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The gear snob in the audience

mcnach

mcnach

Jun 16, 2007
8,719
9,559
Edinburgh, Scotland
#1
I played this gig at a local bar once and I brought my trusty OLP MM2, a stingray clone. I had put a Seymour Duncan pickup and a 3-band preamp in it and it was (still is!) a sweet bass that sounded huge.

I do own a MM Stingray (2-band EQ version) and the OLP doesn't feel a million miles different and sounds great. But some people would just look at the headstock and say "bah, a copy".

So I play in thsi place, and afterwards I'm hanging out for a while and this guy comes to me, he compliments me on my playing and sound (always nice :)) and goes on to say that of course, a Stingray is the best bass blah blah blah. He continues this monologue about Stingrays while I listen and nod politely just waiting for him to go and let me keep talking to my friends. Then he says that of course I have good taste, a real Stingray, because so many other peple would play a copy and it's nothing like a Stingray even if it looks like one, and continues this rant against Stingray clones... So I just listen, smile and let him talk.
When he finished, I tell him "actually, I was playing an OLP tonight". :D

His face! I wish I could have taken a picture. After he said mine sounded so good, he couldn't now say that it was a bad bass. Gotcha!
He didn't say anything else, just gave me a weird look and walked away.

I loved it.

I love my Stingray, but I also have two OLPs that are *fantastic* (with some not too expensive upgrades).
I hate gear snobs.
 
#4
mcnach said:
I played this gig at a local bar once and I brought my trusty OLP MM2, a stingray clone. I had put a Seymour Duncan pickup and a 3-band preamp in it and it was (still is!) a sweet bass that sounded huge.

I do own a MM Stingray (2-band EQ version) and the OLP doesn't feel a million miles different and sounds great. But some people would just look at the headstock and say "bah, a copy".

So I play in this place, and afterwards I'm hanging out for a while and this guy comes to me, he compliments me on my playing and sound (always nice :)) and goes on to say that of course, a Stingray is the best bass blah blah blah. He continues this monologue about Stingrays while I listen and nod politely just waiting for him to go and let me keep talking to my friends. Then he says that of course I have good taste, a real Stingray, because so many other people would play a copy and it's nothing like a Stingray even if it looks like one, and continues this rant against Stingray clones... So I just listen, smile and let him talk.
When he finished, I tell him "actually, I was playing an OLP tonight". :D

His face! I wish I could have taken a picture. After he said mine sounded so good, he couldn't now say that it was a bad bass. Gotcha!
He didn't say anything else, just gave me a weird look and walked away.

I loved it.

I love my Stingray, but I also have two OLPs that are *fantastic* (with some not too expensive upgrades).
I hate gear snobs.
Click to expand...

While I've not had the scenario with a person like you describe, I do have 2 OLP MM Stingrays. And, like you, find that they are both excellent basses. One I bought new at GC years ago. With that one, I had the opportunity to compare it directly with the a "real" MM with the same amp side by side. Actually liked the OLP better. Then after a little research discovering that the early OLPs were actually well built quality guitars, I found another one on Ebay. Never been disappointed in either. :cool:
 
#5
Oren Hudson said:
While I've not had the scenario with a person like you describe, I do have 2 OLP MM Stingrays. And, like you, find that they are both excellent basses. One I bought new at GC years ago. With that one, I had the opportunity to compare it directly with the a "real" MM with the same amp side by side. Actually liked the OLP better. Then after a little research discovering that the early OLPs were actually well built quality guitars, I found another one on Ebay. Never been disappointed in either. :cool:
Click to expand...

As well as my 2 OLPs, I've owned a third, and tried a couple more. They're variable. The OLP I sold was an early one and it was very heavy and not very good. The two I still own are both great, and one is an early model while my usual one is a late model... You never know!

I find that they're not as nicely built from a cosmetic point of view. The MusicMan just oozes quality in everything: finish, hardware... The OLP betrays its (much) lower price there. But I'm talking not-so-important things here.
The OLP pickup is not very nice, in my opinion. That's teh first thing I change. A Seymour Duncan (I like their alnico versions) or a Nordstrand will improve teh bass a lot. Then, a HUGE part of the Stingray's sound is the preamp. Play the MusicMan flat, and it's nice, and not too far from the OLP like you say... put a good pickup there, and the difference is minimal... or non-existent.
Then, if you put a preamp... it depends on what you put in there. The Seymour Duncan STC-3M3 I think sounds better than teh Stingray's 3-band. One of my OLPs has that one is is my main bass (that's teh one that got me the compliments).
My second one is still passive, I only replaced the pickup. I have the board for a 2-band EQ clone of the original Stingray and one of these days I'll buy the components and build it. Then I'll be able to compare that to my MusicMan Stingray with 2-band EQ (which I love!)
If the OLP sounds as good as the MusicMan, I might be tempted to sell the MusicMan ("oh, blasphemy!" I hear some people cry ;))
 
