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D. Lakin - first batch of basses!

#81
xroads said:
You guys are way overthinking this - it's just another bass brand in the world of basses. If you like them, buy them and play them, if not, choose something else. I am happy to have more choices, and an expert like D. Lakin building basses is certainly good for the consumer.
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Exactly! If I were in the market for another P or a J bass in this price range, I would give his new line of basses a try. If I felt it offered more value than a Fender I'd buy it. One additional thing to consider - I exchanged extensive emails with Dan Lakin before buying my US Glaub and his customer service is beyond reproach.
 
#82
Few things - Just because you make a product - this does not entitle you to make a living... The world is full of people who cant and dont. With that said.. As a retailer, we'll walk right past this at NAMM. Its not a TB thing, or a Kebo thing.. Its a dollars and sence thing.... Will they play and sound great, im sure they will. Will these sell to loyalists, im sure they will. Hes looking to break into a market thats a very crowded segment with a very begign unsexy product... And in all seriousness, I do wish him much success and hope he proves me wrong..
 
#83
Kevin aka Kebo said:
Few things - Just because you make a product - this does not entitle you to make a living... The world is full of people who cant and dont. With that said.. As a retailer, we'll walk right past this at NAMM. Its not a TB thing, or a Kebo thing.. Its a dollars and sence thing.... Will they play and sound great, im sure they will. Will these sell to loyalists, im sure they will. Hes looking to break into a market thats a very crowded segment with a very begign unsexy product... And in all seriousness, I do wish him much success and hope he proves me wrong..
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You're right, nobody is entitled to make a living just because you make a product, that's just business. But, if you make a product that resonates with your market, you have a good shot. I have a similar experience in my own business. Years ago when I started designing websites and web programming, the market was saturated with website designers and programmers. I keep being able to do my job because I build quality sites that are classic and clean and my programming projects are on time, with clean, well documented code. It's not sexy, it's not the cutting edge, but it works. I can't tell you how many times I got jobs because somebody hired a guy doing wiz bang, flashy designs or, using the hot new language, to do a site or project for them only to find out that's not what they needed or wanted, or that they could not deliver what was promised. Same with Dan, what he has done may be considered boring and predictable and the market may be saturated, but it just may just resonate with his target audience.

If the basses are good and, with Dan's reputation in the industry, I'm sure he'll have no problem getting dealers if that's what he is looking to do. Perhaps he'll stick with a direct sell approach and cut out the middleman. It is a crowded segment, and yes, they may not be sexy, but that's in the eye of the beholder. Like that Clevenger you have on your site, it's certainly different and some may think it's sexy, but to me...egads, not even if I were given one. :)
 
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#84
Hey Fuzzy - Your correct on all counts with the exception of 1 caveat... The dealers that I know that carried Lakland were not too happy at the end and some still aren't... The quote I heard about the new basses are theyre nothing special... That said, Dan has always been a "good guy" in the industry and I do wish him much success. I hope he sells 10,000 basses in a year. Its good for all of us..
 
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#86
Kevin aka Kebo said:
Few things - Just because you make a product - this does not entitle you to make a living... The world is full of people who cant and dont. With that said.. As a retailer, we'll walk right past this at NAMM. Its not a TB thing, or a Kebo thing.. Its a dollars and sence thing.... Will they play and sound great, im sure they will. Will these sell to loyalists, im sure they will. Hes looking to break into a market thats a very crowded segment with a very begign unsexy product... And in all seriousness, I do wish him much success and hope he proves me wrong..
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Some retailers probably will ignore these, but if you want to sell basses and you're not a Fender dealer, they could be very attractive. Of course some will be perfectly happy to sell both.

Also, due to the popularity of P and J style basses, I think there's room for high quality alternatives for those who aren't set on getting a Fender, especially when the alternatives provide options (colors, necks) not available from Fender. G&L introduced its first J-bass clone only a few years ago. It's fantastic, and seems to have been very successful thus far.
 
#87
Stuart - Is there a problem I need to know about?
At the end - When Dan and the partners split
Issues - Distribution and QC - nothing major, just stuff... Independent dealers don't have the ability to weather "stuff" like big box stores...
 
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#88
Ned - I agree with you on many points, especially the GnL. As dealers, at the end of the day we will sell a 10:1 ratio of Fender to ???.. Its just how it is.. I dont have either product line or a comp product line so I have no skin in the game. This is just friendly discussion on speculating. We all have an opin. I have mine, you have yours, every has there own.. But as stated, I sincerely wish Dan great success.

* As a player - its not lighting me up
* As a dealer - when these hit the used market, they will sell - The concern we will have at that point is how far under "new" street price will a used item go for. Skylines are unfairly under valued on the used level. Lets see.. AND Im certain every one here that buys one will love it and 12 months later, we hit the cycle...
 
#89
xroads said:
You guys are way overthinking this - it's just another bass brand in the world of basses.
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Actually it's just another boring Asian-made Fender clone in a market saturated with Fender clones, Asian-made or otherwise. I can't imagine what would motivate Lakin to put out a bass like this. Nor can I imagine anyone being excited about it.
 
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#90
I love my Lakland basses. I don't care why they sound the way they do, I just love the way they sound. Lakland necks spoiled all other bass necks for me. I haven't had a P Bass in my arsenal for almost 40 years, and I don't miss one. But this new Bob Glaub has me dreaming in CAR. I've tried new Fenders and found them 'nothing special," as some say about Dan's basses. I have played almost every model Lakland and found all but one -- an early Skyline 55-01 -- to be head and shoulders above most production basses, whether they be USA-made or foreign made. I trust Dan; the cat knows basses.
 
