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Lakland replacement neck?

Roscoe East

Roscoe East

Aug 22, 2011
2,189
139
#1
Anyone ever successfully bought a replacement neck for their Lakland bass?

(Or tried and been rebuked?)

I've got a Lakland Skyline 55-02D that I bought new ~4 years ago, and A) I've never liked those overseas OEM'd-for-Hipshot tuning machines, they don't stay in tune and have none of the qualities that genuine Hipshot's are lauded for, and (more importantly) B) the neck has been exhibiting an ever-worsening case of fret-sprout since shortly after I bought it. Recently this has gotten so bad as to be un-ignorable.

I realize I should probably just get it refretted and replace the machines...that's the prudent, frugal approach.

But the non-prudent, non-frugal me thinks perhaps I should just replace the entire neck with a new American-made 55-94 neck.

Will Lakland sell a replacement neck? Will they sell me a 55-94 neck for a 55-02D bass? What'll it cost?

Thanks.
 
#2
I had a Lakland 44-01 I bought new that had a terrible case of fret sprout. I emailed Lakland, and they told me to send the bass in and they would fix it for Free. All I had to cover was the shipping cost to them. They fixed the fret sprout, and shipped it back to me on their dime.

Great service. I'm sure they can hook you up.
 
#3
Roscoe East said:
But the non-prudent, non-frugal me thinks perhaps I should just replace the entire neck with a new American-made 55-94 neck.
Click to expand...

You're right: that's neither prudent nor frugal.

Fret sprout does not require a re-fret. Fret sprout simply requires dressing the fret ends - a simple job that a qualified luthier can do in under a half-hour. It is not indicative of any problem with the neck at all and is just a result of climate change.

The tuners are what they are, and a new neck wouldn't come with tuners anyway so you'd still be buying a set of real Hipshots.

There's no reason to replace your neck. Replace the tuners and have the frets dressed.
 
#12
Roscoe East said:
Anyone ever successfully bought a replacement neck for their Lakland bass?
Click to expand...

I have. They are many hundreds of dollars (4-500) for the Skyline model. I picked up a used fretless one for $350 a number of years ago.

Getting a US neck for a Skyline model will cost more than just buying a new 55-02.

For goodness sakes, replace the machines, go spend a few dozen dollars on a setup/fret filing and off you go. :D
 
#13
The tuners are slipping? Try tightening the adjustment screw on the back of the tuner a tiny bit. Don't tighten too much, just a bit.

Fret sprout is pretty common where I live due to the dry climate. It can happen on MIA necks, too.

Sorry you have a couple of issues, but they should both be easy and inexpensive (or free) fixes.
 

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