Lakland 55-02 or MDT Kingston Heir 5 or ??

[sussexbassman]

I've had a USA Fender P-bass for many years which I love, but increasingly I feel I need a 5 string and a bit more versatility of sound. My budget for a new bass is up to around £1K.

I don't want to lose the P-bass sound completely, so am looking at maybe a 5-string P-J hybrid or something simlilar. Fender have discontinued their USA deluxe 5-S P, so I've considered a G&L Tribute L2500, but I want to go 35". So right now I'm looking at either a Lakland 55-02 or an MDT Kingston Heir 5.

Does anyone have any experience, views, opinions on this choice? Or any alternative options I should look at?

Thanks!

[Wil]

From what I've heard of Lakland 55 series basses, they're very modern sounding. Very clean and articulate. Too polite in fact for my liking. A G&L will have far more character, for want of a better word, and would be sonically more capable of doing the P thing while still having it's own sound, IMO.

Have you considered a Spector? Mine is a 35" scale and the B is very tight. Although it's far more modern sounding than a P it's not overly polite sounding.

Edited November 5, 2010 by Wil

[AREA]

With this two Options, I would go with the Lakland 55-02 by far. I've read many Times, that the Electronics in the MTD are a real weak Point. For my Taste, the 55-02 is the definately better Bass. I have a 55-01 and I love it. Ah, ive played G&L Tributes L200, the 4-String Version and I don't have liked their Sound.

Another Option, if you like it, would be the Dingwall Combustion Basses. I think you should get them in that Pricerange. A few days ago, there was a nice green one here in the "For sale" Thread for 900,- GbP, if I remember right. The Low-B @ Dingwall Basses is without a Doubt, the best you can get. really cool Basses.

Edited November 5, 2010 by AREA

[bubinga5]

No contest....Lakland all the way...both good basses but i prefer the Lakland... you may get a better Pbass tone too...you really need to try them if your going to drop 1K on a bass...

[JTUK]

I'd be interested in a P-bass 5... at some point.

[sussexbassman]

Thanks for the replies. I do plan to try some out, but if anyone else has personal experience / knowledge, I'd like to get your view to add into my decision process.

[Doddy]

I've had an MTD Heir for about 5 years now,and all I can say is that they are great basses. I've played a couple of Laklands and again,they are great basses. You'll really have to check them both out.
I saw an MTD Heir on eBay the other day for well under your budget.

[sussexbassman]

I'm going to The Bass Gallery to try out a Dingwall ....... I feel I have to before I make my decision!

[Grand Wazoo]

[quote name='sussexbassman' post='1014838' date='Nov 6 2010, 10:55 PM']I'm going to The Bass Gallery to try out a Dingwall ....... I feel I have to before I make my decision![/quote]


Phone them first, last time I was there they only had the one I bought (ABZ 5) and a lyme green combustion (jap issue ewww) the Combustion is not as good as the Canadian made Dings so be aware.

[bassmeg]

I love my 35" scale MTD zepher 5. Reviewed in this months bass guitar mag, although i have not seen it. All i can say about mine is i got it at a great price, spammed up with nordstrand and aguilar goodies, a real looker with maple board and cherry red finish. The best "feeling" bass i have played has been a stingray, and this is just as good in the way it feels-quality. As for the sound that maybe more specific to your tastes. When played on just the neck it sounds very p-like. If you can get your hands on one to try, i would say to you, give it a go.

[attachment=63285:mtdz5.jpg]

£1K is a lot to spend on a bass. Second hand all the way for me, at least twice as much for your money.

Also i have had a G&L trib 4. Value for money S/H this wins hands down on most but then it is not as good as the MTD Z5. Nor is it as good as most that have been mentioned. But not by that much IMO.

Edited November 7, 2010 by bassmeg

[victor5string]

the MTD has a fantastic neck IMO much better then the 55-02, yeah the 55-02 has better pre and maybe pups but if you up grade the MTD you are on to a winner. MTD all the way.

[The Burpster]

Maybe also Sadowski NYC Vintage....?

