My Day at D. Lakin basses

[fourstringdrums]

I think the Skylines vs. these is that the Skylines were advertised as a foreign offshoot of a U.S. made brand. The vibe I get from Dan with these basses is that he's trying to make it sound like they're basses somehow made by him, when that's not the case at all. It's a different attitude in the marketing.

 

[hover]

^^^ come on dude, he engineered the logo.

 

[fourstringdrums]

I don't see how anyone can reasonably say those others are made equally as well without having tried the Lakins.

You're right, that is a bit of unfair of me. But I'm basing it on the fact that when you look at any bass that comes out of a factory overseas vs. one handmade in the U.S., how much better could it possibly get? Maybe he's on par with some other companies, but BETTER. I highly doubt it. I think the differences may be in what people prefer in a neck profile for instance with what he's offering vs. someone else, but I think as far as quality goes it's probably negligible.

 

[leroy diamond]

I'm sure people said that when Lakland Skylines came out, too--but that hasn't been the case. Not saying the same will be true of the D. Lakins, but I certainly wouldn't assume MIA Fenders will have better resale value.

On my side of the pond it is safe to make this assumption. MIA Fenders have a good resale value. Better than Skylines. These new Lakin basses will have to establish themselves before resale values can be clarified

 

[Iridescentone]

A sub-9 lb. G&L is the proverbial needle in a haystack.

That has not been the case since the 80's. Urban myth. Start weighing alder body 4 string G&L's from the 90's and on, you'll find that they average under 9lbs. Easily.

 

[leroy diamond]

Actually I want to clarify that while he gets his bodies made from warmoth, and the necks made I believe he routes for the pickups himself, gets a "blank" headstock that he cuts into the shape he uses.. So it's not as if they do all of the work. He still does at least half of it I'd say. But again, I could be wrong since I haven't checked up on him in years, but that's what I remember.

I have no relationship with Valenti, but 'if you could be wrong' you are not factual in your comment.

 

[fourstringdrums]

I have no relationship with Valenti, but 'if you could be wrong' you are not factual in your comment.

Hence why I said I could be wrong...But if I'm wrong, it's just on a few of the details. I do know factually that he does get at least his body and necks from another company. What he does besides the body shape and basic neck shape/fretting I don't know currently. Years ago he was at least routing the pickups and carving the headstocks, doing nut and fretwork (though not installing the frets).

 

[leroy diamond]

What he does besides the body shape and basic neck shape/fretting I don't know currently. .

But you seem to know more about what Valenti does not do historically than what he does currently.
Me I have no idea.

 

[WoodyG3]

LOL. How can some of you be so sure that the Lakin basses aren't worth the money when you haven't freaking played one, picked one up, or even seen one in person? A couple of people here on TB have actually played them, so maybe we should be paying attention to their feedback.

 

[fourstringdrums]

But you seem to know more about what Valenti does not do than what he does

Again, moot point. The initial point that I made in regards to what someone else said, was that there are builders who do not make their bodies and necks from scratch and use sourced parts. He is one of those builders. Again I know that for a fact. What he does with those parts and how much he alters them, the fact that I don't know that for certain is not the point. The point was that he does not make his guitars from scratch.

 

[awilkie84]

I thought Nino switched to USACG some years ago. Not sure if that's still the case.

and this changes things how?

You're right, that is a bit of unfair of me. But I'm basing it on the fact that when you look at any bass that comes out of a factory overseas vs. one handmade in the U.S., how much better could it possibly get? Maybe he's on par with some other companies, but BETTER. I highly doubt it. I think the differences may be in what people prefer in a neck profile for instance with what he's offering vs. someone else, but I think as far as quality goes it's probably negligible.

Many hand-made USA basses are only on par with basses coming from over seas. Hell, many pro players when blindfolded can't tell a Squier CV from a Fender CS. They're THAT good sometimes. That said, why are we now comparing a production bass with a production level pricepoint to a hand-made bass?

I do agree that the quality of these basses, while likely very good, will be on par with other factory made basses at best.

 

[GregC]

You're right, that is a bit of unfair of me. But I'm basing it on the fact that when you look at any bass that comes out of a factory overseas vs. one handmade in the U.S., how much better could it possibly get? Maybe he's on par with some other companies, but BETTER. I highly doubt it. I think the differences may be in what people prefer in a neck profile for instance with what he's offering vs. someone else, but I think as far as quality goes it's probably negligible.

Whoa there. "Handmade" is admittedly a vague term, but I think it's a real stretch to say that G&Ls are handmade.

 

[GregC]

On my side of the pond it is safe to make this assumption. MIA Fenders have a good resale value. Better than Skylines. These new Lakin basses will have to establish themselves before resale values can be clarified

Fair enough.

 

[GregC]

That has not been the case since the 80's. Urban myth. Start weighing alder body 4 string G&L's from the 90's and on, you'll find that they average under 9lbs. Easily.

That has not been my experience. I haven't tried many G&Ls (because they're so damn hard to find), but when a G&L shows up in the classifieds and the subject of weight comes up, it's almost a lock that it's 9.5 lbs or more. Perhaps they make very few alder-bodied basses.

 

[GregC]

and this changes things how?

It's a different company. Simply relating what I know.

 

[fourstringdrums]

That has not been my experience. I haven't tried many G&Ls (because they're so damn hard to find), but when a G&L shows up in the classifieds and the subject of weight comes up, it's almost a lock that it's 9.5 lbs or more. Perhaps they make very few alder-bodied basses.

It's funny people compare alder to ash and say ash is always heavy because every ash bass I've ever had has been between 8 and 8.5lbs.

 

[hover]

I don't know what the problem is man....If you don't care, that cool. I like them. I'm exited about them.

No problem here. And I know you're excited, you're ebullient with hyperbole.

Sorry.

No need to be...

Man, another fun thread. I predict this will be 22 pages by 6:30PM, E.S.T. Glad I got in early.

 

[_jojo_bass]

Man, another fun thread. I predict this will be 22 pages by 6:30PM, E.S.T. Glad I got in early. [/QUOTE]

Totally..... So stoked...

 

[leroy diamond]

. The point was that he does not make his guitars from scratch.

Very few builders do.

 

[interp]

I don't quite understand the thinly veiled hostility some posters (who have not seen or played the instruments in question) have displayed toward Dan Lakin. The original poster, MIMJAZZ, is to my knowledge the only person on this thread who has actually seen, held and played these instruments. To those who've been badmouthing the D. Lakin basses and Dan himself, you don't have to share the OP's enthusiasm, but you do have to acknowledge that unless you have direct experience with these instruments your opinion of them is of considerably less value--to me, at least--than the OP's.

I know Dan personally, he's been in my home (he bought a Kubicki bass from me many years ago when Lakland was just starting) and I've owned three Laklands (two USA and one Skyline) and played several more. I can state from experience that his products I've owned and played have been consistently stellar and I know him to be an honest and conscientious person. If you think he's in business to get rich by selling his products for much more than they're worth, look into his past and see if you can find evidence of massive and ill-gotten gains. I think you'll find the opposite is true.