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Joined:
December 2002
Posts: 939
Location: Fort Worth, Texas | I was just killing some time this Friday afternoon at work drooling over the Ovation web site...
Anybody seen/played/experienced a Bass? Or how about the Longneck? Or a Mandola?
I own an Applause mandolin (I know, I know, but right price and learning a new instrument...) and I actually like it very much. I've never seen an Ovation mandolin, or any of the above mentioned models. Are all of these special order items?
Drooling in Cowtown..... |
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Joined:
June 2002
Posts: 6202
Location: Phoenix AZ | Hi Paul,
I have played all three, although limited. I have played an acoustic bass in a guitar shop (I think it was a celebrity model). It was OK, but not much volume. Frankly I'm not sure I see the point in acoustic basses. There was a guy with a longneck at a local open mic here in Phoenix last fall and he let me play it a bit. It was a deep bowl and had a nice full sound. To play it, it didn't actually feel all that different than a regular guitar. The fret spacing was the only real giveaway. I have a mandolin and although I would never profess to be a "player" it's fun to fool around around with. Dave |
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Joined:
December 2002
Posts: 939
Location: Fort Worth, Texas | Yeah, Dave, I had a Montana acoustic bass I bought second hand - again just to learn and fool around with, my wife liked it because it wasn't so loud as if I'm sitting around playing a guitar - this time of the year it's sometimes too cold to go out in the garage :)
The Monatana was knocked over on it's stand by my daughter when she was 2 and snapped the headstock right off :o
Good reason to keep guitars in cases when not being played - although I never has a case for the bass.
I turned it over to an aquaintance who said he could try and fix it - he had it for over a year and I had pretty much written it off. Well it showed up again glued back together but that was all - it is now in the hands of a real guitar repair shop and it supposed to be ready this weekend. I just started playing bass on some songs in a band and it's really fun, can use the acoustic to practice.
I think the acoustic basses just look cool :cool: |
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Joined:
March 2002
Posts: 255
| Every d scale long neck I play I love. They have this great drone note sound that cant be beat. I had one but it was stolen . |
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Joined:
March 2002
Posts: 873
Location: puerto vallarta, mexico | i just bought my first bass a few days ago. it's an ovation magnum III and i can't wait to get it. if anyone has any experience or interesting info regarding the ovation solid body basses i'd appreciate hearing it. moody pi is going to give me a copy of the brochure on the magnums when i am in los angeles later this month when i pick up the magIII. i wanted to stay with a vintage ovation, well you guys know me by now, if it doesn't begin with "O" it winds up in the back of the guitar closet--------anyway the recommendation came from the guy who was in the trenches when it was made. for three small plus shipping i think i cant lose, and probably have a great instrument to learn to thump thump on. paul t, what,s your take on the magnums? any setup info you can share? |
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Joined:
June 2002
Posts: 6202
Location: Phoenix AZ | Hey Russ,
I have a Magnum something or another (the one with the graphic eq) and all I can say is that you better have a good back, 'cuz this sucker is HEAVY. I'll try to get pics in the gallery later today. It's a nice bass overall and definately has some "coolness" factor to it. Dave |
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Joined:
March 2002
Posts: 873
Location: puerto vallarta, mexico | so by the pound i got a deal i guess. i figured it was going to be heavy and that i would play it sitting down. it is the one with the eq that i bought. thanks. by the way, is there something about ovations and pauls? seem to be lots of both here. |
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Joined:
February 2002
Posts: 5750
Location: Scotland | Russ, I've had a Magnum 2 for 8 or 9 years. From memory the 3 has the same passive electronics with stereo output as the 1, but a more conventional body shape which I used to hate but has kinda grown on me. They're great basses. The necks are graphite reinforced, the neck pickup has a coil for eack string, each with it's own volume control and produces so much bass is cabable of causing involuntary bowel movement. |
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Joined:
March 2002
Posts: 873
Location: puerto vallarta, mexico | the previous owner said the 3 had a 9v battery, so active electronics? it has an on board graphic eq and everything appears to be massive. i'm glad to hear you like yours and that it stimulates basic life functions. i'll try mine out the first time in the head. |
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Joined:
February 2002
Posts: 5750
Location: Scotland | Russ, I was relying on memory so I checked. The original owner was mistaken, if it has the 3 band graphic EQ & conventional body shape it's a Magnum 4. The circuitry actually uses 2 batteries. The Magnums 2 & 4 are a lot more versatile than the stereo versions. |
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Joined:
March 2002
Posts: 873
Location: puerto vallarta, mexico | paul, could you check this out on e bay and let me know what you think?
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=2502953633&ssPag...
thanks |
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March 2002
Posts: 873
Location: puerto vallarta, mexico | also paul, do you know what the scale length is and approx weight (hope it isnt measured in stones) |
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Joined:
February 2002
Posts: 5750
Location: Scotland | Russ, looks very tidy apart from a couple of missing knobs on the graphic. Sam or the factory may have spares, failing that you could probably find a bodge at Radio Shack. Great price, they fetch £5-700 over here and you paid about £200 GBP. There's a minor difference with the Magnums 3 & 4 in that they'd ditched the foam mute and replaced it with an Ovation logo. Scale length is 34inches. I think the weight is variable from guitar to guitar. Theres a Magnum 1 at a local dealer which is much heavier than my 2 which is just under 5 kilos |
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Joined:
December 2002
Posts: 939
Location: Fort Worth, Texas | Musicamex, that Magnum looks nice to me! Thump, thump, thump away. |
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Joined:
March 2002
Posts: 873
Location: puerto vallarta, mexico | thanks for the info paul. so do you think this is a 3 or a 4 ? i guess i am asking this because i don't know what a foam mute is. at 5 or 6 k that wont be as heavy as i thought it would be. i'll check and see if i can find the knobs for the sliders or if all else fails i can make some exotic wood ones till some original ones turn up. |
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Joined:
February 2002
Posts: 5750
Location: Scotland | Russ, I meant the 1 & 2 had the mute, the 3 & 4 didn't. Yours is definately a 4. The mute was a little lever action doohickey between the bridge and bridge pickup. A foam pad rests against the strings and kills the ring and sustain a little. It was supposed to make it sound more ike a string bass. The fact they took it off is an indication of the effectiveness. |
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Bass Guitars, etc.
