bigevilman Posted January 7, 2010 Share Posted January 7, 2010 Hey Guys Wondering if you could help me out. As my next student loan is kicking in this week (and its my last year of getting loans), I see it as the perfect time to invest in a replacement for my mexican jazz. I'm looking to go down the 5 string route, as while I was at bass day, found it easier than I thought to go from 4 to 5 . Laklands have always impressed me when I've seen artists play them live, they seem to have a great sound to them. The two models I'm looking at are the Darryl Jones & Joe Osborn skyline 5 strings models. Can anybody tell me the differences between them? Apart from the obvious block inlays I'm guessing they have different pickups, maybe one has more midrange? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
obbm Posted January 7, 2010 Share Posted January 7, 2010 They have different profile necks. The DJ has one more fret than the JO The original DJ had Aero pickups whilst the JO had Lindy Fralins. More modern ones have Lakland pick-ups. Of the two I far preferred the DJ5 with the smaller body and deeper growl. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dave_bass5 Posted January 7, 2010 Share Posted January 7, 2010 (edited) + 1 to all that. To my ears the JO5 has a slightly more vintage/traditional tone. I dont really like the deep tone of my DJ5 though. I too was quite surprised when i first played a Lakland. It was a 55-01 and it just felt so easy to play. Edited January 7, 2010 by dave_bass5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Musicman20 Posted January 7, 2010 Share Posted January 7, 2010 Recently tried both of the newer models. Same sound pretty much, the DJ has the blocks/binding/smaller body/modern paint whereas the JO is a classic Jazz with normal colours. Both great. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sandmann Posted January 8, 2010 Share Posted January 8, 2010 the jo is laklands version of a 60ties jazz whereas the dj is more bases on a 70ties jazz. they are both very good, its all down to personal preference. i own a usa jo osborn 5 string with fralins and bartolini preamp that is fantastic. i used to own a dj5 skyline which also was very good but it was heavy as hell so it had to go again. if you buy one make sure that you get a light one; there are some quite heavy skylines out there. sandmann Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
drewie Posted January 8, 2010 Share Posted January 8, 2010 +1 to the above posts. I've owned both, and still own the DJ5. I'll never sell it. Yes, they can be heavy (mine is), but they make up for that IMO with superb playability and tone. I found the neck of my JO5 to be a little chunky and the tone choked, lacking in low mids and didn't sit well in a band situation, so it had to go. I'm sure it was just that particular bass tho, not JO5's as a rule. I've kept my DJ5 passive and have strung it with D'Addario Chromes and they sound gorgeous - lots of punch & cuts through fantastically, but also smooth and deep tonally. Great for recording and live. My only criticism apart from the weight is that that it can be noisy as the electronics are unshielded - an easy fix tho. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigevilman Posted January 10, 2010 Author Share Posted January 10, 2010 Cheers for the feedback guys Just lost out bidding on JO5 on evilbay about a hour ago....oh how it mocks me! Gonna keep looking though Out of curiosity....are all the DJ's passive? I've noticed that some JO's are active, but to be honest, I've only ever had a go on a couple of cheap active basses, so I wouldn't be too sure whether active would the route to go or not any advice? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Musicman20 Posted January 10, 2010 Share Posted January 10, 2010 [quote name='bigevilman' post='708237' date='Jan 10 2010, 09:50 PM']Cheers for the feedback guys Just lost out bidding on JO5 on evilbay about a hour ago....oh how it mocks me! Gonna keep looking though Out of curiosity....are all the DJ's passive? I've noticed that some JO's are active, but to be honest, I've only ever had a go on a couple of cheap active basses, so I wouldn't be too sure whether active would the route to go or not any advice?[/quote] They are all passive from stock...but they are both very popular (esp the DJ) for adding an onboard pre-amp. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dave_bass5 Posted January 10, 2010 Share Posted January 10, 2010 [quote name='bigevilman' post='708237' date='Jan 10 2010, 09:50 PM']Cheers for the feedback guys Just lost out bidding on JO5 on evilbay about a hour ago....oh how it mocks me! Gonna keep looking though Out of curiosity....are all the DJ's passive? I've noticed that some JO's are active, but to be honest, I've only ever had a go on a couple of cheap active basses, so I wouldn't be too sure whether active would the route to go or not any advice?[/quote] There's still a very nice black DJ5 for sale on here (sorry, shameless plug). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigevilman Posted January 10, 2010 Author Share Posted January 10, 2010 [quote name='dave_bass5' post='708270' date='Jan 10 2010, 10:15 PM']There's still a very nice black DJ5 for sale on here (sorry, shameless plug).[/quote] Haha how did I know that u was gonna say that! Your DJ5 looks stunning....but is a bit out of my price range I'm afraid....Gutted tbh :/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dave_bass5 Posted January 11, 2010 Share Posted January 11, 2010 [quote name='bigevilman' post='708356' date='Jan 10 2010, 11:20 PM']Haha how did I know that u was gonna say that! Your DJ5 looks stunning....but is a bit out of my price range I'm afraid....Gutted tbh :/[/quote] Yeah, i dont normally do that sort of thing. Good luck with your search. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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