stoo

[quote name='RussFM' post='420029' date='Feb 26 2009, 12:56 PM']I think at that price I'd rather wait for these: [url="http://www.sterlingbymusicman.com/"]http://www.sterlingbymusicman.com/[/url][/quote] Trouble is, they could wind up being even more stupidly expensive for what is intended to be a "budget" (ish) instrument. Exchange rates are making everything look like a bad deal over here lately... be interesting to see what price range they both eventually hit the UK market at though....

[quote name='Ghosts Over Japan' post='417722' date='Feb 23 2009, 07:12 PM']I've owned two of the four strings ones. one of them is currently owned by someone on here i think and the other one is a custom project and I have to say, for the price you cant get much better, very playable, the tone isnt as punchy as I'd like but still very good and I own a musicman SUB5 to compare it too and have to say, for the rediculously cheap price (£40 at cash converters) its a very good take on a musicman! Shame to hear the companies gone bust, I wasn't aware of that! I was considering getting one of the double MM pickup versions soon! Cai[/quote] They didn't go bust as such - EBMM just pulled the plug on the licensing deal, and the vast majority of OLP stuff was EBMM licensed copies. I think OLP was just an artificially created brand for that exact purpose by the Hanser Group, so with no copies to make, they just retired the brand.

[quote name='Lemuel Beam' post='416858' date='Feb 22 2009, 07:45 PM']Stoo, did you own it from new? It's nice to know an instrument's history in full, for the day (if ever) I move it on.. [/quote] Yep - I bought it new in August '07. They weren't available in the UK by then, so I ordered it through ebay from Grand Central Music in Minnesota. HTH

[quote name='mathewsanchez' post='415718' date='Feb 20 2009, 07:46 PM']This will be in a lot of competition with the new sterling by musicman range. Similar price range but to me it seems the sbm basses are better quality. Haven't played either of them yet so i'll wait and see.[/quote] These could well end up being a lot cheaper than the SBMM basses... the only indication on price of those was on the EBMM forum, where the guy that's making them suggested they'd be "cheaper than $1000... by a few hundred dollars" If the fleabass hits the market at $400 as suggested on this thread, it could end up being almost half the price of the Sterlings! Looks like a cool idea, even if the fleabass is somewhat aesthetically challenging for me.

[quote name='Lemuel Beam' post='414024' date='Feb 19 2009, 11:12 AM']I've got an MM32 (bought off Jobiebass via basschat a few months ago). I replaced the original nut which was very poor, and after a decent set up it plays really well. I agree with others that slapping is tricky due to string spacing but the tonal variety available is suprisingly wide, considering the pickups are clearly budget jobs.. I may upgrade in future. I use it with a 9 piece hard latin/funk outfit and it covers the territory well.. LB[/quote] That was my old one! Good to hear it's still getting some use.

I'd originally planned to buy an OLP MM2... I'd seen one in a local music shop for £150 or so, but by the time I'd got enough spare cash to blow on it, it had gone up to £220. Up til that point, I'd never been that keen on the idea of buying an instrument without seeing it, but none of the other local shops carried any OLP stuff, so I thought I'd have a look on the web and see what sort of prices they were going for elsewhere. A little bit of reading around soon showed that build quality on the single pickup OLPs was patchy, but that things were much better on the twin pickup range. They still hadn't been released over here yet, but I spotted an MM32 on ebay in the states for not much more than the local place was trying to punt the MM2 at, so I just ordered it. Liked it a lot soundwise, couldn't spot any huge build quality issues, finish was lush, neck was nice and straight, frets could probably have done with a little tidying but nothing horrendous... I just couldn't get on with the extra-narrow string spacing when I was trying to learn slap. Stuck with it for a while, and then spotted an ex-demo bargain on an MM22. It's absolutely spot on for my needs and I love it to bits. The only criticisms I've got of it are -Like the MM32 I had before, the frets could do with a bit of levelling. It's not so bad that I've actually got round to getting it done though. -I wasn't keen on the pickguard shape, so I took it off. The pickup routs are slightly oversized. Doesn't look bad enough to make me want to put the PG back on, but still "not quite perfect" -It'd have looked better with a maple fretboard -It's made my MIM Jazz feel like a cheaply made toy in comparison I'm still unconvinced about the new Sterling by MM range... got a nasty feeling the prices will be too close to those of a second hand EBMM to be all that tempting. Especially as I've grown to like the HH config and there's no HH basses in the lineup yet....

