Lakland Duck Dunn - P bass sound?

[sshorepunk]

Really wanting to try one if these in my band, the idea of a jazz neck on a P bass is ideal for me!
I really like jazz necks and the P bass tone works well with my band
So how well does a Duck Dunn nail the more modern P bass sound?
Not the Jameson / flats sound, but the foxton / burnell type of sound?
Looks like I'm gonna have to travel to try one, unless somebody has one around Manchester!

Tony

[PlungerModerno]

With the right strings you can probably get close - but AFAIK it's got a traditional sounding P pickup - a switch might be necessary for a super hot output.
Apparently the skyline and the regular lakland are great - I've yet to have the pleasure of playing either . They sound great when other people play them!

[Dingus]

They are great sounding basses , but if you want to get a more agressive sounding example try band find a later model with the Hanson/Lakland Neo Punch pickup . These came out in around 2007-2008 and are standard on Duck Dunn basses made after that date . The older Fralin P pickups are more vintage sounding and use a traditional design with an Anlico magnet , whereas the Neo Punch uses a Neodynium magnet and has a really remarkable sound , no doubt partially as a result of this . It has got a super hot output and a very fast and responsive sound with a more chunky bottom end than a vintage Fender style pickup . There is a bit of "hair " on the note and a hint of compression that gives a very appealing sound for rock music . All those Hanson pickups that Lakland use are top quality , and sound as good if not better than the more celebrated boutique makes that they used to use , in my opinion . I too like a P Bass with roundwounds rock sound , and the Lakland DD with the Neo Punch nails it as well as anything else I have ever heard . If you go to the Lakland website you can listen to a high quality sound sample of the Duck Dunn with the Neo Punch in various styles . Go to the multimedia section and look in the audio samples gallery . (The Duck Dunn is now called the 44-64 Custom)

Edited December 1, 2012 by Dingus

[dave_bass5]

Best P bass I ever owned......twice.
Not a great recording, nor playing but this was taken when I had my first Duck Dunn.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?nomobile=1&v=AtHBDnsA-TQ

[orangepeelneil]

[font=arial,helvetica,sans-serif][size=3][b]Decent[/b] Lakland skyline "Duck" Dunn review video here :-[/size][/font]

[url="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kynkuCPPQgc"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kynkuCPPQgc[/url]

[White Cloud]

Lakland = Fender killers.

I have owned several Lakland Skylines and whenever I compared them to US Fenders there was no comparison. Just my tuppence worth. Never played the Dunn model but played a couple of Glaubs and they were really wonderful P basses.

[dave_bass5]

What makes the Lakland's so much better tan the Fenders?

[White Cloud]

It is of course a subjective opinion. One mans meat is another mans poison. No disrespect to the new US Fenders which in the last couple of years have stepped up to the mark significantly.

My opinion is based on the fact that I found the lightweight swamp Ash bodies on the Glaubs to be slightly more resonant than the modern US Fenders that I had played. I also found the Laklands to be better put together...neck pocket, neck finish, immaculate fret work etc. I found it surprising at the time that a brand new "off the shelf" Korean built Lakland P bass copy could remind me so much in both feel and sound of my vintage Fender P...as opposed to off the shelf Fenders that were retailing for a higher price.

Thats my rationale dude.

[risingson]

[quote name='White Cloud' timestamp='1355080974' post='1893835']
Lakland = Fender killers.

I have owned several Lakland Skylines and whenever I compared them to US Fenders there was no comparison. Just my tuppence worth. Never played the Dunn model but played a couple of Glaubs and they were really wonderful P basses.
[/quote]

Absolutely agreed.

[sshorepunk]

So I bought one!
T

[The Dark Lord]

[quote name='dave_bass5' timestamp='1355090774' post='1893975']
What makes the Lakland's so much better tan the Fenders?
[/quote]

I've tried a couple of Laklands. Once in my local shop and once in a chain outlet. Good basses - but they don't sound, or feel like a Fender Precision. They have a cleaner and clearer sound. They feel a bit lighter - although I'm not sure how they compared actual weight-wise. Maybe the neck felt lighter in the hand - might be a balance thing as you can feel the weight of a Fender (more on a Jazz than a P) in your hand.

Probably good basses and all that. But they are not better than the industry standard that is the Fender Precision. They got no clank and rumble.

Edited December 10, 2012 by The Dark Lord

[dave_bass5]

Thats my impression as well. Ive owned 3 Duck Dunn's (and a 55-01) and am a huge Lakland fan, but i cant see a big difference between getting a Lakland P bass or a MIA Frender. Each will be slightly different, especially the necks IME but i cant see how one "kills" the other buy just being a bit different.

Saying that, id take a DD over a Fender any day, but thats only down to the neck rather than anything else. In fact i think the Lakland bridges look ugly.

