OLP 5-String Bass

[mortivan]

In defense of Philco...

I just got a brand new OLP licensed MusicMan 5-string today from The Bass Place (Arizona). I paid $195 on E-Bay for it.

I'm literally stunned by the quality of this thing considering its price and country of origin.

Amazing action out of the box. Intonation darn good. Sound quality great and versatile. Controls feel high quality (not sloppy) and are responsive. Finish is incredible with high-gloss "natural" body and nice satin striped-maple (!) neck. Not a dead spot or bad buzz anywhere to be found!

This bass is nothing like the MIM F****rs I've tried! (I also own a MIM J-Bass.) It plays easier and is more comfortable than most 4-strings I've played. It's light, but really feels solid. It just feels good!

Philco was not exaggerating at all. With product like this, expect to see some inexpensive, yet amazing quality instruments coming from China in the near future. I never thought I'd see the day ...


Now, what the heck am I suppose to do with that extra string?

[rictified]

Hey,
where has Philco been anyway? I'm the only one writing dissertions here lately. The're going to kick me off.

[philco]

Bob, I have been in Russia for the last 3 weeks, and I have had a few adventures in the process. One of the most memorable was a ride down a narrow Russian River in the Pskov Region in a two-man inflatable raft with a Russian guide named Alexander who spoke no English and did not believe in flotation vests (Russians never heard of OSHA or Coast Guard Regulations) and seemed to be wearing a regulation naval Spetsnaz uniform complete with black beret and striped undershirt. He did, however, pick the correct lure from my tackle box (while letting me know that most of my spinners were **** for the Russian conditions) that landed the biggest "Shuka" (northern pike) of the entire trip. The Russian military type jeeps (think Jeep CJ-7) we rode in also did not have seat belts installed, and the guides would have probably thrown them out anyway. The guides gave not a damn for protective sunglasses (from lures) and can treat most medical emergencies with vodka. They never used a landing net, just their hands. We got stuck on the first day going to the first lake and had to backpack the gear in for about a mile. Nobody caught pike except me, and to add insult to injury, I made sure I caught them on a Zebco 33 that I brought along to get my Russian lady friend started in fishing without the hassles of open-faced spinning reels. BTW, the Mitchell 308X that I bought for her son is unbeatable for a $40 open-faced spinning reel. Wish I had brought along a second one. The rods were $40 Cabela's collapsible multi-section graphite models that impressed the Russian guides for their lightness. The spinning models can be used with spinning, spincast, or baitcasting reels and pack into a carry-on suitcase. I would take two of those instead of a separate spinning and baitcasting rods. The spinning rod broke on the first day. Philco didn't bring a rod case, which mistake he will never repeat. I fixed the rod with Super Glue. The rides in Russian jeeps are NOT gentle. My old Daiwa PR10G baitcasting reel drew attention from the locals, as some had never held one in their hands before. You MUST throw into the weeds if you want to catch Shuka, and spinners with two gold blades are the preferred lure. (Constant weed snags are a fact of life. Take along 20# Berkeley Fireline for leaders. Fireline impressed all the Russians when they couldn't cut it with fingernail clippers the way you can monofilament.) Rapala minnows come in second for Shuka lures, and I would take the ones with a gold body and a fluorescent red back the next time. Silver with black back also works well (and works just about anywhere), and I caught the first Shuka on that lure. Also, the plastic Rapala minnows with neutral buoyancy and rattling beads inside are the best type. Shuka will leave plenty of tooth marks on your balsa Rapalas. Weedless bass spinnerbaits with weed guards and two gold blades may be the lure of choice for my next trip. They throw well on baitcasting reels, which allow the most accurate casting. You NEED accuracy because you need BETWEEN the lily pads, and not on them. My biggest Shuka was tangled in lily pads when Alexander grabbed him.

The commonly supplied drink in Russian hunting/fishing camps is vodka. Bring your own beer, wine, and bourbon. Good American bourbon would be an excellent gift for Russian guides. Our vodka generally sucks compared to theirs. I was never a fan of vodka, until I drank genuine Russian vodka. Not bad, not bad at all. Of course, I brought back some caviar and ate some on buttered brown bread while I wrote this. Fear not Bob, Philco is back and will supply literary eclecticism on off-the-wall subjects.

