OLP MM1

This is a review update. See my earlier review, dated 4/8/2003...

Still sounds great. I have'nt picked up my Les Paul since I got this OLP. Unbelievable! My band, Dred (www.geocities.com/dred_music/), is going into the studio May 21st, and I will be using the OLP on all songs except for one. I need a bit more sustain on some clean parts of the song, so I gonna' use the Les Paul for that...

This is a review update. See my earlier review, dated 4/8/2003...

Alas, I must break out my wallet and get some strap locks. My strap came loose a few times, but not many, and it's always while I'm adjusting the strap. It's not a major problem, but I'm still gonna' replace them.

Also, my selector switch seems to have forgotton how to switch to the neck pickup. Again, no biggie, 'cause I don't use that one much, but I'm switching it out anyway.

Because of these two points, I must regretfully lower my reliability rating from an 8 to a 7. Still, a really good guitar for the paltry sum of money...

See my earlier review, dated 4/8/2003...

Gotta' lower it one notch here too, from a 9 to an 8. All in all, still a kickin' slab of wood and paint for the money. Would but another in a heartbeat, and I just might. I don't like the color selection, though.

Black Sparkle(boooring!)
Gold quilt (seems almost everybody has that one)
Purple quilt (Is Prince going to buy this?)
Candy Red (The best, by far)

2003 OLP mm1,made in china,other than it being in trans-blue color all the other specs are the same as others.

Sounds suprisingly good for a cheap guitar,much beeter than others in it's price range.
the two buckers each have their own tones,the bridge one is bitey,but full and has a good midrangey toothy-ness that makes it preety balanced.
the neck one is brighter than a PAF,kind of like a hot P-90
better than a lot of other stock pu's out there.

set up was disgraceful at the store,but after getting it home and tweaking what needed to be tweaked, very nice!

It has a "toyish" feel to it compared to the ernie ball/music man's
It is not that it does not play or feel good,but has a "cheap toyish feel" to it,which i guess is to be expected for the money it cost's.
harware is acceptable,but i would change the tuners,bridge,pot,switch anyway to much higher quality parts.

?

Overall i like it much better than the squiers,the cheaper import jacksons,ibanez rg 120 series,and all the other guitars in the $200 price range.
I will be learning guitar repair on this one,things like fret dressing,installing a floyd rose,etc If i mess up i will just simply get another! cant say that about my other much more expensive guitars!
I would recomend one to anybody who has little cash to spend and still needs a better than average inexpensive guitar that will do the job,like holding the tuning,no excessive fret buzzing,decent tone stock,etc

This your basic OLP Music Man clone with two humbuckers.I was going to replace the pick ups,but the stock ones sound very good.The selecter switch is going out so I will replace that.I hate the fake finish,but who cares.From a distance it looks fine.

I am wondering if I have gone tone deaf or does this guitar really sound this good.I have owned way to many guitars over the past 25 years and it almost makes me sick that this OLP sounds about as good as most of those expensive guitars I've owned.It took a while to get the intonation and set up right.I keep waiting for something to go wrong.There is no way this guitar can be this good.The bridge pick up is hot and gives plenty of bite and sustain.The neck pick up reminds me of a P-90.Check one of these out.

Every thing except the intonation seems fine.I did install .10's and this helps the guitar hold tune.I just can not seem to make myself replace these pick ups.They sound great.I am a little worried about the tuners,but so far so good.

Only time will tell.

Who needs it.

I have been playing and collecting guitars for over 25 years.If I could find replacement locking tuners I would replace the stock tuners.I know this guitar is just plywood but it rocks.I will get several more if this one holds up.

Same features as everybody else. Nice Candy Red finish that could have used a little more buffing, but it's not a problem. Headstock was painted to match the body. Nice touch in an inexpensive guitar. No tone knob. I wish they offered a Floyd Rose for another $100 bucks or so...

I play classic rock, hard rock & metal. Anything from Bad Company, to Van Halen, to Judas Priest and some Metallica. I use it through a Korg Ax100G, into a Peavey Express 112S. I love the twin hummers. They don't sound like they're in a $160 guitar. The bridge pickup is great for crankin' it out, and the neck p/u is a bit more subdued, good for a bluesy sound. Pretty comparable to my Les Paul Studio. Actually, the OLP's may sound better, but I've only had the OLP for a few days, so I'll need a little more time to compare them.

