Unimpressed with Lakland

[joel the bass player]

I have issues with fret sprout on one of my 55-02's, and I think the second one has a few poking out as well. I just haven't had the time to get them fixed. I love them both, but I personally think the sprout is about a 75-25 split between being my fault for being in a dry room and the bass itself. My Stingray and Fender P don't have any issues. My next bass will still be a lakland, and I promise to take better care of it.

 

[Supertanker]

I love them both, but I personally think the sprout is about a 75-25 split between being my fault for being in a dry room and the bass itself.

My 5502 had fret sprout really bad, to the point I couldn't play it.

My 5501 and JO5 have no such problems.

I bought a humidifier and within a week the fret sprout was gone.

Problem solved...

 

[Ephminus]

I've been VERY disappointed with the Laklands that I've tried out.
It was my original plan to get a Lakland, but I ended up getting a Fender Jazz instead and I've been extremely happy with it.

I understand that the attraction to Laklands is that they are supposed to be higher quality, but why spend extra money on a bass that is only emulating another bass.
Just get the real thing.
Even though I have never tried a Sadowsky my general attitude is the same.

 

[evhest]

I understand that the attraction to Laklands is that they are supposed to be higher quality, but why spend extra money on a bass that is only emulating another bass.
Just get the real thing.

You're actually answering your own question!

To me, Laklands ARE of highter quality than the 'the real thing'. But hey, if you're extremely happy with your Fender, that's great!

 

[Rickett Customs]

but why spend extra money on a bass that is only emulating another bass.
Just get the real thing.
Even though I have never tried a Sadowsky my general attitude is the same.

Ok this here, is what starts a bunch of crap in a thread. Your opinion, sure...... but why not be mindful of these statements that get threads like these locked. just my .02

 

[lonote]

Everybody doesn't like something.

 

[chiplexic]

Everybody doesn't like something.

Oh...come on. That's not right. See I just don't like that type of stuff!

 

[Ephminus]

Ok this here, is what starts a bunch of crap in a thread. Your opinion, sure...... but why not be mindful of these statements that get threads like these locked. just my .02

Sorry, I forget that most people here are super sensitive to opinions regarding their basses.
I personally do not suffer from this.


See, this is more of a comment that I would expect to get a thread locked.
"It's like a bunch of whiney women about to get a visit from Aunt Flo around here."
*note*
Please do not respond to this last comment.
I was only illustrating my point that people having opinions on basses is different then someone simply trolling.

 

[Rickett Customs]

Sorry, I forget that most people here are super sensitive to opinions regarding their basses.
I personally do not suffer from this.


See, this is more of a comment that I would expect to get a thread locked.
"It's like a bunch or whiney women about to get a visit from Aunt Flo around here."
*note*
Please do not respond to this last comment.
I was only illustrating my point that people having opinions on basses is different then someone simply trolling.

Funny thing is, I don't own a Jazz or a Lakland. It is what it is.

 

[b_carville]

The only Lakland I ever played was a Korean Duck Dunn model.There was one at my local Sam Ash.

It was well made & well set up.Played like butter. Soundwise it was really underwhelming.Thin and anemic sounding.At first I thought it was the amp(Phil Jones briefcase) but then I grabbed the first cheap bass next to it (A Pete Wentz Squier)& it blew that Lakland away.So did the Fender mexican precision standard.

It may of been damaged in shipping & I've heard rumors of a pickup change on the cheaper Laklands.It sure didn't sound good!

I am not going to judge Lakland on one dud import model but that one was not worth $895.

 

[GregC]

I've been VERY disappointed with the Laklands that I've tried out.
It was my original plan to get a Lakland, but I ended up getting a Fender Jazz instead and I've been extremely happy with it.

I understand that the attraction to Laklands is that they are supposed to be higher quality, but why spend extra money on a bass that is only emulating another bass.
Just get the real thing.
Even though I have never tried a Sadowsky my general attitude is the same.

This line never makes sense to me, no matter how many times I read it here. Everyone should get the bass that suits them best for the money--which company built that type of bass first doesn't mean jack to me when I'm paying for it and playing it. I own a Skyline DJ, which I bought after trying a lot of Fender Js (MIA, Geddy, Highway One, reissues). If you liked the Fender better than the Lakland, then cool--different strokes.

Also, if you're talking about Skylines, they're about the same price as pre-price increase MIA Fenders (if they're still available).

ETA: I also own a Fender P (see AV) that kills.

 

[Barkless Dog]

Fret sprout is a natural occurrence no matter how well dressed the frets have been. And it doesn't matter if the bass cost $100 or a $100,000 it can happen.

Good to know as I had a very similar experience with a used Skyline 44-02. It was sitting in a local music store for about 8 months for $500. I check it out and the frets were sticking out. I thought , wow this is a Lakland?

My Skyline Decade is amazing in every way, no fret sprout.

Glad it is not a Lakland thing.

 

[Ephminus]

Funny thing is, I don't own a Jazz or a Lakland. It is what it is.

Irony can be so ironic.

But to respond to another point that was made regarding me answering my own question.