I will post my view of the Russian music club scene in St. Petersburg in a separate post. I visited 4 different clubs on this last trip.

[rictified]

Very eclectic Phil, and I see that you are making up for lost time, lol, also the guides there sound like REAL men! haha. Seatbelts? In Perú in order to not get hurt in their famous accidents you would need a hummer, a real one. Driving here is like playing a game of chicken, whoever puts on their brakes first loses. If you step in front of a moving car here, you had better be fast on your feet, they ain't slowing down for nothing! They might even speed up to give you a warning, as happened to me my first week here.
My wife warned me not to step in front of cars, I said yeah, yeah, Boy did I stay out of their way after that. The drivers here are lunatics, they use their horns more than their brakes,especially if you have the audacity to stop for a passenger getting on a bus or a red light. It's just like watching one of those old foreign movies with ten million little cars flying around and blowing their horns all at the same time, weather's nice though.

[philco]

John, I saw one of those OLP 5-string basses in a music shop in St. Petersburg, Russia, and it was in the natural finish like yours. Really a nice looking bass. Not a single Fender or Rickenbacker bass was in the shop. There was a Gibson Les Paul on the rack, but at over 40,000 rubles it will be a very rare and wealthy Russian musician that can afford it. Russian musicians want the most value for their money, in my opinion. They simply can't afford to blow money on "stage image". I might have seen one backup guitar at one club, but that was all. OLP basses and guitars should sell well in places like Russia. If I ever try a 5-string bass, it will probably be an OLP because I like my 4-string OLP so much. And you are right, the OLP basses just FEEL good and seem to be solidly built and have good cosmetic finish. The Fender Aerodyne Jazz Bass would be the direct competitor to my OLP due to its basswood body, but that $600 price tag scared me away. I don't think many Russians would pay the extra cost over an OLP bass.

I was surprised that I saw no Fender basses in any of the music clubs I visited during my stay in Russia. The Russian musicians get good sound from gear that most American pro musicians would have little regard for. There were two or three Fender Tele guitars being used, but no Les Pauls. The best band used an Ibanez guitar and an Ibanez bass. The best sounding bass amp was a small Ampeg combo with a single speaker, and it was plenty loud for a small club. The bassist at the Liverpool Club used a Hofner bass and a small Hartke amp, but he told me the Hofner was borrowed and not actually his. A Rickenbacker bass would be like a gift from heaven. Guitarists were getting good sound from Peavey and Ibanez solid state amps. I saw a couple of Fender guitar amps, but not a Marshall anywhere. The Les Paul/Marshall combination was simply not to be seen, which surprised me quite a bit. I suppose most Russian guitarists figured out rather quickly that Marshall amps don't exactly offer the most value for the money spent or the highest reliability. The AVT series would seem to be the only line to stand a ghost of a chance due to the competition, but with that particle board cabinet and SPb's notoriously damp conditions, I wouldn't risk it if I was a Russian musician playing there. Except for ony guy that looked like Meat Loaf, most Russian musicians that I heard were good to excellent.

John Hall said elsewhere on the Forum that he has a Russian distributor, so there are Rickenbackers somewhere in Russia. A Russian musician would need a really good and steady gig to afford one. They seem to have an appreciation for high value, so Rickenbacker sales should grow as the Russian economy improves.

[philco]

Bob, as to my long-winded discussion on Russian fishing practices, it is because a day spent fishing is NEVER wasted, as it shall be added to the days of your life. You then have more time for other things, like playing your Rickenbacker.

