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Joined:
March 2007
Posts: 843
Location: CA | Lot of beautiful, rare, high-end, 'mint' Ovation/Adamas on this board lately. This isn't one of them.
Am the proud new papa of Cpt. Lovehandles’ lusty red 1778T. But to make room for it, (and sooth the lusty readhead I’m married to), I have to let go of one, too. So here’s a well-used 1567 Legend, serial # 313329, which dates it to about the mid-80s. It is a super-shallow bowl model with the stacked-knobs. Solid spruce top makes it ringy in high and mid range, but it's a super shallow, so does not have the bass or projection of something deeper. (A surprisingly nice guitar for plunking with ones self, tho.) Plugged in, it's as good as any other electrified Ovation.
By well-used I mean it’s been ‘played hard and put away wet’ in its life, so it’s got its share of small dings and bumps. But it never appears to have been dropped or really abused. Still has both ‘ears’ and there are no large cracks, holes, chunks or other visible defects in the top or neck. There is some cracking, fading and yellowing of the binding on both the neck and body, but to my eye this is actually appealing as it looks like aged ivory.
This guitar made a pilgrimage to the mothership in June ‘07 for a neck reset and general 100,000 mile tuneup. As usual, the factory did a splendid job. In addition to the reset, they put some new frets on, made the pickup work again (it didn’t when I got it earlier in the year) and buffed up everything so pretty I almost thought they sent back the wrong guitar. It went from a planned campground guitar to a well-cared-for ‘daily driver’ that always went back in the case after use. That said, the neck is not perfect. Fretboard is dead straight, with great low action, up to the 14th fret — about where the heel meets the body. From there, the fretboard visibly ‘sinks’ into the body. Ovation reps explained that a typical neck reset does not address this issue, and that a fix of the entire fretboard would be much more expensive. To be clear, the high frets are perfectly accessible and there is no alignment or buzzing problems, it’s just that you have to press down harder to use them. Since I don’t play up there anyway — I’m barely passable in the ‘normal’ fretboard range — this has been no problem for me.
The finish is tobacco burst — I think one of Ovation’s prettiest finishes — and that theme is carried over onto the tail and the back of the neck. The guitar has it’s original hard case, but that thing looks like it’s fallen out the back of an airplane a few times. The hinges and latches still work, but it’s a real beater.
I’m asking $450 + shipping for the guitar and case, which is less than I paid for the trip to Mom's. Photos are on my 'ning gallery here:
http://ovationfanclub.ning.com/profile/JohnRiise | |
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Joined:
November 2006
Posts: 3969
| Congrats on getting Lusty, you'll enjoy her.
Now just put the Legend in the case and store it out of sight for a while. Tell SWMBO that you don't want to lose money on the guitar that you so lovingly had restored, and that you'll sell it when the economy turns around. That line's worked for me so far, & I haven't even had to hide any ;) .
Seriously, best of luck with the sale, and congrats again. | |
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Joined:
March 2007
Posts: 843
Location: CA | After closer inspection (and a few specific questions), I did discover there are two finish cracks in the lower bout. One is about a inch long and the other 1/2 inch. Between the black area they're in and the mothership buffing job, they are hard to see, but they are there. | |
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1567 Legend