[quote name='BigRedX' post='410925' date='Feb 16 2009, 12:02 PM']Just as well the headstock is angled then![/quote] Makes next to no difference for me... the strings are so bloody close together I can barely play the thing these days.

[quote name='BigRedX' post='410874' date='Feb 16 2009, 11:09 AM']Non-angled heads and string-trees are the work of the devil and a bass would have to be pretty special in other respects for me to have to put up with those cost-cutting limitations again. It's ironic that Fender make a big deal about straight string path and trem tuning stability and then wreck it by adding standard metal string trees that add their own tuning problems. Also I find it funny that the picture you post of the "strat" with the angled headstock doesn't actually need it as it's got a locking nut that makes break angles and string trees irrelevant![/quote] Actually, the locking nut isn't in use... I took out the locking parts, but left the body on there to cover the screw holes and truss rod adjuster. The strings pass through it without any contact. The trem's locked in place almost all the time too.

[quote name='neepheid' post='410808' date='Feb 16 2009, 10:15 AM']It's not to do with the machine heads being in any particular place - there are examples of angled headstocks with in line tuners[/quote] I've even got a Strat with an angled headstock. Not a Fender one, obviously... it was made by a local luthier, and I picked it up in a slightly battered state. Still rather nice though.

Hehe - guess I took too long to type that one out then.

As far as I understand it... the angled headstock is better for maintaining an even break angle over the nut, but is a bit more complicated/expensive to manufacture, and can be a bit more fragile. The straight headstocks are usually made from the same piece of wood as the neck, so there's no glue joint to make. String trees can make sure the string gets the right break angle over the nut, although the friction between string and tree can cause some tuning stability issues.... although I'd think it's more likely to be something that affects players that do lots of string bending more than those that don't...

Although these pics from NAMM show things a bit clearer...

[quote name='Delberthot' post='405879' date='Feb 10 2009, 11:28 PM']Is that a compensated nut and zero fret on the Ray models?[/quote] Looks to me like a reflection on the painted part of the headstock and a normal nut to me, but hard to tell from the photo in the brochure....

[quote name='phil_the_bassist' post='405850' date='Feb 10 2009, 10:53 PM']...if the sterling basses are gonna not 'compromise materials or construction' A: why is it cheaper, and B: why by a Full Fat MM? [/quote] You mean a "Made in the USA" sticker isn't worth £500+ to you?

[quote name='markytbass' post='405537' date='Feb 10 2009, 05:22 PM']That website looks interesting, I'd like to know the prices.[/quote] So far, the only prediction on price I've seen was "cheaper than a thousand bucks... by a few hundred dollars" Not very specific, but it's from patpark on the EBMM forum, and he's the representative of the company that's manufacturing the new range. Hopefully that won't mean they're about $700 in the USA and £700 here though! [quote name='mrcrow' post='405553' date='Feb 10 2009, 05:41 PM']what did olp have which wasnt quite right to make them so cheap i have looked at them online and thought they just werent active..[/quote] The early OLPs were single pickup, passive, and apparently had pretty poor build quality and quality control. I *think* the early ones were made in China, but I'm not sure. They had a 3 knob control plate like a 2EQ ray, but I think the controls were a separate volume control for each coil of the single humbucker, and a master tone. The last batch of OLPs (the MM22 and MM32) were made in Korea, were HH config and active. 5 way pickup and 3 band EQ setup much the same as the proper HH Stingrays. Build quality and sound quality were much improved, and they seemed to be much more consistently made too. They were a fair bit more expensive though - between £250 and £300 new I had a MM32 5 string and now have a MM22 4 string and have been very impressed by both, given the price. The 5er had very tight string spacing (about 16.5mm) which I didn't really get on with. They both felt much better made than my MIM Jazz, but it's been over 10 years since I had a go on a genuine EBMM ray so I can't really compare them with the real thing.

Looks like OLPs replacement line is almost out.... [url="http://www.sterlingbymusicman.com/"]http://www.sterlingbymusicman.com/[/url] It's not much of a website yet, but there is a product brochure pdf thingy on there. No HS or HH basses as yet, and no maple fretboard option on the SB (Sterling equivalent) Maybe the range will expand if demand is good enough....

I know I'm a bit late on this, but... if it was a '74/75 as claimed... wouldn't the neck have a skunk stripe?

