OLP MM1

Everyone knows the features of this guitar, but mine is the new one with the FLOYD ROSE, glad I waited... Mine is black finish, really looks a lot like Eddie's. Maple neck no finish that feels well... i'll tell u

good sound, neck pickup is beaaaaaautiful, and for 90% of players, the bridge is hot enough, good harmonics, almost as much as the 2 dimarzios i tried, very clear sound from both, even with distortion, good clarity, you can tell they were trying to emulate the real eb mm's, and they do a pretty convincing job, but I wanted a little hotter so i dropped a Tone Zone in from my other guitar.

Mine came set-up nicely, low action, butter to play, dude, BUTTER, the neck feels like your running your hand through a girl's hair from a tresemme commercial. your fingers just FLOAT on the the strings, it's very welcome in my home. finish was nice, binding is cool looking, and mines black, so you cant really pick out the somewhat overbearing trem route... great guitar for the money man, no doubt

who knows

who knows

I love it man, it turns my old guitar, my baby, my first, into a commemorative piece. it just feels soooo good in your hands man. just try it, you can always find someone to sell it to. the neck shape is just untouchable, more comfortable than the real axis's or the wolfgang. sound is good too, basswood is a good choice for rock guitar. very complete sound out of this guitar, and now that my tone zone is in, i can input more dynamics into this puppy, but stock pickups are still very good, put it this way, i only took one out and the i kept the other one in case i wanted to switch back...

Bought it 26/12/04 trans-blue, 22 frets, jumbo , 1 vol control, two humbuckers, maple neck and basswood body.
A cheap cable is included.

Probably, i'll change both pickups but i think im already getting sad that the bridge one will have to leave so I can use my JB...
I really liked the bridge pickup, very EVH sounding...
the neck one has a fat sound, but i don~t use it very much cause i think it needs more treble... Anyway ill give a solid 8

the guitar needed some adjustments as the D string was having some trouble with fret buzz (open string till fourth..). The action was low enough to me, and the neck is probably the best thing in this guitar, even with the lack of tung oil ( the neck eventually will startto get darker and darker and therefore uglier with a dirty aspect) ill give it a 10...
the hardware stands up nicely and ocassionally it gets out of tune, but i bend very hard, so without a floyd rose there~s no way a guitar can stay in tune all the time with me ....
the finish is good, no flaws and overall it deserves an 8
id give a 10 for the neck and an 8 for hardware and finish.. average of 8!

I think it'll withstand live playing, but im using it as a backup
in my opinion this guitar will last at least 8years in good condition, with luthier inspecting every 6 months..

never had to deal with them

i've been playing for 9 years
good guitar indeed, worth every penny and i think i'll buy another olp, a mm4!!

Just got this one for christmas and a few others on here I got the mint-green color. I think its looks cool...like a 57 chevy color on crack. I like the setup for pickups and the single volume knob.

I play whatever style of music is on my mind on that particular day. I use this guitar for playing modern rock requiring good trebly distortion. It works good for the van halen sound (of course). The guitar is not for blues but that's why this is a good second guitar...get yourself this for modern rock and a strat or something like that for blues/classic stuff.

Perfect action! I have a 71 strat setup with really big strings for the blues side of things but this one is setup with small strings very close to the neck. No problems at all with the construction. Gotta love the mint green finish...the other available finishes look pretty good too.

Haven't had it out in the "gig" (anyone else tired of that word?) world yet. Based on the way its built i'd say it can take it with no problem.

doe not know...hopefully i'll never need them

Great guitar for the money...even if you shell out the usual 180 sale price most stores list it at. Easy to play...small so it fits in those tiny studio rooms too.

I have the mint green color because it was cheap. It's a love/ hate color, but I like it. It stands out. The tuners work fine now, but I am curious to see if they hold up, most generic ones do not. The headstock could really use string trees to improve sustain and string performance. The neck is awesome, and is worth the price alone. The fretboard is unfinished, and can get dirty, but lighter fluid (naptha) will clean it right off. The bridge is a solid, and strat gotoh copy. Considering the price of this guitar, the pickups are nice. False harmonics are a breeze. Bridge pickup has a decent output and is great for hard rock or the EVH brown sound. The neck pickup is decent also. I was able to get some blues and country tones out of it. No tone control available, but I never use them any way. My eq is done on my pedals and amp. The volume knob, which is usually never commented on, is something else I really dig about this guitar. The volume change is gradual, not instant like on cheaper (and expensive) guitars. It is very easy the sweeping volume pedal effect. With a distortion pedal, it acts like a smooth gain.

