Ovation Celebrity Sound Fades
nochemd
Posted 2018-01-22 10:22 AM (#540889)
Subject: Ovation Celebrity Sound Fades


Joined:
January 2018
Posts: 9

Thank You for accepting me here. I have an Ovation Celebrity , Ruby red color with OPB4t pre-amp. I use earthwoods 80/20 bronze strings .11-.52. I love using this guitar. I bought it second hand 3-4 years ago. My problem now is that everytime I plug-in to an amp, the sound will work for 5-10 seconds then fade to no sound output to the amp. If I remove the cable from the guitar and reconnect, It will sound again for 5-10 seconds. It is getting very frustrating. I'm using a new 9v battery, new strings, new instrument cable. I used another cable with the same results. I already took out the instrument plug and the soldering is still solid. This has happened for a few days now and I just end up using the guitar acoustic. I tried my electric guitar with the new cable and same amplifier and everything works. Any help will be greatly appreciated.

Thanks in advance.

Ronnie ( from the land of balut and Manny Paquiao)
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Mr. Ovation
Posted 2018-01-23 4:02 PM (#540904 - in reply to #540889)
Subject: Re: Ovation Celebrity Sound Fades


Joined:
December 2001
Posts: 7209

Location: The Great Pacific Northwest
When was the last time you replaced the battery?
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nochemd
Posted 2018-01-23 9:27 PM (#540910 - in reply to #540889)
Subject: Re: Ovation Celebrity Sound Fades


Joined:
January 2018
Posts: 9

I'm using a new 9v battery with the same results
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Mr. Ovation
Posted 2018-01-23 9:56 PM (#540911 - in reply to #540889)
Subject: Re: Ovation Celebrity Sound Fades


Joined:
December 2001
Posts: 7209

Location: The Great Pacific Northwest
Do you know what year this guitar is? On the Celebrity models, the serial number isn't much use. If it's from the 80's or even early 90's it could be a bad capacitor in the preamp. Possibly another component, but that is the most likely place to start. Actually, the best place to start is just to replace the pre-amp. They are not hard to come by, and are pretty easy to swap out.
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nochemd
Posted 2018-01-24 11:48 AM (#540912 - in reply to #540911)
Subject: Re: Ovation Celebrity Sound Fades


Joined:
January 2018
Posts: 9

thanks for the reply.

I'm actually thinking of the 2nd route. I just don't know what preamp to replace it with that is plug and play.
Maybe you can point me in the right direction.
Hopefully, it can be shipped in the Philippines.
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nochemd
Posted 2018-01-24 11:49 AM (#540913 - in reply to #540889)
Subject: Re: Ovation Celebrity Sound Fades


Joined:
January 2018
Posts: 9

FYI. Preamp on my guitar is OP-4BT
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Old Man Arthur
Posted 2018-01-24 6:31 PM (#540917 - in reply to #540889)
Subject: Re: Ovation Celebrity Sound Fades



Joined:
September 2006
Posts: 10777

Location: Keepin' It Weird in Portland, OR
Did you try a different battery?
Just because a battery is "New" does not mean that is is Good.

Does the Tuner work?
If your battery is good the tuner should at least have flashing arrows when it is working.
(I don't currently have a guitar with an OP4BT in it, so I am going by memory )
Does the low battery light come-on when you plug it in?
Does that battery light go out at the same speed as the sound fades?

I said all that to say that if the tuner comes on and tries to work for more than a few seconds, but cannot hear the not from the pickup, it is the pickup.
If the tuner does not work and you are sure that the battery is good, your preamp may be toast.

I don't like to disagree with Mr Ovation, but the OP4BT is not a "drop-in" module.
So it is not as easy to fix as many Ovation preamps.
Here is what an OP4BT looks like without the guitar...


Here is what the OP4BT looks like without the faceplate...

(this image is upside down in relation to the one above)

Unfortunately none of what I typed will help you fix your problem.
Although, if you decide to remove your current preamp this will let you know that it looks like.

