Yes an OLP which was a nice budget guitar but a far cry from a real Axis. You would be correct that when you peeled back the veneer the wood underneath wasn't even maple-it is Basswood. A Maple cap with a Basswood body has been the one consistent in all 3 EVH sigs and is the preferred tone wood combination of most of your technically proficient players sig guitars. Noted Luthier John Suhr who knows a thing about tone calls that combination "The Holy Grail of Tone". You could classify these as student guitars or a decent budget model for those who couldn't afford the real thing yet.
OLP is no axis, but its a pretty fantastic guitar. Was one of the first guitars i've ever owned as a kid, and probably one of the reasons I love the axis so much today! For 80$ I'd be pretty hard pressed to not get it.
edit: they are typically very much worth putting good dimarzios in! I would do that in a heartbeat!