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Posts: 10
| Hello,
I'm new to the forums and have recently acquired a shiney black Breadwinner. Mr Ovation and Old Man Arthur have already kindly answred my questions in the Welcome Centre - thank you both. Perhaps the guitar isn't as unoriginal as I'd thought.
This is my first attempt at uploading some pics...
Chris
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Posts: 10
| Well that was embarassing. It seems all of the photos are above the file size limit. Back to the drawing board.
Chris |
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Location: Central Massachusetts | tease |
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Location: Boise, Idaho | At least you can't say you used to know how to post pics, but forgot, like I did. |
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Location: Keepin' It Weird in Portland, OR | Mr Tiger...
If you cannot get the photos to upload, just post a link to the photo.
Then we can go look at it and someone will probably transfer it to here.
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Posts: 10
| Sorry,
Second attempt.
Chris
Edited by Mr Tiger 2017-05-21 5:42 AM
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Location: The Great Pacific Northwest | Interesting... It certainly has all original parts, I'm just not sure some weren't replaced and the maybe the guitar refinished. We have seen a few "gloss" body breadwinners, but I'm not sure Breadwinners got that particular bridge as that version I think happened after they stopped making breadwinners. The tell are the "stabilization slots" in the base plate of the bridge. The earlier ones didn't have those slots. There are screws on the back that hold the saddles to the plate. In later years after the breadwinner was no longer being made, early versions of UKII's, Vipers, Preachers and I even have a late Deacon did NOT have the slotted bridge so how did one get on a Breadwinner that wasn't being made when that bridge came out. While I'm not sure, I don't think the bridge without the slots was an issue on the Breadwinner. The slots came about due to guitars like the Viper and Preacher not having as much break angle across the saddles and the saddles weren't being pulled tight enough against the plate.
It may have just been upgraded... which is fine. Makes it a VERY nice guitar in any case. |
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Joined:
May 2014
Posts: 10
| Thanks for your comments on my Breadwinner.
I did notice some differences between the bridge on this guitar and my Deacon a couple of weeks ago when I compared them... and then completely forgot about it.The Deacon doesn't have the slots and the base plate looks to be more like steel than brass. The saddles look like brass though on the Deacon. Maybe some Deacon pics are in order?
I've had a look at some of the guitars in your collection from the link you posted. That's quite a hoard you've got - I'm well impressed. I've only got eight plus a couple of spare necks.
The guy I bought the Deacon off a few years ago had around a hundred. He reckonned it was unmanageable and was thinning down his collection.
Other guitars I'd love to own are Gibson V2, Gibson Moderne and a Breadwinner Limited. These are almost impossible to find in the UK - but we can all dream
I've just remembered the serial number on my Breadwinner seems higher than the Breadwinner Limited examples that are listed online. The full number is E 19013. Any thoughts?
I hadn't realised that Ovation made amps. Are they as innovative as the guitars?
Cheers,
Chris |
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Posts: 1118
Location: NW Washington State | It looks really nice, and as Mr. O says, it's got good parts. The headstock logo looks nice- maybe original? You might be able to tell more by pulling the pickguard and see if there are any traces of the textured paint. You could also loosen the neck screws a little and wiggle it gently to see if it has the thin paper and glue that the factory sometimes (always?) used at the joint.
I like that bridge the best, and I always try to snag them when they're reasonably priced. I replace them and put the old ones aside. If the guy had a big pile of Ovations, maybe he swapped it.
I polished the bridge plate on the Deacon I bought in the 70s with some metal polish that removed the gold and left a nice chrome finish. Not really what I wanted! Now it's in the box with the other non-slotted bridges.
I have about 8 too, along with some necks and bodies and miscellaneous stuff. Around the turn of the century, I tried to buy a lot of parts on eBay at bottomfeeder prices. Usually a bidder called "MilesKB" would win them. I wonder where that guy is now?
-Steve W. |
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Location: The Great Pacific Northwest | numbfingers - 2017-05-21 1:50 PM
Usually a bidder called "MilesKB" would win them. I wonder where that guy is now?
-Steve W.
LOL... I wonder  |
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May 2014
Posts: 10
| Hello again,
I emailed Ovation Customer Services yesterday and have just opened the reply.
"Did not make any Breadwinners in gloss black, this must be a deacon model,"
The plot thickens, the fretboard certainly doesn't look Deacon to me.
Does anyone know if Breadwinners or Deacons were made with a serial number as high as E 19013? Ovation didn't comment on this sadly. All they said is in the quote above.
Just a thought, did any other Ovation solid bodies have the same neck as the Breadwinner?
Chris |
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Posts: 10777
Location: Keepin' It Weird in Portland, OR | Well that makes sense. We always see Deacons in Nutmeg Brown and Sunburst.
But apparently they came in Black, and some people LIKE Black.
Also... As a Deacon, that would explain why it didn't have Nylon Saddles. 
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Location: Keepin' It Weird in Portland, OR | Mr Tiger - 2017-05-22 12:52 PM
Does anyone know if Breadwinners or Deacons were made with a serial number as high as E 19013? Ovation didn't comment on this sadly. All they said is in the quote above.
The must have... They were making solid body guitars up to 1980 according to this:
http://www.ovationtribute.com/Date%20your%20Ovation.html
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Location: The Great Pacific Northwest | Actually they stopped making the Breadwinner is '79, they were making other solid-bodies up to '83
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Posts: 10
| Looking under the pick guard or scratch plate to us Brits is a good suggestion, thanks Steve. I'll hopefullly take a look over the weekend.
Chris |
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Posts: 10
| Old Man Arthur - 2017-05-22 4:32 PM
Well that makes sense. We always see Deacons in Nutmeg Brown and Sunburst.
But apparently they came in Black, and some people LIKE Black.
Also... As a Deacon, that would explain why it didn't have Nylon Saddles.
Did they make Deacons without binding and with dot markers?
Chris |
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Posts: 7222
Location: The Great Pacific Northwest | Mr Tiger - 2017-05-23 11:57 AM
Old Man Arthur - 2017-05-22 4:32 PM
Well that makes sense. We always see Deacons in Nutmeg Brown and Sunburst.
But apparently they came in Black, and some people LIKE Black.
Also... As a Deacon, that would explain why it didn't have Nylon Saddles.
Did they make Deacons without binding and with dot markers?
Chris
When it comes to Ovation, the response to any sentence that starts with "Did they make" is usually "Possibly" or "Maybe." Unfortunate but true. In general, what made a Deacon a "Deacon" was the binding, diamond shaped inlays and stained finish vs bowl paint. |
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Joined:
May 2014
Posts: 10
| Thanks for all the responses.
I plugged it in today for the first time, I'm ashamed to admit. Everything seems to work. I used a RAT modded Marshall C5 combo. My thoughts on the Marshall are that it is rather muddy shouding. The Ovation has enough brightness on some settings to counter this. They seem to be a good match.
I did notice that the edges of the fretboard (lenghways) are painted gloss black, same as the neck and body. The fretboard edge that is visible as you play the guitar has the small dot markers that correspond to the dot inlays between some of the frets.
Did the Breadwinners usually have those edges painted?
I thought I'd compare it to my Deacon then realised it has binding, doh...
I also noticed the headstock on the black Breadwinner (if that's what it is) is wider than the Deacon. The Deacon measures 43mm at ther narrow part roughly in line with the Ovation logo. The black Breadwinner measures 53mm.
Did these dimensions vary over the years as they did with other manufacturers such as Fender?
If you are getting fed up with all these questions let me know and I'll leave you in peace.
Chris
Edited by Mr Tiger 2017-05-26 12:05 PM
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