Since they launched their revolutionary fibreglass-backed acoustic guitar some years ago, Ovation have gained a reputation for radical design combined with fine craftsmanship.

They have now added two basses to their range, the Magnum 1 and the Magnum 2, both of which feature several departures from traditional bass design. The Magnum is an eyecatching bass and, whether one likes it or not, it certainly looks well made and 'expensive'. The head is designed along the lines of the Ovation acoustic heads, and features good quality machines which carry the Ovation name but are similar to Schallers in design. The rosewood neck is beautifully made and, apart from the usual trussrod, is strengthened by two strips of carbon graphite running under the fingerboard and one strip running down the back of the neck and through to the top of the head. Carbon graphite is extremely resistant to bending, and its use in wooden necks seems to be quickly becoming a standard feature of recently-designed basses.

The fingerboard is of ebony, and the frets are low and of medium width. The neck is very comfortable indeed, and great care has been taken in setting up the action at the factory, ensuring that the instrument feels very playable from the moment you pick it up. Overall, the neck reminds me of one of the better Fender Precision necks of the 1960-64 period, with the improvement of the ebony fingerboard.

The neck is glued and bolted to the body to facilitate servicing. Nuts and bolts are used rather than woodscrews to ensure consistency of replacement should the neck be removed. The design and finish of the neck are as good as any I have played, but I feel that it's a shame Ovation haven't added one more fret to give top E.

The heel where the neck joins the body is of comfortable size and does not interfere when playing in the top positions, but unfortunately the metal plate on the back of the heel seems to be a bit thicker than necessary, and is also embossed to a rough finish making it unpleasantly noticeable to the touch when playing the top frets. I am sure that you would get used to this in time, but I don't see why Ovation can't use a shallower, smoothly-polished plate.

Whether or not the body shape is pleasing to the eye is a matter of taste and personal prejudice, but the design is certainly one of the most comfortable to play that I have come across. The balance of the instrument is perfect and, when standing, the body fits snugly and firmly in a good natural playing postion. The mahogany used for the body is well selected and of pleasing appearance.

One of the most eye-catching features of the instrument is the strikingly original bridge tailpiece design. The strings are individually adjustable for length, but not for height. Height adjustment is governed by a screw on each side of the bridge and, due to the fine quality and design of the neck, this seems to be perfectly adequate. The tailpiece appears to be made from aluminium, and the bridge pieces are made from brass for better sustain and harmonic response.

Ovation have provided far more room for string length adjustment (33.8in to 35in) than is usual, in order to ensure that the intonation can be adjusted to accommodate the wide variety of string gauges and windings that have become available over the last few years. The tailpiece is calibrated with fourteen marks placed 0.1in apart, with zero marking the 34in string length (the 34in scale, the same as a Fender Precision, is the standard scale length of this bass). The value of having extra length available is without question, but the value of the calibration markings is limited. Even supposing that you are in the habit of changing string types and gauges frequently, and carry the different bridgepiece settings around in a note book, the only fast and accurate way to ensure correct string intonation would still be to check with an electronic tuner. Still, the calibration markings look good and do no harm, so why not? In order to move the bridge pieces within their respective channels, it is necessary to slip the string out of its bridge piece and loosen a screw, whereupon the bridge piece can be moved by hand. This means that you cannot adjust the intonation with one hand while playing the string with the other, as you can on a Fender and most other basses, which makes the whole process unnecessarily laborious.

The rear of the tailpiece is adjustable for height and angle; while this might make some difference to the action and string tension, the main purpose of this feature appears to be to ensure the correct angle of the strings in relation to the lever-operated string mute which is built into the tailpiece.

Both the Magnum 1 and 2 feature two pickups. These are surrounded by a raised aluminium bezel which is meant to serve as a thumb or finger rest. Most bassists prefer unhindered right hand movement, especially when playing with both thumb and fingers, and the finger rest really gets in the way at times. However, since it has no other function, I see no reason why it cannot be removed, although this would probably necessitate the fitting of pickup surrounds. It would be easier if this feature was dropped as it is easier for the bassist who needs a finger rest to fit one where it's needed than it is to remove this one.

The neck pickup has four separate coils wired in a humbucking design. Each coil has its own volume control which is adjusted by four screws set into the pickup, allowing you to balance individual string output. When using the neck pickup alone, it's easy to bend a string out of the range of its polepiece, thus losing the note. But this peculiarity can be used to fade a note in, which is quite a nice effect. The bridge pickup doesn't have this problem as it uses U-shaped polepieces which cover a larger string area. Both pickups are fairly powerful and are adjustable for height.

The difference between the Magnum 1 and the Magnum 2 lies in the electronics. The Magnum 1 is mono/stereo wired with individual volume and tone pots for each pickup. The Magnum 2 is mono wired with a 3-band graphic equaliser system in place of the conventional tone pots, and one overall master volume control, the whole system being active and preamped. Both basses have a 3-way toggle switch for pickup selection (1, 1+2, 2). The 3-channel eq system in the Magnum 2 covers bass (approx 40Hz to 350Hz), midrange at around 400Hz, and treble (approx 350Hz to 5-5kHz). Each fader will boost or cut its frequency range 12dB either way. The whole system has built in volume compensation to ensure that the signal level remains constant when the tone is adjusted. This system gives an enormous range of tones from subliminal bottom to a grating treble, and I am sure that an imaginative player could find many useful and unusual sounds with this system. I personally would prefer more control over the lower midrange (around 200Hz) for more punch. The preamp seemed to hiss a little when the volume control was full on, and I found many of the tone settings give a rather electronic 'doctored' sound, especially when any of the faders are on full boost. The active system of the Magnum 2 is powered by two 9V batteries.

Overall I feel that Ovation have laid the foundation for a really fine bass, and I have nothing but praise for the neck and body design and construction, but I'm not entirely convinced by the hardware and electronics. More versatility is often gained by keeping things simple rather than getting more complicated. However I would certainly recommend the Magnum 1 to anyone looking for a Rickenbacker bass sound (and more), and if you're bored with conventional bass sounds the Magnum 2 may well be your answer.

RRP: Magnum 1 £400/$560
Magnum 2 (illustrated) £506.67/$675

Steve York is a freelance bassist who has worked with Elkie Brooks, Joan Armatrading, Dr John, Marianne Faithful and Isaac Guillory, among others.