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Lakland Question

SpectorBass

SpectorBass

Nov 23, 2005
280
54
Hamilton, Ontario
#1
Alright I've got a question about tone.

Right now I have a passive DJ 4 string with a maple neck, and a 55-02 with a maple neck.

I'm dying for a DJ5 that's in stock at a local retailer, but that would mean getting rid of the 55-02.

What I'm a little worried about is tone. my DJ4 is my main player, and it sounds amazing for the majority of gigging that I do, which is more rock music.

Recently I was doing some session work for a rather pop-ish act, and at first I brought my DJ and wasnt too happy with the tone I was getting (going through a LaChappelle preamp direct) The next day I brought my 55-02 and with the active pre I was able to get a tone that was much better.

Using the 55-02 in other things I do is another story, while I like the tone I've never been 100% satisfied with it.

So my plan now is get rid of the 55-02, and pick up the DJ5 but drop an Audere pre in it.

My question is this, how would a DJ with an audere compare to the 55-02, and to the passive DJ?

sorry for the novel, but any thoughts would be much appreciated.
 
#2
Well, I have the Audere in my DJ and I absolutely love it. You can get a huge range of sounds out of it with this preamp and changing hand positions together.

I cannot say that I have A/B'ed these configurations side by side, but I have played a 44-02 and 55-02 before. My personal opinion is that while they do have their own subtle differences (as all of them do), they are comparable in the types of tones you can create. I wish I had a video to reference, but... well... maybe I'll throw one together tonight or something. I know there's vids of the 44-02 and/opr 55-02 on youtube already.
 
#4
:)
SpectorBass said:
Alright I've got a question about tone.

Right now I have a passive DJ 4 string with a maple neck, and a 55-02 with a maple neck.

I'm dying for a DJ5 that's in stock at a local retailer, but that would mean getting rid of the 55-02.

What I'm a little worried about is tone. my DJ4 is my main player, and it sounds amazing for the majority of gigging that I do, which is more rock music.

Recently I was doing some session work for a rather pop-ish act, and at first I brought my DJ and wasnt too happy with the tone I was getting (going through a LaChappelle preamp direct) The next day I brought my 55-02 and with the active pre I was able to get a tone that was much better.

Using the 55-02 in other things I do is another story, while I like the tone I've never been 100% satisfied with it.

So my plan now is get rid of the 55-02, and pick up the DJ5 but drop an Audere pre in it.

My question is this, how would a DJ with an audere compare to the 55-02, and to the passive DJ?

sorry for the novel, but any thoughts would be much appreciated.
Click to expand...

Which pickups you have in your 55-02 (Bartolini or Lakland)? In my humble opinion, a DJ5 with an Audere preamp sounds much better than a 55-02 with Bartolini electronics.
 
#6
Suprise Panda! said:
but what about a 55-02 w/ LH3's?
Click to expand...

Well, I had two Laklands 55-02 for a while: one with LH3 pickups and one with Barts. In my opinion the bass with the LH3 electronics gets closer to the sounds of the Jazz Bass, Music Man and Precision. Also, I was able to get close to the Bart sound with the LH3, but it was impossible to get close to the LH3 sound with the Barts. I traded the 55-02 with Barts for a Modulus Q5 and kept the 55-02 with the LH3 system. For reference, I tested both basses with my EA iamp800 (which is very flat sounding and does not color the tone of the basses substantially).
 
#9
Jorgemele894 said:
... In my opinion the bass with the LH3 electronics gets closer to the sounds of the Jazz Bass, Music Man and Precision. Also, I was able to get close to the Bart sound with the LH3, but it was impossible to get close to the LH3 sound with the Barts ...
Click to expand...
Having owned both flavors of 55-02, I would totally agree with this. Excellent assessment.
 
#11
If it were me, I would get rid of the DJ4 and get a DJ5 and keep the 5502.

You like the tone of the DJ. The difference between the Lakland pups and Aeros is very subtle IMO. Both sound great.

I sold my 5502 because it didn't work with my rig. I should have changed my rig and kept the 5502. The 5502 always sounded good going to tape and it was dead quiet. I just could never get it to sound as good live. The DJ5 does not have a problem with that.

I kept the DJ passive and use a Sadowsky Pre/DI if/when I need the added tone control.

I've heard nothing but good things about the Audere.
 
#12
I have a 55-02, DJ4 and DJ5. Both DJ basses have the Aero pickups while the 55-02 has the Lakland pickups/preamp. I run the passive DJ basses thru an outboard Sadowsky preamp into a Genz Benz GBE750. I run the 55-02 direct into the amp.

Using the Sadowsky preamp, I dial the bass and treble boost up to around 9:00 for just a slight amount of extra bottom end on the DJ's. I love the tone that they give and they really cut through the mix with plenty of punch.

I haven't had much time to play the 55-02 in a full band setting. I really like the versatility of the different sounds but found it way too "zingy" with my usual DR Lo-Rider roundwounds. I switched to Sadowsky flats and it really tamed the zing but retained the punch and clarity.

My advice would be to try your DJ4 with an outboard preamp to see if you like the tone, before you sell off the 55-02.
 
#13
Another option is the John East pre-amp. Very high quality and if you get the deluxe model the passive tone control serves as an overall tone control to brighten darken the rest of the settings as a whole.
 

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