Lakland Owners Group #69

[Bass Ape]

I’ve decided to list my Skyline DJ4 and in the near future upgrade to the USA DJ4. I love the look of this bass and it feels right but it also feels like a production model. I know this is all in my head, but it feels like it should be ‘more’.

really the only thing that makes me think I should keep it is the weight. At 8.5 lbs it seems to be in the lighter side of the skylines.

 

[Johnny Alien]

That is indeed on the lighter side.

 

[Bass Ape]

https://www.talkbass.com/threads/lakland-skyline-dj4-8-5-lbs-lpb.1624809/

 

[MattLplaysBass]

I’ve decided to list my Skyline DJ4 and in the near future upgrade to the USA DJ4. I love the look of this bass and it feels right but it also feels like a production model. I know this is all in my head, but it feels like it should be ‘more’.

really the only thing that makes me think I should keep it is the weight. At 8.5 lbs it seems to be in the lighter side of the skylines.

USA DJ's are few and far between, I wish you the best of luck in your search...

 

[Bass Ape]

Thanks, it will be quite a while before I capture that one. I have a few other basses on my hit list.

 

[CElton]

I had a white Skyline DJ5 that weighed 9lbs. Not sure how I let it get away. Would love to have it back.

 

[oysterphish]

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.

I've chimed in a few times with the same issues. I decided to get a new Fender PJ instead of the 44-64. The Performer and Pro series basses truly beat out My Lakland and others I've tried as of late. Just a side note, I've been anti-Fender for all my life...but now I totally "get it." The Yosemite pups sound so F'ing great, especially on recordings. It's far clearer, open, quieter than my DJ5. It is "scoopier" than Lakland pups, but that can be remedied with a preamp. Plus, the Fenders come copper shielded already.
I would capitulate that the necks "might" be better on Laklands and I like the bridge and saddles on the Lakland better, too. But man....this new Fender PJ has a great neck, amazing sustain, and lower action then I ever expected out of a Fender. I'm NOT a fan of the nut width on the Fender (1.6mm vs 1.5 on the 44-64), but I'll get used to it. I can play any bass just great.
Not trying to be a wet blanket in the Lakland fanclub, but I kind of expected more. I always heard Lakland was "better" than Fender. The finish and construction on my Fenders are great, near perfect. My Lakland has some finish issues (horribly cut pickguard and pup cavities). Those along with the noisy and dark pup debacle turned me off to buying another one. I hope Lakland updates many things going forward. I think they were great bases 10-15 years ago, but nothings changed since.
Also, I've tried several basses to arrive at this conclusion. I hope it doesn't sound like I'm grinding an axe on just one bass.
That all said, I don't think a USA Lakland would be worth the upgrade. It's the same electronics.....likely to have similar issues noise-wise, eh? Is it worth the risk? What do they say....anything past $2000 gets into the realm of diminishing returns? If I'm going to spend that much, I will scrutinize greatly all the aforementioned issues, plus some.

 

[ejschultz]

I've chimed in a few times with the same issues. I decided to get a new Fender PJ instead of the 44-64. The Performer and Pro series basses truly beat out My Lakland and others I've tried as of late. Just a side note, I've been anti-Fender for all my life...but now I totally "get it." The Yosemite pups sound so F'ing great, especially on recordings. It's far clearer, open, quieter than my DJ5. It is "scoopier" than Lakland pups, but that can be remedied with a preamp. Plus, the Fenders come copper shielded already.
I would capitulate that the necks "might" be better on Laklands and I like the bridge and saddles on the Lakland better, too. But man....this new Fender PJ has a great neck, amazing sustain, and lower action then I ever expected out of a Fender. I'm NOT a fan of the nut width on the Fender (1.6mm vs 1.5 on the 44-64), but I'll get used to it. I can play any bass just great.
Not trying to be a wet blanket in the Lakland fanclub, but I kind of expected more. I always heard Lakland was "better" than Fender. The finish and construction on my Fenders are great, near perfect. My Lakland has some finish issues (horribly cut pickguard and pup cavities). Those along with the noisy and dark pup debacle turned me off to buying another one. I hope Lakland updates many things going forward. I think they were great bases 10-15 years ago, but nothings changed since.
Also, I've tried several basses to arrive at this conclusion. I hope it doesn't sound like I'm grinding an axe on just one bass.
That all said, I don't think a USA Lakland would be worth the upgrade. It's the same electronics.....likely to have similar issues noise-wise, eh? Is it worth the risk? What do they say....anything past $2000 gets into the realm of diminishing returns? If I'm going to spend that much, I will scrutinize greatly all the aforementioned issues, plus some.