Those bozo's that compared this to the $1,300 Axis, or even the $800 Wolfgang, are complete idiots. THE OLP IS LESS THEN $200, YOU DOPE!!! That's like saying my Pinto isen't as fast as my Corvette. Stupid...

I took it out of the box, tuned it up (it was pretty much in tune anyway), plugged it in, and went right at it. The factory set-up was pretty good. I had to lower the action, but everybody has thier own preferences. Pickups were not in straight, though.

Everything worked quietly & properly. I read reviews where the pickup selector arrived broken, but I bought mine from Music123 (great service), and the selector had a piece of foam protecting it.

Neck is nice & fast. I like the unfinished maple look. Quite a departure from my Black L.P. with a rosewood fretboard. Me like it!

It seems like a quality axe, and should withstand live playing. Then again, I take really good care of all my equipment. Finish is really nice, except for the afore-mentioned buffing issues.

I did not expect much out of the non-locking tremolo, but I can do some slight dive-bombs with this, and it stays in tune. Don't go crazy, though. It ain't a Floyd Rose, which I'm going to install at a later date.

Strap buttons are solid. As a matter of fact, thier so solid that I may not install strap locks like I originally planned on, although a lot of other reviewers suggest doing so. I'll have to wait & see. Hey, if I can save myself $13.00, why not? I'm cheap. It seems very dependable, but I would not gig without a backup, even if I had a $2,500 Les Paul Custom

Did'nt deal with OLP directly. Thier web site is slightly lame. Check out Music123. Great people! I ordered mine @8:30 a.m., and they said it would go out the next day. So I called thier customer support, and they told me they would put in a request to ship it out that day, which they did. Sweeeeet!!!

I've been playing on & off for 15 years, serious for the last two. I have owned an early-80's Kramer Baretta (i think it was a Baretta) (OK), Fender Squire Strat (crap), and my Les Paul Studio (excellent). I would DEFINATLY buy another OLP if it were lost or stolen, no doubt.

This has been a pretty good review indeed, so here are some thing not so great. Since I lowered the action on the bridge, the 12 little allen screws are sticking up a bit, and give me these little cuts on my picking hand. This could be attributed to my playing style. I also wish the pickup selector was in a better spot, say, where Les Pauls have it? It also needs a string tree, since the headstock is not angled back, it's just offset back a little.

I compared this to the Kramer Focus Fat Boy ($100 new--it also got great reviews here), the Epiphone Les Paul Special ($100-$125 used), another Squire Strat ($165 new), the Ibanez Gio series ($150 new), and some no-name stuff. This won out because:
(A) It has twin hummers, compared to the Kramer with a S-S-H setup
(B) It got great reviews here & at Music123(would they put up bad reviews about something thier trying to sell?)
(C) Ernie Ball backed it up
(D) Cool looks! Although I'm partial to the Les Paul shape, the Epi Special just looked cheap. The OLP MM1 looks just like the Eddie Van Halen Wolfgang. I just may put the "Frankenstrat" stripes on it, in honer of EVH. It may sound corny, but he made me want to PLAY music, not just listen to it.
(E) free shipping at Music123.com with a 45 day money-back guarentee. If I don't like it, I can just pay $12 bucks to ship it back for a full refund. Can't beat that!

BEWARE!!!! Music123 is selling them on eBay for $155, but they'll charge you $18 shipping. Very sneaky....

Candy red MusicMan copy made in China. The red one does not have the binding that the photoflame ones have. I would have bought the red photoflame, but the don't sell it in the U.S. for some reason. The feature that I like the most on this guitar is the unfinished neck. I'm blown away by how much faster you can play with these kinds of necks (no sticky finish to slow you down!).

