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Location: Newcastle, UK | Hi all, just thought I'd introduce myself and see if any of you can tell me anything about my latest guitar?
Just bought this beautiful Magnum 1 and wondering if any of you can tell me when it might have been made . serial # B 6401 and anything about the colour?
all i know about is that it was bought in the USA by the previous owner in the late 70s or very early 80s and that he played with Joe Cocker for a while over there but he might have played drums rather than bass. it was this colour when he bought it, second hand, and the scratchplate and truss cover were already like this too.
thank you in advance
apart from that...I'm an ageing ex punk rocker in the UK reliving my youth by buying the guitars I always wanted :) |
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Posts: 5750
Location: Scotland | Great colour, but almost definately non-original, as are the pickguard, TRC and knobs. Best you can do from Ovation records is that it was built between 1974 and 1979. Unlike some of the other Ovation solids there were no changes in spec or appearance that could get you any closer. The pot codes might help, but it's not conclusive.
I'm from Newcastle originally, which bands did play with? |
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Location: Detroit Mi | Original or not - that is one of the coolest basses I have seen ! Congratulations on your purchase and WELCOME to the OFC ! |
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Location: Newcastle, UK | PT. the guy wasn't from here..he was originally from Manchester and played drums in a band in the 60s called The Fortunes (You've got your troubles)...took up bass and lived in the USA for years playing sessions and touring
I'm from the toon though...I used to play in Newcastle's first punk band back in 76 , The Big G..and the drummer and myself used to stand in with all sorts of weirdo acts
which bands did you know? good chance I know a few of them
and where in Scotland are you? my son is in a Glasgow band "Shitdisco" and I used to travel up there a lot to watch my football team (Celtic)
the bass came with a gorgeous fibre glass Calton case (£250)...I'm well pleased |
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Location: NJ | NICE Bass!!! |
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Location: Newcastle, UK | glad you seem to like it as much as I do...now if you could just somehow convince my girlfriend that me buying my 10th electric guitar was a good idea :D |
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Location: NJ | It's solid mahogany.
Hit her with it. |
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Location: Earth·SolarSystem·LocalInterstellarCloud·Local Bub | That is a great looking bass.
As to your girlfriend... will she fit in the case?
Welcome to the board. |
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Location: Newcastle, UK | wee bit more introduction...
The other guitars that take up so much room in my flat include :
1979 Precision
Italia Maranello (gold sparkly)
Columbus 335 copy from the 70s
Kawai from the late 60s
63 Hagstrom Futurama
Cheap Les Paul copy (the only one i ever actually play)
Epiphone Non Reverse Thunderbird (lovely light blue)
gorgeous Ibanez 1974 copy of a Rickenbacker 6 string (like the 4003 shape)
plus i've bought a few guitars for my son, last of which was a twin neck guitar and bass from the USA..and I gave him a Roland G500 synth guitar (the les paul style one) which i'd been given by a friend whose dad used to work with Status Quo who'd given it to him as a child(presumably after they couldn't work out how to use it)
in my youth i had a cheap Zenta bass..then a Shaftesbury Rick semi acoustic bass copy..then a Dan armstrong Perspex bass and finally a 67 precision which i still curse myself for selling in the 80s
oh..and i've just realised that i only have 9 guitars , not 10..so what's she moaning about?:-) |
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| I have never seen one of these in White? I like how it shows off the shape. Very cool looking bass.
Enjoy |
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Location: San Bernardino, California | I bet that's a factory done special order. That color is a match to the blue Breadwinners. |
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Location: big island | that bass is way kewl! it's so...ummmmm...retro. love it! |
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Location: GA USA | That's a beauty! Welcome. |
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Location: Brisbane Australia | Very cool Bass.
I agree with BruDev, the headstock looks too original for a non factory refinish.
Where's Beal or Mr O when you need em?
:cool: :) |
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Posts: 6268
Location: Florida Central Gulf Coast | There is something about that bass that just captivates the eyes. If that sucker had afterburner exhausts, I'd swear it's our newest advanced spacecraft.
Very, very NICE!
My only Magnum is a .357... ;) |
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Location: 6 String Ranch | non original paint but so what, it's great! Same with the p/g and all. Could have been done at the factory but I doubt it. First class job though. I think you need 15 instruments. Tell her that. |
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Location: Brisbane Australia | Yes, another 5 Ovations
:D |
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Location: The Great Pacific Northwest | I've got to say that's one of the Nicest Magnum I's I've seen... I realize it's not original, but that is a nice nice job. Very tasteful and very fitting to the instrument. I'd love to know who did the work. |
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Location: Jet City | Originally posted by AussieJames:
Yes, another 5 Ovations
:D Magnum II, III, IV, Storm series, and a roundback... There you go!
