A slogan atop Lakland’s homepage reads
“Familiar in aesthetics, revolutionary
in performance.” It says a lot about
Lakland’s reverence for the classic Fender
designs that still define the electric bass.
But it also speaks to the company’s ingenuity
and conviction that those designs,
though near perfect, still leave room for
refinement. Few bass makers have explored
those potential refinements as effectively as
Lakland—and the success in walking the
line between vintage and modern has won
the loyalty of scores of real-world professional
users, from session ace Jerry Scheff
to U2’s Adam Clayton to Meters funk master
George Porter Jr.
Chicago-based Lakland has been around
since 1994, and even though the company
changed hands in April 2010, the Jazz
Bass-style 44-AJ (AJ stands for Active Jazz)
reviewed here felt sturdy, smooth, and otherwise
worthy of the Lakland name.
Obvious Evolution
Setting the deep red 44-AJ next to my
early-’70s sunburst Jazz, the Lakland
looked right at home. With that said, both
similarities and departures from the classic
were quickly apparent. The most familiar
aspect of the Lakland’s design, apart from
the J-bass body profile, was the sleek neck
with narrow nut, block markers (optional
upgrade), and bound fretboard. But the
Lakland neck’s sexy, hand-oiled finish felt
smoother and faster than the Fender’s
thick, glossy varnish. The body shape also
has some functional refinements on Leo
Fender’s design, including a contour,
which in my opinion, more comfortably
followed the body’s waist curve.
The fit and finish were spectacular and
the flame maple cap on the swamp ash
body was captivating through its black
cherry finish. I was happy to find that
this bass weighed in at 8.8 pounds, a little
lighter than many I’ve tried, but still very
substantial feeling.
The rosewood neck fit snugly and
precisely into its pocket and is adorned
with pearloid block inlays, with carefully
placed black position dots on the edge of
the fretboard. The neck is reinforced by a
pair of graphite bars which provide ultra-stability,
but I’m also inclined to think
they have a lot to do with the bass’s great
sustain. Four Hipshot vintage-style long
shaft reverse tuners grace the headstock,
a top quality choice even if the tuning
direction always throws me at first
(turn
toward you to raise the pitch).
I removed the plastic cover over the
44-AJ’s electronics cavity to find one of
the best wiring and shielding jobs I’ve
seen. In my book, copper shielding foil
is the way to go when low noise is the
goal, and that’s exactly how the 44-AJ was
built—and very tidily at that. Inside the
cover there’s even a label showing how to
set the preamp’s DIP switch for different
midrange center frequencies.
A separate battery box (for the active
electronics) with a pop-up lid is another
nice touch. And rather than a battery clip
dangling from a wire, the box featured metal
slide-in contact points. I’m always afraid that
a battery clip wire will pull loose, putting me
out of business for the night—not so with
the 44-AJ. A push-pull Volume knob bypasses
everything but the Volume and Blend pots,
meaning you can get by even if your battery
fails you. Lakland didn’t skimp on anything.
In fact, my 1/4" cable felt more secure on the
44-AJ than any other bass I’ve played, minimizing
possible crackle or signal noise.
Buzz Me In . . . Not!
One beef I have with most Jazz Bass-style
instruments is the unavoidable single-coil
hum that’s hard to avoid unless both pickups
are dialed in equally. Sometimes it’s
minimal, but sometimes it’s downright
annoying. Because Lakland installs noise-canceling
pickups by Hanson Musical
Instruments, the 44-AJ had zero hum,
regardless of the settings. Even when turning
the Blend control to solo, the bridge
pickup posed no problem.
Lakland chose a 3-band preamp (also
by Hanson), with stacked Treble and Bass
knobs and a single Midrange knob. This
makes good sense, because midrange provides
an instrument’s voice and nuance—
it’s great to be able to quickly grab that
control to dial in a little honk or scoop out
the sound for slapping. Depending on how
the DIP switches are set, it’s possible to
center the midrange at nine different points
between 225 Hz and 1100 Hz. Because the
switch is located inside the control cavity,
though, this is a set-and-forget feature rather
than something to be tweaked on the fly.
But it’s an excellent means of fine-tuning
the 44-AJ to your style of music.
The stacked Treble and Bass controls
added a lot of versatility to the 44-AJ’s basic
tone. Pushing the Treble control added edge
when bumping the Bass control up instead
provided a solid deep bottom for reggae.
And regardless of the onboard EQ settings,
the tone was always free from hum or hiss.
The general tonal character of the
44-AJ wasn’t exactly the Jazz Bass-style
zing I was expecting—I instead found a
warmer tone that was never harsh and
always focused. If needed, the top end
could be persuaded into a hint of brightness
via the tone control. Threading the
D and G strings through the rear of the
trademark oval-plate bridge (the 44-AJ can
be strung through body or bridge) added
more bite and treble. The E and A strings
stayed full, yet always well defined. Even
when dialing in some extra bottom, the
low strings didn’t veer towards mud and
boom. The tones were deep yet distinct,
and required little effort summoning
variation in attack and tone.
The Verdict
There’s a lot to like in the Lakland’s 44-AJ
bass. It’s comfortable, painstakingly built,
and downright gorgeous. Every aspect of the
bass reflects a concern for quality components
and smart design choices. The weight
was slightly less than the norm and the fretboard
was well prepped. If you’re after a topnotch
and great looking bass in the Jazz Bass
vein—and you can afford to pay the tab for
this quality—the Lakland 44-AJ should be
on your A-list of instruments to consider.
Buy if...
you value quality and good looks,
and are after a bass with both
authority and refinement.
Skip if...
your taste in basses leans toward
the raw and aggressive side.
Rating...
Street $3375 (stock), $3975 (as tested) - Lakland Basses - lakland.com