Lakland Classic 55-94 Five-String Bass


Lakland Classic 55-94 Five-String Bass
by Jack Conrad
	Go To Music Biz Magazine Directory

This Sonic Blue 22-fret beauty has a great Lakland guitar shop setup that makes this bad boy ready to rock! A breeze to play, just take it out of its handsome tan case, plug it in, strap it on and you're cleared for take off.

I had the opportunity to use it on a friend's recording session and having the low B string came in handy with the song in the key of D. For once I wouldn't have to play Ds in the middle of the neck and could deliver the 'cojones' a bass is supposed to bring to a tune. However, as a first-time five-string player, I looked at the wider neck with trepidation...envisioning hand cramps of Olympian proportions. My usual instrument, a '60s Fender Jazz Bass with its 34-inch whippy neck, long ago spoiled me from working too hard. It turned out that the slick, invisible finish on the quarter-sawn neck sped me on with a minimum of effort...only problem being my propensity for grabbing the wrong dang string! Intonation was dead on all the way up and down the neck as confirmed by the studio's digital tuner. The transition between strings is virtually unnoticeable with the frets smoothly finished and well-fitted.

The Classic 55-94's body is made from alder and the 35-inch scale neck from birdseye maple fitted with a rosewood fingerboard. Specially made GHS round-wound strings are strung through the Lakland Dual Access bridge and through the body. Also on the Classic, you get Hipshot® UltraLight tuners and a white pickguard. The combination of the overlong scale, the special bridge design and the bone nut provide wonderfully effortless sustain. A switchable active pre-amp with three-band equalizer and dual Bartolini pickups offer a wide palette of tones. The Music Man-type humbucker at the bridge and a Jazz Bass-type at the neck are controlled by a three-position switch and a pickup blend control knob.

Available finishes are: Black, Coral Pink, Fiesta Red, Olympic White, Seafoam Green, Sonic Blue, Burgundy Mist Metallic, Candy Apple Red Metallic, Inca Silver Metallic, Lake Placid Blue Metallic, Sherwood Green Metallic, Shoreline Gold Metallic, Teal Green Metallic. You can also order the bass in a left-handed version and/or with optional Duncan Basslines pickups.

For more information contact: Lakland Basses, 2044 North Dominick, Chicago, IL 60614. Phone:773-871-9637 FAX 773-871-6675 or Web to: www.lakland.com

Jack Conrad is a former recording and touring bassist with The Doors and Beach Boys as well as a hit songwriter and publisher.

Edited by: Barry Rudolph

Back To Home Page