I've been playing a Strat for about 8 years and always wondering if I should make the switch to a humbucking guitar. The OLP sounds great. The humbuckers have a *much* higher output than the pickups on my strat (which are very expensive custom wound "hot" VanZandts), making the guitar much easier to play fast since you don't have to use tons of gain to get notes to ring out loudly. Plus, the pickups sustain like crazy and have a great rock tone through my marshall. I haven't picked up my strat since because it just doesn't have the rock "balls" that these humbuckers do.

I've read tons of posts by the no-life gear snob trolls out there who claim they've seen bridges mounted on headstocks, strings mounted with nails, frets that can cut diamonds, etc. I ordered mine from a big mail order company with basically no high expectations considering what I was paying. When I took it out of the box, I was fairly impressed. The fretboard on mine is a gorgeous piece of maple with some nice looking woodgrain. The fretwork on mine is near perfect. I think I spotted a microscopic amount of extra glue behind one fret that I scraped off, but other than that, they're glued, set, and filed perfectly. The tuners work fine and seem solid. The finish is "ok." There is a small flaw in mine that looks like a little run in the finish in a very small section (smaller than a square 1/2 inch) that you can only see if you hold the guitar up to the light and angle it so. Other than that, the finish looks like it was buffed a little too harshly, but really is okay and looks decent. (keep in mind that I'm being really picky for a guitar that cost me less than $170)

This thing seems solid as a rock. Period. Anyone who thinks the body will disintegrate is just being a troll or is planning on smashing it against the sidewalk. I don't care how many "alleged" pieces of wood they used in the body, it's still solid as a rock and sustains like hell. I have no idea how the finish will hold up since I've only had the guitar for about 2 weeks but it seems like it will last well enough and I wouldn't worry about it. The strap buttons are solid as a rock (unlike those on my strat which pulled out after I had the guitar for two days).

No idea, but don't really care since this thing was so freakin' cheap.

I've been playing for about 9 years. Own a Strat, an Ovation, a classical, a Marshall, and a multitude of effects. The funny thing is that I was never really happy with the tone I got with my Strat even after changing pickups (have another set on the way), trying every gauge of string, every effect under the sun, etc. I'm really digging this OLP though. The humbuckers have this sweet, sustaining, ballsy rock tone that I can't get enough of. The thing I love about this guitar is the neck. It's soooo much easier to play fast that I feel as if my Strat was really holding me back. I recently had set aside two grand in cash and was going to buy a new guitar. I started hearing all of these folks on here raving about these guitars and now I know why. I don't think you can really beat out this guitar for the price at all. I've been playing for at least two-three hours a day since I got this thing and I know I like it when I only put it down after my hands are too tired to play anymore. It may not have the fit and finish of the American guitars that it was cloned from, but I'm not into polishing my guitars and posing with them, I just want to play and have fun and this thing definitely delivers that. Folks, don't listen to the forum trolls trying to spread rumors. Play one yourself and decide.

same as the other reviews have stated,mine is a trans-purple

Both unplgged and plugged into a high quality amp,resulted in some great tones.Unplugged it had a bright,vibrant,ringing tone, and plugged in it was very suprisingly good. The stock pu's are much better than any other $200 guitar out there. I plugged a $200 squier fat strat as a comparison as well as a $300 jackson JS-30 model and the OLP stock destroyed them both!
The i plugged in a real music man axis,now the first thing to keep in mind is that i was A/Bing a guitar that was $1600 and one that is $189.
Now with that now stated,the OLP was damn good compared to the $1600 axis. the tone is very similar with only minimal differences.

set up at the store was what i expected,not very good,after buying it with the stores 30 money back guarantee,i had NOTHING to lose!
set up properly this is a great guitar for the money!

very reliable!i am giving it less than a 10 because unlike some i realize that the switch,volume pot,tuners,bridge are sub par to the superior high quality versions,like schaller tuners,CTS pots,switchcraft 3 way toggles and stew-mac strat bridges.
so since i insist on replacing these items i give it a 6

very good! answered all my questions!

Been playing for 31 years and am very impressed with the guitar. I own a fender strat,wolfgang,jackson soloist and they were all very expensive compared to this OLP mm1,is the OLP a better guitar? NO but it is a better value a thousand time over!
there is one review here i read and the guy MUST be smoking crack,he was comparing the OLP to andersons and PRS's! no wonder he hated the OLP!
he gave everything a 1 just becuase he formed a opinion at the store.
he name is DARIAL,and he job is being a JERK! he is over at the forums all the time insulting any guitar HE DOES NOT LIKE! what a PUTZ!