I have to say, my USA 44-60 has some rough finishing on the body side. The original pickguard had some rough edges (Lākland took care of me there). The original finish had some bubbling. They ended building a new body for me. The edges of the body aren’t super smooth and the finish still isn’t as perfect as I’d expect on a $4k bass. The pole pieces were noisy on the neck pickup. The neck however, is flawless. I have such a love/hate relationship with it. I want to keep and sell it at the same time.

 

[oysterphish]

I have to say, my USA 44-60 has some rough finishing on the body side. The original pickguard had some rough edges (Lākland took care of me there). The original finish had some bubbling. They ended building a new body for me. The edges of the body aren’t super smooth and the finish still isn’t as perfect as I’d expect on a $4k bass. The pole pieces were noisy on the neck pickup. The neck however, is flawless. I have such a love/hate relationship with it. I want to keep and sell it at the same time.

Hahaha. I know that feeling. Good luck with all of that. I'm keeping mine, purely for lack of anything better in my neck of the woods at the moment. Not many folks around here playing 5ers here, plus our options are limited to purely Ibanez SG, Fender, and Sterling.

 

[odarellmc]

I know that most of the time people don't like it when I say this but since the move to Indonesia and the selling of Lakland they Skyline series has not been as good. Dan Lakin has a passion for making the absolute best bass for the price and that really showed. Now its about making the largest profit. They feel like nice but relatively normal production basses. I don't want to come off like they are bad because they aren't but where they are no longer clearly better than anything else in the price range. Look at what the Ashdown series brings to the table. Alder body, rosewood neck, consistently light, oil finish like the USA Lakland line, made in a top of the line factory in Korea....and they are the same price as the Skyline (or maybe cheaper I forget). So Lakland COULD become a leader there again but I am not sure they can afford to drop the price enough (or ideally up the specs) and still be profitable. Just my opinion. I still own a USA and Skyline Lakland. The Skyline is an old one though.

??? When did they move to Indonesia like 15, 20 years ago? Not sure if that makes a difference. I have a 2010 LOG bass excellent, I have a 2020 DJ5 sucks, both made in Indonesia. I mean any quality made bass from 25 yrs ago should sound great...

 

[nervous]

I’ve decided to list my Skyline DJ4 and in the near future upgrade to the USA DJ4. I love the look of this bass and it feels right but it also feels like a production model. I know this is all in my head, but it feels like it should be ‘more’.

really the only thing that makes me think I should keep it is the weight. At 8.5 lbs it seems to be in the lighter side of the skylines.

Certainly not trying to talk you into keeping it because if it's not right for you that's your decision. Lord knows I gave had a revolving door of basses ovet the years. But when you say 'more' I am curious what you feel you're missing with this one? I have the identical DJ5 and as I look that over and play it I can't help but think I'd be hard pressed to do better at twice the price,and I had mulled that, at MORE that twice it's purchased value. There was no way to make it make sense. Bound and blocked board alone is a feature not often found in this range. Not sure if you have it but my matching painted headstock is another winning feature. Fretwork is just fine, playability as good as I like, paint is very good, stock pickups I prefer, hardware and tuners need no changing, I installed a battery box and an East DJ Retro and I swear it will run with anything. There's little 'more' I can imagine needing in a bass for my purposes. I also have a second, older white DJ5 that is far more 'broken in' that feels even better. I had a USA JB5 in the same scheme except w/ an ebony fretboard, shorter scale, and tighter spacing, and my Skylines and abcolutely no worse. They are hard to beat. And, 8.5#? Yeesh.

