Lakland Skyline 55-01 Spalted Maple

Lakland

Founded by bassist Dan Lakin and luthier Hugh McFarland, Lakland (pronounced “lake-land”) have since 1994 been synonymous with breathtaking bass craftmanship. From their home base in Chicago, Lakland quickly began to take the world of bass by storm with their incredibly high-quality instruments, seeing top-name players like Darryl Jones, Gail Ann Dorsey, Kat Bax, Juan Alderete and Uriah Duffy make Lakland their sonic weapon of choice.

In the early 2000s, Lakland introduced The Skyline Series, which is now made in Indonesia. This series of basses is basically unbeatable when it comes to value for money, which is why Lakland have also become such a well-respected brand amongst the weekend warriors and bedroom rockers.  The basses are all made of North American wood and features the same overall design as the US basses with some small changes in details.

Every single Lakland bass gets quality checked  at Warwick to meet the high standards that everyone has come to expect from Lakland.

SKYLINE 55-01 Spalted Top

The Lakland 55-01 with a Spalted Maple top and equipped with Bartolini MK-1 preamp and pickups, stands as a one of Lakland’s dedication to offering top-tier instruments at a competitive value. This model, renowned for its versatile playability and striking aesthetics, is an ideal choice for bassists who seek both visual beauty and sonic flexibility.

The Spalted Maple top immediately draws attention. Each piece, with its unique wood grain patterns, lends an individual character to the bass, making it not just an instrument but a piece of art. This visual appeal is elegantly complemented by a Maple neck and a Rosewood fingerboard, enhancing both the look and the sonic properties of the bass.

The ash body, is bright and has an articulate response, it pairs seamlessly with the warmth of the Rosewood fingerboard. This combination yields a well-rounded sound – punchy and clear in the higher registers while remaining warm and full in the lower end. The Maple neck adds sustain and stability to the mix, ensuring that each note is rendered with clarity and precision.

Bartolini designs their pickups with a lower magnetic pull, which reduces the dampening effect on string vibrations. This feature allows for better sustain and a more dynamic response from the strings.

Bartolini uses custom-engineered magnets and coils in their MK-1 pickups to achieve their signature sound. This precise engineering ensures consistent quality and performance across all their pickups.

The split-coil design in Bartolini MK-1 pickups is primarily aimed at reducing hum and noise, a common issue with single-coil pickups. By splitting the coil and wiring the two halves in reverse polarity, electromagnetic interference is significantly canceled out. This results in a cleaner, purer sound. Despite being hum-canceling, these pickups are designed to retain the warmth and fullness while also providing the clarity and articulation that most bass players would love.

The Bartolini MK1 preamp 3-band EQ with Bass, Mid, treble, blend and push pull volume for active and passive is versatile enough to work with various pickups but the MK-1 preamp is optimized to complement Bartolini pickups, such as the MK-1 split-coil soapbars. This synergy between the preamp and pickups ensures a powerful potent sound.