Lakland Owners Group #69

[JB Player]

I think your post is inspiring, as I'm not looking for a bass to gig with. This is going to be for recording/home.

The other reason I decided not to pull the trigger on a 10-11 lb-er is that I'm getting the 44-01 (9.3 lbs...right now) in my avatar set up with new electronics. Both Bartolini MK housings, but one with a P in the neck and one with a splittable soapbar in the bridge. I think the P will end up being halfway between a standard P bass and a Gibson EB-1 (or Billy Sheehan Yamaha...) placement...? What do you guys think?

Nice Jon! those mods sound stellar, let us know how you make out, would really like to hear your take as to the before and after. Before buying the 44-02 deluxe, I didn't get to try a 44-01 (none in stock) but I did get to try the 44-OS with similar specs I believe; it was much lighter, and tonally very different with the Barts - I liked it in a different way and considered owning both, but prices what they are today (especially in Canada), I had to make a choice. I might re-visit in due time

 

[Jon Draffan]

Nice Jon! those mods sound stellar, let us know how you make out, would really like to hear your take as to the before and after. Before buying the 44-02 deluxe, I didn't get to try a 44-01 (none in stock) but I did get to try the 44-OS with similar specs I believe; it was much lighter, and tonally very different with the Barts - I liked it in a different way and considered owning both, but prices what they are today (especially in Canada), I had to make a choice. I might re-visit in due time

My 44–01 had the infamous MK1 preamp. As a reluctance to get into the "upgrade rabbit hole" I wasn't going to upgrade the pick ups just the preamp… but... since I don't have a decent guitar tech closer than 45 minutes away, and now that Bartolini is offering all of their shapes in the MK housing, I decided to try something different. I did pick up a simple computer interface specifically to record and share the results of the upgrade, so I definitely plan on embarrassing myself with sound clips

 

[MaxSpinrun]

My 44-01 mods are a combination of both. Changed pre and pups soon after I got it. Went with Auder pre, and since Nordstrand would put whatever pups I wanted into P2 shells, that’s what worked for me. Extremely versatile.

 

[Jon Draffan]

My 44-01 mods are a combination of both. Changed pre and pups soon after I got it. Went with Auder pre, and since Nordstrand would put whatever pups I wanted into P2 shells, that’s what worked for me. Extremely versatile.

That's cool. I had trouble finding definitive information on white pick up some more a drop in replacement for the MK1. I'm not in a place geographically to make any kind of errors if I want something done in a reasonable amount of time.

I chose a Noll TCM3 preamp. I haven't found a ton of information about them on here… It is what Marusczyk uses on their basses so... \_(",)_/

 

[Pacodelivery]

Hey all,

Proud lakland dj-5 owner here. I’m considering buying a 55-02 and was wondering if any of y’all have compared it to the dj-5.

I love the dj-5, specifically the neck is amazing. One problem I’m having tho is that a lot of the places we’ve played recently have noisy power, and I’d say that for around 35% of shows I can’t solo the neck pickup because of the hum (and we’ve put in the time to demonstrate that isn’t some other issue with gear, and our electric guitar player experiences the same thing.) I’ve been led to understand that the pickups in the 55-02 might help address that problem. Can any 55-02 owners speak to how much noise or hum they have in real world situations?

Can you cop the tone of the dj-5 with the 55-02? I’m generally more of a passive bass guy, I often find active basses too compressed, but the one time I got to play a 55-02 in a store it felt really natural.

Thanks in advance for any and all advice! Here’s a pick of me playing my dj-5 in Greenville, SC a few weeks ago.

 

[macribas]

Hey all,

Proud lakland dj-5 owner here. I’m considering buying a 55-02 and was wondering if any of y’all have compared it to the dj-5.

I love the dj-5, specifically the neck is amazing. One problem I’m having tho is that a lot of the places we’ve played recently have noisy power, and I’d say that for around 35% of shows I can’t solo the neck pickup because of the hum (and we’ve put in the time to demonstrate that isn’t some other issue with gear, and our electric guitar player experiences the same thing.) I’ve been led to understand that the pickups in the 55-02 might help address that problem. Can any 55-02 owners speak to how much noise or hum they have in real world situations?

Can you cop the tone of the dj-5 with the 55-02? I’m generally more of a passive bass guy, I often find active basses too compressed, but the one time I got to play a 55-02 in a store it felt really natural.

The 55-02 is a great bass, but they are very different. For starters the neck has a different profile (10-13” compound instead of 12” all over) and one more fret on the 55-02. You can turn off the preamp circuit, but 55-02 is not really useful in passive mode since the pickups have very low output. You’re pretty much stuck with active all the time. Some people claim they can get it, but I don’t think the “jazz” sound of the 55-02 gets near the DJ sound. Several people, myself included, have had success with the Nordstrand NJ5FS pickups on the DJ5. They are split coil so you don’t get the hum. Seems like a much cheaper solution to your problem. Here’s a link to them:
NJ5FS Hum-Cancelling Fender

 

[odarellmc]

Hey all,

Proud lakland dj-5 owner here. I’m considering buying a 55-02 and was wondering if any of y’all have compared it to the dj-5.