 

[Bass Ape]

Certainly not trying to talk you into keeping it because if it's not right for you that's your decision. Lord knows I gave had a revolving door of basses ovet the years. But when you say 'more' I am curious what you feel you're missing with this one? I have the identical DJ5 and as I look that over and play it I can't help but think I'd be hard pressed to do better at twice the price,and I had mulled that, at MORE that twice it's purchased value. There was no way to make it make sense. Bound and blocked board alone is a feature not often found in this range. Not sure if you have it but my matching painted headstock is another winning feature. Fretwork is just fine, playability as good as I like, paint is very good, stock pickups I prefer, hardware and tuners need no changing, I installed a battery box and an East DJ Retro and I swear it will run with anything. There's little 'more' I can imagine needing in a bass for my purposes. I also have a second, older white DJ5 that is far more 'broken in' that feels even better. I had a USA JB5 in the same scheme except w/ an ebony fretboard, shorter scale, and tighter spacing, and my Skylines and abcolutely no worse. They are hard to beat. And, 8.5#? Yeesh.

I'm loving the Lakland love here. When it comes down to it, I really only need 1 bass. I'd like to keep two and that's what I'll probably end up with. I just bought a new (used) bass, so one of my two has to go to pay for it and my DJ4 will probably be the quicker sale. If my Aria goes first, then the DJ4 will come down and stay for awhile.

You are right about the neck.

 

[oysterphish]

I'm loving the Lakland love here. When it comes down to it, I really only need 1 bass. I'd like to keep two and that's what I'll probably end up with. I just bought a new (used) bass, so one of my two has to go to pay for it and my DJ4 will probably be the quicker sale. If my Aria goes first, then the DJ4 will come down and stay for awhile.

You are right about the neck.

Do you have a link to your Aria? Just curious.

 

[Bass Ape]

https://www.talkbass.com/threads/82-aria-pro-ii-sb-r80-tobacco-burst-vintage-stock.1624467/

$1000 is my number

 

[ptidwell]

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

Just so you know the Bart MM pickup (DL5CBC) is a dual-coil MM
You need the Bart DL522CBJD3 2J Squared, Quad-Coil.
The LH3 MM like its predecessor the Bartolini, is and was a quad-coil. It is quite cool you can wire it parallel
inline and series and get some very interesting tones.

 

[trigger_happy]

Just so you know the Bart MM pickup (DL5CBC) is a dual-coil MM
You need the Bart DL522CBJD3 2J Squared, Quad-Coil.
The LH3 MM like its predecessor the Bartolini, is and was a quad-coil. It is quite cool you can wire it parallel
inline and series and get some very interesting tones.

Thank you for this. Good thing you mentioned as I still want the coil tap function in the MM. If the DL5CBC doesn't have that, I'll try to get the DL522CBJD3. Bartolini FAQ mentioned that the DL522CBJD3 is the one they use but they are not available here in London. I'm only going for the DL5CBC because that's what is available here. Will try find the DL522CBJD3.

Cheers mate!

 

[MaxSpinrun]

With the Quad coil that @ptidwell mentioned, you have so many wiring options. That’s what I did with my 44-02. Works great and sounds wonderful. Thanks @ptidwell for all your help.

 

[Stranger Danger]

There’s probably a minimum for the Sweetwater deal…

Lakland USA Classic 44-60 Aged Bass Guitar - Burgundy Mist, Sweetwater Exclusive

So they relic the body but not the neck?

 

[Johnny Alien]

On top of that it's a poly relic not nitro. My opinion has always been that I like the look of a well played bass and don't mind relics but I personally would not buy one. Especially on a Lakland which I don't always equate with the heavily played vintage Fender look. But they must sell well because that is what keeps going in and out of Sweetwater. The message is that I am no longer in touch with what's "cool"

 

[Thom Fioriglio]

So they relic the body but not the neck?

I know some may like it, but I don’t get the whole Lakland relic thing. It’s not like they’ve been around since the 60s. How much is a bass going to age in 20-25 years?