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Opinions on Lakland Joe Osborn 5 / 55-60


NJE
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Just interested in the general opinions on build quality and sound of the Lakland 55-60 (Joe Osborn 5).

There are a few around secondhand at the moment and I may have some money available to buy one as they seem to tick the box for a good solid 5 string Jazz bass. The only thing I am questioning is why these seem to be so cheap secondhand compared to the Darryl Jones Model. The DJ5 seems to stay around £800 used but I have seen the Joe Osborn go as low as £550.

A friend of mine has a 55-02 and its nice but never been 'Wowed' by it. I am basically after a good 5 string J bass and wondering if they are worth a punt as I can't really test one out. All thought greatly appreciated.

Edited by NJE
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Mine is nearly 3 years old and a definite keeper. I can't fully explain other than it plays like no other I've had and has the wow factor each time. It is an utter joy to play and the neck feels like home.

P.s. You should take advantage of those 2nd hand prices.

Edited by Machines
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55-60s are great in my opinion. If your set up is noisy, you may want to shield the electronics and PUs, especially if the bass has had an active preamp fitted. I've had two DJs and moved them on, kept the JOs - something about the DJ's smaller body shape just didn't feel right for some reason. Very personal anyway. The recent Sire Marcus Miller V7 are head to head with Skyline Laklands, and cheaper - I think the neck of Laklands is better, the Sire's electronics are incredible though.

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I'd second trying out a Sire. I haven't had a JO5 personally, but have had a 55-01, a 55-02dlx and a JO4. I'd rate the Sire as at least level with the best of them overall... The Lakland 5 necks are pretty special though!

Edited by Bigwan
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When I first wanted to try out 5'ers, I tried a lot of Lakland basses, well before they changed hands and some of those were the higher spec'd models.

I personally found a lot of 'rushed' areas with the QC, but this was some time ago now. Things may have picked up by now. The necks are nice, but I don't personally need a 35" scale for a good B string. They sounded great, I'll give them that.

One issue was weight. Whilst Musicman basses can be heavy, the JO5/55-60/DJ5 basses I tried tended to all be the extreme end....

It seems like Sire build a very similar spec'd bass for a lot less. I personally think the Lakland pricing of £1000+ new without any kind of case is quite expensive.

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A factor in the increased cost of the Skylines is that they are shipped back to the Lakland factory in Chicago for the electronics to be installed and the neck to be PLEK'd. So there is an increased cost over instruments only made in the Far East and shipped straight to the UK.

[url="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lakland#Skyline_Series"]https://en.wikipedia...#Skyline_Series[/url]

[url="https://www.lakland.com/plek.htm"]https://www.lakland.com/plek.htm[/url]

Edited by Machines
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Thanks for sharing your thoughts guys. I haven't played my mates 55-02 for a while but I do always remember the neck being very playable and although I dont play a 35" scale at the moment, I am not too bothered either way on scale lengths.

The Sire basses do look incredibly good and I am going a bit weak at the knees with the white one with blocks, but I am not hugely keen on too many knobs and the EQ and all the stack pots put me off to be honest. I dont really want to hack about a perfectly good bass to make it passive or simplify the EQ.

Part of the reason I am looking at the Laklands is because they are passive and if I ever have the desire for active I can pop in a East etc. One of the JO5 I am looking at seems to be the model with the Lindy Fralin pickups which seem to get good comments so that might be a little more incentive.

I just seem to be looking at the right time, there are 4 used around at the moment and all different.

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The DJ5 was a slightly higher spec Jazz bass, i think thats why it sells for a higher price secondhand.

Ive had a 55-01 (my first ever Lakland) and a DJ5, but the JO5 i played was definitely my fav. In fact it was playing one of those that got me selling my Fender P5.

The necks on Laklands are fantastic IME, very smooth and fast. I guess part of that is the flat radius and the small frets.

Now that i have a Sire my GAS for a Lakland has gone, although i too would prefer a plain passive bass with just 3 knobs. The Sire is very close to a 5 string Lakland though, at a fraction of the cost.

Oh, not that it adds to the conversation but i have a 4 string JO neck on my Squier CV Jazz. Wonderful neck.

Edited by dave_bass5
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I am struggling to find another bass that fits the bill for around £600 used like the Laklands seem to. I guess they aren't in fashion at the moment as there seem to be quite a few around at the moment. I am trying to arrange a visit to play and potentially buy one in the next few days and I guess I will see if the bass is what I want it to be.

I have been very happy playing my Squier basses for a while and been pretty happy with them. The Squier Vintage Modified Jazz V would be a good option but I have found myself in a position where I am potentially starting a new project and despite the quality, I do feel like the poor relation in the band turning up with a Squier. No-one has said anything but I think everyone just feels sorry for me that I cant afford anything else and that I am not a 'serious player' because I don't have anything better.

To be fair despite the quality of the Squiers, when you go to practice and play top end Les Paul's and custom shop fenders, you really do notice the difference in quality.

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No it isn't a JO5........Despite a few JO5 floating around used at the moment, I get swayed by a 55-02 and I am glad I went with it. I was being messed about a little with a JO5 I wanted and then made an offer I didn't think would ever be accepted on a 55-02 which should now be here Tuesday.

I didn't particularly want active but my mate has a 55-02 that I played and then I remembered the joy in having the EQ available when I used to play Stingrays, and I decided it was the sound I want for a couple of bands I play with.

I did think Sire Marcus Miller for a while but despite them looking incredible the EQ scares me a little and I have a massive dislike for stack knobs on basses, I'm too clumsy and have had bad experience of breaking them.

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Cool. The 55-02 is going to be a lot more versatile.
I started out on a 55-01 and loved it, at the time. I suppose if there was anything I didn't like it was the tone. At first I did, but after a while I felt it to be a bit bland. I did upgrade the pre amp but that didn't really make much difference. Had it for a couple of years though and giged it constantly so it must have had something going for it.
I think the 55-02 is going to be sweet. I think one day I'll have one.

Agree about the staked knobs. not very elegant and I did worry about knocking them when I first got my Sire. I don't worry about them now though, but I do think they look a bit cheap.

Good luck with it.

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The necks on Laklands are indeed very playable.

I have tried Lakland basses with Fralins and Aeros side by side with newer models with Lakland's own Hanson pickups, and I thought that the Hanson pickups sounded better.They were certainly louder and more punchy than the Fralins, if slightly more modern sounding I definitely wouldn't consider the Hansons to be inferior in any way, so I wouldn't discourage anyone from contemplating buying a model with the newer pickups on. The Fralins have more of a vintage sound, maybe, if that is what you crave.

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I've had two Lakland Duck Dunn basses. The first had a Fralin and the seocond had a Hanson pup. Although they were a couple of years apart to my ears the Hanson sounded a bit harsh and growly compared to how I remembered the first bass.
I swapped the Hanson out and put a Fralin in and felt much better about it. Saying that I put the same Fralin in a Squier P bass and never really felt it made much difference.

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