Good Luck and tell us how it goes.
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Mr. Ovation
Posted 2018-01-24 7:07 PM (#540918 - in reply to #540889)
Subject: Re: Ovation Celebrity Sound Fades


Joined:
December 2001
Posts: 7209

Location: The Great Pacific Northwest
OMA, how is the pre-amp actually attached to the guitar? THere doesn't seem to be a can like the others.
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Old Man Arthur
Posted 2018-01-24 9:31 PM (#540919 - in reply to #540889)
Subject: Re: Ovation Celebrity Sound Fades



Joined:
September 2006
Posts: 10777

Location: Keepin' It Weird in Portland, OR
I have never taken one apart.
But on the inside it is a big rectangle like an OP-24 or an Optima.
I am not positive, but I think that the front piece just snaps-on...
I am not sure if it is glued.
I am guessing that you must remove the knob and slider buttons.

I cannot find any videos on YouTube or stories on the OFC about removal or replacement of these things.
Nobody on the OFC seems to have messed with one of these, which is unusual.

(edit for spelling)

Edited by Old Man Arthur 2018-01-24 9:33 PM
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nochemd
Posted 2018-01-25 8:07 AM (#540921 - in reply to #540917)
Subject: Re: Ovation Celebrity Sound Fades


Joined:
January 2018
Posts: 9

Old Man Arthur - 2018-01-24 8:31 AM

Did you try a different battery?
Just because a battery is "New" does not mean that is is Good.

Does the Tuner work?
If your battery is good the tuner should at least have flashing arrows when it is working.
(I don't currently have a guitar with an OP4BT in it, so I am going by memory )
Does the low battery light come-on when you plug it in?
Does that battery light go out at the same speed as the sound fades?

I said all that to say that if the tuner comes on and tries to work for more than a few seconds, but cannot hear the not from the pickup, it is the pickup.
If the tuner does not work and you are sure that the battery is good, your preamp may be toast.

I don't like to disagree with Mr Ovation, but the OP4BT is not a "drop-in" module.
So it is not as easy to fix as many Ovation preamps.
Here is what an OP4BT looks like without the guitar...


Here is what the OP4BT looks like without the faceplate...

(this image is upside down in relation to the one above)

Unfortunately none of what I typed will help you fix your problem.
Although, if you decide to remove your current preamp this will let you know that it looks like.

Good Luck and tell us how it goes.



Does the Tuner work? Yes. The Letters and chevron flash/steady when tuning
If your battery is good the tuner should at least have flashing arrows when it is working.
(I don't currently have a guitar with an OP4BT in it, so I am going by memory )

Does the low battery light come-on when you plug it in?
The low battery comes on momentarily (flashes) as you plug-in the jack/cable

Does that battery light go out at the same speed as the sound fades?
As I've stated in the previous question, the battery indicator momentarily flashes (1-2 secs). The sound is still present even when the battery indicator has stopped but the output sound only lasts a few seconds.

Just in case the preamp is toast, can you point me in the right direction on a plug and play preamp I can place other than the OP4BT. A fishman perhaps or K&K etc..

Thanks for the help
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nochemd
Posted 2018-01-25 8:20 AM (#540922 - in reply to #540889)
Subject: Re: Ovation Celebrity Sound Fades


Joined:
January 2018
Posts: 9

I ordered some endpins that match my output jack. Your suggestions made me think that maybe/hopefully the autoswitch of the endpin is faulty which is not sending a continuous signal to the preamp that a jack is attached. I'll be firing-up the soldering iron and hope my theory is right. If not, time to take-out the dremel and cut myself a bigger chunk of the guitar to place a new preamp..
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nochemd
Posted 2018-02-09 9:42 AM (#541128 - in reply to #540889)
Subject: Re: Ovation Celebrity Sound Fades


Joined:
January 2018
Posts: 9

Just an update... My OP4BT is shot. Brought it to electronic shops and luthiers who told me that they could do nothing. So, I bought a Fishman presys Blend 301. Took-out my dremel and made some adjustments/surgery to the previous preamp hole. Everything works now and to my ears, the fishman sounds better than the OP4BT.
Note : What I did is not for the faint at heart. If you plan to do this, make sure you measure and slowly do it.
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nochemd
Posted 2018-02-09 9:44 AM (#541129 - in reply to #540889)
Subject: Re: Ovation Celebrity Sound Fades


Joined:
January 2018
Posts: 9

https://www.fishman.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/presysblendoem1_l...
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alpep
Posted 2018-02-09 10:07 AM (#541130 - in reply to #540889)
Subject: Re: Ovation Celebrity Sound Fades


Joined:
December 2001
Posts: 10581

Location: NJ
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