narrowed down to mtd, sadowsky, lakland

[Jackie Clark]

Hey Jackie...I've played Viktor's Sadowksky P/J too--that's an excellent one that's really happening....
Did you get rid of that Natural JO 5 string? I thought I saw it up for sale last year.

Tim!! How's everything bro??? It's been a minute! Yeah man,Victor's bass was killer...he let me use it on a gig when he came to Memphis.I almost never put it down...that's a rare moment when I have my Laklands onstage!! haha!

Yeah,I sold my Osborn about a year ago...to a buddy that lives here so I kinda still have access to it.I never really wanted to sell the bass but,I needed recording gear so,I had to make a decision.

That bass was a good as they come...if I didn't have my old jazz('74),I never would've sold it!

 

[TheOldFlatwound]

Tim!! How's everything bro??? It's been a minute! Yeah man,Victor's bass was killer...he let me use it on a gig when he came to Memphis.I almost never put it down...that's a rare moment when I have my Laklands onstage!! haha!

Yeah,I sold my Osborn about a year ago...

I'm good--hope to catch you in person sometime soon.
Viktor's is a great one, and is a good example of how this goes. All of these basses are great options, but sometimes a particular bass just beats out the others similar to it.

Sorry you had to let your JO5 go. I still have mine--(alder/rw)--I bought mine years ago to "shootout" with my old 55-94. I liked both and they were very different from each other, so they stayed and I'm fortunate to have those options.....

I don't know that I can help the OP much, but there is a lot of good info in this thread. Hopefully you can try some of these basses out and see what works best for you. They're all versatile, excellent basses. They also come up used, so if you wait it out you should find a good deal on them.

A couple things to keep in mind:
-The Sadowsky Metro is 34" while the others are 35" and will feel different.
-The Sadowsky Metro and Lakland 55-94 are about the same price range used--the MTDs are usually more

I have had a 55-94 for about 8 years as my main 5 string. It's my only active bass as well. It often sounds dark in headphones or on a gig to me, but it's really excellent recorded (or on a gig for that matter)--punchy and consistent. There have been a lot of situations where it sounded so-so in the cue to me, but then was all there on playback or the final product. It took a while owning the bass to realize what was happening. Situations like that show why it's important to own a bass for a while before you really know where you're at with it. Luckily, I don't think you can go wrong playing any of them while you make the final decision.

FWIW--you mentioned Robert Glasper in your first post. I just saw Derrick Hodge with him over the weekend at the Detroit Jazz Festival. He was playing a Fender 5 string jazz for some of the set and then moved to a fretless that I didn't recognize. It was really great--glad I caught it.

 

[AngelCrusher]

The JO5 has really sold me as well.

I think it just boils down to what gets you off at this point. Do you like J style active basses? Sadowsky is a great pick. Passive J with a modern feel and an amazing B? Lakland.

MM tone? 55-94.

Fusion soapbar? MTD

It's a real good point about owning the bass. Because of this, I discovered I need to fall in love with a bass pretty fast to buy it. If that happens, I am in for the long hall and figure out the tonalities just fine.

I played some Lakland DJs in the store and nothing grabbed me, but for some reason the JO I found just did it right off the bat.

 

[bass12]

When I say stiff,I'm talking about the neck...the response,the feel,the overall vibe.All the Sadowskys I've played(with exception of Victor's) were a pain just to get around on the neck.It felt as if I had to fight just to get the bass to respond.

When Lakland shipped my first bass,it already felt broken in even though it was brand new.The tension was right and the bass played itself.It got better over time and now that it's 10 years old....OH BOY!!!! hahaha!

Just haven't had that experience with a new Sadowsky before...I'd played about 12-15 of em over the course of time.Now this was nearly 10 years ago so things may have changed and this can happen with just about any bass.

Gotcha. I wasn't a big fan of the neck on my first Sadowsky 5 string. I'm not sure if it's because I'm now used to fivers or because the neck is significantly different (I chose the narrower nut option) but I'm very comfortable on my current Sadowsky 5. I have to say though, my favourite necks are the MTDs (even though each one is slightly different), while the Lulls have the most comfortable necks I've played on a jazz (though I'd prefer narrower spacing at the nut).

 

[Jackie Clark]

Gotcha. I wasn't a big fan of the neck on my first Sadowsky 5 string. I'm not sure if it's because I'm now used to fivers or because the neck is significantly different (I chose the narrower nut option) but I'm very comfortable on my current Sadowsky 5. I have to say though, my favourite necks are the MTDs (even though each one is slightly different), while the Lulls have the most comfortable necks I've played on a jazz (though I'd prefer narrower spacing at the nut).

Always cool when you find something that feels right!!! Congrats on that! I've only played one MTD(my buddy Andrew Gouche's personal A.G. signature model) that bass plays itself! I don't play 6 strings and it was quite easy to play!

I've also played Bryan Beller's Lull jazz 5 and it was quite easy as well! They both sounded great too!

It's funny though,once I found my sound with Lakland,I don't even bother trying other new basses because they give me the exact sound I'm looking for.You have to know what you're looking for before you buy or,you'd be purchasing,selling,trading a bass every time you hear the next "great thing"!

I have nothing against wanting a better instrument but a lot of this can be cured with knowing the sound you want before you buy....it doesn't work the other way too often.

 

[diglo]

Always cool when you find something that feels right!!! Congrats on that! I've only played one MTD(my buddy Andrew Gouche's personal A.G. signature model) that bass plays itself! I don't play 6 strings and it was quite easy to play!

I've also played Bryan Beller's Lull jazz 5 and it was quite easy as well! They both sounded great too!

It's funny though,once I found my sound with Lakland,I don't even bother trying other new basses because they give me the exact sound I'm looking for.You have to know what you're looking for before you buy or,you'd be purchasing,selling,trading a bass every time you hear the next "great thing"!

I have nothing against wanting a better instrument but a lot of this can be cured with knowing the sound you want before you buy....it doesn't work the other way too often.

+1000 on that!!!