Like your experience with Peruvian drivers, I should mention my experiences with Air France. First, as we were backing out of the gate at Cincinnati, my plane hit the wing of another plane pulling into the adjacent gate. We were delayed 6 hours while another plane was flown in to replace the damaged plane. Air France then managed to lose my luggage (the bag with the fishing gear) at Charles De Gaulle, their home base, which caught up with me two days later in St. Petersburg. Between Paris and St. Peterburg, I saw an airliner off to our left side and below, and then the Captain put our plane in a turn to the right. I monitored the airliner on our left, thinking we were turning to avoid it, then a white jet contrail flashed over our plane, with another airliner at the end of it just a short distance away. It takes TWO idiot airline captains in radar equipped planes (if the radar is even working right) to manage a close call like that in a sky so big. On landing in SPb, I then paid a Russian airport taxi driver about 1000 rubles for a 10-15 mile midnight trip to my hotel where I was later eaten by mosquitoes after I went to sleep because somebody had left a window open behind the curtains. I woke up all ****** off and started swatting mosquitoes on the walls and leaving blood spots all over the place. Now I knew why Russians drink so much vodka.

On the trip back, Air France only allowed 12 kilos of carry-on weight, which meant my carry-on suitcase didn't get carried on board. I flew to Atlanta with only my camera bag. While waiting in line for customs inspection in Atlanta, a Frenchman told me he gave up on Air France a long time ago. He should know as well as anybody, and I think I will follow his lead.

John, by buying an OLP MM2 instead of a Music Man bass, I saved almost enough money to pay for my round trip airfare to Russia (or more than enough for a new RIC 4003). Just try not to spend the money you save on an Air France ticket. I've had better luck with KLM, and their home base at Amsterdam (Schipol airport) is a lot easier to negotiate than Charles de Gaulle airport. KLM even hands out ice cream bars, and I was rather disappointed that a French airline would not excel in the culinary department. I had to cough up $4 for a little bottle of Merlot wine between Paris and Atlanta on the way back. KLM gave me TWO bottles for no additional cost, besides coffee with cognac, on my previous trip. The ticket price was also about $300 less with KLM in 2001. 30% inflation in 2 years seems a bit steep to me. I might mention that Air France has formed a partnership with Delta similar to the one between KLM and Northwest. Go Northwest/KLM if you have a choice. My brother-in-law flys to Europe regularly on business, and KLM is his favorite. You Rickenbacker owners that fly (and expect your guitar to get there when you do) might want to take note of my experiences.

[rictified]

I flew American and Lan Perú last year to Lima and they lost my 79 4001 for a week, it went to Brasil!
This time they broke one of my Ampeg B-15's, (it was on it's way out anyway, they just finished the job) something simple I think.
I don't think I'm going to fly American again.

[philco]

Bob and John, I think it would be safe to say that an OLP bass in either 4-string or 5-string version would be nice for a Rickenbacker bass owner who needs a nice cheap bass to use for traveling or rough duty in order to save the Rickenbackers from loss or excess wear and tear. I like the fact that my OLP bass has a similar neck feel to my very early '93 4004L bass, in other words, it isn't as narrow as a J-bass neck or as thick as my old P-bass neck. Never owned a 4001 or 4003, so I can't say how those necks compare, but as John mentioned, the OLP basses just FEEL SO NICE for an econo bass. Since Rickenbacker isn't going to offer cheap import versions of their basses and guitars, the OLP MM2 will do for me for now. It is actually superior to my 4004L for popping and slapping, as you would expect since it is based on the Music Man Stingray. Mine has a lot of sustain similar to a Rickenbacker as well, and the weights are very similar. The unbound body is almost as comfortable to rest my forearm against as my 4004L. The tuning keys have never slipped and Ernie Ball Slinky strings come as standard equipment. They seem very similar to my RIC roundwound strings. Like a Rickenbacker, the hardware seems very sturdy and nicely finished. The MM2 black version isn't as pretty if you want a beater bass that is less likely to be stolen. I already have a Jetglo 4004L, so I have no interest in the black MM2.

