Squire VMJ, OLP Musicman or Musicman SUB???

[stoo]

[quote name='budget bassist' post='200658' date='May 16 2008, 07:16 PM']There's a sub on ebay now for £350 BIN, and where can you get a ray for £550????!!! And most rays i've seen on ebay haven't gone for under £700, there's the odd one that does but ya know. IMO i wouldn't pay more than £350 for a sub and £700 seems good for a ray... but that's just me.

And to keep on topic, i'd go for the SUB personally, best of the bunch, but also more expensive, the VMJ is equally good for the price i reckon, as i'm trying to get my hands on one. I wouldn't bother with OLP personally unless it was the tony levin 5.[/quote]

$700 seems good for a stingray.... I wouldn't have said £700 was much of a bargain.

That £700 would get you a brand fire new one in the states, and there's no way that VAT, import duty and shipping should be doubling the price. It certainly didn't when I imported my OLP MM32 (which I only did because they weren't available in the UK when I got it). Fair enough if people want to pay £700 for a 2nd hand one, but it seems well over the odds to me....


And personally I would (and do!) have one of the HH OLPs over a SUB. Sure, the setup from the factory on the OLPs may not be as good as the SUBs, but they're cheap enough to budget for a setup in the cost - and you also get the HH, active, 3EQ setup which you don't with the SUB. Depends if you're more concerned about brand name on the headstock and resale value, or the sounds and versatility, I suppose.... but my OLP sounds the nuts. Now if only I could play it well enough to do it justice....

[stoo]

[quote name='dlloyd' post='203679' date='May 21 2008, 12:56 PM']It might be worth mentioning that the OLPs have been discontinued after EB/MM revoked their licence. I've played some decent OLPs that could be as good as a SUB with the addition of a decent pickup, preamp, tuners and setup... but by the time you've done all that you've spent almost as much as you would have done in buying a SUB without having the resale value that a SUB has (an upgraded OLP will still sell for around £150, tops).[/quote]

But have you tried any of the HH OLPs? They come with an active preamp and 3EQ setup and bucketloads of fat sound. Can't see any problems with the tuners on mine either - they're way better than the ones on my MIM Jazz anyway - not that that's saying a great deal.

Seems odd that EBMM decide not to renew the license/contract with OLP just as they start getting their act together - maybe they've decided to run their own asian budget range manufacturing plant rather than see a share of the profits from their designs go elsewhere...

[OutToPlayJazz]

Stoo, it's a +1 from me on the OLP MM22 (the twin humbucker active one) - If I worked for Ernie Ball, I'd want that production line closed down as well! That bass is sooo good! I'm still thinking of buying one. I play it every time I go into my friend's shop & it outplays many Fenders, Lakland Skylines of various types, etc. Excellent bass. Buy one before they're all gone, I say!

Rich.

[JoeS]

[quote name='stoo' post='203254' date='May 20 2008, 09:05 PM']$700 seems good for a stingray.... I wouldn't have said £700 was much of a bargain.

[b]That £700 would get you a brand fire new one in the states, and there's no way that VAT, import duty and shipping should be doubling the price. It certainly didn't when I imported my OLP MM32 (which I only did because they weren't available in the UK when I got it). Fair enough if people want to pay £700 for a 2nd hand one, but it seems well over the odds to me....[/b]


And personally I would (and do!) have one of the HH OLPs over a SUB. Sure, the setup from the factory on the OLPs may not be as good as the SUBs, but they're cheap enough to budget for a setup in the cost - and you also get the HH, active, 3EQ setup which you don't with the SUB. Depends if you're more concerned about brand name on the headstock and resale value, or the sounds and versatility, I suppose.... but my OLP sounds the nuts. Now if only I could play it well enough to do it justice.... [/quote]
With regards to the bit in bold, yes you can get a brand new StingRay for the equivalent of about £700 in the US, but as far as I know you aren't allowed to import them brand new. By that I mean that you can't order one from somewhere like Bass Central and have it delivered to the UK, you actually have to go over there and buy one, then bring it back with you.

Not positive, but I'm pretty sure that's the case.

[Machines]

[quote name='OutToPlayJazz' post='203813' date='May 21 2008, 06:29 PM']Stoo, it's a +1 from me on the OLP MM22 (the twin humbucker active one) - If I worked for Ernie Ball, I'd want that production line closed down as well! That bass is sooo good! I'm still thinking of buying one. I play it every time I go into my friend's shop & it outplays many Fenders, Lakland Skylines of various types, etc. Excellent bass. Buy one before they're all gone, I say!