I think that collection of yours needs a Peavey T-40 too though.
That is the absolute coolest bass I've ever seen. Reminds me of a 57 Belair. |
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Location: Brisbane Australia | I realise the carbon fibre pg is no way original but I thought the finish might have been a factory custom, like Bru said.
You don't think that's possible Miles?
Looks fantastic
AJ |
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Location: Scotland | The headstock decals on the Magnum basses were much larger than those on guitars. The fact that this one has a small logo would suggest that it was refinished, and whoever did it obtained a standard guitar-sized waterslide decal.
Magnums with refins and/or changed hardware and pickups crop up quite regularly and they are usually a mess. Even though this one isn't original the changes have been done very tastefully, and original or not it's a very cool bass. |
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Location: Brisbane Australia | Ok Paul, good call didn't realise that, looked pretty ridgy
AJ |
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Location: Sunshine State, Australia | Originally posted by AussieJames:
Ok Paul, good call didn't realise that, looked pretty ridgy
AJ Jim, I reckon, of the 6000+ members here, only about 4 of us know what you just said. :D  |
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Location: big island | ridgy = original, right? |
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Location: Brisbane Australia | ridgy didge, yes, original genuine etc
Sorry Mate Aussie slang lol :D :D
Jim |
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Location: Brisbane Australia | Muz ROFL
AJ :D :D :D |
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Location: big island | speakin' of aussies...i've had two of them promise to send me tim tams and here it is over a year later... |
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Location: Brisbane Australia | Mate, can do that, no worries, what flavour would you like?
Not sure they would be edible when you got em
AJ :D |
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Location: Sunshine State, Australia | Originally posted by lanaki:
speakin' of aussies...i've had two of them promise to send me tim tams and here it is over a year later... Umm...
That would be me :rolleyes:
(the other one's disappeared off the face of the OFC)
Sorry Randy. I'm weak. Succumbed to temptation on 2 separate occasions. I've got to buy them on the way to the post office, or I'll eat em!
I've still got your address. I'll have another try this week.
(Message to self - be strong... be strong... be strong...) |
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Location: big island | chocolate! i've been told some were bought and intended for me, but tim tams are so good and tempting, they just never made it to the post office. that's probably the truth but not very ridgy.
man, this magnum bass is tempting too. wish i had one just like it. :D |
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Location: big island | oh...one of the culprits chimed in as i was composing my last post. :rolleyes: |
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Location: Brisbane Australia | Randy, the North Coast contingent is obviously edibly challenged.
Can't have that as a representitive of the Aussie OFC.
PM your addy and I will deliver
AJ :D :D |
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Location: big island | hmmmm...aussies appreciate competition. we could make a little game outta this...
man...what a bass, huh? |
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Location: big island | saynotovorderman, do you currently play in the band, "harry hack and the big g"? i heard a few clips on myspace. are you planning on using the magnum for gigs? it would look great on stage. |
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Location: Newcastle, UK | lanarki. no, i've not played in a band since 1980..that Big G band was from 76 to 77(the "G" was a gram of speed in memory serves me :D )
i am about to get our original studio master demo tape baked and copied digitally with a view to releasing a mini album :cool: (30 years too late)
my son is touring Germany and Austria with his band in April and there's every chance he'll borrow it for the tour and possibly for his USA and Canada tour in the spring(he's the main singer, bassist and guitarist in Shitdisco). he plays a Fender Jazz or a cheap Peavey bass live, and a Gretsch with Roland synth thingy or his Roland G500 (but that's a bit tricky to take on planes) |
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Location: Newcastle, UK | here's a few more pics i took when it arrived
bit sad photographing the case i know but it too is smart :cool:
while I'm on here's a few of my other guitars
the Ibanez Rick copy
The Maranello
hope i'm not breaking board rules posting so many photos...do tell me someone, if i am |
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Location: big island | i was curious about your handle so i had typed "saynotovorderman" in my browser. one of the links took me to harry hack and the big g webpage on myspace. |
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Location: Newcastle, UK | The Epiphone Non Reverse Thunderbird
63 Hagstrom Futurama
Twin Necker I shipped from the states for my son
 |
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Location: Newcastle, UK | i was curious about your handle so i had typed "saynotovorderman" in my browser. one of the links took me to harry hack and the big g webpage on myspace. it should really have been just The Big G..that was my ineptitude when i set the page up..i think it looked strange or something when i tried Big G..can't really remember now :D
as for the handle...it's a reference to a lady called Carol Vorderman who appears on UK TV solving maths problems on a daytime programme called Countdown..there's tons of stuff on her if you google..anyway, she does these TV ads for consolidating your loans which i think are dreadful ( i do voluntary work with the Citizens Advice Bureau and see tons of appalling debt cases, many of which are made worse by these damn loans)...i'm just a grumpy old man really :D |
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Location: big island | i saw all the references to carol too. i figured there was a connection there.
