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Lakland vs. ESP-LTD ?

#21
mark beem said:
I have both an ESP LTD and Lakland Skyline basses. The Skylines (55-60 & 55-64) are great and everything you'd imagine in a bass at that price point. The LTD is a fantastic bass as well (mine's actually the fretless 5 B205SM FL) and IME much more than what I expected in a bass at that price point.

The question is which one will best serve YOU in YOUR music situation? Only you can answer that. I will say that should you decide on the ESP, give it a try stock before you gut it. You might just be surprised.
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THIS^

Don't worry about TBers who have opinions about what is junk that they've never even played. I happen to own a couple ESP guitars (no, not pointy) as well as a B206-SM bass. All are great. As far as I"m concerned if you want to find fault with the bass, it is that it weighs 12 lbs 4 oz. The look, the fit and finish, the neck the tone all are spectacular. Mine has the best feeling factory neck I've ever played.

I have also played the Lakland. It ALSO is a spectacular bass. Tone for yards. Feel, looks, you name it! You can hardly go wrong there either.

But these two basses are miles apart musically. One is 5 string, the other is 6 and all that means. Also one is Fender style and the other is modern-active style. The only choice has to come down to what kind of music do you intend to play on it. In my view the easiest argument to make is that you really need BOTH those basses! :)

:hiding:
 
#22
Bobster said:
I've owned several Lakland Skyline basses, please feel free to check my profile. My Ltd B-1005 (Korea) and Surveyor-4 (Indonesia) basses are definitely comparable to Laklands made in those plants.
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+1 my B-1005 is as good as anything else I've played in the same price range, great build quality, top quality pickups & hardware.
 
#23
So esp ltd seems legit? I still don't know what to choose, but i'm leaning more and more towards esp, although many people play metal and etc. with it and i'm more jazz/soul/rnb type of bassist. But it sounds so good for its price!
I'm not a starter too and i'm looking for bass to serve me at least 4 years and once I bought it there's no turning back. I won't sell neither lakland nor esp in my country.
Is lakland really THAT better than esp and it's worth it to pay 2x esp's price? And it'll be a jazz bass tone and nothing similar to mtd tone i'm looking for...

And the worst part is - i can't try any of the basses. All i can do is listen sound samples on youtube/soundcloud and read reviews in this forum.
 
#25
As the owner of a 55-01 first off, I'd say go with the Lakland.

However, I've been pleasantly surprised by many ESP/LTD basses over the years so they aren't necessarily bad instruments by any means, though I do think the lakland has the advantage.

That said, they really are very different instruments. Style, tone, neck profile, nut width, # of strings, etc. all different. I'd say take the time you have while waiting for the lakie to really consider your options and which bass fits you and the style of music you want to play the best.
 
#26
yeah, they are indeed humbuckers, but still - lakland have their own sound and it's more similar to what fenders sound like. I thought about installing Aguilar DCB pickups in 55-01, but i couldn't find any comments how it would change the sound.

I wouldn't consider esp as a option if it wouldn't sound like much pricier bass.. And it's strange when 6 string costs a lot less than 5 string.. I've read that lakland electronics are not that good anyways, so both basses are in need of upgrades.
 
#28
Mobiless and others,

I'm hearing a lot of generalities on both sides here. I would agree on the Lakland side the XX-01s have the weakest electronics. Their Bart MK1s are generic (but not awful), but the other models with Barts, Aero, Fralin, Darkstar or Hanson electronics are very good quality.

With the Ltds, it also depends on which ones you're talking about. There are multiple different vendors there too, including EMG, Seymour Duncan and now, Aguliar. Previously, I'd owned a 2004 ESP Ltd J-1005 with EMG 40-J (B) / 40-P5 (N) and a EMG BTS 2-band active EQ. I never could find usable sounds with that instrument, but that's definitely not the case with the B-1005 and Surveyor-4.

So I'd recommend evaluating each on it's own merits.

All the best.

Bob
 
#29
I've never been an ESP guy, and I love my Laklands. I can't account for ESP's recent quality but I can account for Laklands, even their Indonesian made Skyline series. I think my question would be....a month wait for a 55-01? Unless maybe you're out of the country or it's a special made? Anyhoo, I'd go with the Lakland. I gave up my warwicks I was so impressed with them.
 
#30
And it'll be a jazz bass tone and nothing similar to mtd tone i'm looking for...
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After a cursory search in the classifieds section, it would appear that most USA made MTD basses have a Bartolini pickup & preamp configuration. Were I going to upgrade I'd start there.

Keep in mind that there's a LOT of variables involved in one's overall tone. That "MTD" tone that you're wanting, there's a lot more going on than just the bass. Sure it has a lot to do with it but so does the amp, signal chain (if you use effects), EQ'ing, etc. I'm not saying it CAN'T be done, but you're really reaching if you're attempting to get a USA MTD tone out of a budget bass.
 
#31
I had a lakland 44-02. The build quality was excellent and the fit and finish was flawless. The basses are built overseas but shipped to Chicago to have the electronics installed and a qc. The pickups and electronics are highly customisable for added versatility! With all that being said, I ended up trading my 44-02 for a Musicman Bongo and I have never been happier.
 
#32
Some guys on here have clearly never played a real ESP bass built in Japan or USA...

Any bass (no matter what brand) built in China or Vietnam is going to have sketchy inconsistent build quality and playability. You're kind of rolling the dice with those..

There are decent ESP LTD being made in Korea and Indonesia.

This is just my personal opinion after playing and very carefully inspecting many of these instruments. In this order...

USA\JAPAN > Korea\Indo > Viet\China
 
#33
tobias3469 said:
Some guys on here have clearly never played a real ESP bass built in Japan or USA...

Any bass (no matter what brand) built in China or Vietnam is going to have sketchy inconsistent build quality and playability. You're kind of rolling the dice with those..

There are decent ESP LTD being made in Korea and Indonesia.

This is just my personal opinion after playing and very carefully inspecting many of these instruments. In this order...

USA\JAPAN > Korea\Indo > Viet\China
Click to expand...


+1 i have 2 japanese exclusive ESP's and 1 usa lakland. All 3 are exceptional.
 
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#34
I wish I had an LTD cause I know they make very good basses and have heard a few of them that sounded awesome. Having said that I have an Indo 44-01 with US pups and pre and that thing plays and sounds.....insane. So much so that everyone gets pissed if I show up to a gig with something else. So you will be happy with a Laky


prob an ESP too!
 

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