They are totally great! I had an issue with an out of spec string tree and they mailed me a new one. Always better to have something go wrong with a company who is easy to communicate with.
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Hello! Planning to get these upgrades on my 55-02 skyline:
Bartolini 5-String Classic Dual Coil J-Bass – 59CBJD3-LN3
Bartolini 5-String Classic Dual Coil J-Bass – 59CBJD3 - Bass Direct
Bartolini 5-String Classic Bass MusicMan DL Shape – DL5CBC
Bartolini 5-String Classic Bass MusicMan DL Shape – DL5CBC - Bass Direct
and pair it with an Aguilar OBP-3. My question is, if I get the OBP3 that comes with the pushpull for midrange selection, can I still keep the rest of the controls such as coil tap switch and volume/blend right? First time DIYing so I'm planning ahead. I'm actualy torn between the Aguilar or the East Uni-Pre 5 with the tone control.
The LH3 is too aggressive for my taste and I always wanted to try some Barts.
Let me know your thoughts
Bartolini 5-String Classic Dual Coil J-Bass – 59CBJD3-LN3
Bartolini 5-String Classic Dual Coil J-Bass – 59CBJD3 - Bass Direct
Bartolini 5-String Classic Bass MusicMan DL Shape – DL5CBC
Bartolini 5-String Classic Bass MusicMan DL Shape – DL5CBC - Bass Direct
and pair it with an Aguilar OBP-3. My question is, if I get the OBP3 that comes with the pushpull for midrange selection, can I still keep the rest of the controls such as coil tap switch and volume/blend right? First time DIYing so I'm planning ahead. I'm actualy torn between the Aguilar or the East Uni-Pre 5 with the tone control.
The LH3 is too aggressive for my taste and I always wanted to try some Barts.
Let me know your thoughts
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I just did my 44-02 with the Bartolini Quad coil MM pup so you get the coil select options with the switch. Went with the John East Uni Pre 5 knob. Super happy with it. VERY tight fit. Shielded cavity with copper foil. Not exactly an easy install if you are not accustomed to doing this kind of work. A very skilled tech did mine for me.
Nice! I think I'll just have a tech do it for me then. Pretty decided to get the Bartolini Classic Dual Coil J-Bass – 59CBJD3-LN3 and MM DL5CBC and pair it with the OBP3. Thanks for the info!
The coil tap switch is just hooked up to the pickup, it doesn't go through the preamp, so that's not an issue.
And the Aguilar OBP-3 is pretty versatile, you should be able to wire it up with a push/pull volume pot for active passive, and have a push pull for the mid freq as well. I had a Bartolini prewired preamp installed to replace the LH3 in a previous 55-94, and it did all those things.
And since I haven't posted it in awhile...
Lakland Pickups and Electronics
In one of my other non Lākland basses, I installed an OBP-3. I have the volume as a push/pull for active/passive operation. I also installed a passive tone control before the preamp that functions in both active and passive modes. I also did a push/pull for the mids at 400Hz/800Hz. It’s a versatile little preamp. Any passive controls (volume, blend, traditional tone pots, pickup switching, etc) all work as long as you wire them ahead of the preamp.
I've mentioned recently that I have a new bass coming into the house and I will need to liquidate one of my basses to make the room (and pay for the new purchase.) This has me thinking deeper about my relationship with my Skyline DJ4. First it was the string tree and now the very loud noise from the pups.
In all honesty, how much better are the US and Classics compared to the skyline series.
I'm now thinking about selling the Skyline for a US model. Has anyone gone down this road before? Am I splitting hairs. Let's say the skyline is 90% of the way there compared to the US 100%. It's not worth it to me to pay 2X for the extra 10% since I'm not a pro player anymore and just an solo office and occasional weekend jammer.
Also, I'm probably going back to my roots and will only buy used from here on out. The DJ4 was the only bass I've ever picked up New.
In all honesty, how much better are the US and Classics compared to the skyline series.
I'm now thinking about selling the Skyline for a US model. Has anyone gone down this road before? Am I splitting hairs. Let's say the skyline is 90% of the way there compared to the US 100%. It's not worth it to me to pay 2X for the extra 10% since I'm not a pro player anymore and just an solo office and occasional weekend jammer.
Also, I'm probably going back to my roots and will only buy used from here on out. The DJ4 was the only bass I've ever picked up New.
For me it's definite "no". I have the Skyline 55-02 and played USA 55-94 in a store and couldn't feel or hear any differences. As for the loud noise from pups - you should be able to fix it with pole pieces grounding.
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I've played a ton of Skylines and quite a few USA models. There is a difference and its pretty large. The quality, the build, the finish....all top tier. That is not to say that Skylines are bad because they aren't. The early ones are markedly better in my opinion. But if you CAN get a USA model you will be very happy. I would bet that with the same electronics the active models (like the 55-02 mentioned above) are sonically pretty identical but play feel for me has been very different.
I used to say the Skylines get you 70-80% towards a USA. And I think that's still pretty accurate, although YMMV, of course.
Having both a 44-02 and a 44-94 I would agree with that. I actually preferred the 44-02 and sold the USA 44-94.
I’d say a Skyline is 80% of a USA Classic. A USA Classic is 95% of a USA Series. That’s based on my personal observations from what I’ve played in stores. A lot of stores around me carry Skylines in stock. I’ve played a ton of them. They’re fairly consistent in feel and quality. There’s one store by me that actually stocks USA models. I purchased my 44-60 through them. While it tonally sounds like the Skyline (or perhaps the Skyline sounds like it), the overall feel of the neck is infinitely better. Hardware differences are negligible. The neck is where it’s at. The Skyline neck is satin finished, flat sawn, has no graphite rods (for 4 string models), is PLEKed, and has very little hand finishing if any. The USA Classic has an oil finish, is quartersawn, has graphite rods, is still PLEKed, and has some time spent on rounding edges, smoothing fret edges, and making sure the back is silky smooth. The USA Series necks are 100% hand finished (no PLEK), have graphite rods, and have super smooth edges and fret ends. According to Steve at Lākland, you’re paying for the extra hours that go into the USA Series over the other two lines.