Features at www.olpguitars.com, or in myriad other reviews above...

My band RANDOMBLIND plays heavy alternative rock, this guitar fit right in... I was looking to spend up to $800 on a guitar when I picked this up... Tried the DeArmonds, Santana SEs, Epiphones, Mexican Strats and Teles, and they were all set up poorly... The guys at West Coast get kinda bored and set up every guitar by hand, eventually... I lucked out and got one they'd just finished tweaking... The acoustic tone of the beast is surprisingly good, the guitar is far heavier than I expected a basswood instrument to be, the pickups scream, are super quiet, and the switch and volume knob are still holding up... My co-guitarist has had to replace the jack and switch on his Epiphone Les Paul in less time than I've owned the MM1 (about 10 months)... Playing through my Marshall JCM 2000 DSL, this guitar is a total winner.. I haven't tried it through a lesser amp, maybe it would suck...

Action was pretty good, I tightened the truss rod and dropped the action another mm or so, the frets are pretty good, but I'm wearing them out a little and will need to have them polished soon... The pickups were a little low and were a little bass-heavy, I raised them a little and messed with the pole pieces a bit to get them to my liking... The lame foto-quilt finish just started to piss me off, so i sanded the bastard down and painted it silver... i think i'll like it much better now...

The guitar has made it through 6 gigs and 10 months of twice-weekly rehearsals without a backup... I just picked up a Godin Solidac, so the MM1 will become the backup guitar... The finish was pretty solid, it survived a few good bails... The strap buttons were ass, I put on straplocks... The guitar is really a fantastic buy, it's a totally solid, working musician's guitar... I really can't believe the quality of it... after having taken it all apart, it's far better than guitars i have owned that i spent triple on...

Never dealt with OLP, but West Coast Music kicks ass... they get a 10

I've been playing for 15 years, gigging for 11... I own some amps, effects, and a Godin Solidac that I just bought... I compared this guitar with every other guitar that I kinda liked under $800 CDN... If you like your tone loud, clear, tight, and focused and you don't wan't to spend all the money you received dontating your left testicle to "science," this guitar is a great purchase... I'd buy a new one in an instant if i lost it... It's really so much better than anything else in it's price range and even most that are double...

same as other reviewers mentioned.the features are too few to be good,so it's a 1.

the sound sucks.nothing close to real guitars such as my PRS and tom anderson.it can't even compare with a real musicman axis or a peavey worfgang.even if you replace the cheap pickups with branded ones,the sound still sucks due to the crappy 7 piece plywood body..

very poor fretwork.plays poorly,string action is very high off the fretboard and there is alot of buzzing.

the guitar looks like it will crumble,due to the crappy 7 piece plywood body.it seems very unreliable and i will not use it for gigs.i will not even use this piece of china made crap as backup..i have my PRS and tom anderson for all purposes.

OLP is not an american company,so what customer support are you talking about?

i don't own this guitar nor do i plan on buying it.i just tried it out of curiousity as some people told me that these OLPS are the best guitars on earth.i'm sorry to these people but eyes and ears don't lie.the OLPS are complete pieces of JUNK.i recommend you guys to save up more money to buy real quality guitars such as PRS or tom anderson which i own.

the morons who sing the praises of OLPS don't know what's a real good guitar,or simply can't afford the good stuff.

not going into detail on this....read others. Mine is trans-purple included truss tool , allen wrench , tremolo bar , and a cheap chord.
rate it average , as it is really as basic a set-up as you can get (would have gotten higher if they would have invested in a tool holder instead of the cheap chord)

I play Christian music....Praise & Worship. Use a Digitech rp100 straight into a Mackie board......no amps & mics.
It takes some getting used to controlling tone with the volume....the pickups , though they may not be Dimarzios or Duncans , get really HOT after 8 or so on the volume.......sound was FULL....on clean channels , it fills a room. On high gain/distorted , it sounds like Godzilla....tons of crunch. Coment was made that this guitar really shows how thin my Stratocaster sound was.

