Tony Levin Signature OLP is Out

[tkarter]

In my mind the OLP is just what it is. A licensed copy. I had an guitar once with a licensed floyd rose bridge it was workable but not the original.

This is probably nothing more than an excellant entry level SR 5. I am sure it will be better than most of the basses I thought I could play when I started out.

I am a one bass guy now. I play my SR 5 or I don't play. That is a me thing. I won't tell the rest of the world to do what I do.

I am sure that is playable and as so many said a good backup bass. I know this. You buy one of the real SR 5s you don't need a backup bass unless you are the one that needs some quality control on your behaviour.

Anyone that is getting along with any OLP bass should just know that when you can get the real thing you will be happy. Anyone happy with the OLP may just be able to get along his or hers for their whole life and be happy. That is good. The EB built bass is just great. Try one and call me wrong.

I say play what you play and enjoy. I am not one to say the Bongo doesn't fit in this band because of looks and I won't say the OLP isn't going to work in a band cuz I haven't played one.

The pic looks good. How are the fret ends? Is the neck stable. Is it in tune when you pull it out of the case? Are you happy with it? Answer all those yes and I say you found your bass.

I also think we all put more into the bass than we do the strings and the amp and cabs we play.

Find your sound, find your strings that get that sound, find the amp and cabs that do the same. Then find the bass that gets you all that and more. You will be happy. And you won't need me or anyone else to tell you that you are right or agree with you.


IMHO

tk

[jongitarz]

Another fine post my friend

[marleaux-user]

Lemme throw my deck of cards out as well...

The last time i remember trying someone's Natural SR5 (maple), i recall not even trying much (finger-wise) or even tweaking the amp and onboard controls to get good tone. With the OLP, i had to do both to make sure i get the sound which i expect from a copy. In short, i'm not saying that the OLP substitutes an SR5. Theres no way basswood can turn into ash in a zillion years. There no way mass produced workmanship can rival EBMM's quality control and expertise. Theres no way a passive copy can sound like its active predecessor with different pickups and the lack of a preamp which gives it the signature tone we all crave.

Yeah i can make it sound 'like' an SR4 (or at least the way i want it to sound). But i couldnt possibly type out all the effort i put in sitting down with that backline amp + all the tweaking i did. It'll bore the crap outta you drinkers...

The bass is 200+ dollars... throw in a Tonebone D.I and the tally goes to 600...still not happy with the sound? throw in an SD preamp....how much is it now? Everybody has a choice. Agreed.

[bovinehost]

I like Tony's attitude about the bass. Let's build something decent and affordable. I don't imagine he ever thought it would, at that price point, compete with the Stingray 5. Most of us here are not going to make a 300 dollar bass our main player, but when I think back on the "bargain" basses available when I was a kid?

Hooo, I would have KILLED for that Tony Levin OLP.

[tkarter]

I like Tony's attitude about the bass. Let's build something decent and affordable. I don't imagine he ever thought it would, at that price point, compete with the Stingray 5. Most of us here are not going to make a 300 dollar bass our main player, but when I think back on the "bargain" basses available when I was a kid?

Hooo, I would have KILLED for that Tony Levin OLP.

+1 hell yeah

tk

[marleaux-user]

I like Tony's attitude about the bass. Let's build something decent and affordable. I don't imagine he ever thought it would, at that price point, compete with the Stingray 5. Most of us here are not going to make a 300 dollar bass our main player, but when I think back on the "bargain" basses available when I was a kid?

Hooo, I would have KILLED for that Tony Levin OLP.

Yeah I'm kinda short right here for the Levin, and i'm contemplating that.

[SteveB]

Hey, for many years when I was a teenager I played a Hondo II Les Paul copy. It had DiMarzio pickups, played great, and I never would have known the difference if a certain guy across the street didn't have a '78 tobacco sunburst Les Paul...

I can't even remember what happened to that Hondo...

[peterd79]

OK... I have to throw in my .02 here.

I am a 25 year old musician who has been playing regurlarly for about 10 years and have had a guitar in my hands since I was about 5. I would not consider myself a beginner by any means. I am very picky about the tone that I have and will not sacrifice my tone for anything. I play a 56' Les Paul Junior (NOT A RE-ISSUE) and an 2003 ESP Eclipse. A few months ago I ran across a web site that had a COPY of an Ernie Ball Music Man Axis by OLP. I was intrigued to see what this thing could do. I drove to my local Guitar Center to see if I could play one. They didn't have anything remotely close to it. SO... I went home... Later that evening I ran across an OLP MM1F (Music Man Axis w/ Licensed Floyd Rose) on E-Bay. The buy it now price was $250 and thought i'd buy it and give it a try... When the guitar cam in I was please to see the quality versus cost of this instrument. The guiat has a real flame maple top and a very solid maple neck. The Licensed Floyd was very solid.
After doing an initial set-up on the guitar and replacing the strings (Which were said to be Ernie Balls... they were not EB's) I was very please with the instrument. I've been seen playing this one more that my other guitars. The Les Paul has to be re-wired... but will soon be my NUMBER 1.
All that being said... An OLP is a great instrument for the Price range. I would honestly say that it is the Best guitar in the $300-400 price range. Having not played an OLP BASS i can't comment on them but... from what i've experience with my OLP guitar... with a little bit of work it could be meet your needs.