#91
Kevin aka Kebo said:
Stuart - Is there a problem I need to know about?
At the end - When Dan and the partners split
Issues - Distribution and QC - nothing major, just stuff... Independent dealers don't have the ability to weather "stuff" like big box stores...
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No problem here. I just didn't understand what you said. I guess I'm not as familiar with Lakland history as I could be. When you said "at the end", it kind of sounded like Lakland had shut down or something and I *think* I would have picked up on it if that had happened. And I have never heard of people having issues with Lakland - other than the occasional individual having a warranty issue, which it seems like Lakland has had a good reputation for taking care of to the customer's satisfaction. So, I was asking an honest and sincere question to understand your post better.
 
#92
smcd said:
Actually it's just another boring Asian-made Fender clone in a market saturated with Fender clones, Asian-made or otherwise. I can't imagine what would motivate Lakin to put out a bass like this. Nor can I imagine anyone being excited about it.
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Well, people do buy Sadowsky Metro J basses, and for a lot more money.... Personally, I won't be buying another Sadowsky Metro, or one of these made-in-Asia Lakins. But, other people do, and I reckon they will continue to do so.

Like I said earlier in this thread, if I'm spending $1250, I'm getting a Made in America instrument (yes, I'm a little jingoistic and unapologetic about it). If I am spending $600, or whatever a used Lakin ends up going for, I'm still getting a Made in America instrument. I only spent about that (ballpark) on my MIA Peavey Millennium 5+ and on my custom MIA G&L SB-2. And you can color me skeptical that these Lakin basses will be *better* than either of those two choices.
 
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#93
StuartV said:
Well, people do buy Sadowsky Metro J basses, and for a lot more money.... Personally, I won't be buying another Sadowsky Metro, or one of these made-in-Asia Lakins. But, other people do, and I reckon they will continue to do so.

Like I said earlier in this thread, if I'm spending $1250, I'm getting a Made in America instrument (yes, I'm a little jingoistic and unapologetic about it). If I am spending $600, or whatever a used Lakin ends up going for, I'm still getting a Made in America instrument. I only spent about that (ballpark) on my MIA Peavey Millennium 5+ and on my custom MIA G&L SB-2. And you can color me skeptical that these Lakin basses will be *better* than either of those two choices.
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I still stand by my assertion "Made in USA" isn't magical, and that foreign made is not necessarily lower quality. Also, maybe if I could get a US Fender with the options that these offer (without having to go custom shop) , maybe that would persuade me to care less. To each their own, however.

On facebook Dan told me that the MM/J model prototypes should be coming in a month or so, which does actually excite me.
 
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#94
fuzzychaos said:
I still stand by my assertion "Made in USA" isn't magical, and that foreign made is not necessarily lower quality. Also, maybe if I could get a US Fender with the options that these offer (without having to go custom shop) , maybe that would persuade me to care less. To each their own, however.

On facebook Dan told me that the MM/J model prototypes should be coming in a month or so, which does actually excite me.
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I don't buy American because of the flag.
I buy American to support American working craftsman.
 
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#95
smcd said:
Actually it's just another boring Asian-made Fender clone in a market saturated with Fender clones, Asian-made or otherwise. I can't imagine what would motivate Lakin to put out a bass like this. Nor can I imagine anyone being excited about it.
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While I completely agree, the man DOES need to put food on the table. I doubt selling Lakland out made him filthy rich.

hdracer said:
I don't buy American because of the flag.
I buy American to support American working craftsman.
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Careful, compadre - that kind of talk is frowned on here on TB (or so I've found out!)
 
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#97
hdracer said:
I don't buy American because of the flag.
I buy American to support American working craftsman.
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A couple things to consider...

Fender is a global brand with lots and lots of employees, many of whom are not American. It makes lots and lots of money off of their overseas-made instruments. And when you buy a Fender (USA made or otherwise), who gets most of your hard-earned money? Investors? The CEO? The dealer?

D. Lakin Basses is a small start-up with very few employees (craftsmen), all of whom work in Chicago, USA. When you buy one of their basses you're supporting a small American company. Sure, the bodies and necks are put together overseas, but the vast majority of so-called USA made products have parts in them that are imported (car makers for example). All Lakin's basses have USA-made hardware.

If I pick up a D. Lakin bass and it's really nice and I like it, I might buy it. Then again, I might not.
 
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#98
Smooth_bass88 said:
A couple things to consider...
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My take is a little different. First of all, because I don't ever see myself buying a brand new bass ever again. So, I won't be putting money in any manufacturer's pocket. It's just TOO easy to find awesome used basses of whatever type I want (and especially Ps and Js) for roughly half the price of a new one.

If Lakin makes a bass that is either unique in design, or actually better than its equivalent from another manufacturer, then I would certainly consider buying one, used. But, if he's making Ps and Js, there are plenty of Ps and Js I can buy that are top shelf quality, made in America (a marketing and resale concern - not automatically better quality), and available for WAY under $1000. Why would I buy anything else?

And if he comes out with a J/MM, same deal. I can buy MIA Peavey Millennium J/MMs all day long in the $600 range, and StingRay and Sterling HS (which are obviously the TRUE J/MMs) for not a whole lot more.

Fortunately for Lakin and ALL the manufacturers, there are still plenty of people out there who, unlike me, seem willing to plunk down twice as much to be the first owner of their bass. Sadowsky sells Metros for way more, so I'm sure Lakin will sell plenty of his, too.
 
#100
smcd said:
Actually it's just another boring Asian-made Fender clone in a market saturated with Fender clones, Asian-made or otherwise. I can't imagine what would motivate Lakin to put out a bass like this. Nor can I imagine anyone being excited about it.
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Well, this is why you most likely won't be a customer. Others might think different and be a customer. Time and the market will tell.
 

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