All electrics tested and working properly. Playing condition notes: Action is low, neck is straight, intonation is good, truss rod works. The front is pretty tidy, just light scuffs around the whole body really. The sides are pretty clean, just some dimples around from the jacks. The back has some widespread light scuffs but no major marks. The neck is clean and smooth in the hands, minor dimples on the back and sides of the board only. The headstock has a couple of very minor scuffs on the end. Pickup: Ovation humbucker and J-style single coilĬosmetic condition notes: minor finish wear. Neck: mahogany/ebony 3-piece with ebony board, 34" scale, 12 " radius, 40mm nut The only question: is your band weird enough for you to pull this off? This has weathered the decades beautifully and is in great shape both cosmetically and functionally.
OVATION MAGNUM BASS BLACK PLUS
The bridge offers heaps of mass and stability and precise intonation adjustments plus the little slider switch for the mutes is a clever mechanism. The strange metal pickup surround offers an interesting advantage: it's kinda like a giant thumb rest, so you can brighten or darken the tone super easily and naturally by moving up and down the body. You can dial in a really tasty tone between the two, they pull against each other just right. The enormous humbucker in the neck position sounds how it looks: fat, huge, beefy etc. those pickups! The JB style single in the bridge is super articulate and snappy with heaps of growl on deck. The body features some very pretty grain patterns and provides a hefty natural volume and resonance. It's super straight and stable and feels delightful in the hands. The neck is fairly slim, although at 40mm it's wider at the nut than a trad Jazz Bass shape. First up, it's got a lovely three piece neck with a gorgeous ebony board.
OVATION MAGNUM BASS BLACK SERIAL
Here's one you really don't see everyday! Ovation were (and are!) serial innovators, so when they launched the Magnum in 1974, it was never gonna be another 'it's a P-bass but with.' kinda deal. If I had the Magnum today I would put RS-66's on it, raise the bridge pickup, turn the low mids up on my amp more and enjoy a unigue and now retro looking bass.Ovation Magnum 1 Stereo, sunburst, made in USA 1976. Back then basses worth a small fortune now were fairly plentiful and trades/swaps were not a big deal, so I think I traded in on a '76 T-Bird Reissue which had been sitting a long time.
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My overall impression was it was cool but not enough for me to keep. I think the overall quality and build were quite good.
![ovation magnum bass black ovation magnum bass black](http://www.sonicyouth.com/mustang/eq/bass02b.jpg)
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I can't remember the weight of the bass which means it was likely not too heavy or too light. I played it through an Ampeg VB4 and a 2-15 cabinet. No profound lows or mids or growl but the treble was there. On the more positive side, with both pups going and everything up, the thing sounded good, I'd say somewhat punchy and very clean. I also recall adjusting the neck pickup poles attempting to get a more even volume across the strings even when I put new strings on it (GHS Brite flats or something like that). I thought the the long finger/thumb rest was too far from the strings at the top versus the Fender basses that had the finger rests built in at the time. So I got used to and liked the neck and the body shape was great but the hardware was sort of quirky. Extra reinforcement? Mind you I had a Rick 4001 around the same time but also had P-Basses. The neck felt good, not too thick or wide but also felt very rigid. I went through a lot of basses at that time and it was a long time ago but I remember a few things. I had a Magnum I bought new back when they came out (I'm a crusty old 50 now) and when they brought out the hardshell case, that was very cool was not expecting that.