pnkranger Posted April 21, 2004 Share Posted April 21, 2004 Hey guys and gals, I have used the search function and gleaned all possible information without finding my answer so here goes: A Lakland Skyline 44-02 and a Music Man retail for roughly the same price. Can someone that has played both for more than a couple of minutes at the music store give me an idea of the quality comparison of the two. Both sound great, but I want to make sure that the Skyline's are comparable quality-wise...because I love the way they sound. Thanks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SteveC Posted April 21, 2004 Share Posted April 21, 2004 I have owned both a Musicman 5 and a Lakland Skyline 55-02. I liked both basses. I sold my Musicman and kept the Lakland. I thought it was just a bit more versatile. Of course at the moment I have a Yamaha BB605. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nicklab Posted April 21, 2004 Share Posted April 21, 2004 I own a couple of Musicman 5's, and I've played a Lakland Skyline 5 string. The Skyline's neck felt kind of chunky in my hand, bordering on almost uncomfortable. Obligatory Social Media Link "My concern is, and I have to, uh, check with my accountant, that this might bump me into a higher, uh, tax..." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Fonz Posted April 21, 2004 Share Posted April 21, 2004 the skyline generally sells for about $500 and the overall consensus is that it's a great deal at that price. it gets up in price when you upgrade the electronics package to the US lakland product for an extra $700 !!! basically for $500 it's a good instrument but the construction quality is not up to a $1200 price tag. the usual reply you get when asking about the price tag is "why buy a skyline for $1200 when you can get a musicman for that price?" an example of a question answering a question. Eeeeeehhhhhhhhh. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dcr Posted April 21, 2004 Share Posted April 21, 2004 A good friend of mine has two Skyline basses. If your only issue with the Skyline is uncertainty about quality, I wouldn't worry about that at all. From what I've seen, these are real basses that will stand up against any comparable US-made bass. I'd make the choice purely on sound, feel, & versatility preference; which means, buy the one you like better & don't look back. I'm not sure where to find one for $500, though... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pnkranger Posted April 21, 2004 Author Share Posted April 21, 2004 If you find out, let me know. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dcr Posted April 21, 2004 Share Posted April 21, 2004 Prices on Musician's Friend range from $660 for the 4-string with soapbar pickups, to $1260 for the 5-string with MM/J pickups. However, local dealers could probably improve on that; for instance, I know that my friend got his 5-string MM/J locally for about $950 (new retail). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Fonz Posted April 21, 2004 Share Posted April 21, 2004 last time i went to rudy's in nyc the standard skyline (not a signature model) was retailing at around $500. i went to the bass page on their website for proof, but they had "call for price" listed. Eeeeeehhhhhhhhh. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
getz out Posted April 21, 2004 Share Posted April 21, 2004 I'd worry less about country of manufacture and more about quality of instrument. Then again, it depends on your preferences. If you want an American made instrument, buy the EB/MM. If you want an instrument that will retain its value, buy the EB/MM. If you want an instrument that plays well, buy the one that plays well. Instrument A sells for $1,000 Instrument B sells for $800 You try out both, and Instrument B feels better to you in the overall factors of playability, sound, quality, etc. What is Instrument B worth to you? Say it's $800, which means the sale price is equal to your internally derived value for the instrument. This is a win-win for yourself and the retailer, commonly referred to as a fair price. If Instrument A is selling for $1,000, and you still think that is a fair price, that means there are other factors you are internally considering, potentially at a subconscious level (damn marketing!). Good luck. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dcr Posted April 21, 2004 Share Posted April 21, 2004 Originally posted by Ace Cracker: last time i went to rudy's in nyc the standard skyline (not a signature model) was retailing at around $500. i went to the bass page on their website for proof, but they had "call for price" listed.Well, now we know where to find a $500 Skyline! Wow, that sounds like a heck of a deal. Thanks for the, er, lowdown. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nicklab Posted May 9, 2004 Share Posted May 9, 2004 I tried out a couple of Lakland Skyline Bob Glaub models today. It's a Lakland P-bass in other words. Nice stuff, definitely. They felt good and sounded good. The price was pretty nice, too. Think it was around $800 and change. I'm definitely keeping this instrument in mind for the future. As for the rest of the music store today...talk about G.A.S. pains! DAMN! They had an F Bass, along with at least a half dozen Fodera's, half a dozen Zon's, at least a dozen Musicman's, Fenders. Oh sweet mother of God it was painful to be in there! Obligatory Social Media Link "My concern is, and I have to, uh, check with my accountant, that this might bump me into a higher, uh, tax..." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nicklab Posted May 9, 2004 Share Posted May 9, 2004 BTW, the place I mentioned in the above post was New Jersey Guitar & Bass Center. While it's a little on the small side, it would be a great place for a NY/NJ LDLer get-together. I'm sure Jay would love the walk in traffic! Obligatory Social Media Link "My concern is, and I have to, uh, check with my accountant, that this might bump me into a higher, uh, tax..." