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Posts: 758
Location: Muenster/Germany | For some time I read a lot of posts about very shiny and horribly expensive, brand-new Ovation guitars in this Forum. Some of you called it "guitar porn", which seems a good description... today I want to take up the cudgels for another kind of Ovations: all these old, used guitars that have seen many winters, accidents and songs and still are so wonderful and beloved by their owners. I´ve had quite a lot of all kinds of Ovation guitars, some of them very rare and precious and -really illustriuos. But time after time when I bought and sold them a very few turned out to be some kind of very special. To be exact, it were 2. I have kept a 1980 1119 custom legend (acoustic only) guitar. it had bad problems with the top (I mentioned it in the bottom feeding luthiery guild forum before), it has finish cracks, nicks, scratches...and plays like a dream. It´s a very lightweight Ovation (2035 grams), has perfect intonation, a good neck-angle and a wonderful bright sound with fundamental basses and crisp heights and a perfect neck with incredibly low playable action. Only if you look very vlose at the top wood you can see the extremely fine graining of the wood, less than 1mm growth-rings almost over the whole surface. The nr.2 is a 1978´s 1658 custom legend 12 string guitar. When I got it it was just a bonus when I made a swap with another guitar. There was a mismatched neckreset, a broken trussrod, lots of bad looking finish cracks, a badly worn fretboard and the rosette in pieces (thank *** ALL pieces).Bruises and scratches.BUT...a CUSTOM LEGEND 12FRET!!!! I did all I could to restore this poor guitar, re-assembled the rosette, and gave the guitar to my luthier who finally had the guitar for months in his workshop. He transformed the set neck into a bolt-on neck, repaired the broken fretboard, re-fretted the guitar and repaired the trussrod and , and.....I removed the (broken)electronics and the pickup and build a spare bridge of ebony and brass to make it an only acoustic guitar, too. Now it´s good payable again and this guitar is a TONE monster. Great dynamics, a real ringing and singing 12string sound that you would not expect from an old cannon like this. On both guitarsI left the scratches and the nicks as they were.In my eyes these old guitars may show what they have gone through, just like myself. What about you? Are there any more of these not so showroom-suitable guitars? Or am I the only one who loves these old ladies? 
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Location: Boise, Idaho | I have a mix and have had several Ovations with a number of finish cracks. The only acoustic I have with a significant ding is my 2004 Commemorative CL. The oldest I have are 2 from 1976, my Matrix and Patriot. Both are in almost perfect shape, which is very unusual for a Matrix especially. My 1977 Folklore is decent, but with some significant fretware. It had a broken brace when I got it, causing a significant rattle, but a little glue fixed that. My 1537 was well used, but restored to almost new condition by the prior owner, an OFC member. The Folklore, Patriot and 1537 are my best sounding Ovation wood tops, in my Opinion.
On the electric side, all of mine are old beaters, except the VXT. |
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Posts: 1838
Location: When?? | I had a 1972 1127-4 Campbell that was beat to tears when I got it (circa 1985).. so I continued to beat it to more tears. Played it directly next to many hot and roaring campfires, played it in the ocean fog on windy beaches and wet boats, freely exposed it to open motorcycle wind and bug splats, adjusted the rod so often it was almost loose in there, and so on and so on. Essentially TRIED to show it its death.. but it wouldn't die. Through all of its rugged torture it still played well and kept that traditional Ovation tone. Summer of 2013 I gave it to a friend in Wyoming.. almost as a gag gift.. and he agreed to continue the abuse. Talked to him a few weeks back and instead of keeping it on a stand he lays it on its side as a door stop.. but it still plays and sounds fine (well, sorta fine).