For the money they sound great. For tone geeks, you could put some DiMarzios in it for an upgrade or tweaking. But played through a Mesa Boogie Studio 22, they sound fine. You can achieve about any rock tone (excluding nu metal) with the bridge pickup. Country blues and blues tones with the neck pickup.

Set-up from the factory needs come serious improvement, but this is typical of these imported guitars. The truss rod adjustment nut was so far out that is was pushing the neck pickup cover inward! A quick adjustment fixed that problem and added some relief in the neck. The neck pickup is a little flimsy and probably needs the screws replaced or a shim to keep it stable. I also had to adjust the pickup height. Pickup selector appears to be a little on the cheap side. We'll see how it holds up. This guitar was strung with Ernie Ball Slinkys from the factory, not some cheapys! Once this baby is set up, it plays like a dream.

Only time will tell, but based on my experience with owning expensive and budget guitars, this should hold just fine. The only thing that I see changing is the toggle and the tuners when they go. All a minor expense.

I have been playing for about 15 years as a semi-professional. I own 12 guitars and I am very selective on my guitar purchases. I gambled on this one because it was 99.00, and I needed a "hacker" guitar for leaving around the house. I must say that I can not put this thing down. I love how the neck feels on this guitar. If you have big hands or if you are a heavy handed player, you may want to try test drive this one first. Great for a beginner and a steal for the price. The experienced player may need to do some minor tweaking, but should seriously consider this guitar to add to the collection. Is this an Axis or Wolfgang copy? By all means no. The craftsmanship and parts are far superior on those. The closest thing the MM1 has in common with those is the neck and the appearance.

2004 Ernie Ball Official Licensed Product (OLP) MM1 model, solid "mint" green color with matching headstock color. Basswood body and maple neck and fretboard. Standard tremelo with H/H pickup configuration, single volume knob and selector switch. Just like the Music Man Axis model, but with no Floyd Rose Locking Tremelo, string tree on the headstock and tung-oiled neck. Otherwise, identical. No gig bag, but it did come with a cable, wrench and extra springs for the trem.

I own both the Music Man EVH and Axis Models. Granted there is a big difference in craftmanship between those and the OLP, but this little guitar has nice sweet TONE clean and for basic stock pickups, this guitar cranks out plenty of rock and roll. The sound is rich, full and you get good variation between pickups. It is not that far off from it's big brothers in the sound and tone department. Amazing for a guitar that is only $199 dollars. Yes, you get the Van Halen Brown Sound out of this guitar. Straight out of the box it sounded great!

Again, I'm amazed at the fit and finish on a guitar that I paid $99 for! It's clean, and everything is fit together very, very well. It looks good, the "mint" green is more of a gumby seafoam green when looked at in real life, but it's got a nice 50's vibe to it. Nice touch with the matching headstock. Straight out of the box the intonation was set very well and it comes with Ernie Ball strings on it already and they are staying in tune with no problems. Action was a bit low, but a little turn of the wrench and that was not a problem. The neck needs some tung-oil, but it's a nice fast neck and well balanced. The design of these neck, just like it's big brothers, is small in scale, great for small hands, but if you have Steve Vai-ish fingers, this may feel very small to you. However, this is sized just right for younger students. Fret work needs a bit of a clean up, edges are a bit rough, but very nice for the price

Ok, this guitar is not an Axis, nor the EVH model. However, this is a close second in the reliability/durability category. It feels solid and plays solid. Only complaint is the nut is a bit weak, as far as material and setting, and a string tree on the headstock would help more with sustain and string reliability. The trem is decent, but it's no Floyd Rose. So if you do some heavy dive-bombs, you may want to consider a locking/floyd set up like on the Axis. But for basic vibrato and heavy bends on the strings, the OLP has held up and stayed in tune. I use it to teach my students with, as an example of a solid guitar on a low budget, but it plays great, very smooth and easy and holds up to 4 hours of lessons without breakdown. I've not giged with it, but I would not hesitate to add it to my lineup of guitars. You are getting more than your monies worth out of this guitar, best entry level (and intermediate for that matter) guitar that I've seen in 24 years.

Never delt with the company, Ernie Ball makes good products and the Music Man line of guitars are exceptional. I do not anticipate a problem if I had to contact them. Thank you guys for making the OLP that I can share with my students and kids and not go broke in the process. It's a new guitar that I bought from Musician's Friend, has a basic Warranty on it, so they stand behind their products!