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rumpelstiltskin. Posted May 9, 2004 Share Posted May 9, 2004 let's talk about skylines not being made in america, because i think there's a lot of misinformation about how lakland makes their instruments and what it means to be made in the USA. lakland subcontracts their body routes and necks, as well as all the finish work. what that means is they buy their wooden bass guitar bodies from someone else. they also buy their necks form someone else. then they pay someone else to put finish on these parts. all these sources are domestic, i.e. in the USA. and all of this work is then delivered to chicago where skilled technicians assemble all the parts, install the hardware, pickups, and strings, and set up each instrment to very stringent standards. all of this work is delivered to you, the customer for about $3k to $4k. for the skyline series, the only change is that bodies and neck are made and finished in korea. lakland is less stringent with their standards are body wood figure and blemishes, as well as finish quality. all the domestic hand assembly and set up is still done in their chicago factory. why that translates to "lower quality" or "less reliable" value is beyond me. i would feel perfectly confident buying a skyline bass. of course, if you're looking for versatility in a MM bass, look into the bongo. i know it's strange looking, but it can be had with J or MM pickups in the neck position and is said to so much more versatile than a stingray/sterling. i loved the 44-94 i played in chicago last summer a lot, but i'd be very interested in the bongo as well. especially if it were in desert gold (orange). robb. because i like people. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Fonz Posted May 9, 2004 Share Posted May 9, 2004 Originally posted by robb.: why that translates to "lower quality" or "less reliable" value is beyond me. ever really take a look at one? the first time a bunch of us got together and checked out intsruments it was one of the first things we picked up. and most of us put it down just as quickly. the first thing i noticed was a gap in the neck joint that you could park a car in. to me that means a lapse in quality control somewhere. think about this: if the parts are made in korea then most likely they roll out of the samick factory. assembled in chicago or not it's stll a samick. the electronics package comes out of the same factory. it's an upgrade, and an expensive one at that, to get the american package. i'm not saying these are not an excellent instrument for $500, they a bargain at that price but that is the general opinion on the skyline. Eeeeeehhhhhhhhh. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rumpelstiltskin. Posted May 10, 2004 Share Posted May 10, 2004 Originally posted by Ace Cracker: ever really take a look at one? the first time a bunch of us got together and checked out intsruments it was one of the first things we picked up. and most of us put it down just as quickly. the first thing i noticed was a gap in the neck joint that you could park a car in. to me that means a lapse in quality control somewhere...assembled in chicago or not it's stll a samick. the electronics package comes out of the same factory. it's an upgrade, and an expensive one at that, to get the american package.couple things. firstly, i don't like the sound of the -01 skylines. the MK-01 pickups and electronics do sound like ass. but that doesn't make the whole line shit. it just makes that model a bass in which i'm not interested. secondly, if the sklyines have huge neck gaps and sever assembly issues, then i have to guess that those same issues are likely to be present in the USA models. and on the subject of neck joints, i've never played a bass with a huge neck joint. maybe i'm lucky or maybe i just don't care about the neck joint, favoring sound a playability over other details, but the quality of the neck joint is invisible unless i don't like the bass and i've begun looking for flaws. granted, the skylines i played were at the lakland shop in chicago, so they were probably there as standard units. still, the same guy putting pickups in and setting up the USA models was doing the work on the skyline models. in talking to him, i did not get a sense that he wanted to let anything inferior through. in fact, that's why skylines are so much more expensive than the average korean import. there is less money in the materials, but the labor is still fixed, so there's only so much discount that can be had, even assuming increased volume. you must've found a lemon. they happen sometimes. but it's foolish to judge an entire line of products based on one instrument. you should know better. robb. because i like people. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Fonz Posted May 10, 2004 Share Posted May 10, 2004 Originally posted by robb.: if the sklyines have huge neck gaps and sever assembly issues, then i have to guess that those same issues are likely to be present in the USA models.actually gaps in neck joints aren't an assembly issue as they are caused by the parts not being manufactured according to specifications resulting in a neck tenon that is smaller than the dado the cut for it. if you can't cut to spec in your shop then it throws serious doubts on your quality control. i have tried them a few times and found issues each time. last time i tried one i walked across the street and tried an olp and liked it more. lakland instruments are themselves amazing and if you can afford one then gy all means get one. they play great and sound great. it's just the skylines i have a problem with. considering you can get a comparable instrument for $250 i see no reason to go out and spend $500 just to have lakland on the headstock. in addition from what i've heard they've gotten more expensive. my question is why spend $800 on a peice of wood and then another $700 on the electronics upgrade. that's $1500 for an instrument with suspect manufacturing when you can spend less and get a g&l or stingray. they're in the same vain and better built. Eeeeeehhhhhhhhh. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rumpelstiltskin. Posted May 10, 2004 Share Posted May 10, 2004 no argument about value. i'm not in the market for a skyline because i think i can get better value from other instruments. and, yes, i'm aware of the manufacturing issues invovled routing necks and neck joints, but it's just as much an assembly issue in matching a neck to a body, given tolerances. and even with the cheap instruments, there's always some scrap. your experience with skylines has clearly been different than mine. robb. because i like people. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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