The included hex wrench seems a bit too long to fit into the access route to adjust the truss rod. Anybody have a suggestion for a shorter one? Either that or I might need to trim the pickguard, but that doesn't seem an easy task without a router.
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La Bella Olinto Club
- Thread starter taylor16
- Start date
Hey everybody. Figured I'd give the 2 week assessment. No gigs lined up, so this is just impressions playing at home (amp and headphones). I ordered this bass ~13 months ago. They have a pretty busy shop there, I got some infrequent updates along the way and no progress pics at all. Don't expect a lot of proactive communication, but they did respond fairly quickly to any message I sent them and they were always happy to assist or answer questions.
I went with just about all the bells and whistles. Roaster alder body, roasted maple neck Brazilian rosewood fingerboard, P/J (v/v/t), lollipop tuners, detuner, and matching headstock.
Color was ordered as "shoreline gold" but it's actually quite gold - more like Aztec or something like that. In some lights and angles it looks more shoreline. I didn't send an example of what I wanted so probably on me LOL. I wasn't a fan at first, but it's grown on me. The finish is ultra thin, I'd imagine it will wear quite quickly but that's fine by me.
The body is way thinner than any other fender style bass I have played. It's quite nice and contributes to the light weight - I estimate it's
somewhere between 7 to 7.5 lbs.
The neck profile is really comfortable, it's more shallow than my Fender P. The finish is great,
makes it feel slick. The headstock is slightly weighty, probably because of the detuner and slight oversized shape. Overall, guess what? It's a P bass! So basically if you like a P bass, you will like the feel of this bass.
However, the tone! It sounds amazing. Zero dead spots from what I can tell. Consistency up and down the neck and between strings. A certain immediacy to the notes and a round midrange authority that I just haven't experienced from my various Fenders. Super impressive and I now fully understand the hype.
Now I want a J to match.
I went with just about all the bells and whistles. Roaster alder body, roasted maple neck Brazilian rosewood fingerboard, P/J (v/v/t), lollipop tuners, detuner, and matching headstock.
Color was ordered as "shoreline gold" but it's actually quite gold - more like Aztec or something like that. In some lights and angles it looks more shoreline. I didn't send an example of what I wanted so probably on me LOL. I wasn't a fan at first, but it's grown on me. The finish is ultra thin, I'd imagine it will wear quite quickly but that's fine by me.
The body is way thinner than any other fender style bass I have played. It's quite nice and contributes to the light weight - I estimate it's
somewhere between 7 to 7.5 lbs.
The neck profile is really comfortable, it's more shallow than my Fender P. The finish is great,
makes it feel slick. The headstock is slightly weighty, probably because of the detuner and slight oversized shape. Overall, guess what? It's a P bass! So basically if you like a P bass, you will like the feel of this bass.
However, the tone! It sounds amazing. Zero dead spots from what I can tell. Consistency up and down the neck and between strings. A certain immediacy to the notes and a round midrange authority that I just haven't experienced from my various Fenders. Super impressive and I now fully understand the hype.
Now I want a J to match.
The thinner body and finish both, are features I really appreciate in mine as well. And the Carbonetti Gold in light relic... can't be beat.
Congratulations on yours!
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This PJ4 might be the best bass I have ever owned, no joke. I definitely see an Olinto Jazz 5 in my future. Two questions for you all.
First, what is your take on the exit of Mas Hino? Does this dissuade you from considering Olinto? I am assuming Mas did not build my Olinto, the certificate says built by the Olinto team instead of built by Mas Hino.
Second, anybody on the community own an Olinto jazz 5 string? Can you share your experience, perhaps in comparison to other jazz basses?
First, what is your take on the exit of Mas Hino? Does this dissuade you from considering Olinto? I am assuming Mas did not build my Olinto, the certificate says built by the Olinto team instead of built by Mas Hino.
Second, anybody on the community own an Olinto jazz 5 string? Can you share your experience, perhaps in comparison to other jazz basses?
Not challenging that , but wondering how and from who you got that information that it will improve without him?