Bang for the buck, nothing else comes close. This guitar is just behind it's big brothers and costs a good $1000 dollars less. Compared to other guitars, like the Wolfgang, this guitar is easily in the $700 value range and on average goes for $199. How do they do that? Ok, it's not U.S. Made, but compared to other imports, this guitar is in its own category, it really stands out. I've played for 25 years, perform and teach guitar part-time. I highly recommend this guitar as a first electric and student guitar. It plays like a dream and is great for smaller hands. An ease to play and that is important for learning. However this is no chump! Clean it has that sweet crystal tone of basswood and really sings, drop down to the brige humbucker and you have that EVH cranked brown sound. You can tweek harmonics out of this guitar and the neck plays fantasic. Sqeels and screams come out of this guitar, just like the expensive big brother with the fancy pickups, now how did they do that for under $200???? I love this guitar, it looks great, plays great and I would use this guitar in any environment. If lost or stolen, yes I would replace immediately and probably grab a second of another color just to add to my collection and share with students. I recommend new and old players alike get this guitar. New players will never outgrow it and old players will enjoy its ability to get the Van Halen brown sound without spending $1300. Great studio tool and extra guitar!!!

Pretty much been said already--two zebra humbuckers.

One volume control, no tone control (which I like alot!). Three position PU selector (neck, bridge, both).

Decent tremolo bridge.

The non-locking tuners are okay for this price range. Nice finish, smooth action--but feel a little "loose".

Thin laminated maple neck/fretboard with medium frets. Neck is finished with a light satin finish. Fingerboard is finger stained after less than 8 hours of playing.

25-1/2 scale.

Included a cheap cord that had connection problems after a few hours.

The overall guitar length is very short. Perfect for tight studio work, or in my case, very tight computer home studio work.

I have played guitar off and on for 30+ years. I have owned and played dozens of guitars including my main axe, a 70's Strat I purchased new in 77-78. I purchased the OLP MM1 based on user reviews and a my own hands-on experience at Guitar Center.

The sound of the Guitar Center OLP MM1 through a clean Twin-Reverb amp was excellent. The bridge PU was clean and bright, the neck pickup was full and had a nice deep sound. I also tried an Epiphone Standard LP ($600) and Gibson Standard LP ($1,800) and frankly, I liked the tone of the GC OLP the best, especially with distortion.

However, the bridge PU of the OLP I purchased from Music123 sounds different than the GC OLP--it sounds like the Strat middle PU--kind of quacky. Also, it has much less output than the bridge PU. My OLP bridge PU sounds identical to the GC OLP which is to say, fantastic.

By the way, the absence of a tone control is not a problem. Like the experienced users say, just adjust the amp/preamp tone controls.

The reason I wanted this guitar was for the humbuckers (no 60hz hum). They are completely 100% hum and squeal free regardless of the amount of distortion or gain I apply to its signal.

The OLP is perhaps the easiest guitar to play I have ever played. Action is great, the neck is thin, it just wails. Great for new students and kids with small hands.

After playing the guitar for several hours I have found the neck is a bit too thin for my liking. I have large, strong hands--I can literally pull the thing out of tune if I use my normal ham-fisted technique. I have noticed lately that guitar necks have become quite thin, probably to save $$$$. The problem is they just don't put with player abuse--I mean who needs a tremolo???

The guitar arrived from M123 in good playing shape. However, it was not innotated properly (strings tuned at 12th fret, were out of tune when played open).

After two days of playing I started getting substantial string buzzing. I followed the included OLP instructions to resolve string buzz and made matters much worse. Why? The truss rod adjustment nut was shimmed against then neck with what I can best describe as ends of toothpicks. I thought they were just misc wood shavings--nope, shims. Hence, after removing them, I could not get the neck adjusted to save my soul. Hopefully, my local guitar shop (Modern Music) can fix my mess.

A couple of other complaints: Most pics of OLP guitars shows a string tree. Mine does not have one. If any guitar ever needed string trees it is the OLP MM1. Since the tuner head is not angled back (ala the original), you must have string trees to provide proper string tension, alleviate buzzing, etc.

The bridge pickup arrived sitting on an angle. I did not find a ways to level it out (front to back). My local store hopefully will figure it out.

