I just finished installing a homebuilt Stingray 2-band preamp into an OLP and I have to say that it comes pretty close to the real thing.
I built the preamp using a board provided by UncleFluffy and with help from other TBer's, and then wired it up onto the OLP control plate. The total parts cost me about $25 (circuit board, caps, resistors, pots, input jack, knobs).
I got the bass on Ebay for $135, but it came with a brand new gig bag so I figure the bass itself cost me around $100. I took everything apart and did a little cleanup on the neck: it was in good shape overall and really straight, I just dressed the frets a little, did a light sanding on the back of the neck, and put some oil & wax on it and it was good to go. The body needed to be routed out for a battery compartment as well as widening the control cavity to accomodate the preamp. I also found that I had to move the pickup forward by almost 1/4" to match the position on my 'real' Stingray, then I was able to fit a real Stingray pickguard on the OLP.
Plugged it in and everything works! Definitely sounds like a Stingray. I still have to do some sound comparisons between this and my real Stingray, but so far it seems like it came out pretty damn good. Not a bad Stingray clone for less than $150.
I built the preamp using a board provided by UncleFluffy and with help from other TBer's, and then wired it up onto the OLP control plate. The total parts cost me about $25 (circuit board, caps, resistors, pots, input jack, knobs).
I got the bass on Ebay for $135, but it came with a brand new gig bag so I figure the bass itself cost me around $100. I took everything apart and did a little cleanup on the neck: it was in good shape overall and really straight, I just dressed the frets a little, did a light sanding on the back of the neck, and put some oil & wax on it and it was good to go. The body needed to be routed out for a battery compartment as well as widening the control cavity to accomodate the preamp. I also found that I had to move the pickup forward by almost 1/4" to match the position on my 'real' Stingray, then I was able to fit a real Stingray pickguard on the OLP.
Plugged it in and everything works! Definitely sounds like a Stingray. I still have to do some sound comparisons between this and my real Stingray, but so far it seems like it came out pretty damn good. Not a bad Stingray clone for less than $150.
