NBD: My first true impulse buy - an Ovation with a few issues (and questions)

WARNING TO NEW MEMBERS - 8 years ago I had one Fender knock-off Pbass to my name and one small combo amp. Then I joined Talkbass...

I usually do thorough research before buying a bass. I first search for a specific model, and then wait for one to pop up on Craigslist or Ebay that is to my liking. Occasionally I'll even see something interesting, and do further research, and eventually go see it and make an offer.

This time, it was my first "I must buy this NOW" purchase.

I just happened to be checking the local Craigslist midweek around 2 pm. Up pops a Ovation Magnum II right at that time, which I'd never heard of, with a long description, including that there's some loose wiring somewhere, and the foam mute is missing (all pictures mine, after bringing it home).



I Googled the model and see there is a Magnum I, II, III and IV. The I and II "look" the best to my eye, and the II seems to have the highest prices being asked on Reverb (though there are only two listed for sale). It also said Ross Valory of Journey played this model on some of their early hits (there's video online). It's 34" scale. My spidey sense says this might be an OK purchase. It would also be my first "active" bass.

I'm finishing up work, so email the guy and ask if he's available in the next 1 1/2 hours. He sends his phone #, so I call, and he gives me directions about 40 minutes away, out in the country. He doesn't have an amp, but I can bring mine. My wife is out of town (hmmm, that's always trouble), so I say I'm coming, even though there's a HUGE storm expected (we're talking severe storm warnings).

I drive home, grab some emergency cash and a combo amp, and head out, winding my way to a little cottage in the woods that is quite packed full of stuff ("I'm getting ready for a yard sale," says the seller, but his stuffed kitchen and neighboring rooms make me suspect it's more than that). He was a nice enough guy, though, and told me a few stories as I looked at the Magnum II, which he had in a case on some chairs in his kitchen.





Some immediate issues - the pop-up foam piece of the mute is missing, but I can probably shape one to glue on.



The pickguard has been damaged, but someone (not the seller) went to some trouble to match up another piece so it doesn't look half bad.





The bass looks nice to me, and though it's mahogany, it's a well-balanced 10.2 pounds (not heavy for me - it fits in nicely with the 70's collection I seemed to have started).



The seller says he's had it about 10 years, and also has one with two inputs (the Magnum I), but he's keeping that one.

I want to hear the bass through my amp, and he says the 9 volt battery connections were cut and he had taped them together (it requires two batteries), but it cuts out a lot. He only has one live battery, so says to hold on, and runs to an outbuilding, returning with a smoke detector. He takes out the battery and hooks them up, and then keeps pushing things together until - yup, the sound comes through fine. I also move the sliders, and hear they also make a difference.





He starts to talk about the price he listed on Craigslist just as the heavens open up, and a hard (and I mean hard) rain starts down. He's kind of yelling over the pounding rain about all the calls he's received for it in the last hour, and that maybe he should have asked more, and...

I pull out the $900 he had it listed for and say, "Here; I've got to run if I'm going to beat that rain." He takes the money, counts it, hesitates, and then says OK and opens the door for me. I dash through the muddy driveway, bass case in one hand, combo amp in the other, instantly soaked, but feeling that if I stayed, he would have changed his price (and the rain looked as if it was settling in for an hour or so, so I would have heard A LOT MORE stories).

Got the bass home, cleaned it a little (I love how the aluminum bracket is half black and half-silver, due to it being used as a thumb rest - best idea ever, as I can easily slide from one pickup to the next, or stop in between).



The neck pickups have separate adjustable trim pots in those holes (just needs a small screwdriver, I've read)





It supposedly has three graphite strips in the neck for stability.



It also has a 3-band EQ right on the face of the bass, which gives it a different look.





The mute pops up when you push in the little lever.



The bridge is very adjustable, including from the back of the bass (to adjust angle?).





There's one screw broken off in a tuning peg, but with a very small screwdriver, I can turn what's in there.





It has some other nicks and bruises, but that means I don't have to baby it too much. I will actually use it (I didn't buy it to make money, and am not sure in its condition I could, but hope I didn't overpay too much).

Also, I brought it to a friend who soldered the battery connection wires and put some sort of shrink-sleeve stuff on, and it works perfectly with no crackling issues, now.

MY FOUR QUESTIONS

1) Does anyone have one, and can measure the dimensions of the foam mute (so I can try to replicate it)? Good pictures and/or height of foam part of mute would be appreciated.

2) What screw do I need to replace the missing/broken one on the D string tuning peg? Can anyone identify if Ovation just rebadged a popular brand of tuner (and if so, which), and does anyone have an idea how to get a replacement screw?

3) Best bet for the missing screw on the EQ (near the treble slider)? Do I just go to my local TruValue Hardware and match it to the other one?

4) Lastly, what year is it???? I can only find when they made these things, but no way to chart year of manufacture.



Postscript - I put the case among others in my house behind a large table away from walkthrough traffic. The next day my wife came home, and the following day she said she'd notice the different color case and asked if I'd bought a new bass. Nothing gets by her.

 

Thanks for the specific responses. And astute thinking about what might drop (I had thought about that already, and was planning on carefully taking off the plate, or somehow tying up the sliders?).