David Hood Receives the First D. Lakin Basses Inspired Series Swamper Bass

Working together, D. Lakin Basses and legendary Muscle Shoals bassist David Hood have created David’s dream bass

David Hood Receives the First D. Lakin Basses Inspired Series Swamper Bass

Working together, D. Lakin Basses and legendary Muscle Shoals bassist David Hood have created David’s dream bass

David Hood is one of rock music’s greatest bass players – living or past. He has worked with;

Paul Simon, The Staple Singers, Bob Seger, Cat Stevens, Traffic, Aretha Franklin, Duane and Gregg Allman, Wilson Pickett, Boz Scaggs, Simon and Garfunkel, Willie Nelson, Bobby Womack, Rod Stewart, Sheryl Crow to name a few!

In 1972 David was asked to tour with the band Traffic. His main bass, a 1961 Fender Jazz, was a little too worn and beat up so David decided to strip the finish and change a few more details so it would look better on the big stages. David bought the bass new in 1961 directly from Fender. Back in 1961 one of his bandmate’s father owned a hardware store. The father contacted Fender sales and convinced them that his store also sold musical instruments. Fender agreed to sell him a bass at dealer cost – around $200. That same bass today is worth over $20,000!

Sadly, this bass was stolen during the Traffic tour. David had to replace his 1961 Jazz with a newer 1972-73 model. He was not happy with the quality of that bass. David has never gotten over the loss of his 1961 Fender.

In 1997, Dan Lakin, then the founder and owner of Lakland Basses contacted David to offer him a bass as an endorsement. David loved the bass and Lakland soon became his go-to instrument. In 1999 Dan gave David a “Joe Osborn” model bass that was based on the 1961 Fender Jazz. At a Nashville summer Namm show, Dan offered David one of the samples he brought to the show. Problem was the bass was light purple or some think even pink! David hated the color but luckily for Dan, Judy Hood(David’s wife) loved it! Dan sold Lakland to an investment group in 2010.

Since then, the “Joe Osborn” Lakland has been his main instrument.

“I’ve always wanted to work a little deeper with David. When I started D. Lakin Basses in the fall of 2019 I called David to see if he had any ideas for his “dream” bass. This led to other collaborative designs with many others that I have met and worked with through Lakland. I call these basses – “IS”, or Inspired Series.”

For more info on David’s bass (and even the receipt for his original Fender!) and other “IS” basses –

https://www.dlakinbasses.com/basses/inspired-series/

Bass Magazine   By: Bass Magazine