• TalkBass has been independent since 1998. Add your voice.
    Create a free account to reply to discussions, view embedded media, and browse with fewer display ads.
    Join free Log in
    Want zero display ads or expanded classifieds tools? Compare plans.

Over-Priced basses?

#62
canadian_man_44 said:
When was that? I have a MIM Fender Jazz that I got for $750Cdn 13 years ago. The same bass now is priced at $550. Granted the Canadian dollar has increased as well being almost even with the US dollar right now, which has a lot to do with it.
Click to expand...

wow you paid too much.

I bought a MIM jazz in 1997 for $500. New.

and now every MIM I see is $750. you sure you don;t have it backwards?
 
#63
Johnny Alien said:
OK...well that was right around the same time. I "believe" they knew they were going to move factories at the time.

Bass Central which is one of the larger Lakland dealers sells Glaubs for $1050. That is without a case which will run you $100 extra so $1150. A US Fender is about $50-$100. I say that is in the same range. It puts you in the range of a US G&L as well.

Again I am not saying they aren't good basses. I think they are very nice. I just think they could easily (as seen by other companies) charge a few hundred less for them. As it is they are putting themselves smack dab into US bass territory and not in the mid price range they should be in. If you don't want to spend $1000 on a Music Man or Fender you have plenty of options but with Lakland you do not.

What started as a more affordable brand is now out ot the realm of those on a budget.

I said in another thread that I believe they use the Skyline brand to subsidize their US line. Dan mentioned in an interview that the import line basically saved the company.
Click to expand...
OK, two things.
1. Current pricing: Everywhere I've checked except for Bass Central (MF, Bass Emporium, Bass Club Chicago), Skylines are selling at the same price they have been for at least two years. They don't always have Glaubs n stock, but where they do, they're $979. Bass Central is the exception. Meanwhile, American Standards are $1299 everywhere I look except for MF ($1199 there).

So it's possible the price difference, if one spent $100 on a case for the Glaub, would be $50. The much more likely outcome is a price difference of $220.

2. Historical pricing: When were Skylines ever not in the same broad price range as MIA Fenders? This is a sincere question, because I started playing again a little over three years ago. Over that time frame, Skyline Glaubs have gone up 10% in price from $890 to $979. In the meantime, Fender MIA Precisions have gone up 20%-30%, from $999 to $1199/$1299. (And they only came back down to those latter prices after Fender jacked them up to $1499 and everyone raised hell.)

OK, a third thing: When was the last Skyline price increase before 2008? If it had been several years, linking the most recent increase to the move to Indonesia lacks context (and it must be noted that that move was Cort's choice, not Lakland's). And in any case, the PLEK machine is awfully expensive and still needs to be programmed and refilled/emptied for each bass. It may be saving money on manhours for the techs, but I also consider it a move to ensure quality fretwork--the techs might've had more work to do on the necks when they started coming from there from Indonesia.
 
#65
spade2you said:
10:1 odds says you've never seen or touched either of them.
Click to expand...

+1

And if you have, then I consider you lucky to have not found either to be desirable enough to validate the price in your head.

If only I was that lucky and could be satisfied with lower priced instruments. But alas, I do see the value in & personal "need" for graphite reinforcement rods, stellar fretwork, extreme attention to detail in fit & finish, award-winning electronics and design, strategically routed bodies to lessen weight and improve balance, improvements to bridge & neck-to-body coupling as a means to increase sustain, etc, etc, etc....

BUT, on the other hand, I really like the mass-produced & cheaply made Fender jaguar too....
 
#68
+1 for MIM Fenders, Warwicks, and Rics.

In regards to the Lakland and Sadowsky comment, I've only played the Skyline and Metro models, respectively, but if their US models somehow play better than their import models then it's well worth the cost.
 
#70
Johnny Alien said:
Again I am not saying they aren't good basses. I think they are very nice. I just think they could easily (as seen by other companies) charge a few hundred less for them. As it is they are putting themselves smack dab into US bass territory and not in the mid price range they should be in. If you don't want to spend $1000 on a Music Man or Fender you have plenty of options but with Lakland you do not.
Click to expand...

The price they should be in????????

They cost what they cost because people are willing to pay for that level of quality. I've played Skylines, and bypassing the "different from Fender, therefore no comparison can be made" defense, they are just plain better than the MIA Fenders which correspond.

Quiet as it's kept, there's no magic dust that gets sprinkled on basses built in America. Asian builders are as talented as builders from anywhere else and can produce as fine an instrument as anyone else unless the parent company has pulled the rug somewhat by specing low quality parts and screwy specs. Fender did this. Lakland didn't, for the most part. That's why Skylines cost what they do, and that's why buyers buy them at that price if they have to.
 
#71
Johnny Alien said:
Yes....the price level they originally went for was a mid-priced line. Over $1000 gets them out of that.
Click to expand...

