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How does a Lakland stand up to a Fender?

#23
I finally got a chance to play a Lakland this past weekend... Skyline 55-01 and 55-02. I spent a lot of time with the 55-02 - awesome bass, set up was perfect and I felt like I could pull off anything on it, great tone although I didn't mess around with it the knobs too much as I quickly got one great sound and ran with it.

Being a Fender guy, I thought a lot about this TB debate while I was playing and the only quality issue (at least I thought it was a quality issue till I realized all the Laklands there had it so it looks to be by design) was that I felt the frets needed to be filed down and rounded out at the edge of the fretboard - felt a little rough, not enough to cut you but still rough. I'm not a huge fan of the design (body shape, round bridge base plate) but it was a great bass and I wouldn't mind adding one to the stable later on.

I still love my Custom Shop Fender J5 but it was a great first impression of the Lakland!
 
#31
John Deacon said:
Are Laklands lower quality?
Click to expand...

No, the Laklands are much higher quality in their respective categories (mass produced vs "normal" Fenders - Custom Shop vs. USA Laklands). However, the Laklands are much more polite and don't use terms like "kicks the **it out of a Fender," "beats a Fender like a red-haired step-child" (what's that about?), or ....

I really like my 55-94 - feel, tone, playability.... and I don't like most of the Fender Custom shops I have played.

IMHO!

Dan K.
 
#32
YCBass said:
Being a Fender guy, I thought a lot about this TB debate while I was playing and the only quality issue (at least I thought it was a quality issue till I realized all the Laklands there had it so it looks to be by design) was that I felt the frets needed to be filed down and rounded out at the edge of the fretboard - felt a little rough, not enough to cut you but still rough.
Click to expand...

What you are describing comes with just about every brand on the market no matter how cheap or expensive. part of the reasons the frets are sprouting is mainly from climate change.

And no I'm not defending Lakland over Fender(I own and endorse both brands).
 
#33
I'm a fender lover. Period.

SAID THAT!

tried a lakland darryl jones, a 55-94, a 55-02 and a bob glaub...
the result ? ...
AMAZED
.. tried some new fenders.... not quite impressed I must say.

I love my miller (usa) and loved to death my ex fender jazz bass deluxe, not to mention my ex '74 jazz bass (sold due to financial prob.)

so .. now I'm looking for my next purcase which would be a P bass...and without a shadow of dubt I'm going for a Lakland Bob Glaub model (skyline)

so at the end I'm gonna own both.. a fender and a lakland.. ;)

I think that for the price, the skylines are the best P and J basses around today.
 
#34
i have played a few fenders in my lifetime that absolutely killed, tone, playability, mojo, all of it. but when looking for a newish passive 4 string, the lakland skyline JO that i bought over the summer was the best i got my hands on. all of the fenders that i really really dug were vintage or well worn in, nothing "off the shelf" from fender has ever really blown me away.
 
#35
John Deacon said:
Are Laklands lower quality?
Click to expand...

My MIA jazz deluxe 5 was my main bass until I got my hands on a Lakland Skyline 5502 neck, there was no turning back after that. I still love the sound of my jazz deluxe but the neck seems so chunky now. As far as quality control, construction and playability, IMO it's Lakland hands down over any non custom MIA Fenders equally priced.
 
#36
John Deacon said:
Are Laklands lower quality?
Click to expand...

LOL my advice: play and compare if you get the chance.

How they sound is completely subjective - I prefer Laklands in this category unless it's a good vintage Fender...30+ years of mojo is hard to replace.

But unless it's a Fender Custom Shop, Fender quality and setup is hit or miss. Lakland on the otherhand is always top-notch. A Lakland Skyline fresh out of the box will have as good a setup and action as a Fender Custom Shop. So, there's my $.02
 
#37
I don't have much experience with U.S.A. Lakland, but I've played several Skylines of all types. I currently own two American Series Fender basses, and have owned an American Deluxe. I think the quality is comparable, and really don't see the Laklands as clearly superior at a given price point. I think the American Deluxe Fenders compare quite well against the active Laklands, and the American Series Fenders are about the same as the Lakland Skyline Joe Osborn, Bob Glaub, etc. I do think Lakland has the edge in pickups on the passive models though.

Maybe Lakland does have the edge in quality control -- I don't know. But I suspect this common perception has something to do with Lakland's dealers providing better setups than Fenders frequently get at Guitar Center and Sam Ash, or even some of the "mom and pop" stores where I've seen Fenders with strings a half inch off the fretboard.

Now that Lakland Skylines are at Sam Ash, however, I wonder whether this common perception will change. A few weeks ago I played two Duck Dunn Skylines at two different Sam Ash stores in the Philly region. One was perfection, with incredible playability and feel. The other had real problems, and was darned near unplayable. I think the neck was backbowed, but I didn't bother to examine it closely. I put it down after about five seconds.
 
#38
I am a Fender lover, but I would play a Lakland if it was the right bass for me. I recently compared 3 P-basses at a Sam Ash...a Lakland Duck Dunn, a Fender American Series (w/ S-1), and a Fender Classic 50s (MIM). In the area of quality, the Lakland was the best of the bunch. The neck was perfect and everything about it just felt and looked classy. When I say the neck was perfect, I mean it was the dreamiest, sweetest Jazz-profiled neck I've ever laid my hands on. However, I have to say I did not like the tone compared to either Fender. Not that it sounded bad, but it almost sounded TOO good for a P. A good P-bass has a little rawness to the sound that I found missing in the Lakland, the Lakland was also a bit zingy and trebley to me for what a P-bass should be. I don't know which pickup was in it (Lakland or Fralin), and I suspect that I would love it with a different pickup, but off-the-shelf I would probably have bought the MIM 50s P-bass out of the 3, which even surprised me.

Now, that is my opinion. Someone might pick up the same 3 basses and think the Fenders sounded muddy and the Lakland had great articulation. Its in the ear of the beholder. But, the quality is fantastic on Laklands. I would say Skylines are at least equal to, probably better than, American Fenders. But, they don't SOUND like Fenders IME just because they look like Fenders. If its Fender tone you want, you need a Fender bass, plain and simple.
 

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