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NBD: Dan Lakin JO

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#381
Let it go? Who bumped this thread after it was dormant for four days? You did. Before that, who bumped this thread when it had again been dormant for four days? You did.

And FYI, it wasn't a mistake. The OP quoted Mr. Lakin as saying he didn't think it was important to ship the bass with proper packing. Has he changed his mind about that? Great. So stop bumping the thread that features glaring QC errors and obfuscate elsewhere if you want to do your friend a favor.
 
#382
I did not bump the thread I asked questions.

The op was very quick to express how he felt about the bass that was shipped and I wanted to know if things were taken care. At ant rate at the end of the day the op will walk away from this incident satisfied with a proper bass or his refund.




Simple as that.
 
#383
wvbass said:
Putting the one-time shipping issue aside, I really wonder what started all this disdain for new Fender copies on TB. I've seen it with the D Lakins, the new Carvins, and it seems like another brand that slips my mind. I guess G&L was the last company that is allowed to make one? After that, we've reached some sort of quota and no more are allowed?

I really need to stop buying basses, but if I were shopping, these look great.
Click to expand...


G&L has the lineage. Enough said.

I think the issue is "what have you brought to the table"? The perception, right or wrong, is why buy a $1100 copy of a Fender made in China when you can buy a US made stick for the same money.

You guys can get pissed about that all you want but that's what a lot of people are going to think. What about these basses are different from the other MIC Fender copies? I am sure there is a difference but it's hard to put your finger on without putting your fingers on it.
 
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#384
My comment may seem strange as I recently commented about people 'pissing on the fire'
re Lakin basses. I wish Dan well. I admit to being a nutter when it comes to shipping and
wrapping in general. In my family my Xmas presents contained a high tape to paper ratio!
Like Russian nesting dolls, my packages were sphinx like mysteries...where the hell is the gift?
: } ~ The few who have actually played the D. Lakin have had good things to say about
their playability and tone. Hopefully, this was a blip.
 
#385
This thread WILL NOT sway me away from ever buying a D.Lakin bass. Besides, I've owned (and sold) made-in-USA basses because they didn't sound good. I've played overseas made basses that sound better than some USA made jobs.

If given the choice, I'd take a brand new, overseas-made bass with some finish imperfections if it sounded better than a perfectly finished USA made bass any day. Besides, D.Lakin Basses is an American company!
 
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#386
Stranger Danger said:
G&L has the lineage. Enough said.

I think the issue is "what have you brought to the table"? The perception, right or wrong, is why buy a $1100 copy of a Fender made in China when you can buy a US made stick for the same money.

You guys can get pissed about that all you want but that's what a lot of people are going to think. What about these basses are different from the other MIC Fender copies? I am sure there is a difference but it's hard to put your finger on without putting your fingers on it.
Click to expand...

Here's some food for though: A former student of mine came to his lesson with a brand new Lakland Skyline 55-01. I loved it so much I promptly sold my USA StingRay 5 and bought one (and pocketed a little cash btw). To me everything was better with the Lakland, and it didn't bother me one bit that it was made overseas. Point is, Lakland did not invent the 5 string bass, but they certainly perfected it.

Yes, the D.Lakins are 'Fender clones', but they offer features that you cannot get on, say, an American Standard bass (blocks & binding, matching painted headstocks, nearly infinite finish options, etc.). Plus, if you need to get in contact with the company, I bet the owner himself answers the phone when you call.
 
#387
Stranger Danger said:
G&L has the lineage. Enough said.

I think the issue is "what have you brought to the table"? The perception, right or wrong, is why buy a $1100 copy of a Fender made in China when you can buy a US made stick for the same money.

You guys can get pissed about that all you want but that's what a lot of people are going to think. What about these basses are different from the other MIC Fender copies? I am sure there is a difference but it's hard to put your finger on without putting your fingers on it.
Click to expand...
They're made in Korea, not China.
 
#388
Again, the hostility is quick to surface. I'm still not sure why.

I think the "what have you brought to the table" argument can be made with any Fender-clone manufacturer, including G&L, Lull, Sadowsky, Lakland, D Lakin, Carvin, Spector, etc. - even Fender! Maybe that something is fit-and-finish, playability, a beautiful top wood, a price point, a neck profile, a color choice, or a certain preamp or pickup.

It all depends on how narrowly you define your viewpoint. The argument could be made that there have only been three significant "something new to the table" events in the jazz bass's history: active electronics, five strings, and fanned frets. I'm not sure that means that Fender and Dingwall are the only viable options for a nice jazz bass.
 
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#389
wvbass said:
Again, the hostility is quick to surface. I'm still not sure why.

I think the "what have you brought to the table" argument can be made with any Fender-clone manufacturer, including G&L, Lull, Sadowsky, Lakland, D Lakin, Carvin, Spector, etc. - even Fender! Maybe that something is fit-and-finish, playability, a beautiful top wood, a price point, a neck profile, a color choice, or a certain preamp or pickup.

It all depends on how narrowly you define your viewpoint. The argument could be made that there have only been three significant "something new to the table" events in the jazz bass's history: active electronics, five strings, and fanned frets. I'm not sure that means that Fender and Dingwall are the only viable options for a nice jazz bass.
Click to expand...

I'm pretty relaxed. Not hostile at all.

G&L-innovative bridge and mfd pups

Sadowsky-innovative and unique electronics

I'm not really sure about the others because I'm not all that familiar with them.

What is being offered is a jazz or p bass with color options and what? 20 years ago he designed the first J Ray and it was great and really high quality and they were very well respected. I think the feeling is that if he was going to start something post Lakland then he should have done something like what he did with Lakland. Come up with something new.

Again, it seems that he may be cashing in on his rep amongst the fans of Lakland without actually offering something new or something that matches the market value of what your getting.
 
