NBD: Lakland 55-94 5-string

secondwindow

Power User
Just got a third-hand Lakland 55-94 5-string. This was a custom build for one of their supported artists.

It's very plain for a 55-94, but it's just what I was looking for ... 35" scale and versatile sound options. I'm very pleased and have been playing it a lot.
 

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How have you been liking it (i know it's been a while since you got it)? It must be a pleasure to play. I have an older 55-02 with nordstrand pickups. Man, I love that bass. It has a HUGE range of tones I slightly envy you since my bass is basically the "low-tier" version of yours. But only slightly because it kicks so much ass. Being able to approximate p-bass, j-bass, and musicman tones is really cool.
 
How have you been liking it (i know it's been a while since you got it)? It must be a pleasure to play. I have an older 55-02 with nordstrand pickups. Man, I love that bass. It has a HUGE range of tones I slightly envy you since my bass is basically the "low-tier" version of yours. But only slightly because it kicks so much ass. Being able to approximate p-bass, j-bass, and musicman tones is really cool.
I’m really liking this bass a LOT! It’s really just what I was looking for. I don’t think you’re missing out at all with he 55-02 - that’s what I was going to get, but I came across this one used for a price I couldn’t pass up.

I’ve never tried Nordstrand pickups - how do you like them?
 
I really love them. My Nordstrands are the MM5.4 (a quad-bucker in which the full MM, the front split position, and the back split position allow for humbucking) and the 51 SPLIT-J 5 (which is a P style pickup in a J style enclosure). Very articulate. Can be extremely bright for those classic slap tones. Fortunately, when you want warm, the Lakland's preamp has that versatility. For anything fretted the Lakland 55-94/55-02 is the king of versatility.

Have you messed with the dip switches on the preamp? There's a lot of tonal variation to be had there too. The previous owner notated what each position does on the backplate of the control cavity (maybe it was Lakland on second thought). I could take a photo and post it if you wish.
 
I really love them. My Nordstrands are the MM5.4 (a quad-bucker in which the full MM, the front split position, and the back split position allow for humbucking) and the 51 SPLIT-J 5 (which is a P style pickup in a J style enclosure). Very articulate. Can be extremely bright for those classic slap tones. Fortunately, when you want warm, the Lakland's preamp has that versatility. For anything fretted the Lakland 55-94/55-02 is the king of versatility.

Have you messed with the dip switches on the preamp? There's a lot of tonal variation to be had there too. The previous owner notated what each position does on the backplate of the control cavity (maybe it was Lakland on second thought). I could take a photo and post it if you wish.
Thanks for the info about the Nordstrands! Sounds like you prefer them over the stock pickups. Were you able to install the Nordstrands without any modifications, fit-wise? The wiring you have now is the same as before, right?

I haven’t done anything with the dip switches. I actually forgot that option was there! I need to take the control cover off and have a look.
 
I actually got the bass with the pickups already installed by the previous user. I could not tell you what I think of the stock ones. But I'm sure Lakland makes great choices for their basses. Per the Nordstrand website (which has some pretty hilarious descriptions of their gear that read like H.P. Lovecraft wrote 'em) they have pickup sizes made especially for Lakland basses. Whether the wiring is the same is a real question. This bass is from the second year they ever made the skyline series. Back then I believe they used bartolini preamps, and now they use their own custom pre with their own custom pickups. My bass has been upgraded from the old Bartolini one to the new Lakland preamp that the newer basses all have by the guy I bought it from. I wish I could be more helpful!
 
I actually got the bass with the pickups already installed by the previous user. I could not tell you what I think of the stock ones. But I'm sure Lakland makes great choices for their basses. Per the Nordstrand website (which has some pretty hilarious descriptions of their gear that read like H.P. Lovecraft wrote 'em) they have pickup sizes made especially for Lakland basses. Whether the wiring is the same is a real question. This bass is from the second year they ever made the skyline series. Back then I believe they used bartolini preamps, and now they use their own custom pre with their own custom pickups. My bass has been upgraded from the old Bartolini one to the new Lakland preamp that the newer basses all have by the guy I bought it from. I wish I could be more helpful!
Thanks - you’ve been very helpful!
 
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