Just my own observation, if Mas didn't really want to be involved at Olinto ( which I heard quite a while ago), then handing the reins to someone who does want to be there might dictate an improvement of some sort. Perhaps not the basses themselves, but perhaps the workflow and delivery times. This is purely conjecture from a happy Olinto P owner, no matter whose hands were involved making it.
Hi lala , not sure if you were responding to my question I asked stevensivak, who I quoted above.
He did mention that he heard that there was a belief that quality will improve without him (Mas)…that's what I was asking him about
He did mention that he heard that there was a belief that quality will improve without him (Mas)…that's what I was asking him about
yeah...i think i was just putting my 2c's since I had heard rumors of Mas phasing out a while ago. It's certainly possible he was only marginally involved the past many months. It would be great for an Olinto staffer to chime in and set us all straight. LOL
My Olinto Jazz finally arrived! Aztec Gold, alder body, rosewood board, beautiful roasted flame maple neck. Sounds amazing!
So after the first week, what are your thoughts? How would you compare to other jazz basses you have owned or played?
I'm very impressed. I've owned a lot of different Jazz brands in the past, these days the Mike Lull is my favorite. This Olinto is a different take on the Jazz recipe and I like it a lot. Thinner body, different neck shape and feel, more vintage style hardware.
Very high quality bass with amazing full tone.
Question for your guys. What's the difference between roasted alder and regular alder if I'm going to have it painted? Any tone difference? Thanks.
My info came from Eric and since I have a bass on order- their first lefty- I will not
be expanding upon what was told to me. I will just state that I am not in the least
bit concerned about the future quality of these basses. Perhaps on the second
hand market the Mas versions will be worth more? Who knows....
be expanding upon what was told to me. I will just state that I am not in the least
bit concerned about the future quality of these basses. Perhaps on the second
hand market the Mas versions will be worth more? Who knows....
I've had experience with roasted as an owner and as an R and D guy for boutique bass builder. IMO there is a difference in tone between roasted and non -roasted woods, but there are some that will disagree. I can only speak for myself here
. All my Olintos except one have non roasted woods so I can even compare fairly directly (albeit they are different instruments which is always a basic factor). In the end if you love what you got then it's all good…roasted probebly lightens it by a few/several ounces.
I haven't heard roasted alder yet, but I agree with above. I've heard non-roasted pine vs roasted pine bodies - roasted is definitely better. I've heard roasted maple vs non-roasted maple necks and the tone is similar or better with the roasting.
I'm not sure it's always worth the upcharge, but I haven't ever heard it make the tone worse and it usually reduces the weight a bit.
I'm not sure it's always worth the upcharge, but I haven't ever heard it make the tone worse and it usually reduces the weight a bit.
My P/J4 has roasted maple neck, roasted alder body, and Brazilian rosewood fingerboard. I've owned and played a lot of basses. I also have a Sandberg VM5 that has their roasting treatment. My prior stingray had roasting too, I believe. What I notice most is the weight reduction, duh -- it's got less moisture content. They also feel more responsive or lively. With my Olinto and Sandberg both, the notes kind of jump off the bass. Since I have only played one Olinto P/J4, I can't say that it's the roasting, but it seems to have produced a good outcome.
My next Olinto, already conceived just not started, will not have roasting because I'm basing it off another bass they produced (same recipe) and it didn't have roasting. A side benefit is that it is cheaper that way!
Interestingly Mas Hino did an Instagram post a few weeks back about what he thought about roasted woods for basses. I'm going to agree on his side of this issue - which is that I'm not really a fan. I prefer non roasted woods tonally. So like with so much of all this stuff it comes down to your individual taste. If someone is happier with roasted then that is what matters. Cheers.
Do you have a link to said video?
On another note, I got a response from Olinto:
The roasting process primarily does two things. It reduces the humidity level to its minimum point making it lighter in weight. Sonically it also resembles a bass that has dried over a period of 40+ years much like a pre-cbs bass has. The roasting process leaves the wood with a beautiful brown look to it, and accentuates its natural grain patterns.