[BobVbass]

Less Mud than a Fender P but then that's probably down to the Fralins rather than anything else - quality is superb though,very nicely finished and excellent wood. Mine is the one of 33 with a maple P bass neck model so can't comment on the later Jazz neck but the neck on mine is superb, better than any P bass I've tried in a long while

[dave_bass5]

Oh yes, those Fralin's do make a difference. My first two had Fralin's in them, the third had a Hanson and i noticed the difference. I got Fralin for that one as well :-)

[Happy Jack]

They're lovely basses, and they look better with a black p/g:

[IMG]http://i1128.photobucket.com/albums/m496/h4ppyjack/Basses%20SOLD/Lakland%20Skyline%20Duck%20Dunn%202008%20SOLD/DSCF1897.jpg[/IMG]

[molan]

I've played a couple of vintage Fender P's recently with J necks fitted.

This combination worked really well for me as I often struggle with chunkier P neck profiles.

However, blocks don't seem to look 'right' to me on a classic 4 string bass

Even odder is that I think they are fine on a 5 string P!

[Dingus]

The most beautiful Lakland I have ever seen :

[media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6u_I3IV4660[/media]

Sounds pretty good too !

Edited December 10, 2012 by Dingus

[dave_bass5]

[quote name='Happy Jack' timestamp='1355152804' post='1894685']
They're lovely basses, and they look better with a black p/g:


[/quote]

Yep, black or White pearl for me.

[White Cloud]

Slightly off topic but my old Lakland Darryl Jones was the best jazz bass that I had ever played ...and I have owned some VERY nice vintage F Jazzers.

Just my tuppenceworth.

[sshorepunk]

First impressions!
What a great bass! Like molan, I prefer the slimmer jazz neck, but I like the blocks, needed a P bass sound for my band as well, plus I do like the sound, so not just for the band!
Build quality is excellent, I was expecting a lighter ash body, but its certainly no light weight, which was a surprised when I pulled it out of the bag
Sound is what I expected, this has fralins fitted, has more growl then what I expected after reading some of the earlier comments in this thread. I'm off work with man flu, so not played a lot and only have a tiny mark bass combo, need to get this going through my rig ASAP!
it's a very playable bass, set up with a low action with no buzz, I'm gonna enjoy playing this!

So where do you get the black pick guard from? The sparkly white is nice, but too bling for me! Lol

Tony

[dave_bass5]

[quote name='White Cloud' timestamp='1355162615' post='1894872']
Slightly off topic but my old Lakland Darryl Jones was the best jazz bass that I had ever played ...and I have owned some VERY nice vintage F Jazzers.

Just my tuppenceworth.
[/quote]

Funny enough I thought my DJ5 was the biggest disappointment I've had regarding basses. Lovely to look at and a dream to play but I couldn't get on with the tone. I felt it was a it too wooly and warm compared to my other jazz basses.
In hindsight I really wish I still had it, especially as it was converted to a PJ.

[Dingus]

[quote name='sshorepunk' timestamp='1355167073' post='1894956']
First impressions!
What a great bass! Like molan, I prefer the slimmer jazz neck, but I like the blocks, needed a P bass sound for my band as well, plus I do like the sound, so not just for the band!
Build quality is excellent, I was expecting a lighter ash body, but its certainly no light weight, which was a surprised when I pulled it out of the bag
Sound is what I expected, this has fralins fitted, has more growl then what I expected after reading some of the earlier comments in this thread. I'm off work with man flu, so not played a lot and only have a tiny mark bass combo, need to get this going through my rig ASAP!
it's a very playable bass, set up with a low action with no buzz, I'm gonna enjoy playing this!

So where do you get the black pick guard from? The sparkly white is nice, but too bling for me! Lol

Tony
[/quote]

Lakland get their pick guards from Jeanies Pickguards (http://home.comcast.net/~pickguards/) and they can supply a variety of replacements

[dave_bass5]

Yeah, that's where I got both mine. Pretty cheap as well.

[Musicman20]

The recent review of the latest DJ5 states that the pups aren't even in the correct Jazz place (60s or 70s) so that might be why Dave....or the 35 inch scale. Yours was a looker though.

[Dingus]

[quote name='Musicman20' timestamp='1355175980' post='1895146']
The recent review of the latest DJ5 states that the pups aren't even in the correct Jazz place (60s or 70s) so that might be why Dave....or the 35 inch scale. Yours was a looker though.
[/quote]

The neck pickup on the DJ5 is deliberately placed very slightly closer to the bridge to aid clarity on the low B string when using that pickup soloed or in conjunction with the bridge pickup . Sadowsky do the same thing with some of their 5 strings .That might be where Lakland got the idea .

Edited December 10, 2012 by Dingus