Question for my fellow Lakland owners.

it's ok with me warwicknut,no big deal.
but i must admit i had to call dan up to find out what the heck is going on?i mean the 55-02 looks just like the 55-94(my bass)but it's like $1000.00
bucks cheaper.dan laughed and said fret not(no pun
intented)the 55-02 is made in korea it has different
woods,hardware,and no graphite strip inlays in the
neck.again i'm cool with it plus dan lakin is one of
the coolest white cat's on the earth .my serial
#is 5185 and she's a keeper.

 

I think some people are bothered because it's like the Lakland name won't mean as much as it used to. When people think Lakland, they think "very high quality, etc, etc." Now they might play a skyline series and go, "Hmm, I thought Laklands were amazing?"

Others are bothered because they use Lakland as a status symbol and players who otherwise could not have them now can afford them.

Me, I think it's cool that Dan is offering basses like that at a price others can afford. If I was shorter on cash at the time I got mine, I would have checked into the skylines...

 

Won't bother me. In fact, it doesn't change my bass (55-63 Custom) at all. Still a great bass. So is yours.

Mike Tobias' hand-made MTDs didn't lose any value when the Kingstons and Beasts came out. Why worry about it? Dan has to make a living, and everyone can't afford a new Lakland at the current rates.

Look at it this way....the fact that he's got a good income from the imports will allow him to keep the prices lower on the high-end basses. Maybe.

 

The difference is Mike's Korean and Czech basses don't look like his hand-built ones.

Does it bother me?...honestly, no. I got my my Limited about a month old for less than $1500. The same thing happened with Tobias and Gibson but Gibson made the decision to go looks only on the cheaper ones. I can't begrudge either man, Dan or Mike, for doing what's in their best interest.

Unfortunately I think this will be another Curbow or Conklin, where the overall cache of owning a hand built one will only be appreciated by an ever-dwindling few.

Face it, there is a lot more money to be made in affordable basses than boutique ones... just run the numbers. The trick is, IMO, to have people clamor for your affordable stuff AND the good stuff. Mike Tobias figured out how to do it and I wish Dan had taken the same route... but he didn't.

I'll live

From what I've heard Rob Elrick won't be making affordable copies of his current basses... good move.

 

It'd bother me less if it said "Skyline" and "Made in Korea" on the headstock. I still don't think you're gonna see Skylines that look like this, though.

 

Not right away but how long before an optional top is available?

 

It bothers me a little, but you can't blame Lakland
for wanting to expand their business to a bigger
market. I'm just glad I bought one when I did. I
think it'll really be worth something when you start
seeing Skylines all over the place.

Here's my 5'r!

 

I do think if they're going to make an affordable line, they should do something that visually distinguishes it from their top of the line, even if the quality of material is different. They look too much alike. At least with the new affordable line of Stingrays the headstock emblem is different.

 

It bothers me to a point as well. As long as they don't offer a premium top option EVER I'll be okay. I'm not going to lie, to me part of the appeal of Lakland basses is that not everyone has one for whatever reason. Don't get me wrong because my 4-94 is the bass for me. It simply sounds, looks and plays better than any bass I've ever owned. I just like that fact that there aren't too many around out my way. I understand that Dan is running a business and I'm sure that the Skylines will be great basses not cookie cutter basses made in the Samick factory.

Here's mine. I'm sorry about the quality:

 

can't wait for those Korean Sadowskys

 

What type of price difference is there? I was not familar with Lakland. So if any of you could give me a range of prices, that would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks

 

That's a nice looking bass.

 

Nice Lak Woodchuck! I actually prefer that tobacco burst on the standard not the deluxe.

Jeff

 

i have never had the oppurtunity to play a Lakland, but I must say they are some of the prettiest looking basses out there...

 

One of the nicest-looking Laklands I've seen wasn't a Deluxe with a mega-quilt top either....it was a translucent blonde 55-63 Dual J that I owned a while back. Real simple and real elegant....really regret selling it, too.