bubinga5 Posted January 5, 2020 Share Posted January 5, 2020 (edited) I acquired this instrument over the weekend and ive had a good play. Ive wanted one of these for quite a while and it doesn't disappoint. A small review... The bass has a swamp ash body with a fancy cherry burst quilt top with an insane birdseye maple fretboard. Early Bartolini pickups. There are some really nice details like sunken Hipshot tuners. The control cavity screws have brass ferrules to screw them in too. The fit of the neck and pickup routing is just beautifully done.. Everything is in order when it comes to fit and finish. These basses are well known for there necks, I will say its a little different from 55-02/01. A little slimmer profile wise... Its a quarter sawn neck (I have no idea what this means tbh) so feels a little different to any other Lakland 5 string neck ive played. Its an unfinished neck with a little oil maybe.? Graphite rods for stability. Im not sure how they have shaped this neck but seriously its THE best neck of any 5 string ive ever played. All the hype about Lakland USA necks are very true . You just don't notice your playing a 35" scale 5 string bass. Its just so easy to play. They have even angled the string retainer as to accommodate the break angle of the B string. Lakland back then didn't use Plek technology. All the fret work was done by hand and it feels hand made, not a sharp edge anywhere. When playing it every note sings. The sound is great, with a pretty straight forward preamp. Ive always loved the MM Jazz pickup combo, it has real bite to it. When you dig in it has that nasty jazz bass growl. Its a really versatile bass. Amazing B string. It has been said before, blah blah this bass is amazing blah blah. But hands down this is the best bass I've ever played. Its difficult to explain what makes a bass great.But it just all round feels and sounds amazing. There is a reason why these early or current USA 55's are held in such high regard imo. Its a very well made/designed focussed instrument. Anyway enough of me talking stinky poo. Here is some porno. Edited January 5, 2020 by bubinga5 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AndyTravis Posted January 5, 2020 Share Posted January 5, 2020 Always get hankering for a full fat Lakkie. @three has a P/Glaub with a bound fingerboard which has my name on it (he just doesn’t know that yet...) 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chris_b Posted January 5, 2020 Share Posted January 5, 2020 These are fantastic basses. They appeared out of nowhere, perfectly formed and ready for any style of music. The pickups and preamps have undergone upgrades but the rest of the bass is pretty much as it appeared in the late 90's. IMO an indication of how good they were and still are. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CameronJ Posted January 5, 2020 Share Posted January 5, 2020 The Birdseye on that fingerboard is bonkers! It even puts my Wingbass to shame 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
krispn Posted January 5, 2020 Share Posted January 5, 2020 It’s not Birdseye those are freckles! It’s all the rage for 2K20! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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