Lakland Vs Fender

[bassatnight]

I was wondering if anyone out there had any advice for me regarding a forthcoming purchase I intend to make.

I have a budget of around £700 and was originally set on either a 70's resissue Jazz or a decent P, a pro player I know suggested I look at Laklands I appreciate its the age old question between a P and a Jazz but just to add to my confusion having heard a few Laklands on you tube and the Lakland website now I am really in need of experienced advice.

I am a little worried about dipping into the second hand market after getting burnt with a dodgy Stingray a few years back off the Bay.

[Happy Jack]

Can you wait a couple of months?

Serious question.

The next SouthEast BassBash is on 10th October, less than an hour from you. You'll be able to try out just about any bass you can think of, and chat to its owner.

Just a thought ...

[charic]

Good point well made my good sir

[Bigwan]

Going on the Fenders and Laklands I've played, the Laklands win every time. Maybe don't feel quite as vintage as some Fenders but they've got it everywhere else.

I'm a jazz bass man myself...

Edited August 10, 2009 by Bigwan

[BarnacleBob]

Funkle's Lakland is right on the button (nearly) for the money in the for sale thread - you anywhere near him?


BB

[niceguyhomer]

+ 1 on the Lakland vote. £ for £, the Darryl Jones bass is one of the best basses you can buy IMHO.

[bassatnight]

Cheers Guy's, I must admit the Lakland is favorite. I'll have a look at the one for sale on here.

Cheers,

Steve.

[Linus27]

I have a Lakland Darryl Jones (ex Happy Jack) and a Duck Dunn and they are amazing basses. As somebody said to me, Lakland have improved on the original Fender design. The Darryl Jones is my main gigging bass and it is a wonderful, easy to play bass. Big big Lakland fan here and the customer service is amazing. Nothing wrong with Fender and in some ways, they have more of a vintage look with the re-issue stuff but in terms of a better bass then Lakland wins hands down.

[chris_b]

How much do you attach to a name?
I'd always go for a Lakland. A used Skyline will be cheap for the quality and better value than any other bass out there. Also, they'll have fewer dead spots, better more flexible electrics and pickups and I prefer the 35" scale and the neck profile.

[Clarky]

While Laklands may beat a selection of equivalent Fender Ps and Js (not sure, not tried them personally) I think its only fair in the interest of balance to point out that the new 2008/9 Fender American Standards are brilliant basses and a massive step up in quality from earlier years (improved bridge, tuners, rolled board edges etc).

Chris/Beedster bought a 2009 Jazz off me recently and noted that it felt very close to his old Sadowsky in quality.

Musicman20 has also written a review of his 2009 American Standard P and J basses and been knocked out by the quality.

I suspect that Fender California have had to raise their game given the quality of the competition (Lakland, Sadowsky etc)

Edited August 10, 2009 by Clarky

[Cat Burrito]

I've played Lakland before & like them. I must say I'm very traditionalist & just feel most comfortable with a good old fashioned Fender. I too just wanted to redress the balance. Lakland is great but so is a good Fender!

[martthebass]

Also on the balance re-dressing side....

Had a DJ5 and a Bobby G (albeit the BG was modded) Skylines. Both I would describe as well made and functional. The sound out of the DJ5 in particular was particularly good. On the negative I would say that they didn't 'inspire' and both were 'heavy' (particularly the BG - close to 10lb). Out of the Skyline bunch I'd have to go for the JO4 - played a couple of nice 'light' examples in Electro.

On the Fender side, can't say I've played a bad S1 or new US standard bass - all were about the 8.5 lb mark and made the sounds they were supposed to make. Price wise on here it also looks that on average you can pick up a used US S1 a bit cheaper than a used DJ4/JO4/BG.

[Musicman20]

[quote name='Clarky' post='564857' date='Aug 10 2009, 12:17 PM']While Laklands may beat a selection of equivalent Fender Ps and Js (not sure, not tried them personally) I think its only fair in the interest of balance to point out that the new 2008/9 Fender American Standards are brilliant basses and a massive step up in quality from earlier years (improved bridge, tuners, rolled board edges etc).

