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Lakland Owners Group #69

#20,541
I have a lot of experience with Korean Skylines, Indonesian ones, and the USA line. The very early year 2002-2004 are the best years hands down. They were handled pretty much just like the USA line and were fully worked by the USA techs including the electronics being installed and all fretwork. They weren't just inspected. Once production went up my theory is that the techs had a harder time keeping up and I think the sketchiest period is the late era Koreans. 2005-2007. The Indonesian ones were a marked improvement over those especially when the PLEK was brought in. So are the Korean ones better? Not all of them but the 02-04 ones are the closest to a USA Lakland that I ever saw a Skyline get. Not all 05-07 are bad either but if I had to buy blind I would take an Indonesian one over one of them. The Indonesian ones tend to be on the heavier side when compared to the Korean ones.
 
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#20,544
MaxSpinrun said:
@Mr Matt that is a stunner like Doug’s. How did the Audere pre compare to the stock LH3 pre? That is gorgeous.
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Audere's are my favorite go to preamps, no color added just adjustability. I never cared for the LH preamps, flickin dip switches, too mechanical for me.
The Audere lets the pickups speak for themselves & really opened these guys up. Same goes for DJ13 with the Aero singles, their noise cancelling preamp makes all the difference!
 
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#20,545
IMG_20230901_130824677.jpg


All and though shall receive
 
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#20,548
Mr Matt said:
Audere's are my favorite go to preamps, no color added just adjustability. I never cared for the LH preamps, flickin dip switches, too mechanical for me.
The Audere lets the pickups speak for themselves & really opened these guys up. Same goes for DJ13 with the Aero singles, their noise cancelling preamp makes all the difference!
Click to expand...
I know what you mean about the Audere pre. I have one in my
44-01 with Big Singles, I totally get it.
 
#20,550
g4string said:
There really is something magical about the late 90's early 00's Lakland. What would you want from a custom Lakland that you cant find or modify?
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can’t say… yet ;-)

but I see where you’re coming from. Most of my bases are modded by myself in some form or another, and my trusty 5594 is pretty Virgin except one small mod… The Hipshot extender. Other than that it’s barto over barto and I love it.
 
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#20,551
Udawwgy said:
can’t say… yet ;-)

but I see where you’re coming from. Most of my bases are modded by myself in some form or another, and my trusty 5594 is pretty Virgin except one small mod… The Hipshot extender. Other than that it’s barto over barto and I love it.
Click to expand...

I noticed the extender in the video. I was going to ask you about that!
 
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#20,552
Mr Matt said:
Audere's are my favorite go to preamps, no color added just adjustability. I never cared for the LH preamps, flickin dip switches, too mechanical for me.
The Audere lets the pickups speak for themselves & really opened these guys up. Same goes for DJ13 with the Aero singles, their noise cancelling preamp makes all the difference!
Click to expand...

I have an Audere 4-band in my DJ4. It also has a passive tone control. When I was purchasing it, I wasn't sure as usually anything more than a 2-band gives me the fits but I agree with your assessment of the Audere. It's very transparent and flexible and let's the natural tone of the pickups to shine. I usually take a set and forget approach with the EQ bands and only use the passive tone for minor adjustments after I get things dialed for the room.
 
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#20,553
Mr Matt said:
Audere's are my favorite go to preamps, no color added just adjustability. I never cared for the LH preamps, flickin dip switches, too mechanical for me.
The Audere lets the pickups speak for themselves & really opened these guys up. Same goes for DJ13 with the Aero singles, their noise cancelling preamp makes all the difference!
Click to expand...

Same, I have tried many/most others and have finally settled on the Audere as well as I too find it uncolored and very 'musical'. They are in all three of my Laklands. And all with the stock Lakland Hanson or Chi-Sonic pickups. Bang for the buck, as they say, is amazing. Well designed, quality produsts with super easy installation, and Audere is another great company where you can quickly get direct and helpful responses if need be. They check all the boxes and because of that I have stopped chasing anything 'better'.
 
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#20,554
nervous said:
Same, I have tried many/most others and have finally settled on the Audere as well as I too find it uncolored and very 'musical'. They are in all three of my Laklands. And all with the stock Lakland Hanson or Chi-Sonic pickups. Bang for the buck, as they say, is amazing. Well designed, quality produsts with super easy installation, and Audere is another great company where you can quickly get direct and helpful responses if need be. They check all the boxes and because of that I have stopped chasing anything 'better'.
Click to expand...
So if I was to go active in my DJ-4, the Audere is recommended over the John East?
 
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#20,555
Udawwgy said:
can’t say… yet ;-)

but I see where you’re coming from. Most of my bases are modded by myself in some form or another, and my trusty 5594 is pretty Virgin except one small mod… The Hipshot extender. Other than that it’s barto over barto and I love it.
Click to expand...

I wasn’t coming from anyplace. Like I was genuinely interested in what you’d want from Lakland on a custom build over what they offer in general.
 
#20,558
Thom Fioriglio said:
So if I was to go active in my DJ-4, the Audere is recommended over the John East?
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Like others have said, it's personal preference. I'd say the Audere has more value/bang for the buck; lot's of options/configurations as well. I've never tried a John East but wouldn't hesitate trying one based on their reputation. There is no passive option on the Audere but they do have a battery light indictor which is nice.
 
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#20,559
Thom Fioriglio said:
So if I was to go active in my DJ-4, the Audere is recommended over the John East?
Click to expand...
Great question, and one that was a wrestling match for me as well. DJ/East is a time tested, loved and fantastic combination. Was my favorite for a long time. What I always say in comparison of the East is a far more aggressive and flavored preamp. In a good way, if that's what you're looking for. Where the Audere is more like a tamer, 'musical' and generally useful tone shaper for most basic band cover work I would do. No knock on the East at all, it's a top tier product also with a solid support piece, but when I factor cost/benefit option I have outfitted all three of my Lakland Jazz style basses for a bit more than one East DJ Retro.

One downside of the Audere vs. the East is no passive bypass option on the Audere, and the East offers a passive tone control if that's important to you. Also of note, the East is available on a curved DJ plate (DJ Retro). The Audere Classic Jazz will fit into the stock DJ plate but unless you drill a hole for the LED you will lose visibility for that when you tuck that away under the plate. And the Pro JZ3 version adds the Z-mode switch so that's another hole in the stock DJ plate or also unavailable tucked away. The Classic is just fine for my purposes, and I find I am generally at flat or just off flat when engaging tone controls so I use it sparingly.
 
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