guitar setup from Musicians Friend was HORRIBLE !!!! I adjusted the truss rod , lowered the strings , set the intonation , and added a fourth (4th) spring to the tremolo unit , just to solidify it and stabilize it for tuning. It's smaller than I'm used to , but heavy.....BONUS ! Adds sustain being so dense ,yet compact.
frets were finished nice...as was the pretty (albeit fake) purple top. The binding on it really makes it look like a high dollar instrument. The electronics were flawless.....I'm really impressed

Feels like a sherman tank.....yeah , I'm gigging with it now , with my old strat as a backup. replaced the strap buttons with Straplocks.(A must on this instrument...trust me)yeah...I'd gig it without a backup.....really solid lil guitar

not sure if OLP has customer Support stateside , but Musicians Friend has a 45 day return policy , and I added the 12 month GOLD coverage , just in case

been playing 16 years...own a strat and above mentioned gear. If it were lost or stolen , I'd buy another.
Love the appearance and the sound this thing makes , hate it didn't come with a stop bar or through the body non-trem model.....would sustain for a week with a tele-style bridge !

If OLP put out even a stop-bar type MM1 , I'd buy it in a heart beat. I really dig this guitar...IT IS NOT AN ENTRY-LEVEL GUITAR.....buy a Squier for that....this thing is excellant for the working musician on a budget. Need to know a little more than basics to set it up , but once you do , it's awsome.

PSALMS 33:3

Same Features as listed below. Supposedly a 3-piece basswood body w/ thin laminated top, an HC forumite stripped their paint and lam top off. Which was the reason I decided to try one out.

Good features w/ obvious room for improvements so a 7.

The tone is not that bad. The stock PUs are not weak and not muddy. I think they are a little on the bright side and loose definetion when picking individual notes in a chord. The G-string sounds exceptionally loud compared to all others when playing clean. Both the B and G strings have quite a few "dead" spots, it maybe a problem w/ poor fret level (more on frets later).

Overall I was impressed w/ the sound 8.

The pluses: The setup was fairly good. the action is a bit high, I tried to lower it some and got some problems w/ fretting out. Intonation was close, nothing was so far out that only picky people would be able to tell. The Laminate top looks good as well as the finish and binding. The neck wood itself feels wonderful, very smooth w/ no drags (except for the frets-later). The wrining and switches are not the greatest but there are no loose connections and the pot is not scratchy.

The minuses: The frets have too much over-hang. The cut up my hand pretty good, not to the point of bleeding but the next day (after about an hours worth of playing) the skin was roughed up and felt like "fish scales". The routing work looked a little rough but nothing was gouged badly. The neck pocked is a little off but the neck is perfectly aligned w/ the strings. I just can't get used to the flat top, I need a forearm bevel. The volume pot goes dead below 1-1/2 so doing volume swells is impossible (No Cathedral!). Had trouble getting the trem bar installed, don't know if the bar was the wrong thread pitch or baddly machined block, I didn't try to hard to get it in either, I maybe spent a minute trying.

The only REAL negatives are the volume pot (minor) and the frets (major) 4.

I really don't know just how reliable the GTR will be, I can't amagine the electronics lasting too long but otherwise everything looks VERY solid.

No contact, No comment

Again, I like getting fairly cheap GTRs and hotrodding them. I've gotten used to having the controls in a particular layout that nobady really makes so I buy cheap GTRs and start drilling. I have every intentions of modifing this GTR alot. On the second day I fixed the fret overhang problem w/ a bevel file, 2 minutes of work and I would now give the fit&finish a 8 rating. I plan on learning a lot w/ this GTR, Install OFR flush then recessed, Route neck for locknut, route the neck-joint heel. Route new control cavity. Add a Forearm contour. Possible add a thin 1/8" top. and of course refinish.


This would be a great GTR for beginners and intermediate players, just make sure the frets aren't sticking out. The bad fret ends would probably discourage begginers, which would be a BAD thing. There for an overall of 6, but it is easily fixed if you get a bad one.