Who is this guy?

My name is Ian Allison and I am a big Lakland fan.  I've been playing the bass for about 15 years and Laklands for about 4 years.  I make my living playing the bass in Minneapolis, Minnesota doing frequent gigs and session work with a wide variety of artists and music.  Currently, I am the chair of the bass department at North Central University here in downtown Minneapolis.  I teach and subsequently learn from about 20 college students.  I am in a touring rock band called Down and Above and I am hopelessly and endlessly addicted to the bass.

Why I Love Lakland Instruments

The reason for my enthusiasm stems from the quality of Lakland basses and also from two encounters I’ve had with Lakland’s customer service.  I’ve worked with Carl Pedigo (Laklands Shop Master) on several occasions.  He is always extremely attentive and caring - both to the instrument and to my needs as a customer.  He once even gave me a ride to my bus stop after I had picked his brain (and probably his patience) for over two hours . . . on his day off!  Unbelievable. 

I own several Lakland basses and every time I pick one up I am constantly blown away by how great they are.  These instruments are fantastic.  The combination of traditional stylings, contemporary craftsmanship and meticulous attention to detail make Lakland basses speak with an authority that is both an aesthetic nod to the great basses of yesteryear and a bold tonal assertion that is unmistakably Lakland.  Each and every one of their basses have a voice – something unique and assertive.  And this got me thinking . . .

Questions

How can Lakland, as a company, textually demonstrate its line of basses to players that want to check them out but have limited access to do so?  What would motivate a bassist who is unfamiliar with Lakland basses to seek one out?  What are the sonic differences between a Joe Osborne and a Daryl Jones?  How does the Hollowbody with flats sound in a rock context?  How about a Jerry Scheff in a jazz application with the bridge pickup soloed?

The Project – Calling all Tone Junkies and Bass Nerds!

I wanted to begin to answer these questions with this project that I have started for Lakland.  What if you could hear all of the Lakland models in sound clips on the website – with all pickup combos and string choices?  By allowing an audio comparison of all the models of Lakland basses over consistent genre track beds, you can now get a feel for each individual instrument’s voice. 

So ENJOY!  I hope that you find this project to be cool and informative.  I know I came to some startling conclusions regarding what I thought would and wouldn’t work in a particular genre.  Overall, I hope you have a blast listening to the differences in how the tone of these basses sits or stands out in a mix.  That’s the interesting aspect for me.  And ultimately, I hope you want to check out a Lakland . . . or buy another half dozen or so!

The Basses

Here are the specs of the basses used on the project:

  • Hollowbody Skyline 4 string with rosewood fingerboard, passive Bartolini humbucking pickups, and Lakland strings (flats and SS rounds)
  • Bob Glaub Skyline 4 string with maple fingerboard, passive Fralin pickup, and Lakland strings (flats and SS rounds)
  • Joe Osborne Skyline 4 string with maple fingerboard, passive Fralin pickups, and Lakland strings (flats and SS rounds)
  • Jerry Scheff Skyline 4 string with rosewood fingerboard, Kent Armstrong pickups with Bartolini preamp, and Lakland strings (flats and SS rounds)
  • Decade 4 string with mahogany body and rosewood fingerboard, passive DarkStar pickup, and Lakland strings (flats and SS rounds)
  • 55-02 deluxe with rosewood fingerboard, Lakland pickups and LH3 preamp, and Lakland strings (flats and SS rounds)
  • Daryl Jones – COMING SOON!
  • 55-01 – COMING SOON!

The Genres

I wanted to demonstrate the versatility and various sounds and textures of Lakland basses in a controlled recording environment.  For each individual genre and track, I used the same accompaniment.  The only element that changed was the bass.  I feel that this will give you an idea of what you might be looking for in a bass.  Additionally, you may be surprised by a bass over a particular genre that you wouldn’t immediately think would work for you.  Greasy, funky slap track on a hollowbody with flats anyone?

The Players

I could not have even begun to think about tackling this project if it would not have been for the time and ridiculous playing of the brilliant musicians that helped me out with this project.  Thank you thank you thank you!

Zachary Young – Drums on Fingerfunk, Ballad, Hard Rock, and Pick Punk
Zach Miller – Drums on Motown, Slap, Gospel, Reggae, Jazz, and Country
David Young – Guitars and Engineering on Fingerfunk, Ballad, Hard Rock, and Pick Punk
Ken Wilson – Guitars and Steel on Motown, Slap, Gospel, Reggae, Jazz, and Country
Pete Shu – Keys on Slap, Gospel, Reggae, Jazz, and Country
Wayne Thomas – Engineering on Motown, Slap, Gospel, Reggae, Jazz, and Country
Ian Allison – Bass, Engineering, Editing, Mixing and Mastering on all tracks.

The Recording

I recorded all of these tracks on a Pro Tools system through a Demeter preamp and Apogee converters.  No EQ was used at all in the recording of the basses.  In mixdown, I generally used light compression on the basses, with a conservative 3:1 ratio.  The compressor was a software based McDSP CB-1.  I set the tone controls wide open on all the basses and in the case of the active basses, all EQ controls were set flat.  The tracks were mastered with McDSP software.

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