Here's an amazing new Lakalnd Joe Osborn USA.
We have always been impressed by the great quality of the Korean Skyline series by Lakland, so we were excited about thei US model and were curious to see how they compare.
While the Skyline Joe Osborn is a bargain for the price, there is no doubt that this US instrument is really one of the best in its class.
The guys at Lakland chicago have cut no corners building this bass. Everything in this bass is there for a reason: to build a modern vintage bass that would indeed please Joe Osborn (remember he used a 60's Jazz Bass to record hunderd of hits).
The alder body is finished in a delicious Wintage white, and the quarter shawn maple neck has an East Indian rosewood board with amazing birds eye maple dots.
Lakland USA basses can be ordered with some specific options, and we chose the following for this bass:
- Tortoise pickguard
- Neck pickup cover
- Hipshot D-Tuner
- Stacked controls (as in a 1960 Jazz Bass).
Unlugged the bass reveals a great voice, with a clear attack and strong fundamental. Plugged in, the Lindy Fralin set delivers the goods.
To sum up: a true vintage bass with the best materials and perfect workmanship.
The cream hardcase roundes nicely this vintage package.
From Lakland's website:
NO AVERAGE JOE
A case can be made that Joe Osborn is the premier studio bassist of all time. Here's the evidence ... Joe played on: Travelin' Man, This Diamond Ring, Eve Of Destruction, Monday Monday, Poor Side of Town, Windy, Aquarius/Let The Sunshine In, Wedding Bell Blues, Dizzy, (They Long To Be) Close to You, Cracklin' Rosie, I Think I Love You, Bridge Over Troubled Water, I Am Woman, Top of The World, Delta Dawn, Billy Don't Be a Hero, Please Mr. Postman. And those are just the pop/rock #1 hits!
What Joe has done on the electric bass is nothing short of staggering. The list of artists with whom he has worked reads like a "Who's Who" of popular music, and includes: The Mamas and the Papas, Johnny Rivers, Rick Nelson, Simon and Garfunkel, The Carpenters, The Fifth Dimension, Glen Campbell, The Association, Neil Young, and America to name a few. Joe holds four Hat Awards from The Academy of Country Music, was the recipient of Bass Player Magazine's Lifetime Achievement Award, and his list of Billboard hits runs as long as a country mile.
JOE COMES HOME
Joe Osborn played his original 1960 bass on more than 200 Top 40 pop singles and over 400 Top 40 country singles before he decided to set his vintage axe aside to give it some R&R. The '60 gave Joe a tone and playability that no other bass was able to match ... until now! Our collaboration with one of the music industry's most influential electric bass players yielded a masterpiece of simplicity and usability.
JAZZED
With Joe, we labored over the design of this instrument to combine the leading edge of '60's technology (the slim neck and narrow nut, the offset-body balancing, and concentric control knobs) and applied today's leading edge technology (graphite reinforcement, enhanced neck joint, passive pickups by Lindy Fralin) to create a contemporary classic.