I love the dj-5, specifically the neck is amazing. One problem I’m having tho is that a lot of the places we’ve played recently have noisy power, and I’d say that for around 35% of shows I can’t solo the neck pickup because of the hum (and we’ve put in the time to demonstrate that isn’t some other issue with gear, and our electric guitar player experiences the same thing.) I’ve been led to understand that the pickups in the 55-02 might help address that problem. Can any 55-02 owners speak to how much noise or hum they have in real world situations?

Can you cop the tone of the dj-5 with the 55-02? I’m generally more of a passive bass guy, I often find active basses too compressed, but the one time I got to play a 55-02 in a store it felt really natural.

Thanks in advance for any and all advice! Here’s a pick of me playing my dj-5 in Greenville, SC a few weeks ago.

View attachment 4937540

I own the same dj5 great passive vintage bass. I don't own a 55 02 but played one two different beasts. I know it has a humbucker in the rear and unless thats a humbucking pickup towards the neck you may have the same issue when soloing the neck pickup...can you play one before taking the plunge?

 

[scallster]

That's cool. I had trouble finding definitive information on white pick up some more a drop in replacement for the MK1. I'm not in a place geographically to make any kind of errors if I want something done in a reasonable amount of time.

I chose a Noll TCM3 preamp. I haven't found a ton of information about them on here… It is what Marusczyk uses on their basses so... \_(",)_/

I have used the Noll preamps before, great pre amp systems.

 

[JEDI BASS]

Hey all,

Proud lakland dj-5 owner here. I’m considering buying a 55-02 and was wondering if any of y’all have compared it to the dj-5.

I love the dj-5, specifically the neck is amazing. One problem I’m having tho is that a lot of the places we’ve played recently have noisy power, and I’d say that for around 35% of shows I can’t solo the neck pickup because of the hum (and we’ve put in the time to demonstrate that isn’t some other issue with gear, and our electric guitar player experiences the same thing.) I’ve been led to understand that the pickups in the 55-02 might help address that problem. Can any 55-02 owners speak to how much noise or hum they have in real world situations?

Can you cop the tone of the dj-5 with the 55-02? I’m generally more of a passive bass guy, I often find active basses too compressed, but the one time I got to play a 55-02 in a store it felt really natural.

Thanks in advance for any and all advice! Here’s a pick of me playing my dj-5 in Greenville, SC a few weeks ago.

View attachment 4937540

Finally, a bassist with a pedal board that rivals mine! Way to go!

As for the issue… I’d just swap pickups in the DJ5 for some dual coils.

 

[Thom Fioriglio]

Hey all,

Proud lakland dj-5 owner here. I’m considering buying a 55-02 and was wondering if any of y’all have compared it to the dj-5.

I love the dj-5, specifically the neck is amazing. One problem I’m having tho is that a lot of the places we’ve played recently have noisy power, and I’d say that for around 35% of shows I can’t solo the neck pickup because of the hum (and we’ve put in the time to demonstrate that isn’t some other issue with gear, and our electric guitar player experiences the same thing.) I’ve been led to understand that the pickups in the 55-02 might help address that problem. Can any 55-02 owners speak to how much noise or hum they have in real world situations?

Can you cop the tone of the dj-5 with the 55-02? I’m generally more of a passive bass guy, I often find active basses too compressed, but the one time I got to play a 55-02 in a store it felt really natural.

Thanks in advance for any and all advice! Here’s a pick of me playing my dj-5 in Greenville, SC a few weeks ago.

View attachment 4937540

I would give the same advice as JediBass. I have a DJ-4 in natural that looks identical to yours. I HATE single coil hum and replaced the pickups with the Nordstrand humcancelling set. They sound fantastic and are dead quiet.
And like you, I had been wondering about the 44-02 and bought one. And as Jedi said, they are different basses. I am totally comfortable dialing in the tone I need on my passive DJ-4. The 44-02, I am still getting comfortable with. There are a lot of tonal options and I am still deciding if I need that many. But man, when I plug in my DJ-4 and hear that sweet tone, it just sounds so right.

 

[Johnny Alien]

Very very very early skyline dots were wood.

Today they are plastic or some form of composite

I believe the Shorelines have wood dots but I don't think I have ever seen any Skylines (even the earliest ones) with them. Unless it was part of the very initial 2001 run with the different tuners. I don't remember a lot about those.

Finally, a bassist with a pedal board that rivals mine! Way to go!

I myself could not look beyond the pedalboard either. Wow!

 

[Thom Fioriglio]

Hey Lakland owners, has anyone tried 0000 steel wool or green Scotchbrite pads on the back of their necks to get back that satin finish?

 

[Tom P]

@Pacodelivery - nice boots! Iron Rangers?

 

[Jamvan]

Hey Lakland owners, has anyone tried 0000 steel wool or green Scotchbrite pads on the back of their necks to get back that satin finish?

