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Joined:
March 2007
Posts: 698
Location: Cork, Ireland | Are they really? A number of sellers of o's on sale in the UK, plus the 1615 I recently bought have said 'all ovations have those cracks' - either above or below the bridge. With the 1615, I was able to feel inside and could discern no damage in the inside the sound board. Is this something I should keep checking? Can 'finish cracks', develop into real cracks? ANd can they be successfully repaired? |
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Joined:
September 2004
Posts: 777
Location: East Wenatchee, WA | I didn't understand the whole finish crack conversation until my gorgeous 1537 developed one overnight.
I took it with me on vacation to Montana. Elevation and extreme temperature changes, coupled with being bounced around the back of my Tacoma made me sick on day when I opened the case and saw the crack. Careful inspection of the top and underside shows that it is, in fact, just the rather heavy poly finish and it does seem to be quite common on 80's vintage O's. I hope it doesn't develop into a top crack (ugh...there is a mental picture) and there is no indication that top cracks are as common as finish cracks, which they would be if they were a precursor (finish to top).
So....I think about having mine fixed, then just imagine what the USPS or UPS could do to it while in transit, then just go back to playing it some more.
I will probably sell it with the finish crack. |
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Joined:
March 2005
Posts: 12759
Location: Boise, Idaho | All Ovations don't have finish cracks. Some of mine do, some don't. They generally don't run with the grain. If they follow the grain, it might be into the wood.
I have never made a repair, but I'm going to try with some very thin superglue one of these days. |
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Joined:
March 2007
Posts: 698
Location: Cork, Ireland | I can imagine the relatively thick (and brittle ?)finish cracking when the more supple wood flexes a bit. I've certainly seen similar cracks in pics of ovations from 1970's/80's.
Where I live we don't get extreme temperature or humidity changes, so hoping I'll get a few years out of it. (Don't know where the 1615 has been living since 1979 though!) |
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Joined:
January 2006
Posts: 5881
Location: Colorado Rocky Mountains | I bought my '81 Legend Ltd new. It has never had any cracks whatsoever. The '68 Thunderhead has many. I believe that as finishing material from that era continues to age, it'll become increasingly brittle and eventually could crack unless kept in a controlled environment. |
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Joined:
March 2005
Posts: 12759
Location: Boise, Idaho | My Matrix has no finish cracks and bought it new in 77. We moved it from a very humid climate to a very dry one and I never worried about the humidity till recently. It has spent most of its life in a basement with moderate temperature and humidity changes. I can only guess that the cracks come from use outdoors or something else that mine have never been exposed to. |
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Joined:
August 2006
Posts: 3145
Location: Marlton, NJ | My matrix that I bought around that same time developed finish cracks... after my strap broke and it fell face first onto a marble altar. Some of the cracks did go through to the wood :rolleyes: |
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Joined:
February 2002
Posts: 1817
Location: Minden, Nebraska | I distinguish between finish checking, which is normative to older guitars, and impact cracks which are common to Ovations. The latter are rarely in the wood, but just the lacquer. Factors such as temperature, humidity, string tension, etc., are all variables. Perhaps they can happen spontaneously, but in my experience they are the results of 'encounters'.
Both of my currently used Ovations do have repaired cracks in the wood which were the result of close encounters of another kind. |
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Joined:
March 2008
Posts: 2683
Location: Hot Springs, S.D. | I used to see finish cracks in inspection. That was in the old days of the polyester finish. Sometimes even the urethane will crack. Here in the shop I have had O's from the 70's come through with finish cracks that the owners said have been there for 30 years. They don't affect the tone one bit, and they don't eventually translate into wood cracks. I just consider them beauty marks. I believe it happens to O's because, while the wood top moves with heat and humidity changes, the bowl doesn't move at all. Something's got to give. It's no big deal at all. |
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Joined:
April 2006
Posts: 1017
Location: Budd Lake, NJ | Finish cracks? I've reached the stage of life where they're called "wrinkles." ;) :D
(Gertrude and I have something in common, after all!)
--Karen |
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Joined:
March 2008
Posts: 2683
Location: Hot Springs, S.D. | Good one, Karen! I've got the same problem. And like the finish cracks, let's just consider them beauty marks. :D |
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Joined:
December 2006
Posts: 6268
Location: Florida Central Gulf Coast | You ladies crack me up!
I was born with a OEM 'crack', the rest are just life's 'finish checking'; when I'm finished, I'm checking out... then I'll catch ya'll on the 'other side'! ;) |
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Joined:
August 2008
Posts: 12
Location: Greencastle, IN | I bought an "O" in 1971 and within 6 months it developed some "finish cracks". It really set me off spending all that money on my 1st new guitar and it broke (grin). Ovation replaced it free with the most expensive guitar they had. So I sold it before it could happen again. But, I am back looking again 38 years later. It sounds to me like the thing to do is buy one with the beauty marks in place and and I won't be upset when it happens again? Not a bad idea! Do the Adamas get finish cracks? |
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Joined:
May 2003
Posts: 4389
Location: Capital District, NY, USA Minor Outlying Islands | Are they really? yes
'all ovations have those cracks' - no
Is this something I should keep checking? if you want.
Can 'finish cracks', develop into real cracks? no
ANd can they be successfully repaired? no, only stabelized. use thin cyto glue. been discussed before. |
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Joined:
December 2003
Posts: 13996
Location: Upper Left USA | The cracks are a result of dissimilar materials response to temperature change. Greater change in a shorter time is worse.
In extremes all instruments will suffer. Earlier Ovations had a thicker finish but I believe that the better built Ovations survived situations that would have crumbled a wood box.
So we get to see the survivors. the corpses just don't get discussed. |
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Joined:
March 2007
Posts: 698
Location: Cork, Ireland | Thanks for all the replies. At almost 30 years old my 1615 plays just fine - just wanted confirmation that I hadn't bought a bad one. Seller told me "all O's have those" even though it's the only one he'de ever owned. |
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Joined:
March 2007
Posts: 698
Location: Cork, Ireland | Would it be worth gettting a complete refinish professionally done? Likely effect on the sound? One way to find out of they ARE just finish cracks. |
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Joined:
May 2003
Posts: 4389
Location: Capital District, NY, USA Minor Outlying Islands | Would it be worth gettting a complete refinish professionally done? Only if you have money to burn. I'd go with the stabilization route and live with it. Call it character.
Likely effect on the sound? No effect on the sound. |
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Joined:
March 2008
Posts: 12
Location: Ottawa Canada | I have some on my Elite 1537, had them checked and they are only in the finish, I should have known because they do not follow the grain at all. I find that there is no difference in the sound what so ever, but try to sell it and get the value it should have is impossible. I am starting to think a lot of us buy them to look at and not to play. |
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Joined:
March 2007
Posts: 698
Location: Cork, Ireland | I might consider sanding and refinishing the neck myself, maybe with an oiled finish. Opinions? |
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Joined:
November 2007
Posts: 125
Location: UK | I left my 1624 in a closed central heated office for a month and on my return ...... Doh! Just the one, from bridge to bottom. Considered a trip to the luthier but it just is not worth it. Cosmetic, but still sounds as sweet and remains a favourite. Gets played more than ever now as it is out of it's case,on a stand, all the time. |
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Finish Cracks
