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Lakland 55-02 Review.


bubinga5
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i will try and keep this as subjective as possible..

Anyways my experience with a 2011 Lakland 55-02. Indonesian made and Plekd.

Finish..

This model has a natural finish, what you can expect from the look of such an instrument, nice ash, with maple neck etc. flawless finish. love the matt feel on the back of the neck. Nice lightweight HipShot tuners, (not real HipShots i may add)

Build Quality...

I looked over the bass ( I'm nitpicking) the pickup routing wasn't perfect, didn't quite match the pickup shape. i had a Sei and that detail was perfect .but i can let that go for an instrument that cost £2000 less. the fretwork on this bass is just outstanding. The neck pocket is as tight as you could possibly want. the feel of the controls is great.

Everything on this instrument is built very well.

Playability..

Its one of those 5 strings that just fits so well in to your hands. Lakland 55"s are legendary for there great feeling necks I've played 5 strings that just feel like beasts and a real stretch. prob the 24 frets and chunky necks of other basses.
it is so comfortable to play,i can't say enough about how at home i feel playing this bass.

you really don't notice the 35" scale.. easy to reach those high notes because of that great cutaway. love the flatness past the 12th fret. this bass is a JOY to play. i think that is what makes this bass so great, that and my next point

Tone.. (the instrument is played through an Aguilar 500 and Aguilar 2x12)

I don't know where to start. but first i should say the B string is epic. I've played this instrument unplugged and you can feel how good the B string resonates in your left hand . when plugged in its just the deepest, tightest, fattest low B note.

Playing any note on the bass is very clear and defined everywhere across the board. chords sound great as do harmonics.

i love the layout of the Lakland controls. they work for me..as for the pickup/preamp set up, I've heard the early Bartolini set up is little smoother than the LH3 that is installed in this instrument. i think Lakland went for a more aggressive wound pickup on the MM and J. I've played both and i love both.. i can hear the difference, but the Bartolini bass had a rosewood fret board, i don't want to get into that.

I must say I'm not a fan of the slap tone yet,but i don't think I've really discovered the preamp as much as i should have..

when playing finger style i play with the coil tap in the back position, pickup blend in the middle,bass 3/4, and the tone is something to behold seriously. .. i don't think this bass really does the jazz bass, P Bass, MM tone perfectly, but its not far off. i will say that what it does tonally, it does so well. i gotta say i adore the tone of this bass.

Overall..

Im aware this bass has been around for a long time now, i think the Indonesian basses are better, maybe because they are plekd. I never really like saying "for the money they are great" makes it sound cheaper, and its difficult to compare this bass to any other as there quite unique in its MM J config,(apart from Sandberg) but there easily up there with Sadowsky Metro's put it that way, and when you think of the huge price difference Lakland Skylines start to make sense.. and there B string will smoke any, and i mean any Sadowsky. Come to think of any bass ever.

Im aware there in the same money as a certain MTD bass, in my opinion Lakland Skylines smoke them.. I just don't think there is an instrument made even now that can touch Lakland SkyLine.

what did i say about being subjective.

i hope this review is helpful for anyone interested in a Lakland 55-02

Edited by bubinga5
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What makes the Lakie 55's outstanding is their very familiar feel, how they fit your hands, how they hang on your body. And - first of all - the 19 mm string spacing at the bridge making it very familiar if you are used to an old J, P or MM. Most other five strings have this narrow cramped spacing "not to make the neck uncomfortable". Heck, that's what make them uncomfortable. You feel immediately at home on a Lakie if you are a Fender type player. That's the thing. Nice review, Bubinga5!

Edited by bassmayhem
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got to be honest i adored the tight spacing on the SR5, another joy to play when you use your fingers. but slapping when your used to 19mm is tricky, also, the tonal pallet is limited to that classic SR5 tone., and the instrument i owned was very heavy. the Lakland seems to have something for everyone. ok not everyone but when people say they are versatile its not just about tone.

Edited by bubinga5
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  • 4 years later...
14 hours ago, super al said:

I've been doing my research on Lakland 55-02s and came across this review on Lakland's website!

Fair play @bubinga5 a well written review that made it back to the manufacturer.

Ahh brill. !! Cheers Al. Cant find it mind. 

Edited by bubinga5
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1 hour ago, bubinga5 said:

Ahh brill. !! Cheers Al. Cant find it mind. 

Yes, their website is strange. I came across it by googling lakland 55-02 review I think. Under basschat on their site click read more.

Just bought one 2nd hand, looking forward to it's arrival!

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When I was looking for a 5 string some years ago, i spent hours at The Gallery in Camden, playing every 5 string that I could, both cheap and expensive. It was a 55-02 that I left the store with. Great bass, although ultimately I failed to gel with it long term. T’was ever thus.

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3 hours ago, ezbass said:

When I was looking for a 5 string some years ago, i spent hours at The Gallery in Camden, playing every 5 string that I could, both cheap and expensive. It was a 55-02 that I left the store with. Great bass, although ultimately I failed to gel with it long term. T’was ever thus.

I hope mine's a keeper!

I'm worried that having played the Ibanez sr1205 for 18 months I'm going to find the neck difficult to get on with. 

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Had a 5502 about 6 or 7 years ago, awesome bass, but to be honest the neck was the reason I moved it on, probably the chunkiest necked bass I've ever owned, just couldn't get to grips with it at all.

Stupid part is, I distinctly recall playing it in Guitar Guitar in Glasgow thinking exactly that too, but convinced myself the "chunkiness" would grow on me...it didn't. 

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