I took some to the neck of my main gigging 55-60 after the first couple shows with it because of how sticky it felt in my sweaty hand. I don’t remember what I specifically did though other than just take the shine off which was good enough for me.

 

[Thom Fioriglio]

I took some to the neck of my main gigging 55-60 after the first couple shows with it because of how sticky it felt in my sweaty hand. I don’t remember what I specifically did though other than just take the shine off which was good enough for me.

Did you use the steel wool or the Scotchbrite? It seems both will do the job but Scotchbrite is cleaner to use.

 

[Jamvan]

Did you use the steel wool or the Scotchbrite? It seems both will do the job but Scotchbrite is cleaner to use.

I used steel wool for this and it was dirty but not too bad. I’d done a full Gibson Les Paul rehab where I took it down to wood and gun oiled with steel wool between coats a number of years ago so just went with it again as I still had some lying around.

Here’s a few pics of the Les Paul. It’s a ‘94 Studio that I bought in ‘97 for next to nothing as its headstock had been broken and poorly repaired. Dang near 30 years later and it still sounds great and the head hasn’t budged.

Pre - All black.

Post. Beautiful single piece mahogany body under that paint.

Exposing the maple cap gives it a faux binding look.

Added some cream pieces parts and a pearl pick guard to give it a Les Paul Custom look.

Sorry. Don’t know how I ended up here when all I needed to say was “steel wool”.

 

[Pacodelivery]

@macribas @JEDI BASS @Thom Fioriglio I hadn't considered at all that I'd do a pickup swap! That definitely sounds worth it. Does the tone change a lot with those nordstrands, beyond just lowering the hum? Is it an improvement? I play with both pick & fingers. I will say outside of the hum I do like the lakland pickups, I was going back and forth between a fender professional and the lakland before I bought it and the pickups in the lakland were a selling point for sure (among other things).

@odarellmc I'd love to try the 55-02 again for a little longer, get to work it through it's paces some, but I live in Maryland and there's no lakland dealer anywhere near me. I may try to find one out on the road to try while I'm on tour, but honestly I'm also considering just ordering one through guitar center just for the chance to take it home & compare it to my dj5, and then return it if I don't like what I hear. But you feel they're pretty different?

@Tom P yep they're iron rangers. I wear red wings when I build greenhouses, too, they're my brand.

And yeah @Johnny Alien and @JEDI BASS that pedalboard has been a journey to build. I'm kind of our synth player in addition to being the bassist, on a lot of songs I'm playing pad sounds in the verse or intro where I've pitched it up an octave or two then run it through a bunch of delay & reverb & modulation and then I'll switch over and play normal bass stuff in the chorus. I run three channels to the board, and a custom switcher that selects between them, one goes to a origin bassrig sv and the other in stereo to a radial pro d2 (mounted under the board.) I also have some of the normal stuff you'd expect on a bass board - compressor, fuzz, chorus, meatbox, ect.

 

[cymbop]

Hey Lakland owners, has anyone tried 0000 steel wool or green Scotchbrite pads on the back of their necks to get back that satin finish?

I bought a Skyline 44-60 from @Holdsg a couple months back. In the listing he mentioned

I have changed the back of neck finish to a wax/oil (Howards Feed and Wax) finish, consistent with how US necks feel, and its very smooth and ultimately playable now.

Whatever he did, it feels amazing. It doesn't feel like he took it down to wood, but it's just so dang smooth that I like it as much as my neck on my USA.

 

[MaxSpinrun]

The 55-02 is a great bass, but they are very different. For starters the neck has a different profile (10-13” compound instead of 12” all over) and one more fret on the 55-02. You can turn off the preamp circuit, but 55-02 is not really useful in passive mode since the pickups have very low output. You’re pretty much stuck with active all the time. Some people claim they can get it, but I don’t think the “jazz” sound of the 55-02 gets near the DJ sound. Several people, myself included, have had success with the Nordstrand NJ5FS pickups on the DJ5. They are split coil so you don’t get the hum. Seems like a much cheaper solution to your problem. Here’s a link to them:
NJ5FS Hum-Cancelling Fender

As usual, Marcel droppin Lakland knowledge! Lakland OG!

 

[JB Player]

Hey all,

Proud lakland dj-5 owner here. I’m considering buying a 55-02 and was wondering if any of y’all have compared it to the dj-5.

I love the dj-5, specifically the neck is amazing. One problem I’m having tho is that a lot of the places we’ve played recently have noisy power, and I’d say that for around 35% of shows I can’t solo the neck pickup because of the hum (and we’ve put in the time to demonstrate that isn’t some other issue with gear, and our electric guitar player experiences the same thing.) I’ve been led to understand that the pickups in the 55-02 might help address that problem. Can any 55-02 owners speak to how much noise or hum they have in real world situations?

Can you cop the tone of the dj-5 with the 55-02? I’m generally more of a passive bass guy, I often find active basses too compressed, but the one time I got to play a 55-02 in a store it felt really natural.

Thanks in advance for any and all advice! Here’s a pick of me playing my dj-5 in Greenville, SC a few weeks ago.

View attachment 4937540

Pedal board.. decked out!