Jump to content
Why become a member? ×

OLP has been "Retired"


Gamble
 Share

Recommended Posts

Did anyone else know about this? I just tried to visit their website and was told the "Thank you for all the years of support. The OLP brand has been retired, starting in 2009." Seems a shame if you ask me, from what I could tell they were decent quality for the money.

Edited by Gamble
Link to comment
Share on other sites

[quote name='OutToPlayJazz' post='368998' date='Jan 3 2009, 12:04 AM']I'd previously thought that they'd carry on with independant designs, but it seems without Ernie Ball they couldn't carry on. Pity, as the last generation of active Ray copies they made (MM22 & 32) were excellent basses. I almost bought one myself!

Rich.[/quote]

I think im going to grab a Tony Levin before they go up to the next price range, which im sure they will!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

[quote name='Musky' post='369041' date='Jan 3 2009, 12:51 AM']That's a slightly bizarre move by MM. No Subs and no licensed copies - I wonder what the thinking behind that is? It's not like there aren't other copies about.[/quote]
MM are starting up another company soon called "sterling basses" or something to that effect, made in korea and all that.

And i believe OLP lost the licence a good while ago now.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

[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 :)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

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]

:)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

So OLP becomes just P !

I very sold my Jazz to buy an OLP MM32 to go with my Stingray. In the end I just traded my Ray for the 55-02.

I tried an MM22 out in a local shop and I thought it was fantastic, soundwise fairly close to a Ray but obviously not a patch on it in build quality.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 1 month later...

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....

Link to comment
Share on other sites

[quote name='Machines' post='369107' date='Jan 3 2009, 08:24 AM']I tried an MM22 out in a local shop and I thought it was fantastic, soundwise fairly close to a Ray but obviously not a patch on it in build quality.[/quote]

I'd second that. I've played LWTAIT's MM22 and its not a million miles from my 'ray in terms of sound.

Pity OLP have lost the licence, as the ones I've played have been OK, given the price range.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

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..

[url="http://www.guitarampkeyboard.com/products.php?c=Bass+Guitars&m=OLP"]OLP seem to be available in some shops[/url]

Edited by mrcrow
Link to comment
Share on other sites

[quote name='stoo' post='404996' date='Feb 10 2009, 03:49 AM']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....[/quote]

do we know how cheap these are going to be? are they going to be as cheap as the OLPs were, or are they more SUB prices?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

[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.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

[quote name='stoo' post='405569' date='Feb 10 2009, 05:58 PM']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.[/quote]

like simon1964 said earlier on this thread, i have an OLP mm22, and he has a stingray. having compared them, i got to say they OLPs bridge pickup soloed sounds VERY stingray like, although theres a little something in the stingray sound that just isn't there in the OLP sounds. still, for a quarter or the price, its worth it.

i used to have a 5 string OLP, the passive version, and it was quite good, but not a stingray. IIRC, it sounded more like a precision than a stingray, but it didnt really sound like anything, it was its own bass.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

[quote name='Musky' post='369041' date='Jan 3 2009, 12:51 AM']That's a slightly bizarre move by MM. No Subs and no licensed copies - I wonder what the thinking behind that is? It's not like there aren't other copies about.[/quote]


I was gonna say that they're probably gonna make a new version of the SUB line, but about 5,000,403,127 people beat me to it.


Slow on the uptake? moi? never!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Restore formatting

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

 Share

  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.
×
×
  • Create New...