I can't see spending the extra money on a bass that is SUPPOSED to be of higher quality, the Laklands that I tried were not higher in quality then the Fender that I bought.
Sure, maybe the choice of the woods used in the construction might have been better, but who knows, it's covered with paint anyway.
...and maybe the set up out of the shop is supposed be better, but it wasn't on the ones that I tried.
Like I said, I originally wanted a Lakland.
...and I didn't only try the "budget" Laklands either.

 

[Double Agent]

Irony can be so ironic.

But to respond to another point that was made regarding me answering my own question.

I can't see spending the extra money on a bass that is SUPPOSED to be of higher quality, the Laklands that I tried were not higher in quality then the Fender that I bought.
Sure, maybe the choice of the woods used in the construction might have been better, but who knows, it's covered with paint anyway.
...and maybe the set up out of the shop is supposed be better, but it wasn't on the ones that I tried.
Like I said, I originally wanted a Lakland.
...and I didn't only try the "budget" Laklands either.

One of the things I've noticed about Laklands that I've played, and I'm speaking more about the Fender-like models here, is that they may LOOK like Fenders, but often times they don't SOUND like Fenders. They are in the ballpark, sure, but they are not the same. For some, the difference in tone is a huge improvement. For others, like myself, its kind of a letdown.

I've stated my experience with the Duck Dunn here before, but I'll state it again to prove my point. I played a Duck Dunn and an '07 Fender MIA P-bass back-to-back. The DD was much better looking, it was a bit lighter in weight, and the neck was just fantastic. And I thought it sounded pretty good....until I plugged in the Fender. The Fender had major attitude, in a good way. Where the Lakland was like a show pony, the Fender was like a bull in Pamplona. I could see why someone else would prefer the Lakland, it was articulate, smooth, and fairly evenly voiced while still sounding like a P-bass. But, the beauty of the Fender IMO was its big, brawny, rude, thick tone. For me, that is what I like about the P-bass.

One thing I will say is that I appreciate the market presence of Lakland. It has forced Fender to take their QC game to another level, which I feel they have. The competition has improved the strength of the Fender brand overall. And, even though I found the Laklands (I played many besides the DD) were not for me, I imagine some would feel the exact opposite way that I do and they would get what they wanted from the Lakland. I say vive le difference.

 

[sturmvogel]

Yeah---and my Lakland Decade with Darkstars kill my Jazz in both quality, playability, and sound. The Jazz is a great sounding bass and a great player. But it is all rather subjective isn't it. So, reall,y comments attempting to diminish one brand over another are really pointless and worthless.

 

[Ephminus]

Yeah---and my Lakland Decade with Darkstars kill my Jazz in both quality, playability, and sound. The Jazz is a great sounding bass and a great player. But it is all rather subjective isn't it. So, reall,y comments attempting to diminish one brand over another are really pointless and worthless.

Exactly....it is all subjective.

I'm not trying to diminish anything, I'm merely stating my experience with this brand of basses.
Just because you disagree with something doesn't give you the right to discredit it by calling it "pointless and worthless".

How interesting it is that you modified your Lakland with Darkstar pickups.
Was it the fact that the bass sounded weak, just as other people have stated in their own opinions, that caused you to modify your Lakland?

 

[mstott25]

I'm straight up unimpressed with basses period. I played the lousiest bass the other day - what a horrible instrument. I'm switching to trumpet.

 

[murphy]

Haha

 

[js1]

Maybe when I visit Florida I'll stop by Bass Central and see if they have some in stock.

Occasionally, I go to LA and SF so I might try to check for some dealers in those areas.

I do what you do when traveling - seek out the bass stores.

Bass Central is cool. I didn't do it justice when I was there (got there too late, only enough time to buy an EBS Valvedrive)

A little south of SF in Redwood City is Gelb Music, which I can recommend. They're a general music store with more bass stuff than anything. But they have Lakland, Sadowsky, Mike Lull, properly set up Fender, and a bunch of "furniture" basses (not to my taste, so I don't remember which brands). Was able to play all the basses that people rave about and do a real comparison. Finally ended my two year search for a new bass there.

js

 

[capnsandwich]

OK, I'm coming in way late to this thread but I think I know the exact basses you were talking about. I know there was a black 55-02 hanging up there. It had the Lakland pups and I remember there being a weird looking line going along the bass from the upper horn to the back of the bass. It looked like it was a seam in the wood. I also noticed the fret sprout back in October or November when I played it. I also notice that the particular Sam Ash takes horrible care of their instruments. There was a couple of Warwicks up on the walls and they all seemed to have crazy high action.

My first ever Lakland experience was a 55-01 that was at the GC right down the road from that particular Sam Ash. It was an Inca Silver one traded in on a Fender I believe. I picked it up and it seemed to be pretty well set up since it was recently traded in, that same week I believe. Great bass but it wasn't in the store for that long so I had a decent experience with it. You should have gone to GC about a month ago when they had a really nice 4-94 Deluxe hanging on the wall for $1495. It had one nick in the top of the bass. Everything worked and it was set up perfectly. I think if you would have played that bass your view on Laklands would be much different. Mind you, it was a USA model but I've played Skylines that felt that good too.