Jamesk86 Posted February 17, 2009 Share Posted February 17, 2009 I was always very close to buying the OLP musicman bass but never could make the transaction due to the price of the basses being so low!! anyone had any experiences with OLP basses? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
neepheid Posted February 17, 2009 Share Posted February 17, 2009 Had an OLP MM3 (5 string) natural/black/maple. Seemed well enough screwed together. Sounded pretty good. Sold it on because the string spacing was too close and I probably wasn't ready for a 5 string anyway. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OutToPlayJazz Posted February 17, 2009 Share Posted February 17, 2009 There's still a brand new MM22 (the active twin humbucker one) hanging on the wall at Electro music in Doncaster. I've played it a few times & it's a lovely bass to play with a great sound, too. Someone should buy that at under £300. It outplays almost all the basses in the place & it's one of the cheapest as well. Rich. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MacDaddy Posted February 17, 2009 Share Posted February 17, 2009 Tony Levin had a sig model that he didn't play. If he puts his name to it, but it isn't good enough for him to use, then that says it all about the product and his reasons for doing it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jamesk86 Posted February 17, 2009 Author Share Posted February 17, 2009 I've played lots of different OLP's and I agree the 5 string were very close quarters when it came to string spacing but the 4 strings you jsut couldn't fault them for their quality compared to price. unfortunately for me its too late to get one especially as i'm a lefty and the company has gone!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tait Posted February 17, 2009 Share Posted February 17, 2009 i've had the passive version (a 5 string) and the active version (4 string). the passive was decent, not too bad sounding, but there wasn't anything special about it. it was gigable, nice to play, and not bad looking. i even recorded with it at some point, it wasn't half bad. not much like a stingray though, mostly cos its passive and the wierd controls making it more of a double jazz pup than a stingray pup. i can't really comment much more than this, because i had the OLP when i was still fairly new to bass, so didnt notice things like tone and stuff much back then. i've currently got te 2 pickup active version. just wow. for that price its excellent. the back pickup sounds very stingrayish (my dad has the 2 band EQ stingray) but the stingray is a little treblier, the OLP a little deeper and muddier. not a huge difference though. when on the two inside coils, it sounds rubbish, i can't fins a good sound with it at all. on both pickups its sounds good, although a little too smooth and slightly muddy sounding for my liking, but thats just personal taste, i like more of a treble clicky slightly distorted sound than a smooth one. the two outside coils are a decent jazz bass impression, and one of the best slap tones ive heard. it sounds absolutely phenominal for slap. the front pickup i use for playing with a pick, but its good sounding with fingers too. i don't really know what to compare it with, but its still a lovely sound, especially with a pick. theres a massive weight difference between my dads stingray and the OLPhowever, the OLP being much heavier (but my dad's stingray is a light stingray, too), and the OLP feels much cheaper, but this is to be expected with a bass quarter of the price. all in all, i'd say a very good stingray impersonator, but it does other sounds as well (although ive never played a 2 pickup stingray). BUT if you're only after a stingray sound, i'd recommend the ibanez ATK series. they're practically a stingray but for a quarter of the price, and do a decent (but not amazing - bearing in mind that its not made to do a precision bass sound) precision bass sound on the front coil. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris1127 Posted February 17, 2009 Share Posted February 17, 2009 (edited) i've got a passve 4 string OLP, single pickup version that I picked up in as-new condition - way I've looked at it is a great platform to start modding from. Stock wiring and pickup imo was awful, flat-sounding and with little variation on the controls - but they can all be changed easy enough - I've now got a switch in place of a volume pot giving me series/parallel or single coil, and a cheap wilkinson pup that I'm really impressed with too, all in less than 20 quid. However the important bits (to me) are the neck - which is lovely to play, and well dressed/finished - dropped the action pretty low and no buzzing. It is a very light body though, and I'm not convinced the paint finish is the best quality - the paint has chipped a little behind the scratchplate where the mounting holes are, and I don't think it would take much to ding or chip. The string tree and strap button holes are all a bit iffy too - wouldnt take much to strip them I wouldnt think. funnily enough my other/main bass is an original series made in Japan Ibanez ATK. Much as I like the OLP I wouldn't put them in the same class - the finish and equipment (bridge, tuners, wiring hardware etc) on the ATK are far better, as is the sound which is just awesome. I'd stack the atk up against basses costing twice or three times as much without hesitation - mind you for what I paid for the OLP I'd say the same about that too Edited December 8, 2009 by Chris1127 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rayman Posted February 17, 2009 Share Posted February 17, 2009 I've got an OLP Tony Levin. Genuinely nice, comfortable bass to play. Looks good, too, the strings are closer together than on a Musicman Stingray 5, yes, but that didn't bother me in the least. Nice bass, sounded good, played well.........[i]however[/i], at the price, don't expect a Musicman, cause it aint one. Shocking quality nut, looked like it'd been cut by a five year old. Awful hiss from the treble pot when turned up full, so that had to go too. Once that was sorted, it's a very useable/giggable bass. Not the brightest top end sparkle from mine, but loads of bottom end thump. I ended up with a Villex pup in mine, making it passive, but with a few tweaks to the stock guts, it's a good bass, and would easily back up my Overwater for gigs if I needed it to. Tony recorded the song "What Would Jimi Do?" from the Resonator album on one of his Sig OLPs. Wether or not he uses one live, I have no idea. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tait Posted February 17, 2009 Share Posted February 17, 2009 [quote name='Chris1127' post='412479' date='Feb 17 2009, 09:39 PM']funnily enough my other/main bass is an original series made in Japan Ibanez ATK. Much as I like the OLP I wouldn't put them in the same class - the finish and equipment (bridge, tuners, wiring hardware etc) on the ATK are far better, as is the sound which is just awesome. I'd stack the atk up against basses costing twice or three times as much without hesitation - mind you for what I paid for the OLP I'd say the same about that too[/quote] oh yeah, the ATK is way better than the OLP a different league entirely, i was more just saying that if the OP wanted to buy a cheap stingray a like, the ATK is much more like a stingray, even if it does cost a bit more than the OLP, and just not to think the OLP will sound more like a stingray because it looks like a stingray and is licensed by ernie ball. im looking forward to playing a sterling ball stingray, i wonder what theyre going to be like? and if theyre a similar price range to the OLPs or to the music man SUBs? i get the feeling its going to be more SUB price. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stoo Posted February 17, 2009 Share Posted February 17, 2009 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 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lemuel Beam Posted February 19, 2009 Share Posted February 19, 2009 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 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thedontcarebear Posted February 19, 2009 Share Posted February 19, 2009 I had one, got it cheap, in fact me and a few mates only bought it to stop someone we didn't like from buying it, haha. It was pretty rubbish, but sold it on at the same cost (£100). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ped Posted February 19, 2009 Share Posted February 19, 2009 I had a 5 string one with a Status graphite neck. I really liked it. Turned out the neck needed shimming but once sorted it was great. Very usable sound... I actually preferred it to the actual wooden necked MM! ped Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stoo Posted February 19, 2009 Share Posted February 19, 2009 [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. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lemuel Beam Posted February 22, 2009 Share Posted February 22, 2009 [quote name='stoo' post='414272' date='Feb 19 2009, 02:09 PM']That was my old one! Good to hear it's still getting some use. [/quote] 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 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Machines Posted February 22, 2009 Share Posted February 22, 2009 I nearly bought that OLP from jobie Lemuel Beam - only lack of cash stopped me ! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stoo Posted February 22, 2009 Share Posted February 22, 2009 [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 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ghosts Over Japan Posted February 23, 2009 Share Posted February 23, 2009 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 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stoo Posted February 23, 2009 Share Posted February 23, 2009 [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 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BLUEAARDVARK Posted April 15, 2009 Share Posted April 15, 2009 I've had a couple of Tony Levin Basses since they came out. Great replacement to take out on the road (instead of my precious!). Never had any problems with it other than when I first purchased it and one of the screws in the bridge was not flush so I decided to tighten it resulting in it searing off!!! (easily replaced after a bit of fiddling,etc...). BY THE WAY can anybody recomend a replacement for the bridge that will fit without changing the string spacing or having to drill holes.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OutToPlayJazz Posted April 15, 2009 Share Posted April 15, 2009 I recently ended up buying the OLP I mentioned earlier in this thread. Just about the best Ray I've ever played & perhaps a candidate for a Status MM neck... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stoo Posted April 15, 2009 Share Posted April 15, 2009 [quote name='OutToPlayJazz' post='462729' date='Apr 15 2009, 08:27 AM']I recently ended up buying the OLP I mentioned earlier in this thread. Just about the best Ray I've ever played & perhaps a candidate for a Status MM neck...[/quote] Stop it! I keep getting tempted to put a Status neck on mine - even though a fret job would probably achieve just as good an effect for someone of my playing incompetence. Just don't post any pics whatever you do Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rich Posted April 15, 2009 Share Posted April 15, 2009 The overly tight string spacing put me off the 5 string. Shame, I'd like to have tried one. [quote name='BLUEAARDVARK' post='462707' date='Apr 15 2009, 09:10 AM']BY THE WAY can anybody recomend a replacement for the bridge that will fit without changing the string spacing or having to drill holes....[/quote] [url="http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/NEW-ELECTRIC-BASS-GUITAR-5-STRINGS-BRIDGE-CURVED-CHROME_W0QQitemZ160283519702QQcmdZViewItemQQptZUK_Guitar_Accessories?hash=item160283519702&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14&_trkparms=72%3A1683%7C66%3A2%7C65%3A12%7C39%3A1%7C240%3A1318"]This any good[/url]..? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brave Sir Robin Posted April 15, 2009 Share Posted April 15, 2009 (edited) Their 'replacement', the Sterlings look very good, but more up-market (even more expensive than the ATK). EDIT : eek $1,000 list price for the ray35. I'd recon around £600-£700. Bloody expensive. Edited April 15, 2009 by Brave Sir Robin Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OutToPlayJazz Posted April 15, 2009 Share Posted April 15, 2009 Yes, the new Sterlings look nice, but the price is way higher, starting at over £600! Stoo, if I do bother I'll do the Status graphite neck & get Norstrand pickups/preamp for it as well. Or at the end of the day I may just leave it as it is - The bass only owes me £175 after all! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.