Rich.[/quote]

Please stop it. I tried an MM22 last week and it was bloody great. Really tempted to order an MM32 but i'm getting married in 3 weeks and would probably have grounds for divorce pretty quickly !

[OutToPlayJazz]

[quote name='Machines' post='203864' date='May 21 2008, 07:45 PM']Please stop it. I tried an MM22 last week and it was bloody great. Really tempted to order an MM32 but i'm getting married in 3 weeks and would probably have grounds for divorce pretty quickly ![/quote]

LOL Machines... I know what you mean! Good luck with the wedding & buying an MM32, mate

Rich.

[Guest MoJo]

[quote name='lee4' post='198286' date='May 13 2008, 09:35 PM']Have you tried a Yamaha BB414?Very solid and bass heavy sound that has so far managed to cut through 9 other people at a rehearsal![/quote]
I love the BB414 and wish I'd never sold mine. My BB415 is great. Huge sound, great tone, I just loved the neck on the 414. I've tried getting hold of one recently but unless I want to pay extortionate shop prices getting one at the right price is difficult. Most online retailers GAK etc don't have stock.

My VMJ has a lovely tone. The pick-up output is quieter than my BB415 and my Precision but it's never posed a problem. My vote goes for the VMJ (or a BB414 if you can get one)

Edited May 21, 2008 by bassman2790

[OutToPlayJazz]

Obviously the quality on the MM22 is never going to be as good as the US Ray, but from the Rays I've played, I'd say the sound is equally impressive. I don't think the woods are going to be as good, but the preamp is something else. Very similar sheer muscle to a Corvette $$ and similar punch as well.

[stoo]

[quote name='JoeS' post='203844' date='May 21 2008, 07:23 PM']With regards to the bit in bold, yes you can get a brand new StingRay for the equivalent of about £700 in the US, but as far as I know you aren't allowed to import them brand new. By that I mean that you can't order one from somewhere like Bass Central and have it delivered to the UK, you actually have to go over there and buy one, then bring it back with you.

Not positive, but I'm pretty sure that's the case.[/quote]

Yeah - that may well be the case. Plenty of ways around that though - if you've got a friend living or on holiday in the states, you could get them to receive it and send it over. Or you might even be able to find a music store in the states who are willing to invent a name to put on the original sales order, and then send it on to you anyway.

Doesn't alter the fact that sending a bass across the Atlantic isn't that expensive - even if you do it the official way and pay all due taxes etc.

Dunno whether the official UK importer/distributor manage to add any significant value beyond bringing them into the country...? presumably the occasional warranty claim - but if EBMM's QC is as amazing as it's always suggested to be, I can't imagine that's much of a financial burden....

[JoeS]

Yeah, I'm sure it wouldn't be too hard to find a way round it. And talking of the fabled MM QC, I'm sure you wouldn't have any problems if you bought a used bass from a reputable store and had it shipped over here. Plus, you'd end up saving yourself even more money that way.

[stoo]

[quote name='JoeS' post='203966' date='May 21 2008, 11:01 PM']Yeah, I'm sure it wouldn't be too hard to find a way round it. And talking of the fabled MM QC, I'm sure you wouldn't have any problems if you bought a used bass from a reputable store and had it shipped over here. Plus, you'd end up saving yourself even more money that way.[/quote]

Hehe - I saved loads more than that by getting a MM32 instead

Although I couldn't get on with the narrow string spacing on the 5er, and traded it for a fretless MIM jazz once I'd got a 4 string MM22 to replace it.

StingRay GAS is no more for me.... well, not until I'm next in the states with a few spare dollars in my pocket, anyway

[budget bassist]

[quote name='stoo' post='203715' date='May 21 2008, 01:43 PM']But have you tried any of the HH OLPs? They come with an active preamp and 3EQ setup and bucketloads of fat sound. Can't see any problems with the tuners on mine either - they're way better than the ones on my MIM Jazz anyway - not that that's saying a great deal.

Seems odd that EBMM decide not to renew the license/contract with OLP just as they start getting their act together - maybe they've decided to run their own asian budget range manufacturing plant rather than see a share of the profits from their designs go elsewhere...[/quote]
Actually according to sterling ball they're looking for a better company that can do something more like the SUB basses again i believe, so it might be worth waiting for this new batch to come out.

[mr.sibs]

have to say i didnt get on with my olp... eq was difficult and even the playability wasn't great for me, it came quite badly set up and there were a few dead spots on the neck, mine was the single pick-up version, and i think probably one of the bad qc jobs mentioned above