead and swapped it for the gloss black guard which is just more my style.
As for that sexy matte black stealth machine a few posts up ^, you gave me a great / terrible idea for the next time I have some GAS money
Cheers!
-MJ

 

[Holdsg]

excellent combo there

 

[silverjet]

Nice! I've been wondering what my 44-64 Burst would look like with a black guard....

 

[overbybr]

I'm gonna sneak in here with my happy little family.

I've had the 55-01 since '09, and I just got the 55-64 in trade from another TBer a few weeks back. He was looking for a 55-60 of which I had a custom model, and I was looking for a P copy so it all worked out great!
The 55-64 had a tortoiseshell pickguard on it, which actually looked pretty nice! (I'm usually not a huge tortoiseshell on sunburst guy.) But I went ahead and swapped it for the gloss black guard which is just more my style.
As for that sexy matte black stealth machine a few posts up ^, you gave me a great / terrible idea for the next time I have some GAS money
Cheers!
-MJ

Nice grain on both of those. I'm coming around to the idea of a burst, provided it's got a killer grain underneath!

 

[Texan]

I'm gonna sneak in here with my happy little family.

I've had the 55-01 since '09, and I just got the 55-64 in trade from another TBer a few weeks back. He was looking for a 55-60 of which I had a custom model, and I was looking for a P copy so it all worked out great!
The 55-64 had a tortoiseshell pickguard on it, which actually looked pretty nice! (I'm usually not a huge tortoiseshell on sunburst guy.) But I went ahead and swapped it for the gloss black guard which is just more my style.
As for that sexy matte black stealth machine a few posts up ^, you gave me a great / terrible idea for the next time I have some GAS money
Cheers!
-MJ

VERY nice

 

[BigBeatNut]

A rare outing for Robert Mercurio's Lakie HB:



I hope that's not inappropriate for this thread. For me, nice to hear this bass in a band context. Sometimes wish I'd kept my HB, but I wasn't playing it out any more, so ...

 

[overbybr]

A rare outing for Robert Mercurio's Lakie HB:



I hope that's not inappropriate for this thread. For me, nice to hear this bass in a band context. Sometimes wish I'd kept my HB, but I wasn't playing it out any more, so ...

Nothin wrong with Lakland content on the LOG thread!

 

[Killens84]

My 55-14 produces that single coil 60 cycle hum anytime I use the jazz pickup, so I'm considering replacing it with a Nordstrand split coil jazz pickup to eliminate the hum. If I do that, I'd probably just go ahead and replace the MM pickup with the Nordstrand MM as well. Thoughts on this? Pros/cons?
Also, which size of jazz pickup would it use? Nordstrand makes a few different sizes.

 

[Holdsg]

If you called the Nordstrand shop, I'm sure they would tell you.

 

[basspraiser]

definitely thinking mahagony!

Nice....let us know what you find out.

 

[basspraiser]

My guesses are that there is currently no specific agreement in place with Darryl for royalties on a US made bass, and the imports are selling well, and the USA shop is rolling near its' (small) capacity and in the black so if nothing's broke, don't fix......

They DO make US DJ4 basses.....and it looks like 44-75s as well...

 

[basspraiser]

I've had my 55-14 for almost a month now. It's been on several gigs with me already, and I've spent a lot of time with it at home. So I'll give my impressions, now that I've established more credibility with the bass...

My 55-14 is my first and only Lakland, and I really like this bass a lot. The feel and ease of playability is practically flawless. It's not too heavy either, which helps with the playability. It's obvious that this bass is a very high-quality instrument, that was built to extremely high standards.

I put D'Addario Nickel XL's on it when I first got the bass. I liked the tone for the most part, but thought it was just a little too bright and mid-forward for my tastes. However, now that the strings have had time to mellow out a bit, the tone is right where I want it. The alder/rosewood combo already gives the bass a push in the mids, so the strings mellowing out a little has given it just the right balance of aggressiveness and smoothness. The tone is right in the sweet spot for me. I also just ordered some DR Sunbeams to try on it.

I'm amazed at how versatile this bass is. The combination of the MM and Jazz pickups, plus the EQ and coil switch give it such a wide range of sounds to choose from. Everyone always raves about how good Lakland necks are, and how good their low-B string sounds. I've found that to be 100% accurate on both accounts. The neck on this bass feels amazing, and the low-B string is so thick and full sounding.

I've been playing passive Jazz and Precision basses for years, so it's taking a little adjusting for me to get used to the hot active output of my 55-14. On my Jazz or P bass, I can dig in when I need to, and it doesn't really overdrive or distort. On the 55-14, it really boosts the signal when I dig in, sometimes overdriving the gain on my amp or in the house. This is no big deal... It's just a matter of me getting used to this bass, and approaching it a little differently than my passive Jazz and P bass.

I'm loving my 55-14 so far. I still use my Jazz and P bass as well, but this Lakland really hits the mark for the applications in which I need a 5-string.

Glad you like it!!!

versatile for sure....and you are correct...those necks and the B strings are excellent!

I was going through some pictures earlier...here are my FIRST 3 lakie 5ers together.....all are gone...seriously miss Tabby (55-94) and Amber (the FIRST amber 5502):

 

[basspraiser]

They matched better than I thought. This bass is a tonal beast with the Nordstrand Big Splits and the Nordstrand pre. Gonna take me a while to get used to the different combinations.View attachment 416271

oh man!!!! that is gorgeous.....I have a similar colored 55-07...now you got me thinking...

 

[basspraiser]

That looks really good. I need to try the Big Splits one day.

On another note, I'm convinced that there is something wrong with me. I'm down to three basses and one cab and I'm considering putting another bass on the block. Maybe I need to stop freebasing Oreo's...

wow Tex!!!! really?

give it time....the urge to sell will go away....

 

[basspraiser]

outstanding. I really liked that pickup/pre combination in the spalted maple 55-01 I had for a while. And I love the knobs because I like unique things.

that is because you are unique G (in a great way!)