How's that out of the mid-priced range when Squiers/SX run for less than $300 and Sadowskys upwards of $2500? That's exactly where they are.

Lakland Skyline doesn't owe you a Squier/MIM price simply because Asians build them.

Question for you....do you believe that Cort puts more into the Skyline series than their other basses?
Click to expand...

Yeah. They're a factory just like the one in Corona whose products you seem to think ought to cost more. They will deliver the level of quality you're willing to pay for.

Yes they are priced that way because people are willing to pay it. Yes they are nice basses. None of that takes away from teh fact that Lakland is charging a higher premium for that bass then the competitors.
Click to expand...

Skyline's competitors are MIA Fenders. I'm sorry if the idea of Asian-made instruments bringing a price equal to or higher than that of a mass-produced USA bass bothers you, but that's what it is. Don't buy one if it bugs you that much.

...and we're walkin'! And we're walkin'!
 
#73
Johnny Alien said:
Never once did I criticize asian workmanship so I would appreciate not having you suggest that I did. I mention it being an import because on a whole excluding Japan the products are more affordable to make.

While the US Fender line "may" be the direct competition for the Skylines I am comparing them to Tributes for one reason......they come from the very same factory by the very same workers. Both quality and cost on these two instruments should be very similar. With that in mind I am saying that the Skylines have a larger markup.

When you deal with comparing prices on US instruments it is tough because each one uses it's own factories with different wages, sources, number of workers, etc. etc.

When it comes to comparing the Skylines it's easier as we have competition that is made by the exact same factory with the same workers, materials, etc.

I am sorry you are upset with me I didn't try to get someone this worked up. It is my opinion , I am not saying they are bad basses just that they are marked up more than the competition.
Click to expand...

Not worked up at all- just calling you out.

I've said once what needed to be said in this thread, and you went emo and decided to pretend it hadn't been said, so I'll say it again... Skyline's comp is MIA Fender. They are priced accordingly and play/sound/feel accordingly.

Can't say for sure, but I think your problem is that you seem to have swallowed whole the idea that because Cort builds basses for different companies that all of them must have the same quality level. I don't know what that's about between your ears, but it's something you might want to look into offline on you own time.

Cort can build what you want, period. Whatever else they build is irrelevant.
 
#74
Johnny Alien said:
I answered this directly
Click to expand...

And then you continued to harp on Cort's contracts to build less expensive, lower quality basses for other manufacturers as tho you hadn't read the truth from my own post.

That's not how learning works (Had the facts sunk in properly, you wouldn't have gone back to the Cort issue). You have to at least make the effort to absorb the knowledge.

And if you want a point counter point that is fine but please refrain from personal insults if you don't like what I say.
Click to expand...

I will if you will. Your emo remark about not meaning to get anyone "this worked up" :rolleyes: was typical Internet smack. You don't want me countering beautifully and posing by the corner flag while your GK picks the ball out of the net, don't try it with me. Ever.
 
#75
In many cases, a used instrument will fit the bill. But if one is particular, and that ideal used instrument doesn't show up, or lacks a credible pedigree, one ends up with the option of buying new to solve most of those dilemmas.

Personally, I prefer to skip the uncertainty of maybe finding what I want in the used market and bite the bullet by purchasing new. It would be a surrendiptous moment when I walked into a music store ready to buy and found the exact used instrument I was looking for...could happen, but hasn't yet.

Yes, a premium for new is more than likely. But, when and if I ever decide to sell one of my 'single owner' guitars or basses, I have all the case candy and the original receipts which many will in many cases, pay more for just having that be part of the purchase.
 
#76
Those of you who are saying that Warwick NTs are overpriced dont bear in mind that those basses are top of the line and made in Germany, then they get exported to the US. It makes total sense that they are more expensive than your localy made top of the line basses.

On the other hand almost every MIA bass is costs twice their american price over here... A ray34 costs 550€ at MF, over here it costs 959€. Perspective.
 
#77
Johnny Alien said:
Since you have said I ignored it and I have trouble learning I would like to know more about Cort building lesser quality instruments for these other manufacturing. I noted before that my experience from playing many many Skylines and recently quite a few Tributes has been that the quality is the same. I noticed in your profile that you do not own any Tributes or Skylines so I assume then you have tried both.
Click to expand...

I have. I found the Tributes to be below the level of the Skylines in fit, finish, and playability. Nothing serious -the Tribs are still great basses. What years they were I can't say with absolute certainty- I've played several basses from both groups (I'd estimate more than 20 of each) in sevaral shops since about 2007. It's clear that your experience has led you to different conclusions.

In fact, someone mentioned that since the introduction of the Tribute series, the prices of used USA G&Ls has gone up rather than down. That's a perfect example of the Tribs not panning out.
 

Latest posts

Top Bottom
Back