Now, is it worth it? Owning one, I don’t know. They’re great basses for sure. My 44-60 has the best feeling neck I’ve ever felt. The action (after having Lākland add a shim) is the lowest action I have out of any bass with no buzzing. I attribute that 100% to the time they put into the neck. Now, I’ve had basses that I’ve spent some money on getting them professionally leveled, frets reseated, edges rounded, etc. That costs around $500 through a competent company for a good job (if you’ve got someone cheaper that you trust, that’s awesome. I wish I could find someone cheaper). If you took a Skyline and brought it to someone to really make it “right” by hand, would it be as good as a USA series? I don’t know. If it didn’t end up as good, I’m sure it’d be damn close.
Now, is it worth it? Owning one, I don’t know. They’re great basses for sure. My 44-60 has the best feeling neck I’ve ever felt. The action (after having Lākland add a shim) is the lowest action I have out of any bass with no buzzing. I attribute that 100% to the time they put into the neck. Now, I’ve had basses that I’ve spent some money on getting them professionally leveled, frets reseated, edges rounded, etc. That costs around $500 through a competent company for a good job (if you’ve got someone cheaper that you trust, that’s awesome. I wish I could find someone cheaper). If you took a Skyline and brought it to someone to really make it “right” by hand, would it be as good as a USA series? I don’t know. If it didn’t end up as good, I’m sure it’d be damn close.
Hi all, picked up a Skyline DJ-5 new around a month ago and I’m loving it so far (obligatory photo attached).
I am thinking about throwing on some TI jazz flats. However, this bass of course was Plek’d by Lakland with the standard Nickel D’Addario mediums it ships with. Obviously TIs are a very different set of strings. I am a little concerned that the bass won’t play as well with the TIs, even with a good setup.
How has using strings of a very different kind affected playability on Plek’d Laklands in your experience?
I am thinking about throwing on some TI jazz flats. However, this bass of course was Plek’d by Lakland with the standard Nickel D’Addario mediums it ships with. Obviously TIs are a very different set of strings. I am a little concerned that the bass won’t play as well with the TIs, even with a good setup.
How has using strings of a very different kind affected playability on Plek’d Laklands in your experience?
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I will say almost all of the benefits of the USA are (in my opinion) in the neck. The feel of the neck is just such an improvement. But the actual quality and what you get from it are almost identical. Like if you had two sweatshirts designed to look the same. They both keep you equally warm, fit the same, have the same basic level of quality, etc...but one is polyester and the other is cotton with soft fleece inside. How much extra do you want to pay for that additional level of comfort. For me its very worth it but you there is nothing you can do with the USA that you can't get from the Skyline.
You may want to also consider the Ashdown J model if you aren’t set on a DJ4. Not a Lakland, but they’re designed by Dan Lakin, have the same headstock shape, and they’re incredibly close to the Lakland USA Classic series for about a third of the price. I own one of the Ps and it’s a fantastic bass, and I’ve owned Skyline and USA made Laklands.
I totally agree. The Ashdown basses (or the D.Lakin if you can find one used) are really close to the USA Lakland line. There is actually a used Lakin jazz bass on the guitar center website right now for a really good price. Both these and the Ashdowns are made in the same factory with the same general specs. The Lakin (like this one) has all USA Hipshot hardware vs the Ashdown. The Ashdown arguably has the better headstock design.
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I don’t think the plek is string specific, but changing string sizes and tension will probably require some bridge adjustment and possibly a truss rod tweak (and maybe pickup height adjustment).
I cannot hear the difference between a Skyline that shares US electronics and its’ US analog, but the finish, fretwork and attention to detail are up several notches on US builds IME.
Questions of value are always going to be up to the individual to decide- is a "luxury" car worth that much more than a Toyota Camry (
I personally prefer the USA models, especially the older ones, but the 2012 I had was an excellent bass (although I prefer the Bartolini stuff over the Lakland/Hanson), but I've gotten all 4 of my older Laklands used, and sold 2 of them (one was just a 55-94 of a different color, only reason I sold it, the other was a Bob Glaub 5 (#7!!!) and the neck was uh-mazing, but it never got the call. The guy I sold it too still has it (I believe), so glad it found someone to use it. The black JO4 (#49) in the classifieds right now I traded in towards another non-Lakland bass (which isn't finished yet
), that one also has a fantastic neck, and played wonderfully, but I don't play 4's enough to justify it. Mike Lull (RIP) did some nut work on it, and Carl Pedigo made the brown tort pickguard it's wearing now (the original parchment one cracked), and I'm thinking he set that bass up before he gave it back to me, because it was just smoking when I shipped it off. My '99 55-94 is my #1 by far (I'm playing it in my avatar), getting the call over several other more expensive basses more often than not. I'm not a professional musician either, but this is a hobby I enjoy and am comfortable spending the $$$ on equipment.I've only had a few experiences with Skylines, and they are good, but they are mass production basses, the USA's I've tried all have had something "special" about them. It might just be in my head, but quartersawn necks seem to have the notes jump out of them more (although my flatsawn Sadowsky NYC is no slouch), and have a little more top end zing to them, and the finish on the USA necks is so smooth...
Anyways, TL;DR, I prefer USA's, but I won't tell you how to spend your money.
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Ah that's good to know! I'll have a trusted tech wire it like that. Thanks so much for your help on this!
