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DLB (Dan Lakin Basses) Coming Soon!

#462
denchiq said:
On the hardware: I guess I belong to the minority that prefer the feel of the Hipshot Licensed to that of the Hipshot USA. Not only the posts' radius varies; not only the finish different; but what really matters, the gear ratio of the Licensed is softer and more user-friendly whereas the feel of the US gears is too sharp and 'jerky' for me.
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Yes!
Back when I was playing Laklands I thought this also.
Glad to know I wasn't nuts. :D
 
#464
Johnny Alien said:
From my understanding Dan is going to offer a healthy no questions return policy.
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You kind of have to if you're going direct. Instruments are very personal things. If people can't see them and try them out for themselves, you have to cozy up to folks and reduce the perceived risk so if it's not their particular cup of tea they won't regret pulling the trigger.

Even harder for a new brand. Dan Lakin is not a household name, even among bassists. I've seen plenty of bassists looking sideways at my bass when I used to play Laklands and asking me about my "lack-land". They didn't have a clue about it.
 
#466
sigmafloyd said:
I appreciate your enthusiasm for these basses, but I don't think you can honestly say that there is a lack of quality precision and jazz basses at this price point. Fender alone has the classic series, American special and road worn series all around the same price or less. Not to mention that you can buy a used American standard any day of the week on the classifieds or your local guitar store for about $700-800. For 1k you might even be able to get a used American vintage.

Not saying these won't be good, but I still don't see the gap they fill and when you're selling someone else designs with your name on it you need to be able to communicate to the customer why they shouldn't buy the real thing.

My guess will be that these are big on talkbass with people who have written Fender off because they feel like they need something different yet really want a p or j.
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I was wondering the same thing. What is the value proposition when there are a lot of passive MIA Fender 4-strings available for only slightly more in that price range and genuine Fender MIJ's are still very attractively priced.

The last two Fenders I bought were $899 Cdn for an Am Std. Precision and $999 Cdn (this March) for an Am St. Jazz V. These were both new basses from authorized dealers.

Yes, I found some particularly well-priced guitars and that doesn't happen every day but the deals are there if you look for them. Plus, whatever you spend extra for a genuine Fender will be made back in the additional resale value that a Fender commands in the used market.

The licensed hardware (as opposed to US hardware) on my Laklands seemed very good and never gave me any problems, so the Made in USA hardware is not a selling point for me.

I like Lakland and have owned 4 of them (that's my old 55-01 in my avatar, I loved that bass). I'm not "against offshore", and I have no axe to grind on the strategy, the DL basses just don't answer any question that I happen to be asking these days.
 
#467
Not trying to be a downer. I know Dan and he's a great human being. I have all the faith in the world in him, and what he's done, for the bass world.

BUT.... Ok, US Hipshot on an import bass.... Its still an import bass..... I personally, would be fine with import Hipshot on an import bass, and have it be a few bucks cheaper.....

Am I wrong in my thinking???
 
#468
Gecko 5 said:
BUT.... Ok, US Hipshot on an import bass.... Its still an import bass..... I personally, would be fine with import Hipshot on an import bass, and have it be a few bucks cheaper.....

Am I wrong in my thinking???
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No, you can't be wrong if that is what is important to you. Personally, I like the Hipshot tuners and I love the Type A bridge. Do they even make an import Type A bridge?

For me, the big deal is the graphite reinforced neck. I have Skyline DJ's, a 4 and a 5. The 5 has a reinforced neck and the 4 doesn't. It may not quite be apples to apples but I don't think I've ever had to adjust the 5's neck aside from the initial setup.

It could also be argued that the reinforced necks help with dead spots, but I'm not prepared to make that case.
 
#469
azzyrazzy said:
Cutting the lower side of the headstock like that, doesn't make for much room to add a extra tuner for 5-string. Maybe he is thinking about 5 in a row for an eventual 5-string?
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Dan said he was not sure a fiver was in the near future....he wants to get a VERY solid footing before doing too much...good business sense...

I play all fivers now BUT love a good P neck now and again....I just may have to get a cool color and live with a lack of B - or string it BEAD... :)
 
#470
ModuMan said:
For me, the big deal is the graphite reinforced neck. I have Skyline DJ's, a 4 and a 5. The 5 has a reinforced neck and the 4 doesn't. It may not quite be apples to apples but I don't think I've ever had to adjust the 5's neck aside from the initial setup.

It could also be argued that the reinforced necks help with dead spots, but I'm not prepared to make that case.
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agreed....go on! make the argument...I think it is valid... :D
 
#471
Not jumping on the band wagon, but...

> USA Hipshot [DEL]Ultralites[/DEL] reverse/vint style
> Hipshot Type A bridge
> Graphite neck rods

Top drawer stuff. This bodes well for DLB. If this level of attention to detail is indicative of the overall quality of his basses, then DLB may be onto something.
 

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