• TalkBass has been independent since 1998. Add your voice.
    Create a free account to reply to discussions, view embedded media, and browse with fewer display ads.
    Join free Log in
    Want zero display ads or expanded classifieds tools? Compare plans.

Musicman OLP basses

KingRazor

KingRazor

Supporting Member
Jun 4, 2010
6,747
415
37
Beaverton, Oregon USA
#1
I did a search on these and read what has been discussed about them already and have some specific questions:

What are the necks like on these? What is the neck profile like? Fretboard radius? (flat or round)

How was the tone? (not good or bad, what was it like?)

I'm considering getting one of these as a mod platform because Musicman basses have intrigued me for a long time but are mostly out of my price range.
 
#2
im holding one now as i type :)

the neck is good in terms of playability. the fretboard is rounded, dont know what radius, i assume around 14. if i had a set of new strings on this, im sure it would sound alot better than it does, i just stuck an old set on when i got it a few weeks ago. what are you looking for? i have an active dual humbucker one, with a 3 band EQ. its not bad for something that costs a fraction of the price of a genuine stingray. defo a worthwhile invest if your going to mod it.
 
#3
I'm looking for one with a single humbucker.

I actually want to run it passive. With just a volume/tone setup (like a p bass) and have the pickup wired either in parallel or series (whichever I prefer the sound of).

Since it appears to be modeled after a stringray, I suppose that means 1 5/8" nut width?

For reference, modern fender basses have a 9.5" fretboard radius. A higher radius like 14" would be much flatter.

I'm thinking with some decent mods it could be a good bass, just want to know if it's what I'm looking for.
 
#4
hm, im not sure what the nut size is, or the radius of the fretboard. you can see a curve in it when looking down on it, but not when looking directly at it. but as far as im concerned, it is terrific for what i paid. actually, i traded a playstation 3 for mine. it was on the internet for £200. i have absolutely no issues with it, it looks great, and it sounds alot better than my last one. if your looking to build on it, the defo yes, genuine stingrays are much too expensive to buy then have to mod.
 
#5
miltong565 said:
hm, im not sure what the nut size is, or the radius of the fretboard. you can see a curve in it when looking down on it, but not when looking directly at it. but as far as im concerned, it is terrific for what i paid. actually, i traded a playstation 3 for mine. it was on the internet for £200. i have absolutely no issues with it, it looks great, and it sounds alot better than my last one. if your looking to build on it, the defo yes, genuine stingrays are much too expensive to buy then have to mod.
Click to expand...

Cool, thanks for your opinion.

I see an ad for one in my local craigslist that looks like a good deal. $150.

Hopefully that's still available when I have cash on hand.
 
#10
i certainly have no problems at all with mine, the quality control might have been a bit hit and miss with them (i dont know, he says it was :/) but i cant fault mine. defo isnt the greatest bass by a long way, but for the money (especially $150, i wouldnt pass it up AT ALL!) they are good. could think of much worse things for the money.
 
#13
Ray Salamon said:
I thought you didn't like MMs?
Either way, I'd find a passive 4 string SUB instead of an OLP.
And they're not Musicman OLP... OLP is the company who made licensed product copies of MM designs... nothing at all to do with EBMM.
Click to expand...

That's why I didn't call it an "ernie ball" OLP. ;)

I didn't like half of the musicman instruments I've played, but after playing one I really liked, I've been interested ever since.

The subs generally run twice the price of OLPs. For not much more I could get a Sterling Ray34.
 
#14
FWIW, I've played a few good used OLPs at (surprise!) the local GC. There was one in particular that was pretty well used - dirty, grungy, with scratches galore and missing knobs - but it felt really good and played well. I played it with my fingers and a pick (no slap) and the sound was ok - nothing spectacular (a decent bottom end and some pronounced mids), and overall it was certainly weak and flat compared to an actual Stingray. No doubt a pickup swap could change that, even if you left it totally passive.

I also liked the neck; don't quote me on this, but I believe it is 1 5/8" at the nut, and there's not a lot of taper. From what I can remember, the fretboard was probably in the 9"-10" radius, as it didn't feel vintage round (7.5") or super flat (11"+).

As already mentioned, some of these OLPs were good, and some - like a few that I've found on craigslist -were not. If you can get your hands on the one you're looking at to try it out, the price certainly seems good, especially as a mod platform. I think with a decent pickup and setup, a good OLP would be a very nice player.
 
#15
The SUB is a USA made, down the same line as the "real" EBMMs at a fraction of the cost. The OLP and the Sterling brands are imports, with no QC or work done by EBMM. The build quality and consistency of the SUBs were on par with their "real" counterparts. If you're buying sight unseen and used, that is something to consider. Of course, if you're doing heavy mods, this all might go out the window, too.
 
#16
Ray Salamon said:
The SUB is a USA made, down the same line as the "real" EBMMs at a fraction of the cost. The OLP and the Sterling brands are imports, with no QC or work done by EBMM. The build quality and consistency of the SUBs were on par with their "real" counterparts. If you're buying sight unseen and used, that is something to consider.
Click to expand...

Really? Interesting. For some reason I had the impression that the SBMM basses were a step above MM subs.

What is the neck like on the SUB? It appears to be finished in a solid color. What's the profile like?

The neck is the only reason I don't like most 4-string stingrays. The profile just feels odd in my hand. Don't know if it's thickness, shape, whatever, something about it just doesn't agree with me.

I have wanted to play an EBMM Sterling or SBMM SB-14 to see if I like the narrower neck. 1 5/8 isn't too wide for me usually, but perhaps it's the combination of that width plus the thickness/shape of the neck.
 
#18
KingRazor said:
Really? Interesting. For some reason I had the impression that the SBMM basses were a step above MM subs.

What is the neck like on the SUB? It appears to be finished in a solid color. What's the profile like?

The neck is the only reason I don't like most 4-string stingrays. The profile just feels odd in my hand. Don't know if it's thickness, shape, whatever, something about it just doesn't agree with me.

I have wanted to play an EBMM Sterling or SBMM SB-14 to see if I like the narrower neck. 1 5/8 isn't too wide for me usually, but perhaps it's the combination of that width plus the thickness/shape of the neck.
Click to expand...
I have only played the SUB 5s, so I can't really answer the questions about the SUB 4s, sorry :-/. I do know that the SUB 5s feel the same as my STERLINGs, not the Stingray's I've played and owned, to my hands. And, also, I took that shiny finish off of the SUB I had - took it down to the wood, ran steel wool over it, and made it feel like my US models.
Sorry I'm not much help beyond that.
 

Latest posts

Top Bottom
Back