Skylines use the 1/2" ultralite tuners right? Is that the same for USA Laklands that use ultralites? The -94's or -14's?
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Well, there used to be a clear distinction:
- Skylines: Ultralites LIC 1/2"
- US 4 strings: US HB1
- US 5 Strings: US Ultralites 3/8"
But they started using LIC Ultralites 1/2" for the whole US Classic line and that kind of bled into many US Series that came out recently.
I forgot that the 44-94's use the full size Hipshots. Signs that I was born in the 1900's
The US Series basses are starting to get licensed Hipshot tuners now? Right after their price hike? I understand the price hike. They’re still less than comparable Sadowskys or Lulls. John P. told me a couple years back he was planning on a price hike just to keep up.
Well, the official position is that no, they still use US Hipshot tuners. But I keep an eye on what's coming out and quite a few non-classics have been completed recently with LIC tuners. I think that if you order it with US tuners, they still come with them. But if it's "cutter's choice", it could go either way.
Edit: maybe those basses I saw were just fancy Classics that looked like US Series and I just assumed stuff. I'll see if I can come up with pics.
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This is one:
For sale Lakland DJ 5 Rare USA version - Price Drop
The first USA DJ5 SN D50001
Very Good Condition
35 inch scale
Ash body
Maple neck
Ebony inlays
Passive with custom Kent Armstrong pickups
Hipshot D tuner
Comes with Lakland gig bag
9.4 lbs per bathroom scale
Will split shipping
- bassmanc (+20 /0 /-1)
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- Category: For Sale: Bass Guitars
- 5 sting bass lakland dj5
$2,600.00
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I don't think they do the DJ5 in the US Classic line, but this has LIC tuners.
I really think they should drop the classic line and upgrade the Skyline. Get alder on the things that should have alder and make sure the weight is down. Oil finish on the neck like the USA line. Ashdown and Lakin did it so I know its possible. If they have to go up a little then so be it but replace the classic line with that and use the USA like the top notch custom shop it is.
I also think they should lean hard into the 94 body style. I think they are starting to have a comeback and I feel like the original design vs the P and J is where its at. Touch to compete with Sire and Squier when it comes to lower priced P and J basses.
I also think they should lean hard into the 94 body style. I think they are starting to have a comeback and I feel like the original design vs the P and J is where its at. Touch to compete with Sire and Squier when it comes to lower priced P and J basses.
I thought classics were us-made? My 55-14 is us made.
I think that's a mistake. Just got a 55-14, quality difference is obvious over the skyline I bought first. No dead spots, everything fits tighter, etc. I'll drop 3500 on a bass but never 6k. But I'll also never pay 2500 for an Indonesian-made bass.
They are but the hardware is licensed. Even the bridges on them are licensed. At least that’s what Steve P at Lākland told me.
Always good to refer to @Jamvan 's amazing comparison between the three lines:
I don't know if this will help but it gave me a good reason to get them out side by side and do a visual comparison:
The Classic and the Skylines share the import Hipshot Lic. tuners as you can see here whereas the 55-94 is the US version.
This is more evident from the front side as the US versions use a narrower shaft than the barrel shafts on the lic. version. The tuners, again, are the same on the Skyline and the US Classic so I've only taken a picture of the Classic in comparison to the US 55-94.
I can not identify any visual differences between the...
The Classic and the Skylines share the import Hipshot Lic. tuners as you can see here whereas the 55-94 is the US version.
This is more evident from the front side as the US versions use a narrower shaft than the barrel shafts on the lic. version. The tuners, again, are the same on the Skyline and the US Classic so I've only taken a picture of the Classic in comparison to the US 55-94.
I can not identify any visual differences between the...
I don't think it could be done in Indonesia honestly. They would probably have to move to Mirr in Korea. That is who did the Lakin/Ashdown stuff and who currently does Reverend and Duesenberg. You can easily get the quality up at that factory. Reverend stuff is fantastic. People are already paying $2k for the Indo Skylines. If you could get it close to that I think it would do really well. The Classic line just doesn't really make sense to me
Why doesn't it make sense? Not following that at all. It's a USA-made bass (important to me) made by the actual Lakland staff. But I'm never going to drop 5k on a bass, even though I technically can.
My 55-14 has no dead spots and I didn't have to shim the neck. My 55-02 has dead spots and a pretty big shim to make it playable (to my standards)
Because when that series launched there was a clear price difference when compared with the other USA stuff. There were like 2 colors available per bass. Then they expanded the colors and options and raised the price and now there is less than a 1k difference in price. They wanted to compete against USA factory prices with other companies and then just blew that away. They are one of the only companies competing at the $1600-2.2k price range with a Cortek made Indonesian product. And they are notoriously very heavy. Sweetwater has one Skyline 44-64 and it's almost 11 lbs. Meanwhile a USA made Precision can be had for less money and over 2 lbs lighter. So they need to figure out how to bring the Classic line down in price again or get the Skyline to be more competitive. Everyone else coming out of the Cortek factory with instruments (including ones with USA pickups and USA setups) are hundreds cheaper. If Ashdown could come out of the Korean Mirr factory with the Hipshot licensed tuners, oil finish necks, alder and rosewood, lighter weight, etc for hundreds less than Lakland should be able to do it.
Also for comparison with the 55-14, a Stingray Special 5 HH can be had for $500 less and under 9 lbs
Compared to a Skyline 55-02 you can get a Sterling Stingay 5 HH for under $500, Plek it and replace the pickups and preamp and still be under the cost of the Skyline. Both from Indonesia
Compared to a Skyline 55-02 you can get a Sterling Stingay 5 HH for under $500, Plek it and replace the pickups and preamp and still be under the cost of the Skyline. Both from Indonesia
Yeah but the G string falls off the bottom of the fretboard, so they're largely useless.
They don't have the same target audience, for the most part. They sound and feel completely different.
I have a 5h. I've always wanted a 5hh but I HATE picku selectors and I wish they had an active/passive switch for battery fail scenarios.
I'd argue that the Lakland ergonomics are better, at least for me too.
What is the cheapest new 55-94 I can buy?
Sometimes I forget that people are looking at passive Laklands too. I think really only about the active models. I don't anyone looking at a 55-xx is considering a pbass.
If I'm being honest my 55-02 was my "let me see if like it" trail of Lakland. From here on out its US-made only.
