Contoured body for OLP Axis?

[kevdog]

I have an OLP Axis model and I really like the neck but wish the body was contoured, my right arm rubs against it and its uncomfortable. Does anyone know of a body I could replace it with that is contoured?

 

[TNT]

Don't you dare!! For the price you paid for the OLP, just keep it the way it is!! It is NOT as easy as you think slapping a neck onto a body (dozens of concerns!!). In addition, you can jeopardize putting the neck back on the OLP if you don't do it right.

Ever tried "hanging" a door for the first time by yourself??

 

[kevdog]

Ok, then switching bodies can definitely cause more problems than I am looking for, thanks. Has anyone tried making an arm contour for an OLP?

 

[TNT]

Kev,

The only thing Buddy is that if you plan on using the OLP neck, then you will have to get into some "detailed" thought on the neck pocket of the body!!

In other words, no neck is going to simply be a "fit" "without" some tweaking (sanding, shims, etc...). It really isn't just a matter of screwing on your OLP neck to a new body.

However, these are fun and very educating projects. You can hone a lot of guitar tech skills doing these things.

 

[kevdog]

Thanks, I was just thinking of making a contour on the existing body of my OLP. Was wondering if someone here did something like that before.

 

[Jack FFR1846]

If it has a binding, and/or a quilted top, you'll need to decide if you want to go into major surgery. Look at my Sublhoette thread from a couple years ago, where I put in the body contour and forearm on the sub 1. It was not overly difficult. If your mm1 has a quilted top, scrape it off. It's not on all that well and is about as thick as wallpaper. The wood underneath......I assume it's basswood. Again, you could look up the Sterling by Musicman AX20 thread that I had where I redid that to a natural finish with tru-oil. The binding has to go. The easiest way to deal with this is to remove the binding and use a router to round over the edges. I did a faux binding with a router and included the forearm contour and while it came out pretty well was a bunch of work.

 

[luv]

^ perfect timing. i was going to suggest looking for Jacks thread. the olp is a perfect guitar to mod to your liking, because they aren't expensive to replace if you hack up the job. the only issue i'd be concerned with is that if you are trying to switch necks on an olp. the quality control and mostly the consistency was not very good, so the neck pockets vary from one to the other.....possibly making a neck switch iffy. i've owned 3 olp mm1's over the years and they were all different.

 

[darchirnoj]

another thing to keep in mind:
If u do hack it, will have any effect on your playing i.e. do you have back-ups, is this your guitar of preference?
If yes to either one of those, don't even bother messing with it.
buy a separate one to hack. GC Used online has some. for ~$199. Maybe you can talk them down a little bit.

I tried to redo a finish on an OLP. It's playable, but I think in retrospect, I should've just kept it the way it was & enjoyed it for what it was.