OLP 5-String Bass

Non-Rickenbacker Basses, Fretless Basses & Effects

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rictified
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Post by rictified »

I got my beater on Ebay Phil.
mortivan

Post by mortivan »

Sometimes even the most questionable companies slip up, and make a good one.

LOL!
big_g

Post by big_g »

Yup, some companies amaze me, it is as if they have their Q.A. dept. in reverse. Ten pieces of junk for every good product.

I, however, have noticed the proliferation of cheap C.N.C. and C.A.D. into even the most backwater forgotten parts of the world, and a better quality of, for lack of a better phrase, "Junk", is appearing everywhere.

It takes less skilled people to do complex manufacturing and machine work than it used to.
I work in Aerospace industry, and technology is a double-edged sword. Every day more technology comes into common use and we learn more, invent more and we can do more, and more efficiently too.

Then we turn around and see someone loose their job because instead of ten men, eight can do the process, then by six, then...etc. There are dark sides as well as benefits to technology. I digress, however. I have seen some of these newer, supposedly throw away, guitars, that are really a suprise.

It does give you an alternative; to just buying something beat up, and possibly damaged in a way that your personal inspection might have missed.
Remember the Q.A. analogy earlier? Ah well, at least it makes it, "six of one half a dozen of the other", there's a gem of a cliché.
philco
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Post by philco »

While waiting for my next flight in Cincinati, I had dinner with a textile engineer from South Carolina. He said that he saw a lot more textile plant closures in South Calolina's future. He travels the world and sees what goes on in all the plants. He said that the new Chinese plants used the exact same high tech German machine tools and the exact same Texas cotton that the South Carolina plants were using, and turned out the exact same quality of product. The difference was that South Carolina workers made $10 per hour and Chinese workers made 25 cents per hour. Go figure where the clothing manufacturers will get their fabric from so they can up their profit on their products while remaining price competitive. I just unpacked and examined my new Mitchell spinning reels that cost me $40 each, the same price or less that I paid 15 years ago for my two Shimano spinning reels they replace (so they are actually much cheaper when inflation is factored in). Five ball bearings instead of three, roller bearing in the improved line roller guide instead of plain bearing, instant 360 degree anti-reverse instead of single position anti-reverse, machined aluminum spool instead of molded plastic spool, much better balanced rotor, long-stroke shallow spool instead of short-stroke deep spool, better styling, and the list goes on. Things have gotten better and cheaper. Even the Zebco 33, an American fishing icon, is built in China now, and it is improved over the old American made ones. The Russian Volga, which is a fairly good and stylish car, can be had for around $5K in Russia, or $9K if it is optioned to the max.

The question remains: How long will companies like Fender and Gibson be able to sell American guitars at the prices they charge? Even the MIM Fenders are made to look expensive by the OLP's. How long will you be able to escape the fallout as it heads your way? The 25-cent-per-hour Chinese workers aren't about to buy our products, but we buy theirs.......and my OLP is better built in some ways than some American built guitars.
big_g

Post by big_g »

That is the question, however, I have seen some manufacturing return from overseas. All of these considerations are base on a ratio of cost to produce against cost to replace.
If usage is high and durability in a necessity, these factors can come back to haunt you as a consumer, on the front end, some things really do look much cheaper to use, if you go with a cheaper foreign product. It's the over time cost that sneak up you, or if it's applicable safety.

Take for instance, the Chinese produce one of the cheapest military rifle variants in the world today, fine if you’re a third world dictator with not much money and the desire to dominate. Another country, on the other hand, which a higher state of development and a desire to defend, not dominate, will place a higher value on there soldiers lives will pay more per unit for a better made weapon.

Many products can do the same thing, and a lower cost alternative will, most of the time, win out.
We have to balance our desire to pay less against our desire to not only do better but also see better results within our society; these are great considerations that you've brought up and food for thought. Forgive me, that was sort of on topic and off.
philco
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Post by philco »

My point is that my OLP is durable AND cheap AND of a fairly good finish and tone. It appears to be at least as good or better in every way than my 1975 Fender P-bass that I paid at least $1000 for in 2003 dollars. I see no reduction in durability anywhere, and it is actually much more comfortable to play because of the much lower action without buzzing. I like the sound better as well.

