Lakland 55-02 against the 55-94??

I have a 55-94. The electronics are the same - hell, if the neck is stable *I* may buy a Skyline. Seems to me that the price of a 55-02 and a set of Hipshot Ultralites is less than the price of a shiny new made in the USA 55-94.

I'd like to A/B them also. Has anyone played both?

allan

 

Yes, and I don't want to get Dan Lakin (my former employer) mad at me, but if you can get by the cheaper hardware, and the flat sawn neck, and the plastic nut, the dyed fingerboard, and the fact that they are not offering a figured top, or a fretless (yet). Then, by all means, you should buy the 55-02. It's a great bass for the price.

just my .02

 

Might be a dumb question here...
Can u elaborate a bit with "flat sawn neck"???
The US made 55-14... what's the difference in neck?

 

Here's a good explanation of the difference between flat sawn and quarter sawn wood:
Sawn Lumber - Quarter Sawn vs Plain Sawn vs Rift Sawn

The Lakland Skyline models have flat sawn necks; the American made models use quarter sawn lumber for the necks. Some luthiers will claim quarter sawn necks are more stable. All luthiers will claim quarter sawn necks are more expensive.

 

Ahh..

thank you so much

 

Quartersawn wood is more expensive, but the real reason for the greater cost is that the 55-94 is made in Chicago and the 55-02 is currently made in Indonesia.

 

The 55-02 is 80% of the 55-94 for less than half the cost.

 

Unless you are into fancy tops and inlays, the 55-02 is more like 90% of a 55-94.

 

True. The only thing I liked more about the 55-94 was the better quality tops and better burst quality. I love my 55-02, but I just favor my DJ5 and Jazz basses, which is why my 5502 is for sale.