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Lakland 55-02 weight inquriy

#5
Wel I haven't weighed it - but one of the first things that surprised me about the 55-02 was how light it was. It is lighter and more comfortable for gigs than my Tobias Classic 5 and I can play with it for ages without even noticing it's there. And I have had severe back problems!!

I do use a Comfort Strapp - but I've used one of these on all my basses for the last 4-5 years.
 
#8
***,

I'm 40, & my 55-01 weighs bout the same as an 02, & never, did I ever feel as though it was too heavy... I hate to appear rude, but if you've become fragile enough to that carrying a bass for an hour or two seems daunting,,, I'd say owe it to yourself to work out a bit...
 
#9
Originally posted by McHack
***,
I hate to appear rude, but if you've become fragile enough to that carrying a bass for an hour or two seems daunting,,, I'd say owe it to yourself to work out a bit...
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Hey dude, I was just looking for some info in an attempt to better my quality of bass playing experience. Wasn't looking for a scolding from the workout police.

Pretty presumptuous post if you ask me. At the risk of sounding rude myself, you know nothing about my condition that would allow you to comment as you did. Knowing my own situation, I can say with certainty that what happens to my shoulder and hands after an evening with 10+ pounds dangling there has very little to do with working out and unless you're an MD or a Chiropractor, I'm inclined to dismiss your post as exactly as you described it - rude (and pointless).

I can speak from experience that there are differences in the weight range in the 55-01 and 55-02 series. As I said in my first post, my 02 weighs 10.5 lbs which is the heaviest I've heard discribed on this forum. I wager that's notciably heavier than yours. A mere pound and a half makes a big difference in my case.

I've been playing actively since highschool and have read posts here refering to the perils of spending years with 8-11 lbs of wood hanging on one's shoulder (do a search on bass and chiropractors and you might learn something). Lightening the load is the first order of business as far as I'm concerned (and I'm sure the Chiropractor I'll eventually see will tell me the same thing)

Sorry for the rant...
 
#12
The weight of the Skylines can vary a lot. The American models are pretty consistantly lightweight. My 55-94 Deluxe is lighter than any of my 4 strings, possibly excepting a very light Fender Aerodyne Jazz. My guess is that the 55-94 is between 8 and 9 pounds. The bathroom scale isn't very accurate. Getting back to the Skylines, if you check out Invalid Link Removed you will find that Dave has listed the weight for each individual Skyline he has in stock, as well as the ones he's sold recently. You might find it quite informative. If you live near Toronto than visiting will give you an even better picture of the situation (ie what exactly is the difference, from my shoulder's point of view, between a 9 and a half pound and a 10 pound one).
 
#13
Originally posted by Sanctum
Man, I just got my 55-02 (black/maple) and was really surprised how much lighter it is than my Spector Euro 5. I love it.
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I'm with you and the poster just after you - I was really suprised at how light the 55-02 deluxe was when I first tried it in the shop and it is teh lightest 5-string I have owned. I clicked that link and it says 9.8lbs which doesn't sound bad to me.

But anyway it is much lighter then the RB5 I had which was a similar size and shape and feels like about half the weight of the (old)TRB6P I owned, which did give me back pain at times! And that's apart from the basses I have tried in shops and ruled out for being too heavy - like Wals and some others!

I used my 55-02 deluxe at a long gig last night and it really feels like no weight at all and I have had back problems and visited physiotherapists etc. for many years.
 
#15
My 55-02 Custom purchased direct from Lakland in February 2020 (s/n dates it in '19) weighs 9.4 lb on a digital luggage scale. My Korean 55-01 from 2002 is over a pound more at 10.5. Brian at Lakland picked out the 55-02 for me as the lightest 55-01 they had at the time.

I like the 55-01 but cannot play it for a real four-hour gig due to the weight. I have been of Medicare age for several years so am officially "geriatric", have a stent in my LAD, and broke T9 and T11 about 50 years ago. Weight is a critical factor for me.
 
#16
I played a 55-94 for 13 years. It weighed just under 10lbs, which was fine, until it wasn't. I work out as much as I can, but it doesn't overcome the side effects of a damaged disc. Anyway, I was sad to see my 55-94 go.

I bought a 55-01 but put it up for sale within 2 days. Must have weighed 11lbs or more! I learnt that lesson, I ask about weight every time now. Most Laklands I've tried have been on the heavy side. I'd love another but I doubt I'll find one light enough.

Then I found my Mike Lull PJ5 which, 11 years later, is still a back friendly 8.5lbs.
 
#17
Lakland 55-02's can definitely vary in weight, up to near 2 lbs. Even between my pair of 55-94's there is a @ 1 lb difference between the two basses. I'm in the process of looking at a Sanberg California II Superlight TM 5.
 
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#18
IMG_3889.jpeg My current Skyline 55-64 weighs in at 10.01+ lbs. I've had several Skyline 5ers and they all were over 10 lbs. My first Inca Silver was 11 lbs.
 

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