excellent looking guitars you posted above. no, you are not breaking any rules by posting them. we all love guitar pics. thank you for them! there is a member's gallery that you can see the link to above in "member access". that is where members post many of their pics also.
i've heard those italias are great for the money... |
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February 2008
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Location: Newcastle, UK | to be honest the Italia has sat in it's case pretty much since I got it..my son expressed interest in borrowing it after he tried it so it must be ok
it is stunningly beautiful though, which is why i bought it really..the back is Pearloid and it feels really well made
Carol Vorderman is a bit of a sex symbol over here in the UK..amongst a certain age group
Countdown is worth checking out..it's bizarrely addictive |
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Posts: 4833
Location: Campbell River, British Columbia | Welcome sayno.. and GORgeous bass.
I think it crys out to be in an early 60's pop/instrumental band (Freddy & the Dreamers, The Honeycombs, The Shadows, et al) But what do I know, I'm just a really grumpy old man....? |
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Location: Colorado Rocky Mountains | Great color. It fits nicely with the auto colors Fender began using in the 1960s. |
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Location: Montréal, québec, Canada | Very nice bass, keep on playing !!
Bernard
Breadwinner
Tornado
Ibanez firebird (firebrand)
Seagul m6 cw
Yamaha classical (1970!!) |
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Posts: 15
Location: Newcastle, UK | plot thickens...someone has posted these pics of what looks very similar to the one i have...maybe it's the same or maybe there were a few done like this
not mine
mine
not mine again
mine in case
and not mine in its case
 |
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Location: NJ | FWIW:
Yours Is Nicer . . . |
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Location: Newcastle, UK | once i'd worked out what "FWIW" meant...i agree
:-)
I've just noticed the dampener thing is different as well as the scratchplate and knobs
bit too much of a coincidence to have the same Calton case that mine has..but then again i have no reason to doubt the story of the guy i got it from.
i've sent an email to someone on ebay that was suggested to me on another forum as someone who might know more...will keep you posted if i get a reply |
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Location: Scotland | The damper has been removed on the second version. I've done the same with mine, |
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Posts: 15
Location: Newcastle, UK | never got any info from the ebay contact...but someone on another forum posted this
"I believe that is an Ovation standard issue color. They made some Breadwinners in the blue as well but not many - which is why the blue ones hold they're value in the collector's circles. The guy you're looking for is Miles (sunnyledges) Baron. "
does this ring a bell with any of you re the colour? and has Miles already replied on this thread?
does anyone have an email address for Mulder and Scully? :-) |
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Location: Bluffton, SC | Miles goes by Mr Ovation and is one of the founders and administrators of this site, along with Al Pepiak (AlPep). I'm sure you'll get some response from either one soon - keep trying. Miles might be out on his bike but Al never closes! |
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Posts: 5750
Location: Scotland | The blue used on the early Breadwinners was a completely different shade. Myself, Miles and the guy who actually used to run the company and was around when the Magnums were in production(Mauvais Beal) have all posted that we are sure the finish is non-original. Now you may not put much creedence in myself or Miles, but believe me, if anyone would know it's Beal. |
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Location: Bluffton, SC | The guy who told him it might be an original color based on the BW's was me, Paul. I also told him that the sources here would know much better than I. I stand corrected. |
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Location: Latitude 39.56819, Longitude -105.080066 | You get corrected whether you stand or not! |
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Location: Bluffton, SC | No kidding... |
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Location: The Great Pacific Northwest | Well after Paul and Beal responded I didn't see much point. It's an outstanding axe!!! It doesn't look like the stock blue as they said, but no matter. It was nicely done, even the decal on the headstock. |
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Location: NJ | It's f@ckin' UGLY! . . . I'll give ya' $200 for it . . . |
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Location: Lake Hiawatha, New Jersey | Originally posted by cliff:
It's f@ckin' UGLY! . . . I'll give ya' $200 for it . . . Sounds like the negotiations for the purchase of my first car! |
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Location: Newcastle, UK | thank you all, again :-) |
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Location: Bluffton, SC | Probably shudda warned ya, we get off track very easily around here... |
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Location: 6 String Ranch | I'll go 250........
Hey it's a refin.... |
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Hi. new and just bought a Magnum