As far as military rifles go, the AR-10 and AR-15 are both much cheaper and easier to produce than the M-14 and M-1 Garand were, and leave the M-1 carbine way behind in the dust for lethality. The M-1 and M-14 are a machinist's nightmare, according to one guy I know that makes parts for the firearms industry. The AR-10 took design elements of the FN FAL and other top rifles of its day, and added a few of its own like a recoil buffer in the buttstock. Your frail grandma can shoot it without getting hurt. From it came the AR-15 which became the M-16 with full auto capability. I have fired an M-16 on full auto with total controllability, which feat is a total impossibility, even for a sumo wrestler, with a full-auto M-14 that costs much more. A Thompson submachine gun, and all other submachine guns, are totally outclassed by comparison because the AR-15 design allows a deadly rifle round to be fired instead of a wimpy pistol round. The army did a study and found out that huge increases in costs would only yield a rifle that was slightly better in comparison, as long as smokeless powder was the propellent. There will be some old Marines and such who will defend the M-14, but the AR-10 shoots the same round and will trounce it in every way imaginable, and at a lower cost and with a weight similar to an AR-15. It is nearly impossible to ruin a barrel on an AR-15/AR-10 with sustained fire, while many M-1 barrels were ruined on the Chinese human wave assaults of the Korean war. The notion that you get more when you pay more, even in mass produced military rifles, is often erroneous. The AR-10 and AR-15 were designed for high production automated manufacture from the start, while the M-1 utilized lots of skilled labor and "old school" production techniques. The OLP MM2 is obviously built in an automated factory with modern tooling, which gives it excellent uniformity from unit to unit since human variability of skills has less chance to exert itself. If you want an example of the craftsman's art, buy an "old school" Rickenbacker and pay the price. If you want a darn good guitar at a bargain basement price that is safe to buy by mail because of uniformity in manufacture, then buy the OLP. Most people will buy instruments that are produced in the way that the OLP guitars are produced........by machines as much as possible with cheap human labor doing the rest. I see nothing about my OLP bass that suggests it will be short lived and needing frequent repair or replacement due to heavy use. It is one of the first in a new wave of guitars and basses: cheap AND good.

Hand-built American guitars may become like mechanical Swiss watches...........art statements for the well-heeled connoisseur. Just as cheap digital watches trounce expensive mechanical watches in the area that watches were originally purchased for, keeping time, machine-built guitars may trounce those made by hand in sound and playability, except for the most expensive ones built by master craftsmen at high cost.
mortivan

Post by mortivan »

It is one of the first in a new wave of guitars and basses: cheap AND good.

My thoughts exactly.
big_g

Post by big_g »

Granted, I think, that if it fits you need then it's just just the ticket. It does give you an alternative to buying someone else's hand me down.

I haven't had a chance to see them up close yet, there is another company like OLP that makes a pretty interesting knockoff of a much more expensive bass, Robelli, I think is the spelling.

They make a 8-string the UDB-510, looks like a good deal if you want a cheap eight string for home studio or individual songs in a set.
philco
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Post by philco »

I think we will be seeing a lot of good cheap guitars and basses from a lot of different companies in the future. My brother played my OLP MM2 today, and I saw him looking at bass amps in a catalog soon afterward. He really seemed to like the MM2. He admitted that bass is more fun to him than guitar, though he always played the guitar more. He definitely has his own bass style, and plays it as a bass GUITARIST somewhat in the style of John Entwistle who played several other lead instruments before taking up the bass. The easy playing action and bright tonal character of the MM2 pickups makes it a good lead bass. It even outclasses my RIC 4004L for lead bass playing, I think. With a conversion to active pickups, it would really be something for a player that plays bass as a lead instrument. My MM2 makes me wish I had bought a Music Man Stingray back in 1976 instead of that P-bass I got stuck with.