[whamonkey]

Ok, I'm in. I know that the" idiot dealer out in Vegas-who remains nameless" will take an OLP axis copy and totally work the thing (ie: fret job, pickups, tremelo, etc.) and sell it to you for the $600-$700 range. His claim is the thing will tear up any guitar out there after he's done. My point is how good can the thing be outta the box if you have to drop another $450 into it to make it playable? My SR5 came from the factory PERFECT....no exaggeration. Plug it in, crank it up.....wow! I wonder why TL didn't sign with EB proper instead of going with..... IMO..... El Cheapo. I have handled OLP products and again, IMO, they feel and play cheap. By the time you invest the cash required to make it a player, you could have a nice used Ray, the real thing. Do I understand the marketing behind this deal? Oh yeah, and I don't blame TL one bit. Has EB ever produce an artist signature bass guitar? There are what, 4 different artist guitars right? (Including the AXIS-EVH) Why not an EB TL signature bass? (Ooops....my rant has made me like the aforementioned idiot!)

[kbaim]

Luke
Morse
Lee
Petrucci
Madden

5+eddie

[peterd79]

ok... IMHO
I think that BP made a very good decison to work with OLP. Many companies out there such as Jay Turser and various other makers were ripping off the design and Ernie Ball Music Man was not getting the money for it. BY licensing out the design they get money on the deal which could be used for research and development. I also think that you get a young Kid looking at the OLP guitars and buys one... he will then only DREAM of buying the real thing. EBMM then gets more money.
Tony Levin probably looked at the Market and realized that young musicians need quality instuments that they can afford to learn on. There is nothing worse than trying to learn how to plan on a crummy instrument. I've seen it too many times... Young players loosing interest because they bought a guitar that wont stay in tune or the pick-ups are junk. WIth OLP you get a quality instrument for a small price. Obviously you don't get the ELITE Ernie Ball Music Man instrument; however, you get the designs of the real thing and a guitar that is playable.
I have seen the E. Rom@n guitars that sell for $500-600 dollars and to be honest the guy is insaine. If you go into his shop you cannot touch anything and the guy is a NUTTER! I can't see how or why anyone would drop an additional $400 into an OLP. HE is actually taking the OLP MM1 (NON-Floyd model- The least expensive version) and he is routing to fit an "ORIGINAL" floyd and updating it with Seymour Duncan Pickups, removing the frets and replacing them... The guitar does not require all that work in order to be played and just required some minor adjustments. Anyone working with Maple Necks know how much the weather will have an effect on them. But other than that it flayed fine out of the box...
OLP has a very simple market plan... That is to make a quality instrument that will not break the bank and allow players of all levels to enjoy. They worked with EBMM and licensed the design and did a fantastic job at producing a guitar that is affordable and plays well. In my honest opinion OLP did exactly what they aimed to do...

[tkarter]

Peterd that is what I wish I could have said. Thank you for the contribution.

Anyone here disagrees with us we will join up and make fun of them. How is that for a deal?


tk

[marleaux-user]

Nice take on the big picture Peterd79.

I'm gonna buy me an OLP MM3 first, then maybe work towards the Levin, then hopfully summon the budget for the real thang. Thanks for everybody's input!

[peterd79]

I appreciate the feed back and glad I could help.

When I started playing my first guitar was a 1956 Gibson Les Paul Junior. It is not a re-issue. My Papa bought it back in '56 and held on to it... my uncle learned how to play on it and so did I.
After learning to play I did not realize what I had... so I went out and bought a Pea.. guitar for $200 and the thing was junk. It would not stay in tune and was a nightmare. Olp guitars are right around that $200 range (lower end models) and from my experiences... are much better than the Pe@vy, F3nd3r, or Eppiphon3 in the same price ranges.
I give Kudo's to OLP for doing what they set out to do... Make 'em good and make 'em affordable. The young kids need something reliable to learn on... Heck I own one and love it too...

[TRBigt]

What I dont understand is....

Tony Levin wouldnt likely put his name (and face) on a bass unless it's really good. I think his name only appeals to "older" players. How many starters do you see looking up to Tony Levin. Most starters love "Les Claypool" Meaning I dont think the target market would be beginners or novice players. I just purchased one of these and I am waiting ot recieve it. They now have active pickups so I am curious what this will sound like. I guess I will rate it myself though nobody is going to say it isn't worth the money. I have liked Levan since Peter Gabriel colaborations so once I saw the peach make an appearance and with the price point...it is worth it just as a collection piece. I never understood the natural one they made since the barbie peach is his most recognized....but whatever. The natural is still very nice looking.