Custom Lakland 55-02 Deluxe three-tone sunburst with quilted maple top

Price reduced $70 on April 6.

I have been playing bass for more than 50 years and I can say this is one of the most versatile and best values out there.  With Lakland's MM & J pickup configuration, their proprietary LH-3 preamp and PLEK'd neck, this sounds and plays like a bass costing twice as much.

I HIGHLY recommend that you do a search for Lakland 55-02 on YouTube.  You'll find dozens of reviews and demo's.  I recommend this one "Lakland 55 02 Deluxe - Henrique Biá" for a demo.  Also check out "Lakland vs Precision vs Jazz vs StingRay."  Put on some decent headphones or in-ears and you'll hear what I'm saying.  And it plays like a dream. 

Let's talk about its versatility... three-band EQ (And if you must, in five minutes you can select among nine frequencies for your midrange control by adjusting a DIP switch in the control cavity.  You can find the settings on Lakland's website.)  Pull the volume knob out and you can run it passive (think "old school" tone and not being dead in the water if your battery dies).  The MM pickup is actually two sets of coils and you have a toggle switch below the bridge to select rear coils, front coils or both; and you'll hear a difference among these.  Then blend in the neck pickup or run the neck pickup alone.  You can string it thru-body or thru-bridge; I admit, that's a subtle difference. 

Let's talk about its playability... that PLEK'd neck means low action without fret buzz (assuming a good setup, which this has).  And the 19-mm string spacing is great for slapping.  Honestly, the neck reminds me of a pre-CBS P-bass' neck (but this is a five-string, of course).  35-inch scale for a rock-solid low-end on the B string. 

This particular bass was manufactured in 2008.  It is Lakland's Skyline series, so the parts were designed in the US, made in Indonesia and sent to Lakland's shop in Chicago for assembly there.  It is the same pickups and LH-3 preamp as in the much more expensive 55-94 model.  The main difference is that this has a flat-sawn neck where the 55-94 has a quarter-sawn neck. 

The only scratches on this are the kind you see only when you hold it up to a light at the right angle, the kind that still happen to a bass of this age that's been well cared for but played.  There are no gouges or nicks that break through the color of the finish.  Ash body, maple neck and I believe it's a pau ferro fingerboard. 

Comes with a MusicMan SKB-type case in which the bass fits very well; there's no sliding around at all.  I bought the case new at less than half-price because one of the lower corners was damaged in shipment to the music store (see the picture).  Unless you set your case down in puddles, it's a non-issue. 

So why am I selling this?  Because I own two other Laklands (a 55-64 and a DJ-5) and I just bought a Yamaha BBNE2.  I can't justify (my wife would say "afford") keeping this and the BBNE2.