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#390
Stranger Danger said:
I'm pretty relaxed. Not hostile at all.

G&L-innovative bridge and mfd pups

Sadowsky-innovative and unique electronics

I'm not really sure about the others because I'm not all that familiar with them.

What is being offered is a jazz or p bass with color options and what? 20 years ago he designed the first J Ray and it was great and really high quality and they were very well respected. I think the feeling is that if he was going to start something post Lakland then he should have done something like what he did with Lakland. Come up with something new.

Again, it seems that he may be cashing in on his rep amongst the fans of Lakland without actually offering something new or something that matches the market value of what your getting.
Click to expand...

Here:
The D.Lakins are 'Fender clones', but they offer features that you cannot get on, say, an American Standard bass (blocks & binding, matching painted headstocks, nearly infinite finish options, etc.). Plus, if you need to get in contact with the company, I bet the owner himself answers the phone when you call.

Maybe the shape of the neck is different.

Maybe the pickups sound different.

It'll be a long time before we know whether or not Dan 'cashes in on his rep'.
 
#391
Stranger Danger said:
I'm pretty relaxed. Not hostile at all.

G&L-innovative bridge and mfd pups

Sadowsky-innovative and unique electronics

I'm not really sure about the others because I'm not all that familiar with them.

What is being offered is a jazz or p bass with color options and what? 20 years ago he designed the first J Ray and it was great and really high quality and they were very well respected. I think the feeling is that if he was going to start something post Lakland then he should have done something like what he did with Lakland. Come up with something new.

Again, it seems that he may be cashing in on his rep amongst the fans of Lakland without actually offering something new or something that matches the market value of what your getting.
Click to expand...

The intended tone of the message doesn't always come across correctly. Your follow-up message does seem much more relaxed, IMO. I understand your viewpoint, but disagree on many details. If all G&L has done is a bridge and pickups, then Seymour Duncan and Leo Quan covered that territory decades ago. I also wouldn't characterize a two-band preamp and a choice of single coils or humbuckers as "innovative and unique." I'm not saying they don't have value in the marketplace - clearly they do.

I own a Carvin SB jazz bass. Aside from a funny headstock and a tulip-shaped body, there is nothing innovative about it. It is, however, a quality-made instrument that sounds great. I also own a Skyline 4460. Again, there is nothing innovative about it, but again, it is a quality-made instrument that sounds great.

I suspect that if Dan tried to produce these in batches of 1,000 or so, he would run into problems moving them. This just seems to me like a guy that loves doing this, and is getting back into it by playing it safe.
 
#393
wvbass said:
The intended tone of the message doesn't always come across correctly. Your follow-up message does seem much more relaxed, IMO. I understand your viewpoint, but disagree on many details. If all G&L has done is a bridge and pickups, then Seymour Duncan and Leo Quan covered that territory decades ago. I also wouldn't characterize a two-band preamp and a choice of single coils or humbuckers as "innovative and unique." I'm not saying they don't have value in the marketplace - clearly they do.

I own a Carvin SB jazz bass. Aside from a funny headstock and a tulip-shaped body, there is nothing innovative about it. It is, however, a quality-made instrument that sounds great. I also own a Skyline 4460. Again, there is nothing innovative about it, but again, it is a quality-made instrument that sounds great.

I suspect that if Dan tried to produce these in batches of 1,000 or so, he would run into problems moving them. This just seems to me like a guy that loves doing this, and is getting back into it by playing it safe.
Click to expand...


If thats what you think then that's fine but Leo Fender and Roger Sadowsky have offered a lot more to us than Dan Lakin. That's an indisputable fact. Whether you like what they have done is another matter entirely. Every time you see a P bass or a J bass you have to credit Leo Fender. Every time you see a bass that has been hot rodded with a drop in preamp then you have to credit Sadowsky. What Dan Lakin and Hugh McFarland offered was a mash up of Leo's designs with a preamp in it. It was well received and the company made several other high quality Fender clones that a lot of players like. If you're a fan of those instruments then great but for someone who may be unfamiliar with his history or those instruments then what would attract them to spend this kind of money on this instrument. Thats the issue that I am trying to raise. Please don't think I am saying they arent good basses. I have no idea if they are any good or not. Just curious as to how this is supposed to work. It's not as if there are going to be any of these on the wall at a guitar shop to try and fall in love with.
 
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#395
Stranger Danger said:
If thats what you think then that's fine but Leo Fender and Roger Sadowsky have offered a lot more to us than Dan Lakin. That's an indisputable fact. Whether you like what they have done is another matter entirely. Every time you see a P bass or a J bass you have to credit Leo Fender. Every time you see a bass that has been hot rodded with a drop in preamp then you have to credit Sadowsky. What Dan Lakin and Hugh McFarland offered was a mash up of Leo's designs with a preamp in it. It was well received and the company made several other high quality Fender clones that a lot of players like. If you're a fan of those instruments then great but for someone who may be unfamiliar with his history or those instruments then what would attract them to spend this kind of money on this instrument. Thats the issue that I am trying to raise. Please don't think I am saying they arent good basses. I have no idea if they are any good or not. Just curious as to how this is supposed to work. It's not as if there are going to be any of these on the wall at a guitar shop to try and fall in love with.
Click to expand...
You said something I didn't know. Is Roger Sadowsky credited with being the first person to put a preamp in a jazz bass?
 
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#397
Musicman20 said:
I have to agree with this. Dan is obviously well aware of what makes a bass 'right', but he isn't a luthier. Otherwise he would just make his own?!
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Making your own takes much work and a lot of equipment Dan does not have access to currently.

Also they would be at a price point which would make many of you complain....oh wait.....you already are complaining about the price point.....
 
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