If you have a bit more money and want to move upscale when looking for a backup for a Rickenbacker, the new Peavey Grind NTB basses should work even better, as they have neck-thru-body construction. They come in natural finish like the early 4004 Cheyenne basses and my 650D Dakota. The reviews are very positive and it would be great to use while you look/save for a Cheyenne, and after you get the Cheyenne it could be your backup. If I hadn't found my used 4004L, I would probably buy a Peavey Grind 4 NTB. It has big passive humbuckers like my 4004L. $360 with free delivery is not a bad price. And it has a 24-fret neck, which my 4004L doesn't have.

Yes, since RIC isn't going to supply me with lower priced versions of their premium guitars, I will look elsewhere for beater backups.

[mortivan]

Hey Phil,

I was looking at Peaveys when I got an itch for a 5-string. I didn't expect to buy anything so soon. When I ran across the brand new in the box OLP on E-Bay for $195, I remembered your posts and figured, why not?!

Best bang for the buck, that's for sure! And they really do feel good to play! I swear it plays easier than many new 4-strings I've tried!

I left a review on Music123 pretty much verbatim of my first post. I didn't buy it from them, but I got my last acoustic there. They don't have anywhere near as many reviews as HC, but the quality seems higher. They've always been good to deal with.

[dave4004]

"...a Frenchman told me he gave up on Air France a long time ago. He should know as well as anybody..."

Man oh man, I could have some fun with that at the expense of France. But I'll restrain myself.

[rictified]

I find the best back up for a Rickenbacker is a beater Rickenbacker, it will still sound as good (maybe better) and best of all, it IS a rickenbacker. I bought a 96 4003 jetglo beater, it's one of my best sounding and playing basses, paid about $600.00 for it with a case. Not as cheap as a OLP but it's a Ric.

[philco]

That's a good deal, if you have the $600 for a beater RIC bass, but a lot of young kids don't even have that. MM2's are easy to find on eBay for under $200. And you don't NEED a case if it is a GENUINE beater guitar. No true beater guitar aficionado that I ever met ever really needed a case. My father is one case in point. His latest acquisition is a black Oscar Schmidt ES335 copy he paid $150 for brand new (sans case), and he likes it just fine and plays it through his $100 Kustom Tube 12 with $5 Ei ECC83 tube.

Also, Bob, it is hard to even find a beater Rickenbacker around this part of Texas, put you can just pick up the phone and immediately get a new OLP for around $230 from several souces. We have an Optometrist where I work who is a musician, and he had never even seen a Rickenbacker when I talked to him! Or an OLP for that matter.

My father has a rare Gretsch that he gave NOTHING for since my youngest brother just gave it to him. He has played it until it looks like a real beater guitar, and he can't find another solid body guitar he likes better (although my 650D comes close). It must have been good karma that allowed him the gift, as he once gave away an old beater Mossman acoustic to our Arkansas State Trooper neighbor without knowing what a Mossman actually was.

[philco]

Least I forget.....this morning I read OLP reviews on Bass Review Gear Archives, and one owner reported that his OLP bass felt exactly like a Music Man bass, but of course it sounded a bit different because it was passive and not active. Another owner bought an active pickup kit for around $200 and reported he got a sound like a genuine Music Man Stingray bass.

Bob is right, the best beater backup for a RIC bass is another RIC bass. But $600 is a bit out of the "beater" category for me, since that is what I paid for my new Tacoma Chief and nearly as much as my RIC 650D.

[big_g]

As the old Lennon song says, "Whatever gets you through the night, is alright."

I have an old I've been had ATK-5 sometimes, has an awesome massive 5 string attack. Sometimes even the most questionable companies slip up, and make a good one. If it's what you need for a gig and it's cheap, it's your money, do what you want.

I knew a bass player that played on the "Chittlin' Circuit", many years ago that played with a blues band, he used an old Danelectro single cutaway, with a Fender Bassman 100 (tube model) and one of those Peavey 2x15". He had flat wounds and within the context of what he wanted to play he had a throbbing tone that was just increadable.

[rictified]

I've played a lot of blues and most of them love the old stuff as I do, B-15's etc., for that "authentic" sound. A guy from my city plays with old hollowbody Silvertone guitars and amps, and they sound unbelievable for what he plays, he even sings through them. He just joined The Fabulous Thunderbirds.