What a lovely Lakland!

[CHRISDABASS]

WOW!

this is the first Lakland that's made me really want to buy it!

[url="http://www.guitarguitar.co.uk/bass_guitars_detail.asp?stock=10090117041929"]http://www.guitarguitar.co.uk/bass_guitars...=10090117041929[/url]

[ezbass]

Hello, ding dong (delivered in a suitable Lesley Phillips voice).

[Musicman20]

I have tried this baby out. The paint job is first class, and the rosewood board is a treat. Not only that, its fairly light for a Lakland.

I nearly bought it (literally had my card ready) when I noticed the bridge pickup doesnt seem to be placed correctly. The G and D string dont line up with the pup. Dave Bass had the same issue on a Fender Jazz, so I was looking out for it.

Shame

It looks ok on the picture, but much more noticable in the flesh.

Edited October 7, 2010 by Musicman20

[Ou7shined]

I just can't get with Lakland bridges. They look so... stuck on.

[CHRISDABASS]

[quote name='Musicman20' post='980709' date='Oct 7 2010, 04:50 PM']I have tried this baby out. The paint job is first class, and the rosewood board is a treat. Not only that, its fairly light for a Lakland.

I nearly bought it (literally had my card ready) when I noticed the bridge pickup doesnt seem to be placed correctly. The G and D string dont line up with the pup. Dave Bass had the same issue on a Fender Jazz, so I was looking out for it.

Shame

It looks ok on the picture, but much more noticable in the flesh.[/quote]


Yeh that doesn't look too good does it!!

if you check pics of all the J style Lakland 5's they all look like they have the same problem!

to me it seems like they're using the same size pickup in bother neck and bridge positions! (could be wrong but might explain why its the same on all the basses in these pics?)

[charic]

Just done a quick check on the Pickup size using paint lets see the results shall we?

[attachment=60812:laklandjazz.jpg]

Looks like the bridge pickup is bigger BUT the bottom of the pickup is level with the bottom of the neck pickup.

What the hell!?

[CHRISDABASS]

What the hell indeed!!!

How or why would they do this?? Surely they must see it as clearly as we do? Surely cnc machines are good enough to avoid problems like these??

Really poor on a bass of that price! Its funny how it seems to be on all of them too!!

[krispn]

Does it really make that much of adifference to the tone?

I understand the fact that dropping £1000+ there is no excuse ( there shouldn't be this problem on any bass for that matter if they are CNC'd once over a few hundred quid) but id the impact tonal or merely cosmetic.

I'll be sure and bounce this over to the Lakland LOG site and see what they think.


PS the teal green is a limited edition colour only available this yaar in a handful of numbers for each skyline model.

[Musicman20]

I think its the fact they are made in the Cort factory (or similar) and no longer have the well regarded pups in them that makes it even more expensive.

£1000 for a bass, which is just a passive Jazz with no hardcase, needs 100% QC if you ask me.

The paint job is great, Ive seen it in the flesh, but that pup issue would put me off and would also mean if I sold it on id lose money.

Dave Bass had a DJ5 and the pups lined up great.

I think since before Dan Lakland left, QC started to slip. Fenders still come with issues if you get a bad one, and Laklands are meant to be a step up. This is what I thought anyway.

To finish the story, I tried to buy 4-5 Laklands, and they all had issues, so I gave up.

AFAIK, the other Lakland Jazz type basses they have in stock all have a similar issue, whereas earlier Laklands did not. Possibly they havent spec'd the new Hanson pickups correctly?!

The thing is, the new CV Squiers rarely have this problem, so why should this? It looks 'ok' in the picture, but in the flesh the G string is actually towards the bottom of the last pole piece on the bridge pup...off by about 4-5 mm.

Edited October 8, 2010 by Musicman20

[dave_bass5]

[quote name='Musicman20' post='981306' date='Oct 8 2010, 09:58 AM']Dave Bass had a DJ5 and the pups lined up great.

AFAIK, the other Lakland Jazz type basses they have in stock all have a similar issue, whereas earlier Laklands did not. Possibly they havent spec'd the new Hanson pickups correctly?!

The thing is, the new CV Squiers rarely have this problem, so why should this? It looks 'ok' in the picture, but in the flesh the G string is actually towards the bottom of the last pole piece on the bridge pup...off by about 4-5 mm.[/quote]

Yep, no issues with that bass at all. And then it all went down hill.

