Joined:
May 2020
Posts: 2
| really dont know why it took me until the year 2020 to find this forum and register! well, here now... and the primary reason was that i saw an ad for a beat to hell '77 1117 Legend and decided it was time to check in on market values. found a post from this forum from 2008 about the market value of vintage Legends and decided i would join.
so a quick bit about me and my Ovation:
im in the kansas city area (ks side).
i type a lot without capital letters and proper punctuation. thats because i hunt and peck and doing so helps me go faster. i still make a lot of typos... pkease forgive.
ive been playing guitar since i was 14 yrs old... im nearly 68 now. yow... 54 years! im self taught, but lazy. ive never been in a band, and basically know, well, nothing! sad, that. (well, i do know some stuff, but not like you might expect after that many years)
it wasnt until around 2013 that i even picked up an electric guitar, so mostly an acoustic guy and my Ovation has always been my # 1. heres my gear list:
- 1979 Ovation Legend, 1117, sunburst, ohsc (completely covered by travel stickers). full bowl of course and brown, no pups. original owner. more on this below...
- 1975 Gibson Dove, cherry sunburst, ohsc (no stickers... :-)), second owner since about 2005. original owner installed some kind of 9 volt battery-powered under saddle pup.
- 2003 Martin 000-15M, satin finish, ohsc (one chicago music exchange sticker), original owner. no pups.
- 2013 Epiphone EJ-160e, John Lennon model, sunburst of course, ohsc, neck p-90 of course.
- 2005 Esteban. dont snicker... this guitar has proven to be equal to the Dove and Ovation... $99, black finish, square-shouldered jumbo like the Dove. in fact, same exact dimensions... i think it fits the Gibson case better than the Dove. no truss rod, no electronics, no strap buttons... but sustain and harmonic overtones that shimmer in the air. for $100. whoever built this one was inspired that day.
- 1992 Charvel Surfcaster 12-string. second owner at least. bought in 2017. ibanez bass hsc, black finish. goes by the name of Halo.
- 1995/6 pre-production Squier Pro Tone Stratocaster, MIK, no case, Trans Sapphire Blue finish, gold hardware. second owner at least. bought in 2016.
- 2005 Squier Affinity Stratocaster, no case, candy apple red w/rosewood fretboard, second owner at least. bought in 2015.
- 2015 Squier Affinity Telecaster, no case, original owner. black/maple fretboard.
- 2005 Epiphone 335 Pro, cherry finish, rosewood fretboard, ohsc (no stickers), second owner at least, bought in 2017.
- 2009 Epiphone Casino, natural w/rosewood, ohsc, second owner at least. bought in 2017.
- 2016 Hofner B-Bass, a Chinese-made Paul McCartney bass. original owner. no case.
feel almost like im forgetting one.... for someone who doesn't play well, a pretty nice collection. but, there are still 3 or 4 more id like to have.h
amp-wise only one good one really -- a Fender 1965 Princeton Reverb reissue. silver face. the other amps, meh.
my ovation has, from day one, sounded great and has only gotten better... this despite the fact i leave it out year-round. no cracks on the top, but you can see where they'd be in the grain pattern. bridge hasnt pulled up, but maybe ever so slightly. id say the overall condition is Good. there are a couple of dings, a chip off the top of the headstock, usual strumming scratches, some wear under the strings between the soundhole and bridge. frets and fingerboard in good shape.
in 1980, i had it leaning up against a wood table. on a wood floor. bad idea. cant recall what caused it to slide, but it did and the headstock hit really hard. but thats not what caused the chip. the impact put a small 1/2 inch crack on the back of the neck/headstock, pretty much opposite of the nut.
i decided to send it back to the factory for evaluation and repair. im fuzzy on the details now, but they repaired it, no charge, and i have never had any tuning or intonation issues that could attributed to the crack.
40 years, no issues... its why i call it a tank.
last story for now... in the late 90s, i had started taking it to guitar shops for string changes, cleaning, maybe a setup. i finally found a tech that i liked and took it to him. back then i was using the Ovation Adamas Phosphur Bronze light guage 12-54? 52?... anyway when i went to pick it up, he brings it out uncased, hands it to me saying, "thats the best sounding ovation i've ever heard." well, i was blown away... guess all that lemon oil did make a difference!
fast forward 20 years 1998 to 2018... once again, i took it to a guitar shop (different one, different tech) to have new strings put on, etc.. first time the ovation was in there. go to pick it up, tech brings it out and says, "this is the best sounding ovation i've ever heard." swear to God, friends, swear to God... i stood there while the 'twilight zone' moment passed.
two different techs, 20 years apart, same exact observation, same words... what are the odds?
thanks for indulging me on this long, introductory post. i will come back later with a pic or two of the guitar! have a great day, stay safe!
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Greetings all!
