Here's the bass that started it all for Lakland.
Loosely based on a classic bass, the 55-94 took the concept one (or two) steps further. Being a fan of Musicman basses himself, Dan Lakin set to create a bass that would add something to that model. The 55-94 is a professional US made bass with some unique features such as:
- Clever electronics for a wide range of classic sounds, plus a few others, in a simple layout that is very easy to understand and use
- Comfortable neck with a great profile and string spacing. Very easy to play.
- Great low B. Unlike some similar basses, the 5th string is tout, clear and responds to any technique.
- Lightweight. You'll appreciatte this if you use the bass for long sessions.
Electronics:
Two Lakland pickups offer great quality and coupled to the 3 band Lakland preamp you have more than enough room to experiment. The preamp can be bypassed for a more traditional tone.
Lakland has been using this pickups arrangement since the early 90’s and it is in fact one of the best we can think of: a single coil at teh neck, plus a splittable humbucker at the bridge. Actually, the 3 way miniswitch lets you select the North or South coils in the humbucker as well as both in parallel. In fact, you can get (among others) sounds that closely resemble a Musicman, a Jazz Bass and even a modern Precision. All of them are there and if you take some time to tweak the controls, you will find more useable sounds
The neck is ultra comfortable, with a nice soft C profile at the first frets that gradually flattens as you move up the neck.
Access to the 22th fret is excellent for a bolt on.
String spacing is wide but not cumbersome. Hipshot Ultralight tuners help balance the bass nicely. Lakland’s own bridge allows you to anchor the strings in a traditional manner, but also through the body for maximum sustain.
Lakland have been using this pickup arrangement since the early 90’s and it is in fact one of the best we can think of: a single coil at the neck, plus a splittable humbucker at the bridge. Actually, the 3 way miniswitch lets you select the North or South coils in the humbucker as well as both in parallel. In fact, you can get (among others) sounds that closely resemble a Musicman, a Jazz Bass and even a modern Precision. All of them are there and if you take some time to tweak the controls, you will find more useable sounds.
Of course this bass comes with the new Lakland pickups and electronics. According to Lakland's boss, Dan Lakin, this was the right time to introduce their own line of pickups and electronics and incorporate them into their basses. This allows Lakland to control the whole process and make sure they offer a trademark sound all of their own. The good news is that the new electronics are not radically different to the "old" Bartolini components, but take off from there, adding more punch, presence and "something else". You'll have to try the basses to see for yourself.
Hipshot Ultralight tuners help balance the bass nicely. Lakland’s own bridge allows you to anchor the strings in a traditional manner, but also through the body for maximum sustain.
If you prefer a more traditional 5 string check out the signature Darryl Jones 5 or Joe Osborn model 5