The DJ5 had Hansons in it, the bridge pup was slightly longer and both lined up perfectly. I even played a JO5 just before i got the DJ5 and that too was spot on.

Its really weird isnt it. It seems like a lot of the mid/higher end basses are having this problem, yet the cheaper ones are fine.
My Squier CV J is spot on, as is my HW-one Jazz. My old HW-1 Jazz was fine. Even the MIM 70s' classic i had a few months ago was spot on, yet all 3 of the MIA's were out. And now Laklands.

To be honest i dont think it makes any difference to the tone. And i would happily live with it (now) if the bass was good in all other respects.

Edited October 8, 2010 by dave_bass5

[largo]

I might be wrong, but simply drawing a rectangle around the pickups doesn't mean a thing.
You'd need the bass to be photographed exactly straight on and the pickups to be also straight on to the camera.
If this bass was photographed at the wrong angle and the neck pickup was closer to the high strings (which I believe is common) then you'd get that effect with drawing a box. I think !

I'm with Dave on this one, if it wouldn't stop me buying this bass unless tone was affected.

[chris_b]

Come on, mate. Don't spoil a good witch hunt!

[charic]

If it was due to the bass being at an angle I would have thought the other side of the picture would be out too...

I'll try with another jazz bass in a sec!

[charic]

Exhibit B

Here we see a 5 string Lakland sunburst. In what even looks like the same stand:

Lets investigate shall we?

[attachment=60865:LaklandSunJazz.png]

Neck pickup looks smaller than the Bridge Pickup.

Both look central.

What does the Jury think?

[7string]

It's strange

Proves as well that stores aren't checking basses before they go on the wall and they should have answers to these questions.

Saying that the strings on a Les Paul never go directly over the polepieces!

[dave_bass5]

This is how it should look. I know this is a DJ5 and the OP posted to the updated JO5 but still, a jazz is a jazz.

Edited October 8, 2010 by dave_bass5

[EssentialTension]

[quote name='dave_bass5' post='981718' date='Oct 8 2010, 04:07 PM']This is how it should look. I know this is a DJ5 and the OP posted to the updated JO5 but still, a jazz is a jazz.

[/quote]
Well, to me, that one looks out on the B string just as the teal looked out on the G string

[dave_bass5]

To my eyes the B and A string look in on the Teal one but the other three are out.

I guess at the end of the day its not so much the tone, but how much are we willing to pay for bad workmanship.

[warwickhunt]

[quote name='EssentialTension' post='981760' date='Oct 8 2010, 04:53 PM']Well, to me, that one looks out on the B string just as the teal looked out on the G string[/quote]

+1

The angle the photograph was taken at is off or the B & E strings are out of kilter!

[Musicman20]

Weird.

My ex-American Fender Jazz was pretty spot on...not 100% lined up but much better than the JO5 up on this post.

[Linus27]

Did I read that right that Dan Lakland has left Lakland? If so, why did he leave and what is he up to now?

[Musicman20]

[quote name='Linus27' post='982034' date='Oct 8 2010, 09:20 PM']Did I read that right that Dan Lakland has left Lakland? If so, why did he leave and what is he up to now?[/quote]

They have been bought out so to speak, and are 'owned' by Hanson who make the strange shaped guitars!

If you ask me, the whole concept of Lakland disappeared when Dan left,

[Linus27]

[quote name='Musicman20' post='982070' date='Oct 8 2010, 09:58 PM']They have been bought out so to speak, and are 'owned' by Hanson who make the strange shaped guitars!

If you ask me, the whole concept of Lakland disappeared when Dan left,[/quote]

Bloody hell, I never knew that. Is that not a bit of a let down to all the Lakland owners?

[EssentialTension]

[quote name='Linus27' post='982034' date='Oct 8 2010, 09:20 PM']Did I read that right that Dan Lakland has left Lakland? If so, why did he leave and what is he up to now?[/quote]
If I've got the story correct, Lakland is now owned by John Pirruccello (who was already a working for Lakland for many years and knows Dan Lakin from childhood) and Bo Pirruccello (who is John's brother and is boss of Hanson who make pickups for Lakland).

Rumour has it that Dan is going to be working for Harmony Guitars.

[chris_b]

[quote name='Linus27' post='982085' date='Oct 8 2010, 10:11 PM']....Is that not a bit of a let down to all the Lakland owners?....[/quote]
Why should that be?
If the new management make good basses then there is no problem. Leo Fender sold up so did Everett Hull and their companies carried on dominating their respective market places.