Happy Jack Posted July 17, 2020 Share Posted July 17, 2020 (edited) I'm rather fond of Ovation Magnum basses. I particularly like the outrageous styling of the Mk.II but there's nowt wrong with the Mk.IV either ... they share pretty much everything except body shape so they sound and play the same. I have one of each, but while my Mk.II is in a varnished natural finish my Mk.IV came to me in a rather unattractive translucent lilac 'wash', for want of a better word. It was neither transparent nor a solid colour, and the tint was unappealing. Apparently this was a popular finish at the time, although Ronnie Lane had the good taste to prefer a black one on Maggie May and Stay With Me. Apart from being unappealing, the finish had also developed a 'bloom' over the last 40 years. That stronger lilac tint that you can see on the upper horn and the upper bout is not a trick of the light or a reflection ... it was actually there. Not visible under stage lights, of course, but very obvious in daylight. It wasn't a surface problem either, that could be polished out, and I found it really, really irritating. I actually listed it for sale here on Basschat for a knockdown £800 because I was so irritated. Then @Beedster recommended Chris Bowling of Bow Finishing (near Godstone, Surrey) so I took the bass down to him. He agreed that the finish was way past its sell-by and also pointed out that the piece of wood being spoiled was an absolute cracker. So I bit the bullet and asked him to do a refin to match my Mk.II. This was NOT cheap, but By God what a job he did! Isn't she lovely? Isn't she beautiful? Ooh ... I've come over all Stevie Wonder ... Edited July 17, 2020 by Happy Jack 10 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Silvia Bluejay Posted July 17, 2020 Share Posted July 17, 2020 Stay tuned for a proper photoshoot... 😉 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
uk_lefty Posted July 17, 2020 Share Posted July 17, 2020 Great basses! Envious of the fretted and fretless almost-twins! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigRedX Posted July 17, 2020 Share Posted July 17, 2020 Fantastic! Is that the original mute mechanism on the MkII? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Silvia Bluejay Posted July 17, 2020 Share Posted July 17, 2020 53 minutes ago, BigRedX said: Is that the original mute mechanism on the MkII? It is - close-up below: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Silvia Bluejay Posted July 17, 2020 Share Posted July 17, 2020 (edited) Here is the promised MKIII photoshoot after the refinishing job. The front of the headstock appears to have been left untouched, except for the rounded top bit, which is the same colour as the body. Two more of the near-twins together: Edited July 17, 2020 by Silvia Bluejay 9 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Old Horse Murphy Posted July 17, 2020 Share Posted July 17, 2020 6 hours ago, Happy Jack said: Ooh ... I've come over all Stevie Wonder ... Hmmm, sorry to be totally un-PC but if you had, I don't think the colour would have bothered you in the first place....😎 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mickeyboro Posted July 17, 2020 Share Posted July 17, 2020 (edited) Super stuff, Jack. Congrats. But just to be pedantic wasn’t it Ron Wood’s all over the place bass on Maggie May?😷 Edited July 17, 2020 by Mickeyboro 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Happy Jack Posted July 17, 2020 Author Share Posted July 17, 2020 He was probably miming. Badly. 🤣 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
three Posted July 17, 2020 Share Posted July 17, 2020 (edited) Chris and John at Bow are, for me, absolutely the best in the business. This came back last week - it needed a really high-quality polyester polish job. The work (again) was staggering. Really easy to work with, communicative, obsessive attention to detail, and skilled beyond belief. Not the least expensive but the results are phenomenal Edited July 17, 2020 by three 7 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NickA Posted July 17, 2020 Share Posted July 17, 2020 About how much is "not the least expensive"? Electric wood quoted me £600 to refin a Wal Custom. I wouldn't subject it to the least expensive job, but £600 was a bit much for something that wouldn't change the sound. I passed, I'm sticking with the "gigged" look for now ...but y'know, shiny things. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
three Posted July 17, 2020 Share Posted July 17, 2020 1 hour ago, NickA said: About how much is "not the least expensive"? Electric wood quoted me £600 to refin a Wal Custom. I wouldn't subject it to the least expensive job, but £600 was a bit much for something that wouldn't change the sound. I passed, I'm sticking with the "gigged" look for now ...but y'know, shiny things. PMd Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
4000 Posted July 18, 2020 Share Posted July 18, 2020 Must admit I’d be interested to know too. Finding a good refinisher can be a bit of a crapshoot so when you do find one, getting an idea of how much they charge is useful. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Drax Posted July 18, 2020 Share Posted July 18, 2020 Bow quoted me £300-350 for a J bass refin in burst / poly, incl strip and rebuild. Some great examples have been on their site for years - always wondered if the pink Status is known to anyone here. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Happy Jack Posted July 18, 2020 Author Share Posted July 18, 2020 Mine was a bit more than that, but still ballpark. And that pink Status very nearly convinced me to have the Ovation done in the same colour. Working seperately, Chris Bowling and @Silvia Bluejay persuaded me not to. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rumple Posted July 18, 2020 Share Posted July 18, 2020 Bow finishing did this for me many moons ago, it was amazing as was the whole bass but sadly it was way too heavy for me. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shaggy Posted July 18, 2020 Share Posted July 18, 2020 17 hours ago, three said: Chris and John at Bow are, for me, absolutely the best in the business. This came back last week - it needed a really high-quality polyester polish job. The work (again) was staggering. Really easy to work with, communicative, obsessive attention to detail, and skilled beyond belief. Not the least expensive but the results are phenomenal Need a front pic for that bit of bass porn please...... Back to the OP - refin looks stunningly good, and Chris Bowling was quite right about the body wood being an absolute cracker Ovation always used great tonewoods and the Magnums were made from 1 piece Honduras mahogany (NOT in fact chocolate coated ice cream.....) - I have a fretless Magnum 1, also in natural. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ezbass Posted July 18, 2020 Share Posted July 18, 2020 4 minutes ago, Shaggy said: Ovation always used great tonewoods and the Magnums were made from 1 piece Honduras mahogany (NOT in fact chocolate coated ice cream.....) 😂👏👏👏 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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