#9
I knew a guy that snobbed me for using a Grunge pedal for my "dirty-wall-of-dirty" fuzz tone. He kept going on and on how the Sovtek Big Muff was the best bass fuzz, because it could get really heavy and didn't lose any lows and sounded really great on both high and low register, and plus "It's EHX, you can't go wrong, it's true bypass!" I said, "Go open that box, tell me if you see a true-bypass switch." (It was a black Russian Muff reissue). He opened the box, and not a single word, just this defeated look. Granted, DigiTech isn't necessarily "True Bypass" either...

But it's just so fun to make someone eat their words. :D
 
#15
My 2009 MIM Fender 70's Reissue Jazz always gets loads of attention when I play her. She sounds as vintage as any real passive 70's Fender Jazz bass (and better than some I have played), but the curiosity seekers are always pretty shocked when they find out it is is not a true 70's J-bass. Sometimes it's fun just to let them keep gushing about how they have always wanted a 70's J etc...before I pull the honesty trigger! Maybe we are all gear snobs in our own way, but I suppose it's the dudes that need to tell u how they have 'this' and it does 'that' blah. Lah blah, that truly earn and deserve the title of 'gear snob'. One man's perfect tone can certaimly be another man's tonal nemesis.
 
#16
mcnach said:
I played this gig at a local bar once and I brought my trusty OLP MM2, a stingray clone. I had put a Seymour Duncan pickup and a 3-band preamp in it and it was (still is!) a sweet bass that sounded huge.

I do own a MM Stingray (2-band EQ version) and the OLP doesn't feel a million miles different and sounds great. But some people would just look at the headstock and say "bah, a copy".

So I play in thsi place, and afterwards I'm hanging out for a while and this guy comes to me, he compliments me on my playing and sound (always nice :)) and goes on to say that of course, a Stingray is the best bass blah blah blah. He continues this monologue about Stingrays while I listen and nod politely just waiting for him to go and let me keep talking to my friends. Then he says that of course I have good taste, a real Stingray, because so many other peple would play a copy and it's nothing like a Stingray even if it looks like one, and continues this rant against Stingray clones... So I just listen, smile and let him talk.
When he finished, I tell him "actually, I was playing an OLP tonight". :D

His face! I wish I could have taken a picture. After he said mine sounded so good, he couldn't now say that it was a bad bass. Gotcha!
He didn't say anything else, just gave me a weird look and walked away.

I loved it.

I love my Stingray, but I also have two OLPs that are *fantastic* (with some not too expensive upgrades).
I hate gear snobs.
Click to expand...

i cut my teeth on a 5 string olp.it sounded great even though the body was crap.i've recently had a 'jazz look alike' body(mahoghany and sapelle)made.its all routed out and all i got to do is buy the preamp and add it to the body and hey presto......a brand new home made axe c/w olp neck.can't wait to start playing it.:hyper::bassist:
 
#17
I had the same thing happen. I was playing my modded Squier P with seymour duncan quarter pounders and a few other mods, and some guys like "Dude, I love fender Precisions, but squiers suck blah blah blah..." After his rant, I grabbed my bass and told him to look at the headstock. He didn't even say anything. He just walked away pissed.
 
#18
faulknersj said:
My 2009 MIM Fender 70's Reissue Jazz always gets loads of attention when I play her. She sounds as vintage as any real passive 70's Fender Jazz bass (and better than some I have played), but the curiosity seekers are always pretty shocked when they find out it is is not a true 70's J-bass. Sometimes it's fun just to let them keep gushing about how they have always wanted a 70's J etc...before I pull the honesty trigger! Maybe we are all gear snobs in our own way, but I suppose it's the dudes that need to tell u how they have 'this' and it does 'that' blah. Lah blah, that truly earn and deserve the title of 'gear snob'. One man's perfect tone can certaimly be another man's tonal nemesis.
Click to expand...

The Classic 70s does sound wonderful, doesn't it? :hyper:
 
#19
SMILEYSIXX said:
I had the same thing happen. I was playing my modded Squier P with seymour duncan quarter pounders and a few other mods, and some guys like "Dude, I love fender Precisions, but squiers suck blah blah blah..." After his rant, I grabbed my bass and told him to look at the headstock. He didn't even say anything. He just walked away pissed.
Click to expand...

I changed the pickguard to black, and put strat knobs on my Squier P. I haven't even changed the pickups, but I did change the tone pot and strengthened up the connections to the pot and jack...Everyone asks me if it's a real Fender, and its fun to say no. :)
 

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