Joined:
April 2003
Posts: 608
Location: Caribou, ME | I posted my good fortune of scoring a 1990 Custom Legend for $425 a couple weeks ago. Just thought I'd update everyone on how things are going. First, let me back up a little. I come from a musical family. My brother went through the 60's garage band thing, with the sonic blue Mustang and a Heathkit 25 watt amp. He even had, not ONE, but TWO Nehru jackets. 35 years later he's a hardcore bluegrass guy that plays mostly dobro. My father recorded two albums of cowboy ballads, and always had Gibsons and Martins laying around, so from the time I was old enough to hold a guitar, I had an appreciation for good instruments. I've been playing for years, not all that well, but I have fun. I've never been in a band, as I have ungodly stage fright. I have been repairing musical instruments for about 25 years, off and on as a business, but I mainly do it as a hobby. I've had a few hundred guitars over this time period. I don't hang on to stuff very long sometimes. My main acoustic since 1984 has been a 1964 Gibson Southern Jumbo. My father gave me his 1981 Martin M-38 in 1994 (he passed away in 1999). I have had occasion to repair a few Ovations over this period, nothing major, mainly setup, and one refret on a Balladeer 12 string. I was very fortunate to pick up this 1719 that I currently own. I still need to dress the ends of the frets a little... remember, I'm a repair guy, and a fussy s.o.b. besides... I gotta tell ya, guys, this guitar is sweet. I've had it a couple weeks, so the honeymoon is over, the "new meat on the block" syndrome has passed, if you dig. It's not an old Gibson with a 4 or 5 digit price tag, so I'm not walking around with a puffed out chest, showing off my latest vintage find. This guitar just flat out DEMANDS to be played. The tone is rich, full, and balanced, the response is immediate, it FEELS good, it's just a great guitar to play. It's damn near impossible to put down. I'm not bragging here, I'm just conveying that these Ovations (at least this one) is a very "fulfilling" guitar to play, and I'm very happy to have found it, and very happy to have found this group. I've haunted a few different guitar sites, and they generally have a "mine's bigger than yours" mentality. I belong to a site that deals with upright bass... holy COW, those guys are snobs! This site, however, seems pretty friendly, and when a person asks a question, they get an honest answer without being made to feel stupid. Speaking of which, I do have one question, maybe another member has had a similar experience. The rosette around the sound hole has become loose, and appears to have deteriorated from the inside. Aesthetically it's not too bad, but is it possible to buy one from Ovation? Whether or not that's possible is secondary to this: what glue should I use to shore this up with? I was thinking of a silicone type adhesive, just in case it ever needs to be removed at some future date. Comments? |
Joined:
May 2002
Posts: 1445
Location: Nova Scotia, Canada | Hi Scott, welcome to the site. You'll find most of the folks here to be quite helpful...and they rarely bite!
If you contact Kim Keller at Ovation Customer Service, he will undoubtedly have a rosette for that guitar and any info you need to install it. Their CS is next to none.
Sounds like you got a great deal on your guitar!
Wayne |
Progress report from a new Ovation fan