Therein lay my testament to Ovation integrity. Be sure to tune in next week when we discuss a Breadwinner I once owned that spent the night in the bottom of a swimming pool. |
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Posts: 355
Location: Italia, Zianigo di Mirano (Venezia) | ...mmmmmh, that black plasticone over the shoulder of the CL's , you can not just look  |
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Location: Muenster/Germany | titti - 2017-02-09 4:47 PM
...mmmmmh, that black plasticone over the shoulder of the CL's , you can not just look
I use these guitars as acoustic only. The black things are armrests, made of ebony (the one on the 12string luthier made, the other is a John Pearse armrest). They are to be found on many high-end guitars and prevent the forearm from damping the top so that the guitar sounds free. I´ve already sold several guitars where the buyers were sceptical first but when they tried it they agreed. |
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Posts: 758
Location: Muenster/Germany | One thing I find is much worse that on newer Ovations the headstock is thinner than on these old ones and the axle of the tuning machines is too long so that the string angle on the nut is bad, even on my Adamas guitar. I don´t understand that because Ovation surely bought great numbers of the Schaller M6 machines and they are built with many different measures. I ordered several sets of new M6 for these guitars with shorter axles and now it´s the same as on the vintage OV´s. |
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Posts: 714
Location: moline,illinois | I have a 1987 Adamas 1681-8 I bought as a players condition guitar,it has a busted ear on the headstock,stained fretboard,laquer cracks on the neck heel and a amazing sound.This guitar has been played alot and it shows and benefits from all the regular use,you can get as heavy handed as you want without it breaking up yet it still retains the subtlety of an adamas when you fingerpick,It has sat on a stand by my couch for over a year with no worries about keeping it in the case so it stays nice instead its always in reach when the mood strikes.
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Location: Muenster/Germany | 2wheeldrummer, that is exactly what I was talking about ;-)
I see in your list that you have a 1158? What colour? This is a real dream guitar. |
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Location: Italia, Zianigo di Mirano (Venezia) | DetlefMichel - 2017-02-09 5:55 PM
titti - 2017-02-09 4:47 PM
...mmmmmh, that black plasticone over the shoulder of the CL's , you can not just look
I use these guitars as acoustic only. The black things are armrests, made of ebony (the one on the 12string luthier made, the other is a John Pearse armrest ). They are to be found on many high-end guitars and prevent the forearm from damping the top so that the guitar sounds free. I´ve already sold several guitars where the buyers were sceptical first but when they tried it they agreed. 
Edited by titti 2017-02-10 7:47 AM
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Location: moline,illinois | DetlefMichel - 2017-02-10 4:51 AM
2wheeldrummer, that is exactly what I was talking about ;-)
I see in your list that you have a 1158? What colour? This is a real dream guitar.
It's an 1158-1,1982 Sunburst Custom Legend 12 string 12 fret Slothead,it's in excellent shape for a 35 year old guitar with a nice flat top,no cracks,amazing how some of these stand the test of time,it's one that spends most of it's time in the case to make sure nothing stupid happens to it,I keep it tuned to D to lower the stress on the top/bridge.
My 1759-1 is another one for your thread,it's a 1985 Sunburst Custom Legend 12 string 14 fret Peghead.it has a nasty crack from the bridge to the bowl,a twisting to the neck as it meets the body and lots of lacquer cracking around the edges of the top.It sounds great and is still a joy to play although the action gets pretty high past the 14th fret,one of those old ones I keep because I love all things 12 string.
And now for some pics
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Location: Keepin' It Weird in Portland, OR | Just to make my 1970-ish 1121 Beater feel better...
Someone did a really nice job of re-attaching the headstock.
It has some finish cracks, and maybe a Real Crack.
But it is LOUD and it sounds Awesome.
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Location: Italia, Zianigo di Mirano (Venezia) | 2wheeldrummer - 2017-02-12 2:36 AM
DetlefMichel - 2017-02-10 4:51 AM
...And now for some pics
in the picture (IMG_1184.jpg ) it seems the fingerboard curve down toward the hole . You can make a horizontal view photos of this? |
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Location: moline,illinois | Yes the fingerboard/fretboard curves into the soundhole and twists toward the bass side,its been that way since I got it.
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Location: Muenster/Germany | Better than the other way....and thus you could play with a lower action like this if you want to. These are the BEST sounding 12string OV´s, ( and I have a 1688, too). And sooo beautiful. And OMA´s guitar, too. Sunbursts are best. |
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Location: Italia, Zianigo di Mirano (Venezia) | DetlefMichel - 2017-02-13 10:44 AM
Better than the other way....and thus you could play with a lower action like this if you want to. These are the BEST sounding 12string OV´s, ( and I have a 1688, too). And sooo beautiful. And OMA´s guitar, too. Sunbursts are best. almost like my CL...http://imgur.com/a/8eMvH |
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