OLP or Eagle bass? Help me decide

[Thurisarz]

I'm having trouble deciding which bass to buy, it stands between an OLP Stingray and an Eagle Soul T, see pictures below.

Give me your thoughts about the basses. The OLP is made of basswood, is that similar to another wood and how does it sound compare to others? I have tried both basses but in different colors liked them both alot but now i'm having trouble to decide which to buy.

Thanks!

 

[Norman_T]

Re: OLP or Eagle bass? Help me decide

Basswood is akin to alder and has a slightly warm tone and is used in guitars and also basses. Of the two I would prefer the OLP as I don't know enough about the other bass. Of course they are modelled after the Precision and have got the double humbucker on them for increased tonality. Have you tried the SUB-1 bass from Ernie Ball which is a cheaper version of the MM-Stingray? these are supposed to be very good and made in the US and I think probably a couple of hundred more dollars then the OLP.

 

[Thurisarz]

Re: OLP or Eagle bass? Help me decide

as i am on a budget, these is are the only one's i can afford right now...
Some info on the basses:

Eagle Soul T:
Traditional solid mahogany body with maple top
Hard Rock Maple neck, Eagle new head for max. sustain
35" scale
Maple fretboard, abalone Star markers
1 Eagle Humbucker pickup
Volume and Tone controls
The new Eagle bridge, no individual height adjustment for max. sustain
Strings Through Body design - maximum sustain
Chrome Hardware

OLP MM2:
Body Material: Basswood
Neck/Fingerboard: North American Maple/Maple
Frets: 21 Jumbo
Scale: 34"
Inlay Design: Black dots
Hardware: Chrome
Machine Heads: Open Gear
Pickups: 1 Music Man Style - 4 String
Electronics: 2 volume, 1 Tone
Bridge: Heavy Duty 4 String

I had a look on the SUB bass but that costed alot more then i could afford...

 

[Norman_T]

Re: OLP or Eagle bass? Help me decide

as i am on a budget, these is are the only one's i can afford right now...
Some info on the basses:

Eagle Soul T:
Traditional solid mahogany body with maple top
Hard Rock Maple neck, Eagle new head for max. sustain
35" scale
Maple fretboard, abalone Star markers
1 Eagle Humbucker pickup
Volume and Tone controls
The new Eagle bridge, no individual height adjustment for max. sustain
Strings Through Body design - maximum sustain
Chrome Hardware

OLP MM2:
Body Material: Basswood
Neck/Fingerboard: North American Maple/Maple
Frets: 21 Jumbo
Scale: 34"
Inlay Design: Black dots
Hardware: Chrome
Machine Heads: Open Gear
Pickups: 1 Music Man Style - 4 String
Electronics: 2 volume, 1 Tone
Bridge: Heavy Duty 4 String

I had a look on the SUB bass but that costed alot more then i could afford...

I presume that both of the guitas are in the same price range? If so then it is going to be down to your own personal choice. I am still of the opinion that the OLP would be better as this may offer you that much more tone verstaility than the Eagle. You may also find that should you want to upgrade the OLP then the hardware and pups are going to easier to source than the other one. But if you have narrowed it down to these two then its going to be which one gets you what you want as easy as possible and offers you that playability factor.

Out of curiosity are you a guitar player primarily or a bass player? If you are a guitar player you may well find that a active bass will suit you better and give you some better tones - and easier to play. Most of them have 24 fret, fairly easy necks and full active circuitry and Yamaha, Ibanez, Aria etc all do them reasonably cheaply. Probably at similar prices to what you are paying for the OLP. BTW I may be coming over to Sweden in the next few days - any good guitar shops in Stockholm?

 

[joelap]

Re: OLP or Eagle bass? Help me decide

I'd say go for the OLP for the fact that you can always upgrade the electronics when you get around to it. The Seymour Duncan MM pickup will fit right in there, and make it a tone monster.

 

[Thurisarz]

Re: OLP or Eagle bass? Help me decide

You may also find that should you want to upgrade the OLP then the hardware and pups are going to easier to source than the other one.

I'm gonna change the pup to a SD alnico MM pup, but can i change something else that will "upgrade" the bass?

Out of curiosity are you a guitar player primarily or a bass player? If you are a guitar player you may well find that a active bass will suit you better and give you some better tones - and easier to play. Most of them have 24 fret, fairly easy necks and full active circuitry and Yamaha, Ibanez, Aria etc all do them reasonably cheaply. Probably at similar prices to what you are paying for the OLP.

I tried them all, it's down to these two

BTW I may be coming over to Sweden in the next few days - any good guitar shops in Stockholm?

Visit Jam, there on Roslags gatan 14, they have two stores right next to each other, on Acoustic store with Guitars, bass, folk instruments etc and on the other side they have electric guitars, bass, synths etc, soon they will open another store with only drums! Really nice people to deal with, except the bass guy

Two of the people that works at Jam has designed the Eagle instruments (Jerker and Örjan), so they have them all in stock, go try some eagles and come back and tell me what you think about them!

You can also go to Tip-top, there on Katarinavägen 22, a little store that have alot Vintage guitars and amps, but you have to be very interested in buying the thing before trying it out, they are very difficult to deal with.

Check also out Vintage guitars on Götgatan 28, never been there myself but i have only heard great stuff about them!

i hope you having a great time in Stockholm!
If your interested in record shops i can recommend some of those to

 

[Norman_T]

Re: OLP or Eagle bass? Help me decide

I'm gonna change the pup to a SD alnico MM pup, but can i change something else that will "upgrade" the bass?
I tried them all, it's down to these two
Visit Jam, there on Roslags gatan 14, they have two stores right next to each other, on Acoustic store with Guitars, bass, folk instruments etc and on the other side they have electric guitars, bass, synths etc, soon they will open another store with only drums! Really nice people to deal with, except the bass guy

Two of the people that works at Jam has designed the Eagle instruments (Jerker and Örjan), so they have them all in stock, go try some eagles and come back and tell me what you think about them!

You can also go to Tip-top, there on Katarinavägen 22, a little store that have alot Vintage guitars and amps, but you have to be very interested in buying the thing before trying it out, they are very difficult to deal with.

Check also out Vintage guitars on Götgatan 28, never been there myself but i have only heard great stuff about them!

i hope you having a great time in Stockholm!
If your interested in record shops i can recommend some of those to

Firstly thanks for the low down on the shops in Stockholm - as I am covering for a good friend of mine whilst I am there I may well be able to have some extra time to visit these places.

With regard to what else to replace on the bass - you could try and replace the bridge, possibly the tuners and also the nut. But wait and see what the bass is like and then see if these changes are really necessary. Also explore the possibility of being able to put in an active pick up as your eplacement. You could then do away with the additional volume tone control and have bass & treble tone controls.

 

[Thurisarz]

Re: OLP or Eagle bass? Help me decide

With regard to what else to replace on the bass - you could try and replace the bridge, possibly the tuners and also the nut. But wait and see what the bass is like and then see if these changes are really necessary

Do you know any company that makes Bridges for Stingray, after a quick search i didn't find anything...

 

[GuitarGuy503]

Re: OLP or Eagle bass? Help me decide

Ya, go for the OLP. I have done research on them and they are good Basses for the money.

 

[Thurisarz]

Re: OLP or Eagle bass? Help me decide

I'm leaning towards the OLP, in Natural finish
They have one in town, gonna try that one again tomorrow!