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NBD - Ovation Magnum I

#62
This thread inspired me to go back and reacquaint myself with my Magnum. This may not be a popular opinion but taking the rounds I had on the bass off and putting flats back on--it was just the change I needed to hear. Magnums sporting rounds have sort of a raspy, too bright sound for me, even on the neck pickup. Something about flats brings balance to the sound, and the bass is still lively and far from thumpy and dead.
 
#64
ajkula66 said:
I hope that you are surrounded by thick walls...back in the day, I plugged a flats-strung-Magnum into my V4B with a custom cab (18"+10"+HF) and it felt like I was about to crack the foundation of my apartment building...
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It's my second go with flats. I'd originally bought the bass because I was, surprise, a Jah Wobble fan and seriously into dub. The downside was the bass had a terrible neck bow that was only recently fixed. After the resurrection I gave rounds a try but just didn't click with the sound. It was antiseptic. My Precision just sounded better in that configuration, so I actually had the Magnum up for sale. I'm glad I didn't sell because I am again quite happy with the bass. The weight's pushing it a bit, but that said, I'm again aware what a great instrument the Magnum can be.
 
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#65
burpgun said:
I'm glad I didn't sell because I am again quite happy with the bass. The weight's pushing it a bit, but that said, I'm again aware what a great instrument the Magnum can be.
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Well, I'm certainly glad that your Magnum has proven itself worthy of staying in your possession. Enjoy it.

The only issue that I had with every single one that I've ever played regardless of the generation - maybe a half a dozen total, so it's a fairly small sample - was that I could never find a neck that I was comfortable with, and this comes from someone who has owned more than his fair share of Ovation instruments over the past 39 years. Having said that, I'd love to re-visit the Magnum concept nowadays and check whether my feelings are still the same. Always loved the sound, though...
 
#66
ajkula66 said:
Well, I'm certainly glad that your Magnum has proven itself worthy of staying in your possession. Enjoy it.

The only issue that I had with every single one that I've ever played regardless of the generation - maybe a half a dozen total, so it's a fairly small sample - was that I could never find a neck that I was comfortable with, and this comes from someone who has owned more than his fair share of Ovation instruments over the past 39 years. Having said that, I'd love to re-visit the Magnum concept nowadays and check whether my feelings are still the same. Always loved the sound, though...
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I've only ever played a Magnum 1, but yeah, the neck on that guy is pretty beefy. At least the radius feels pretty flat. I just picked up a Sting Precision bass which is absolutely wonderful, but the thick neck and rounded radius is challenging.
 
#68
kkaarrll said:
why the extra long scale strings?
do these things have a truss rod or is the graphite skunk stripe just enough to keep it flat as ????

can the mute thing be taken off?
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I think the strings are extra-long because of the length of wire behind the bridge saddle. Normal long-scale strings won't work, as I learned the hard way when I first owned a Magnum. I kinda hated the bridge on the Magnum. It was hard to intonate, relative to what you find on a Fender, and I'm not sure what problem was solved by its complexity.

And yes, it does have a truss rod in addition to the graphite strips. Not that the graphite strips stopped my bass from having a terrible bow in the neck.
 

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