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Joined:
August 2010
Posts: 48
Location: Sydney | Hi folks!
I have a new old sweet Ovation Legend, model number 1617. The serial number is 182435 which puts it sometime in 1979.
From what I’ve read, this one might have A bracing, because this apparently came in around 79/80, but most likely VT bracing.
Does anyone have any more specific ideas on what it would have?
I’d just have a look inside, but I won’t have a chance to get a look at the guitar for a month while it sits with my in laws overseas in the land of ovations (USA).
It’s a cruel world… :) |
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Joined:
September 2006
Posts: 10777
Location: Keepin' It Weird in Portland, OR | "A" Bracing is pretty easy to recognize.
If you look in the hole you will see a slab of wood on both the bass and treble side.
As to VT bracing, I had two Artists guitars... 1121 and 1621.
The 1121 had VT bracing and it was one of the best-sounding guitars that I have owned.
Just let us know what you think when you get it. |
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Joined:
August 2010
Posts: 48
Location: Sydney | Hey Old Man, thanks for the quick tips. I was kind of wondering how I would tell what the bracing was when I did get a chance to peek inside.
I will be sure to post back when I've had my first strum. Can't wait. |
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Joined:
December 2008
Posts: 1456
Location: Texas | 
courtesy of:
The Ovation Gallery |
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Joined:
March 2005
Posts: 2793
Location: Atlanta, GA. | Not much difference between VT-8 and VT-11.
Here's one from a French ad that tells some of the models they were used in.
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Joined:
August 2010
Posts: 48
Location: Sydney | Gee all these types of bracing are really interesting. I wonder why they varied so much and jumped around - for sound or structural strength perhaps?
Word on the street seems to be that the VT is a bit brighter than the A or X, although I would have thought that wood grade/type and even string selection would have a far bigger influence on sound than the bracing.
Based on my, you know... hours of research on the topic. |
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Joined:
May 2008
Posts: 1565
Location: Indiana | They experimented. Sometimes with the bracing externally so they could... experiment faster.
Personally, I think they got it right with A bracing. Just an opinion... and we all have 'em. |
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Joined:
August 2010
Posts: 48
Location: Sydney | We do indeed!
Could it be that Ovation's opinion of their own guitar is incorrect?
http://www.ovationguitars.com/archive/guitar/legend_1617
A Bracing allegedly... |
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Joined:
August 2010
Posts: 48
Location: Sydney | By the way, Jonmark, I'm streaming some of your music right now and it's just beautiful. Congrats on your voice, fantastic. |
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Joined:
March 2005
Posts: 2793
Location: Atlanta, GA. | That 1617 is a later model due to the K bar neck... and A bracing. |
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Joined:
August 2010
Posts: 48
Location: Sydney | Ah gotcha, you can tell it's the k bar neck because of the lack of a truss rod cover on the headstock?
Which means the one I have, with a truss rod cover, is VT bracing! I'll solve this once I can see the darn thing. |
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Joined:
December 2006
Posts: 6996
Location: Jet City | There are pre-kbar 1617s with A-bracing. I actually have one I plan on selling shortly. 79-80ish I believe |
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Joined:
August 2010
Posts: 48
Location: Sydney | Righto, so probably can't suss this one out from a desktop study, need to get my head in there and have a look.
or play a game where I play the guitar first and then guess. |
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Joined:
August 2010
Posts: 48
Location: Sydney | Oh I could be lucky, I just had a chat with the seller, and he had a look in the soundhole for me. The only bracing he could see was a square all the way around the sound hole.
From the diagrams that looks like A bracing.
In the end I don't know if I'm really going to mind, but I do have a fondness for more bass tone, and apparently VT had great mids but less bass. |
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Bracing on 79 legend