Lakland 5502DLX

134 Guitarist September 2008
LAKLAND SKYLINE DARRYL JONES 4 & 55-02 DELUXE
£1,075 & £1,329
BASSES
Certainly these basses are
keenly priced, albeit still serious,
compared to what we’ve come to
expect from Lakland, but
thankfully there’s barely any
discernible drop in the quality of
production. Remember, this is
about sourcing a more cost-
effective production method
rather than a drop in material
quality or attention to detail.
Don’t forget that while the bodies
and necks come from Korea, the
assembly still happens in Chicago
so both the USA and the Skyline
series are actually very similar
perhaps a little too close for
comfort? And if our review
models still find you delving too
deeply into your pocket, you’ll be
pleased to know that the Skyline
range starts at just £699 well
worth investigating.
Lakland Skyline
Darryl Jones 4 Bass
PRICE: £1,075 (inc. gig bag)
ORIGIN: Korea
TYPE: Twin cutaway, passive four-string
BODY: Ash
NECK: Maple, coloured headstock,
bolt-on
SCALE LENGTH: 864mm (34-inch)
NUT/WIDTH: Synthetic/38.25mm
FINGERBOARD: Bound rosewood,
vintage pearloid block inlays
FRETS: 21, small
HARDWARE: Chrome-plated Lakland
through-body or top load bridge, Hipshot
open-gear tuners
STRING SPACING, BRIDGE: 20mm
average (centres)
ELECTRICS: Two Aero Instrument JB-
style pickups, two volumes and a tone
WEIGHT (kg/lb): 3.75/8.27
OPTIONS: Aside from the included
Levy’s gigbag there’s the superior Skyline
Deluxe Gigbag at £79.95 and the Skyline
Moulded Hardshell Case at £110
RANGE OPTIONS: Other Skyline models
include the 44-01 Standard four-string
(£669), the 44-01 Deluxe four-string
(£1,139), the 44-02 Deluxe four-string
with quilted top at £1,269. Other
signature models include the Bob Glaub
four-string (£889), the Joe Osbourne
four-string (£949) and the Duck Dunn
four-string (£949)
LEFT-HANDERS: No
FINISH: Lake Placid blue (as reviewed),
white pearl, black sparkle
Headline Music 01223 874301
www.lakland.com
Test results
Build quality
Playability
Sound
Value for money
GUITARIST RATING
Lakland Skyline
5502 Deluxe Bass
PRICE: £1,329 (inc. gig bag)
ORIGIN: Korea
TYPE: Twin cutaway, active five-string
BODY: Ash with quilted maple top
NECK: Unbound maple, bolt-on
SCALE LENGTH: 889mm (35-inch)
NUT/WIDTH: Synthetic/45.5mm
FINGERBOARD: Maple, black dot inlays
FRETS: 22, small
HARDWARE: Chrome-plated Lakland
through-body or top load bridge, Hipshot
open gear tuners
STRING SPACING, BRIDGE: 19mm
average (centres)
ELECTRICS: Lakland pickups, active
circuitry with volume, panning, three-band
EQ and three-way coil selector switch,
passive mode is selected by pulling up the
volume control. Internal controls:
midrange frequency dipswitch and
preamp gain trimmer
WEIGHT (kg/lb): 3.6/7.9
OPTIONS: Aside from the included Levys
gigbag there’s the superior Skyline Deluxe
Gigbag at £79.95 and the Skyline Moulded
Hardshell Case at £110
RANGE OPTIONS: Skyline five-string
models include the Standard 55-01 with
Bartolini pickups and preamp (£699) and
the Standard 55-02 with LH3 pickup and
preamp system (£1,199). Other signature
five-strings are the Darryl Jones (£1,199)
and Joe Osbourne (£1,050) models.
Rosewood fingerboard available and
fretted or lined fretless
LEFT-HANDERS: No
FINISH: Cherry sunbust (as reviewed);
three-tone sunburst and natural
Test results
Build quality
Playability
Sound
Value for money
GUITARIST RATING
Lakland Skyline
Darryl Jones 4 Bass
We like: Classic style and
sounds, in a closely inspired-by,
but not cloned design
We dislike: As long as you
don’t need active EQ, nothing
Guitarist says: Solid,
dependable with classic style –
just like Darryl Jones himself
The Bottom Line
Lakland Skyline
5502 Deluxe Bass
We like: The original design,
active tones, passive ‘back-up’
We dislike: Careful with that
bass boost
Guitarist says: The 55-02
Deluxe embodies Lakland’s
style and quality but at a much
more wallet-friendly price
definition rather than penetrating
sounds. This functionality is
gradually becoming something of
an industry standard for the treble
frequencies and one with which
we heartily agree.
Along with a panning pot there’s
an additional three-way coil
switch provided for the
humbucker. This is a tremendous
asset as it not only changes the
characteristics of the pickup itself,
it also allows extra modification of
thesweet spot sounds associated
with a pair of pickups when using
either coil individually. Whatever
settings you select there’s more
than enough tonal variation from
the EQ to guarantee a solid and
powerful delivery.
While the 55-02 already gives a
generous range of sounds at your
fingertips there’s another secret
ingredient on board. Unseen is the
internal midrange dipswitch,
which offers a choice of four
different frequencies to centre the
mids (500Hz is the default
setting). There’s also an internal
preamp trimmer thats set at the
factory to allow maximum output
from the electronics provided.
This has some headroom if you
want to push things, but be
cautious as it can introduce
distortion if used excessively.
A separate power pack
compartment is provided at the
back but battery life promises to
be very good.
Verdict
Until now the price and general
lack of accessibility in the UK
meant that Lakland basses have
been sadly overlooked by many
a player, but thanks to this
introductory series, and a new
distribution deal in the UK, we
expect to see a lot more of these
impressive instruments in use.
The active pickups on the 55-02 can be used passively, should the batteries die
GIT307.rev_lake 134 11/8/08 5:31:30 pm