Finally, the sunburst photo finish is actually quite attractive, but the body routing for the pickups, the extreme light weight, and a few other things here and there scream CHEAP GUITAR. Again, I am used to my strat whose body is one piece of ash, a one piece maple neck, etc. I guess you get what you pay for.

For those who indicate the fit/finish/quality of the OLP is better or much better than current Squires, just simply don't know what they're talking about. I have played both extensively. The quality of the Squires I have played (Tele, Fat Tele, Strat, Strat HH) are heads and shoulders above the OLP.

I cannot believe anyone would trust this guitar for frequent gigging. However, for home, students, etc., it should last just fine.

OLP has responded to every email (5+) within an hour or so. I would say they are very attentive.

In retrospect, I should have purchased another Squire. However, it is a good guitar for the $$$, it is extremely easy to play, and at least the GC OLP MM-1 sounded great.

Chinese-made Music Man Axis copy. Trans-red finish, quilted top. All the features are the same as all the other reviews. It is a nice copy of the Ernie Ball, with some cheaper hardware and no Floyd Rose. For $200, I'm very satisfied.

Nice sound, the pickups compared to the real thing aren't quite as loud and don't quite have the same crunch. I've played both through a Marshall JCM2000 and a few other amps at Guitar Center.

The action was great out of the box, nice low strings. No visible flaws. All in all it was nice. You have to be careful, though. Because the other models that were in the store were set up terribly and felt awful. Take your time and try out as many as possible.

The guitar seems very durable. The hardware is a bit cheaper than the EB MM, but can be replaced if you feel that's needed. The finish is very nice. It seems like a very dependable guitar.

It has a warranty, but I really don't know about the customer support. No opinion here.

I haven't been playing all that long. I own a Takamine acoustic as well. I've played friends' Ernie Ball MMs pretty frequently though, and really enjoyed those -- so I wanted an inexpensive replica that didn't look, feel or sound terrible. This OLP is a better guitar that I could have ever imagined.

Ernie Ball axis style guitar, 22 fret,syncrinized tremolo, maple neck, maple fretboard, basewood body,2 humbucker pickups,

the bridge pickup is bright, puncky and clear, lacks power that most of us are used to,

i plan to replace them with the Seymour Duncan "Dimebag" humbuckers
and coil taps

the setup was good, intonation was correct, the parts fit really well, and there are no gaps in the neck pocket,, the bridge was a bit stiff so i took out a spring, and might have to take out another
the hardware is good, no rust or ill fitting parts

i wold never try to use this guitar for a live gig unless i changed pickups and put a string tree on it, even tuned to pitch, the strongs feel loose and i bendstrings hard,

GET STRAPLOKS!!!! the buttons on it is crap, straploks are the only way to go

i have never dealt with OLP, it has a warrantee, but if anything goes on it, i'm sure i can find a better product to replace it with

this guitar is of fair quality, its not great, but again its a $200 guitar

i have Schecter, Carvin, and Warmoth, and this doesnt compete, if yer lusting after a real axis, get a real axis a olp and ernie ball are 2 totally diffrent animals

Features as decribed by others. Finish is trans purple.

I play rock, pop, blues, some country, some jazzy stuff. Guitar worked with all styles in gig and rehearsal action.

Gig amp used was Fender Deluxe 90 (small bar). Rehearsal amp was a Peavey 5150 head w/Marshall 4x12 cab. No effects. Guitar's volume control and pickup options were enough to vary sounds accordingly.

Guitar is very quite in middle position, a little hummy on either bridge or neck - once song starts, not noticable.

Pickups are very versatile and sound very good.

Guitar was good to go out of the store - after a change to .10s.

Slight pickup height adjustment made during gig but nothing major.

Finish is nice but insignificant. This is a gigging guitar that's going to get nicked and beat up. That's what it's for. It sounds and plays exceptionally.

I've only had it for a week. 2 gigs and a rehearsal. Broke a high E and the A string but I break strings on my Gatton Tele and 70s Strats all the time.

But the guiutar held up to a 4 hour bar gig, a 45 minute showcase and a 2 hour practice and didn't fall apart.

I took the bar off and lost it but I nver use one anyway. That was the one thing that seemed kinda useless on the guitar anyway.

I wouldn't gig without a backup, but I would use this $200 guitar as a main or backup. It's good.

Bought aat CG. A friend is mgr. so any issues would be handled.

Been playing 20-something years. I have several 70s Strats, a CS Strats, Gatton Teles, LP, SG, etc. Hopefully the OLP will be able to handle lots of work without falling apart. But even if it conks out after a year or so, it will be worth it. I don't see that happening but you never know.

