Laklands.. too polite?

[dukeplaysbass]

The pickup placement on the DJ and the JO are the same right? So technically I could put DJ pickups in a JO and get the same sound?

Funny you posted this. I had a US DJ4 that I simply could not get to sound the way I wanted it to -- with the warmth and depth and smoothness my JOs have in spades. I bought a set of Fralins and swapped them for the DJ's Aeros.. Know what? Still didn't sound like my JOs. (and it wasn't just a "this bass" and "that bass" -- my 3 JOs have "that" sound somehow. There's gotta be some voodoo that Carl does in the back room at Lakland, I just don't wanna know....)

 

[Baryonyx]

I like the sound of Lakland basses, but I've never felt they have given me the growl or the trumpet-style tones that a jazz bass could. For that reason, I own three jazz basses and no Laklands!

 

[Baird6869]

I sold a 55-02 as I didn't like how it sounded on a gig. Kinda boring. Cut ok but lacking something I get from my Sadowskys or Stingrays.

They record incredibly IMO though.

 

[mattygbass]

if you want to try a really aggressive lakland then you really need to try out a scheff model. very growly and snarly

 

[Tom Howland]

There is nothing "Polite" about a "Decade" through a tube amp.

 

[Tom Howland]

There is nothing "Polite" about a "Decade" through a tube amp.

Forgot.
With "Darkstar" pickups.

 

[murphy]

I should say that not all 5502's will sound the same.
I kept the one that I found had the most aggressive sounding Barts.
To maximise the aggressive jazz bass sound, I find the key is to raise the pickup height as high as possible without hitting the strings.

 

[Matt Call]

Is that so...
Where are the Decade CS Clips?!

Very soon - I promise!

Ian,

I'm excited to hear your thoughts on these. I know I love mine to death.



- Matt

 

[perfektspace6]

Laklands = Blah IMO

Not bad, just boring. I'm sure there are ways to "wake them up" but I never thought they had a very ballsy tone. However, not sure if they are "too polite". In any case, nothing wrong with being smooth.

 

[ShowKing]

I recently got a 55-02.. As much as I love the neck, fit and finish, etc. of this instrument, it seems a bit too tame.. I don't seem to get much of the jazz growl with the rear coil selected..

Listening to the audio on the Lakland website, I found the Joe Osborn to also sound a bit tame, but that might be just due to the playing style of the guy that records the audio..

How similar does the JO5 sound to the 55-02's jazz sound? Is it a completely different animal?

EDIT: BTW, I have the Lakland pups / LH3 preamp.

i fully understand wat u mean.
i got my 55-02 start of this year with LH3 as well.
the bass was definitely smooth sounding, not really aggressive like my active jazz bass.
i think the main thing is the lakland strings that come with it. they are pretty much GHS. those strings sound dead to me.
i replaced it with new strings and it got bit more aggressive.
on my amp i have treble up high, bass up high-ish. mid cut heaps.
i'm happy with the sound i get with it at these settings.
it still has a lower output volume than my active jazz bass tho, and a deeper sound.
having seymour duncans pups will give u the aggressive, hot output sound, but im the type of guy who would keep the bass stock, except the strings.
first thing to try is changing strings to either nickel rounds or steels in my opinion.