[JMBassist]

Just love my MTD Z5, I don't know the Heir but the Z5 neck is wonderfull. Actually the stock preamp is not good at all, but I've replaced it by a Bart 918f and it sounds much better now (see [url="http://basschat.co.uk/index.php?showtopic=107824)"]http://basschat.co.uk/index.php?showtopic=107824)[/url].

Maybe one day I'll replace also the pickups, but for now is good enough. I also prefer the MTD than a Lakland skyline.

[sussexbassman]

Thanks all for the varied inputs. I 'think' I've made my decision and it's a Dingwall ABZ, but I'll confirm it after Saturday!

[kurcatovium]

OK, so you want versatile bass. But what about string spacing, neck profile, balance, etc? Do you have any preferences?

I could really recommend Cort RB5, which I bought few months ago. Quality of these basses is surprisingly good. Also mine has probably the best feeling neck I've ever had my hands on. Plus, you can stuff the bass with some nordstrand, bartolini or similar pickups to get a monster. That was my 2 cents...

[Gust0o]

I've just recently obtained a Kingston Heir 5, and have been very impressed - allowing for some of the commentary on here, I think I'd been suspecting a few flies in the ointment; but not a one!

It's certainly got plenty of oomp - the J/MM pick-up combination working well with the active circuitry. Mine has had some tweaks to the pre-amp, I understand, but the remaining stock gear seems very sound.

The neck, however, is the real strong point. It's f***ing mega. It's solid, nicely spaced, and seems to go on forever - at least to my neanderthalic rock heritage. The zero-fret is my new favourite feature.

I would never have plucked for one, normally. But, having taken the plunge in a trade, I'm genuinely impressed by the instrument.

That said, Lakland have a cracking name. My DJ4 is superb, also. I hear lots of good things about the 55-02, and would dearly like one at some point. To be frank, it's not a bad choice to have - I think either would be excellent, with few regrets the other side of the decision.

[sussexbassman]

So, I've just got home from a trip to London to try out some basses. I did Denmark Street first for the concentration of shops, but of course no one had any Lakland, MTD or Dingwalls. I did find a G&L 5-string in The Bass Cellar (was on my original shortlist) and this felt and sounded very nice. Had the versatility and could mimic the P-bass sound easily. But I confirmed my suspicion that 34" is not enough for a B string! It felt very loose. I will have to go at least 35".

Then I trekked up to The Gallery at Camden and they only had the one Dingwall - the green combustion that's been on their website for a while. I spent half an hour playing it and soon adjusted to the fanned frets so that was good. But I wasn't overly impressed with the versatilty of sound which confirms I need to try the ABZ. They didn't have a Lakland 55-01 or 02 but I tried another Lakland 5-string and really liked the feel and sound of the low B again. So that's still a contender.

Bottom line is that I still need to try an ABZ and a 55-01 to make my decision. So I'm hunting for more stockists ...... maybe a trip to Bass Direct at Warwick.

Does anyone know some good stockists of Dingwall and Laklands??

[Jamesemt]

Get yourself to Bass Direct - I got the impression that he tends to favour 5 strings - he had quite a few Dingwalls when I bought mine a couple of weeks ago. The Blueburst ABZ 5 looks stunning in the flesh

[AREA]

The Dingwalls are amazing Basses, but at least I sold my Afterburner-I again. When I´ve played it alone at home it was really fantastic, but I couldn't get it right in the Mix with my Band. Sounds weird, but in that Situation, I liked my 55-01 better. The Lakland was warmer, rounder with more funky Feeling. Once more when we´re playing Soul and Disco Stuff...

So, as I said, I sold it.

I've bought another Lakland a 55-02 Deluxe and I'm happy as can be. Very versatile, great sounding and a really good Addition to my 55-01. The Dip-Switches on the Preamp, to set the different Center Mid-Frequencies are great at the 55-02

[Jamesemt]

As a slight thread hijack, I'm thinking about getting a Lakland 44 01/02 - is it really worth twice the price for the uprated electronics? I'm presuming it's the same deal with the 5er