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Lakland Owners Group #69

#19,641
trigger_happy said:
Can I see how low action can your Laklands(particularly the 55-02) go? I'm not sure if mine can still go lower but even when my saddles are at the lowest, I still can't get it and will just buzz. My truss is tight already and was following the setup adjustment guides in youtube but I don't want to force it anymore. Just getting ideas/insights before I take it to a trusted luthier here in London.

Here's a pic of my bass:
View attachment 5222333 View attachment 5222334 View attachment 5222335
Click to expand...

The first photo looks to me like the neck has a significant bow. The part of the neck where it meets the body looks relatively closer to the strings than the rest of the neck, which an overly bowed neck will create, and is likely the source of the buzzing due to the saddles being down to the deck.

If you press down your first fret and 17th fret on the B string at the same time, how much gap is there around the 6,7,8th frets and the bottom of the B string? It should be a tiny gap, business card sized gap at most. The truss rod being tight doesn’t necessarily mean the neck relief is right.
 
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#19,642
Linking this in case someone is in the market. Its a killer deal and I would buy it myself if I had the cash. GC says its a 2004 by serial number but interestingly the neck has "Crafted in Korea" only which I thought was 02 and 03 only. Its probably a very early 04. Either way the early ones are just so good. Deluxe top. With the 10% off it becomes $899 in the cart.

[Invalid or Expired Link Removed]
 
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#19,646
Got the 55-14 from GC, and it is in immaculate shape, played great out of the box after a quick tuning. B string is the best I’ve played.

Been playing with it a bit and just have noticed a few things, nothing bad, but just curious what people think.

It’s sounds pretty dark, maybe that’s just me coming from a Sadowsky as my main bass which are probably brighter than most basses. The sound isn’t bad or anything, just neutral. Haven’t adjusted the mid EQ at all, and maybe setting that to something like 900 or 1100 would brighten it up a bit.

The neck plays great, but has kind of a rough, almost gritty feel to it. All my other basses, Sadowsky, Fender, and Schecter have smooth glossy necks. Maybe the 55-14 has a satin finish and I’m just not used to it. It’s also unusual that it’s not uniformly the same texture along the length of the neck. The wood almost felt raw or unfinished. Maybe the previous owner took some steel wool to it to make it a more satin finish. I applied some Howard’s Orange Oil and Feed n Wax, which did smooth it out but didn’t really change the texture. Maybe it just needs some more coats of the wax. Theirs nothing visibly wrong with it, just a texture I’ve never felt before.

Played it tonight at a small quick gig and it felt great, just getting used to the sound and how to dial it in.

Anyways, here’s some glamour shots.

IMG_9513.jpeg IMG_9510.jpeg IMG_9512.jpeg IMG_9511.jpeg IMG_9518.jpeg IMG_9515.jpeg
 
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#19,647
warptheory said:
Got the 55-14 from GC, and it is in immaculate shape, played great out of the box after a quick tuning. B string is the best I’ve played.

Been playing with it a bit and just have noticed a few things, nothing bad, but just curious what people think.

It’s sounds pretty dark, maybe that’s just me coming from a Sadowsky as my main bass which are probably brighter than most basses. The sound isn’t bad or anything, just neutral. Haven’t adjusted the mid EQ at all, and maybe setting that to something like 900 or 1100 would brighten it up a bit.

The neck plays great, but has kind of a rough, almost gritty feel to it. All my other basses, Sadowsky, Fender, and Schecter have smooth glossy necks. Maybe the 55-14 has a satin finish and I’m just not used to it. It’s also unusual that it’s not uniformly the same texture along the length of the neck. The wood almost felt raw or unfinished. Maybe the previous owner took some steel wool to it to make it a more satin finish. I applied some Howard’s Orange Oil and Feed n Wax, which did smooth it out but didn’t really change the texture. Maybe it just needs some more coats of the wax. Theirs nothing visibly wrong with it, just a texture I’ve never felt before.

Played it tonight at a small quick gig and it felt great, just getting used to the sound and how to dial it in.

Anyways, here’s some glamour shots.

View attachment 5227872 View attachment 5227874 View attachment 5227875 View attachment 5227876 View attachment 5227877 View attachment 5227878
Click to expand...

Awesome! Congrats! Yes, the two things you noticed are normal. Sadowskys are way brighter than Laklands. And I had a 55 Dual J Classic that had the neck just like you described.
 
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#19,649
Johnny Alien said:
Laklands have an oil finish on the neck but I haven't owned or played any that I felt were rough or raw feeling in any way. They were all smooth. Maybe they do something different on the Classic line? I have never played one of those.
Click to expand...

I agree with Johnny: the US necks re satin but i have NEVER had one be rough. I doubt the Classic line would have rough necks from the factory. that does not make sense.
 
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#19,652
macribas said:
Awesome! Congrats! Yes, the two things you noticed are normal. Sadowskys are way brighter than Laklands. And I had a 55 Dual J Classic that had the neck just like you described.
Click to expand...
With Laklands being darker or not as bright, is that a preamp or pickup thing or both? Wondering if changing the preamp would voice it differently.

Still need to spend some more time with it too decide if I need to take any drastic actions like that or if I just need to cleanse my pallette after playing a Sadowsky.
 
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#19,653
basspraiser said:
I agree with Johnny: the US necks re satin but i have NEVER had one be rough. I doubt the Classic line would have rough necks from the factory. that does not make sense.
Click to expand...

It's not rough, that's an overstatement on my part. It's definitely finished. It's just noticeably a different texture compared to the glossy finish on all my other basses.
 
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#19,657
warptheory said:
It's not rough, that's an overstatement on my part. It's definitely finished. It's just noticeably a different texture compared to the glossy finish on all my other basses.
Click to expand...

I think it's likely a bit dry. The necks on the 55-14 have a different finish on them (feels almost natural) and I noticed on mine that after having it out and not playing it for a while, it feels like parts of the grain raise a teeny bit...just enough that you can feel it. I simply took a thousand grit piece of sandpaper and rubbed it up and down the neck a few times and it was silky smooth again.

I've not yet done the @JEDI BASS tru-oil to it but plan to do that over the slower winter months.
 
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#19,659
After playing the Mule for a few weeks, I actually wish all my basses had the z glide neck.

I don’t even feel the pattern anymore, but I notice when I pick up my DJ4, it feels like something is missing on the neck.

my guess is there is an uneven amount of feel on your neck and it’s very noticeable because of the change in texture. I would certainly try to treat it and make the feel of the neck uniform.

how is this for rough?

71902701037__3800CF3D-F6DE-418D-BB41-52E6DC83EC3D.jpeg
 
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#19,660
Jamvan said:
I think it's likely a bit dry. The necks on the 55-14 have a different finish on them (feels almost natural) and I noticed on mine that after having it out and not playing it for a while, it feels like parts of the grain raise a teeny bit...just enough that you can feel it. I simply took a thousand grit piece of sandpaper and rubbed it up and down the neck a few times and it was silky smooth again.

I've not yet done the @JEDI BASS tru-oil to it but plan to do that over the slower winter months.
Click to expand...

It very well could be dry. It was in Vegas and still had the film on the tuners, and being from 2018 it likely has never been treated with anything. So just 1000 grit sandpaper, Howards Orange Oil (single coat?), then a couple coats of Feed n Wax?
 
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