I would definitely get another one if it is lost or stolen and may get another aanyway.

I did try 5 or 6 Music Man and Peavey EVH guitars and NONE was as good as the OLP in feel or sound.

Brand new MM1 (as of 7/04). Guitar was made in China. It has 22 medium jumbo frets (despite what OLP's site says about them being jumbos). Photo quilt top (trans gold) over a black painted basswood body, plastic creme binding on body. Maple neck, maple fretboard with a plastic nut. Neck is 25.5 scale length with about a 10"-12" radius Trans gold veneer headstock overlay. 4+2 schaller copy tuners (pretty good actually). Bridge is a 6 screw vintage (sort of) type, chromed. Two zebra coiled humbuckers with a three way switch and one volume control, no tone controls. Guitar came with the trem bar, a guitar cord (haven't tried it yet), a small allen wrench for the trem, a "bar" for adjusting the truss rod, and some generic setup directions. Styled after the Ernie Ball/Musicman Axis guitar (formerly the Van Halen signature model). I'm going to leave a "no opinion for this catagory, as I don't see a point to rating it's features. Either you like the guitar or you don't; one knob or ten, you know what I mean?

This guitar is moldeled after a famous rock guitar, so you know what it's intended to do! That said, the guitar sounds good. With your amp on distortion the bridge humbucker sounds very good. It sounds better than the dimarzio super 2 or 3 (don't remember) in my fender HM strat, but not as good as the schaller pickup in my '83 Kramer Pacer. The bridge pickup seems to have "loose distortion" if that makes any sense, kind of a flabby, non tight dist. sound; but it is still quite good sounding, just a little different than I'm used to. Clean bridge, sounds "spanky" or "honky", almost like a country sound. I think it would be great for chicken pickin'. Neck pickup: With distortion the neck p.u. sucks, very muddy. Clean, the neck pickup shines! Sounds good. Middle Position (both pickups): Sounds pretty good distorted and clean; don't know how to describe it, just sounds nice.

NOTE: I rate things harsher than many folks, so view my ratings with this in mind.

When I tried this guitar out at Guitar Center, all it needed was to be tuned up (straight out of the box I opened). The action seemed to be OK at the store, but I knew that I had to get it home to really inspect it (intonation, truss rod, ect.). I tried the guitar out through a CRATE solid state amp of some sort; and now I know why everybody hates crate amps.
At home, I started to set up the MM1 properly; but decided to save time for myself and not set it up, as I plan to tung oil the neck soon. I did however adjust the truss rod a little. The intonation is off a little, but I will go through a detailed setup after the neck is oiled (OLP says the neck is finished, but let me tell you- I got the neck dirty just from playing on it for about an hour, so tung oil is going on this neck soon!) I did't find much fret buzz at all, and I am anal about that. What very little fret buzz there is will go away when I raise the action and adjust the truss rod to my liking. The frets themselves are VERY nicely done, no errant "hangovers", unlike a certain big name company's frets always seem to have. The only nit I have to pick is that the neck pickup cavity has some kind of white stuff on it's walls. I'm not anal enough to remove the pickup and clean it, so it will remain. The pot and switch are fine. I know on most cheap guitars these things tend to go out, but I don't hear nary a crackle from them as of now. Note: Some of the OLP MM1's at the store had some sort of tool marks in the wood, on the fretboard between the nut and the first fret; just so you know to look out for this. Remember, I rate things harshly, so my 7 is akin to other's 9's.

One thing I have always noticed about cheap guitars is that the finish is pretty soft. The OLP's at the store had scratches on the their backs, so I assume mine will probably follow suit. This is not a musicman, so I don't presume to think that the parts are all top shelf. Everything seems fine now, though time will tell I suppose.

Never delt with Olp. I purchased the two year extended warranty from G.C., so I'm good for at least two years. I believe the salesguy told me OLP's warranty is six months.

I have been playing on and off for about ten years. I wanted something un-strat like in my arsenal. I am now a believer in inexpensive guitars.
Note to kids: Please don't go out and spend a fortune on an instrument and an amp. Sink your money into lessons and instructional materials. You will be FAR better off in the end. Your same crappy playing will be just as crappy on a American std. strat as on a squier. Don't let friends/peer pressure get you tied up on the headstock name. TRUTH.
Good guitar overall.

Bye!