Chris/Beedster bought a 2009 Jazz off me recently and noted that it felt very close to his old Sadowsky in quality.

Musicman20 has also written a review of his 2009 American Standard P and J basses and been knocked out by the quality.

I suspect that Fender California have had to raise their game given the quality of the competition (Lakland, Sadowsky etc)[/quote]

+1 to this.

As Clarky said Ive recently got two of the new Fender basses, (Jazz and Precision). I waited for a LONG time to get two new USA models, and it paid off now they have improved them.

All the points that people werent happy with (eg thin bridge) have been completely sorted out with the 08/09 series. I have tried the previous series and these instruments really do feel worth their £800-900 price tag.

The new cases are great, the necks are much smoother and have been rolled at the edges, and the sound...well....when I first plugged my Jazz in....thats was the tone Id been after for a long time. The P bass just thumps like crazy...so much low end and punch for a simple design.

All in all, Fender have really pulled it togther. Even the new colours are great, esp with the tort guards.

I am off to try some Laklands very soon. My problem is the colours on some of the models, and the fact I have heard that they do not sound completely like a Jazz/Precision. Thats good for some, but Im not sure I will get on with it.

Best thing is to try them all. Both good companies, both have good instruments. I tend to prefer the classic vintage styling of Fender and their inherent tone.

[bumnote]

[quote name='chris_b' post='564851' date='Aug 10 2009, 12:12 PM']How much do you attach to a name?
I'd always go for a Lakland. A used Skyline will be cheap for the quality and better value than any other bass out there. Also, they'll have fewer dead spots, better more flexible electrics and pickups and I prefer the 35" scale and the neck profile.[/quote]

Its only the 5strings that are 35 in scale, the Bob Glaub, Jo Osbourne, Scheff, 44-02 are all 34 in scale.

Edited August 10, 2009 by bumnote

[bigthumb]

Seriously - try before you buy. Their both very good but at the end of the day its what you feel comfortable with. The '73 precision and the Duck Dunn are like chalk and cheese but I've owned Modern US Precisions and Jazzes and a Lakland DJ. I'm knocking about with a '85 Jap Squier Jazz at the moment and I have to say its the nicest Jazz type bass I've played.

[jezzaboy]

The thing that gets me about Laklands is the price. You can buy a US P cheaper than an equivilent Lakland. The latest P basses are fantastic and as said, the build quality is better and the case is the best on the market. You get a gig bag with a Lakland.

The Lakland`s are good basses but how can they justify the cost of a bass made by Cort in Indonesia or wherever compared to the cost of producing in the Us. And yeah, I know they send them to Chicago to be finished.

Jez

[Musicman20]

[quote name='jezzaboy' post='565565' date='Aug 10 2009, 11:48 PM']The thing that gets me about Laklands is the price. You can buy a US P cheaper than an equivilent Lakland. The latest P basses are fantastic and as said, the build quality is better and the case is the best on the market. You get a gig bag with a Lakland.

The Lakland`s are good basses but how can they justify the cost of a bass made by Cort in Indonesia or wherever compared to the cost of producing in the Us. And yeah, I know they send them to Chicago to be finished.

Jez[/quote]

Yeah, I kinda agree on this. Before the new Fender series, I could understand a little more, not so much now.

[burno70]

I tried a bunch of basses out the other month - I wasn't at all impressed with the new Fenders - although I have to add that I don't get on with them generally. I feel they are poorly set up relative to their price tag/hype, and they felt rather uninspiring to play to me.

On the other hand I played a Daryl Jones Lakland and thought it was a seriously nice bass - lovely tone and easy to play. There was a world of difference between the 09 Fenders and the DJ lakland. If I'd have had the money I'd have bought the DJ straight away - alas.......

[dave_bass5]

Ive been playing a 2008 Fender P5 since Nov and i have a DJ5 on its way (i hope) so ill be interested to see how big a difference there might be in workmanship etc.
Ive had Laklands in the past and they have been top notch, but Ive also had Fenders in the past and never really found fault with them either, and they were a lot cheaper. The P5 is my first "real" MIA, the others being a MIM 50's classic, HW1 jazz and HW-one P.
All of them very playable though.
The two Duck Dunn's i had were both slightly different though. One had flaws in the finish (very minor) but set up and played beautifully. The second one had a nicer, slightly darker finish but needed shimming so i sent that one back.