Doesn't the Peavey Wolfgang that Eddie Van Halen uses have a basswood body also? I saw the Peavey Special EXP model of the Wolfgang for sale in Musician's Friend catalog for $599.99. It has a locking nut and Floyd Rose tremolo. Looks like a real common sense guitar for a bargain price. It has a wide neck like my 650D. I'm starting to drool. Image
philco
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Post by philco »

While we are on the subject of good cheap guitars, I should mention the Oscar Schmidt "Delta King" by Washburn that my dad bought at closeout for $150, half the normal discount price. It's a fairly good copy of the ES-335, but is even cheaper than the cheapest Epiphone. It is being replaced by an upgraded version called the HB30 that is even a better buy from what I have read. The Delta King neck feels really good and it has good action, but I prefer a smaller body, so the ES-335 type of guitar doesn't really appeal to me. It did have a tone that was way above what I expected for the price. However, my dad's Gretsch and my 650D definitely bettered it in the tone department unless you prefer a slightly bottom heavy sound. They got the name right, as it definitely has a Delta Blues tonality. The Washburn HB30 can be found online for around $400 if you look hard enough, and it's a real looker to boot. I would never fork over the high dollars for a Gibson ES-335 with all the nice Epiphone and Washburn copies to be had for 25% or less of the Gibson price.

Fender reintroduced the 12-string Strat that sells for $700 in Musician's Friend. We'll see what share of the RIC 12-string market it grabs, if any. The 12-string market has needed more variety.
rictified
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Post by rictified »

One thing Entwhistle played was a tuba, cool instrument, I played one for a year in the sixth grade, (was actually a baritone horn, but had the same range I guess with different fingering, same as a trumpet) I loved it, I was the loudest thing in the school band, I was actually a trumpet player and the instructor asked me to play it, I didn't want to go back to the trumpet, I've always loved bass, I started out on guitar, and got pretty good (still play) but my first love was the low down bajo. It was McCartney's fault.
philco
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Post by philco »

Yeah , Bob, some people tend to forget that the bass guitar is a GUITAR, and not a double bass. Picking one up and playing the notes like on a double bass was a bit wrong from the start, but understandable for those coming off of standup double bass in the early days. John Entwistle was one of the first guys to use more than one picking finger when playing bass, and this was at least a decade after Leo invented the bass guitar! I never had any desire to play a double bass, as they are too big to easily carry around, the strings are harder to fret, they don't have piano ring and sustain tone, and you had better have near perfect pitch recognition. No wonder most rock-n-roll players wanted to be the guitarist, and only fell in love with bass guitar after being forced to try it. Maybe I am wrong, but the double bass always seemed like a good instrument for masochists. Can't ever remember seeing a woman playing one.

Beethoven loved bass also, and increased the number of bassists from 4 to 8 in his later symphonies. "Bass is the basis of western music" is one of his quotes. No tin tone for Ludwig, one of the earliest piano destroyers.
shamustwin
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Post by shamustwin »

Poor old Ludwig had to cut the legs off of his pianos as his hearing got worse so he could play laying down, his ear to the floor which amplified the sound.
rictified
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Post by rictified »

Jerry,
That must have been torture for someone like him to lose his hearing, actually for someone like us too. I heard that he composed a lot of his major symphonies while he was stone deaf too.
Phil, I saw a woman playing a stand up a few months ago, the band was playing jazz standards, and she was pretty good too. I like the stand up bass, actually I love the sound of them, a lot of the jazz players are unbelievable, they play them like they are guitars. You need a lot of strength to play them, I've fooled around with them over the years and you get a nice satisfying thump! when you pluck a good one. I use two fingers like on a bass guitar, although if I ever get one I'll probably learn the correct technique, they are just so damn expensive. They are kind of common in my area, there are a lot of rock and punk a billy bands here with them. I know one guy, he's called Jack the Swinger (great player), and he played Rics before he switched to upright, and still looks longingly at mine when I see him. He was in a national touring band (forgot the name) and used two SVT cabs and heads, with no roadies! How would you like that Phil? haha.
philco
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Post by philco »

No roadies? If I toured with a double set of SVT cabs and heads, it would just about guarantee that no roadies would want the gig.

I have never seen any upright basses for sale in any of the music stores around here. Just how expensive are they? I'm so cheap I'm wondering if I should let go of the cash for an OLP 5-string bass.

Actually, Jerry, Ludwig was breaking pianos very regularly just from the way he played them. His playing style forced a major upgrade of the piano in order to just last one concert without him breaking it. It has been said that if one of his symphonies is actually played the way he meant it to be played, several of the stringed instruments are supposed to have broken strings.
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