[quote name='BassManKev' post='379254' date='Jan 13 2009, 04:15 PM']take it off and have a looky[/quote] Haha - fair point, well presented. I'd been too lazy to bother, having pretty much convinced myself it'd look horrible underneath. Anyways - fancied a break from what I was doing, so.... Before... After... (Please excuse the fingerprints... ) Nowhere near as bad as I'd thought! Would be nicer if the pickup routes were a little smaller, but I'm sure I'll be able to get or make some suitable surrounds to cover the gaps. Me likey!

[quote name='josh3184' post='379140' date='Jan 13 2009, 03:19 PM']MM would never do such an uncouth thing as wiring trenches on an SR4! [/quote] Mine's not even a real MM SR4 - tis only an OLP MM22.....

[quote name='BassManKev' post='378197' date='Jan 12 2009, 08:07 PM']the seperate chromed control plate is the number one thing i [i]don't[/i] like about stingray 4's, theres something about a pickguard and a control plate not touching that looks quite odd to me. And i find the sr4 headstock to look quite squashed! [/quote] Yeah, I know what you mean... i'd lose the pickguard if I could, but I rather suspect that there'd be unwanted visible wiring trenches underneath. And even if not, there'd be the screwholes still there. My first ever decent guitar was a handmade Tele type thing. Ever since then, the knurled metal knobs on a chrome control plate just seems so much more... just right... than any other way of doing it. Some kind of subliminal association with quality, I guess.

[quote name='budget bassist' post='378041' date='Jan 12 2009, 06:04 PM']I don't like the headstocks on stingray fives though, it just looks wrong...[/quote] Same here.... would have much preferred a 3+2 rather than the 4+1... And a wider spaced bridge... Umm and a separate chromed control plate like on the 4's.. But apart from [i]that[/i].....

[quote name='ziggenpuss' post='376729' date='Jan 11 2009, 12:50 PM']Both bridges are set up to the same height, 3mm gap between fret and bottom of E string which I find comfortable all round, and the saddles are pretty much level on both bridges.[/quote] But what about the break angle? If the string anchor point is a further behind the saddle length-wise, or further from the body height-wise, then the saddle itself will get less downward force from the string to hold it in place. Also - how well are the saddles held in place before the string is put on? On the stock bridge on my MIM Jazz, the spring wasn't long enough to hold the saddle firmly in place and that used to cause some weird noises... probably just vibrations from the spring itself, but it went away once I replaced it with a Hipshot B.... I've seen some bridges have an extra screw that goes through the side of the bridge, and then presses against the end of the saddle for either the top or bottom string... this clamps the saddles in place once you've set the intonation and helps prevent any unwanted vibrations from the bridge. Is it possible to simulate something like this by wedging something between the saddles to try and lock the saddles more firmly in place... it might at least confirm that it's definitely the bridge that the noise is coming from???

Can't really offer any useful help, but just out of curiosity..... Is the string height set the same on both bridges? Is the clank sound from the frets or the bridge itself? Does the cut angle of the string differ much after passing over the saddle? Less angle would mean less downforce on the saddle, and so the saddle could have more chance of rattling around...

From an earlier post on here... [quote name='stoo' post='235380' date='Jul 8 2008, 11:33 PM']From what I can gather, the older OLPs vary wildly on quality so you might get a blinder or might get a lemon. To quote Sterling Ball.... [quote]Regarding OLP quality it was all over the board much to my disapointment...(why do you think I cancelled the deal?) The irony is that the last batch were made in Korea at a higher price point due to the sub leaving the markiet and they were truly great....to good but too late.....[/quote] [url="http://www.ernieball.com/forums/music-man-basses/30716-question-week-big-poppa-2.html#post485243"]http://www.ernieball.com/forums/music-man-...html#post485243[/url] [/quote]

[quote name='skankdelvar' post='369086' date='Jan 3 2009, 02:31 AM']I'm sure someone here will know the full details, but FWIW, I think read it was alleged that MM had a problem with OLP's inconsistent quality control. True? Who knows...[/quote] Yep - at least that's what the official line from Sterling Ball himself was. In the same post he also admitted the later, twin pup OLPs were vastly improved, but dismissed it as "too little too late"... whether they'd already started to make commitments towards establishing their own line, or had seen the potential profits that could be made from a decent quality 'ray copy, or had just lost faith in OLP to keep the quality up once they'd got it there... who knows??? Can't see me getting rid of my MM22 in a hurry.... 'tis a fantastic bit of kit for the money