I cant get my head around how much the USA Laklands cost. I know they use better wood etc but if the skylines are near perfect i find it hard to imagine the USA ones are worth almost three times the cost..

Edited August 12, 2009 by dave_bass5

[Musicman20]

[quote name='dave_bass5' post='567007' date='Aug 12 2009, 05:26 PM']I cant get my head around how much the USA Laklands cost. I know they use better wood etc but if the skylines are near perfect i find it hard to imagine the USa ones are worth almost three times the cost..[/quote]

+1!

[chris_b]

[quote name='dave_bass5' post='567007' date='Aug 12 2009, 05:26 PM']....I cant get my head around how much the USA Laklands cost. I know they use better wood etc but if the skylines are near perfect i find it hard to imagine the USA ones are worth almost three times the cost....[/quote]
I agree! Lakland seem to have shot themselves in the foot and undermined the resale value to their US model customers by putting out Skyline which is a 99% copy of the US series, using the same pickups, electrics, hardware and design. I don't understand that business decision.

[attackbass]

If you play hard and really dig in go fender!

I have a lakland bob glaub, sounds lovely and plays nice if you play softly , dig in and the bass chokes, been to a tech once to try and sort it - he lifted the nut and did the action - still loads of buzz when i play like i play - tried raising the action myself to no avail, currently at the moment adjusting the truss rod as the neck was dead straight so we will see what happens.

With fenders - I don't know what it is, sometimes they build work is shoddy or the paint job might be a little bit off - but you can dig into them smash them around and they'll always sound great.

It depends on what you want. if you want something to to tour the ends of the earth i'd say a fender. if you want something that sounds great and you do studio work i'd say lakland.

I really want this lakland bass to work for me - other times ive played the more high tech pickup ones in shops they've been great! I don't know what it is about this bass but it doesn't like me! lol

[Sean]

[quote name='niceguyhomer' post='564702' date='Aug 10 2009, 09:33 AM']+ 1 on the Lakland vote. £ for £, the Darryl Jones bass is one of the best basses you can buy IMHO.[/quote]

[url="http://basschat.co.uk/index.php?showtopic=28965&hl=darryl"]I have had two of these for quite a while and they are the nutz[/url]

[Linus27]

[quote name='dave_bass5' post='567007' date='Aug 12 2009, 05:26 PM']I cant get my head around how much the USA Laklands cost. I know they use better wood etc but if the skylines are near perfect i find it hard to imagine the USA ones are worth almost three times the cost..[/quote]

I am wondering if Lakland are being very clever with this. The Skyline range is made of superb wood from Korea (I think) and then sent to the USA for the electrics, assembled and set up by hand. To me wood is wood and makes no difference where it comes from. So being assembled, set up, quality checked etc in the USA makes this pretty much an American bass to me. So this competes with the USA Fender range which is I guess their main competitor. However, Lakland also have what they call the USA Laklands which are no different to the Skylines in terms of electrics, assembly and setup apart from the wood used. Like I say, to me wood is wood and the Skyline range already uses superb wood so the wood used on the USA makes no difference to me. However, those who are rich enough to afford the real deal (pro players, collectors, hard-core fans and rich people) will buy the USA range and I imagine Lakland are making a nice profit on those sold. The quantity is small but the profit is great and if the Skyline range is selling well which is seems to be and competing with Fender, then they will be laughing all the way to the bank. They also seem to have a lot of artists on their books who play Laklands so they must be doing pretty well.

Edited August 12, 2009 by Linus27

[sdgrsr400]

Here's Lākland's own take on the difference between models: [url="http://www.lakland.com/skyline_vs_us.htm"]http://www.lakland.com/skyline_vs_us.htm[/url] They are not entirely clear on where the wood comes from in each case.

From a marketing perspective, in the US there's invariably a product market segmentation into "hi-end", "mid-market", "entry-level" etc. if the manufacturer thinks there is an opportunity to gain sales by doing so. (Did I say Fender road-worn?)