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November 2012
Posts: 135
Location: New Bern, NC | I have a Custom Legend I bought around 1979, more or less. It is not a cut away. See my avatar? That's it. It's a 1619 I think. It's acoustic-electric. The electronics are shot and need replacing. I contacted Ovation and didn't get much of a response. They simply told me what it would cost to replace the electronics. What about my warranty!!! Isn't that lifetime warranty supposed to cover something that goes bad on the instrument?? How will the value of my instrument be effected if I change the electronics? It's in excellent condition, despite taking it with me all over the world and playing on it regularly for the last 30+ years. Please advise
-Meredith |
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Posts: 7247
Location: The Great Pacific Northwest | Could you elaborate on "The electronics are shot and need replacing." There are a few parts involved and it's highly unlikely unless there has been serious abuse that everything is bad. Mainly there is the pre-amp and the pickup. Either is fairly easy to swap. Some of the older units the pickup plugged into the preamp and either the plug failed or literally just unplugged. A little more info about what's going on with it would help.
The Warranty is a good question. If it's a '79, I would suspect it's still under Warranty as the original owner, but I don't know for sure but I'm sure someone else will know.
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Location: Upper Left USA | I think electronics have a limited period on warrantee.
Take a look over at www.ovationtribute.com and identify your preamp! Them we can try to find the replacement. |
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November 2012
Posts: 135
Location: New Bern, NC | Until I have it looked at by a repair man I have no idea what needs to be replaced or repaired. I sent Ovation an inquiry describing the problem and Ovation replied saying I probably need to replace the electronics. They quoted me two prices for the individual parts that may need replacing. They also said the electronics are only covered for ONE year. I guess I'll ALSO have to spring for the cost of labor too. So much for a "LIFETIME" warranty, huh? I double checked and yes, it IS a 1619 model. I checked tonight to see the model number. I am still concerned about devaluing the instrument if I replace too much. What are your opinions? |
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Location: Texas | If "The electronics are shot and need replacing." then that alone will devalue it, if you are speaking of value in the secondary market. Regardless of whether it is the pre-amp or the saddle, I think you could replace them yourself. They are classy looking guitars. On the bright side...you can at least still get the parts you need for your thirtysomething guitar. I imagine you would play hell getting a part that old from Fender or Gibson. Of course, you will be getting it from Fender, so nevermind. arggg |
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Location: Utah | MeredithI - 2012-11-20 9:04 PM
I am still concerned about devaluing the instrument if I replace too much. What are your opinions?
An opinion? I can help you out with an opinion. 
I am not familiar with the specific electronics in your guitar. A quick browse on Google it looks like a stacked knob vol/tone stereo/mono preamp. The value appears to be in the $600 range roughly. And your guitar has some normal wear from being played for 30 years.
I don't think you would add to or detract from the value of the guitar to replace parts as long as they are genuine Ovation parts. One of the big benefits of Ovation acoustic electric guitars is their great electronics. I browse Ovations on eBay and honestly I would be turned off by your guitar with an aftermarket preamp. Even if it is a "better" modern one with all kinds of fancy functions and displays. A new saddle/pickup to me is a complete non-issue in terms of value. A new Ovation preamp does not reduce the value to me, and in fact would be a tie breaker in favor of your guitar for me.
Are you thinking of selling the guitar or keeping it? If you're keeping it I would just fix it up the way you want it and don't worry about resale value.
Trouble shooting electronic problems is not that hard if you just apply the logic of it has to be something, so if we isolate each part we can either rule in or rule out possibilities. Be sure to use a known good battery. I always tongue test the 9v but if it is fresh out of the package straight from the store it should be good. Be sure you are using a mono cable in the mono jack of the guitar, and a stereo cable in the stereo jack. Try a different cable to be sure it isn't a bad cable. (I've done some really dumb stuff trying to diagnose problems, and I have an electrical engineering degree, so I'm not patronizing you I am saving you from making the same mistakes I have).
Ovation is making new preamps for the old guitars which you can buy. I know they make a 2 knob preamp for some reissue models, they may also make the stacked knob preamp or have a recent new one in stock. People say these new preamps sound even better than the original ones. The saddle is easy to replace and Ovation sells those too. There are some slightly cheaper aftermarket staddles available which may be just fine, but for me I would spend the extra few $ for the Ovation.
As to the failure, it could be either the saddle or the preamp. Generally electronics don't fail for fancy physics or chemistry problems, they fail for simple mechanical or oxidation reasons. Your description of the failure sounds to me more likely something to do with the saddle end of the signal chain rather than the preamp module. I would start there. Your saddle has two channels which go to the preamp. It could be a failure within the saddle itself, or it could be in the wiring from the saddle to the preamp.
My first guess is oxidation on the contacts of the plug where it goes into the preamp. I would loosen your strings a lot so you can easily get your hand inside the guitar, then pull the plug from the preamp. I am not familiar with your specific configuration so you'll have to use a mirror and flashlight to assure you are pulling on the correct wire. Then I would use a regular pencil eraser to rub the surface of the plug to remove oxidation. Plug it in/out of the jack a few times to try to clean the contacts on the jack side of the connection. Tune your guitar up and see if it works.
Look for any obvious broken wires. A gentle tug will confirm that battery wires are still attached to the preamp. Un-plug and then re-plug (into the same place!) any plugs that you see. Should be one from the pickup plugging into the preamp. The output jacks may have plugs into the preamp or they may be hardwired. If there are plugs, unplug and re-plug them several times to clean the contacts a bit. If hardwired give a gentle tug. With the guitar plugged into an amp and the volume set so you can hear it but not really loud, wiggle every wire inside the guitar slowly and gently. If you hear crackling or if the sound cuts in/out there is a potential problem there. It may or may not be the main culprit but you have identified a dirty contact or a bad solder joint or a broken wire.
There could be oxidation on the output jacks, or a bad solder joint which has cracked over the years. Or even a bent tab on an output jack. Plugging/unplugging a guitar cable a few times may help clean the contacts. Also, plug it in and turn the amp to a low but audible level. Then slowly turn, twist, pull, and push the guitar plug while it is plugged into the guitar. Strum and see if the dead strings come to life as you move the plug around. This won't rule out the jack as the problem if the dead strings stay dead. But if they pop in and out as you move the plug it would be proof that the problem is in the jack or the wires attached to the jack.
If that doesn't improve things, it could still be internal to the saddle. If the plug is the same size as an iPod earbud, you could plug your saddle into the line-in of an amp such as maybe a computer speaker system. I think the plug may be smaller, so you would need an adapter, small female jack to ipod size male plug. You may have to remove the saddle from the guitar to do this, or you could even buy a little extension audio cable with the female jack on one end and the male plug on the other. Then use a pick or fingernail to tap on the saddles for each string to see if you hear a click. You may find half the saddles have no sound, in which case your entire saddle/pickup assembly needs to be replaced. If all 6 saddles can be heard through the speaker, it isn't the pickup part of the circuit, it is somewhere in the preamp or output jacks.
If nothing identifies the failure yet, the preamp becomes suspect. At this point you may need to take it to someone else.
Edited by FlySig 2012-11-21 10:13 AM
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Location: Texas | Flysig +1 That post should be made into a permanent sticky. |
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Location: California | Thanks for the advise Flysig- Wrote: "Un-plug and then re-plug (into the same place!)"
In what order/place the mono and or stereo plugs connec to the preamp? Are the preamp output jacks or pickup plugs labeled? I am planning to replace the pickup on my 1619 CL.
Edited by hwebster 2012-11-21 4:49 PM
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Location: Hot Springs, S.D. | Have you tried a new battery? |
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November 2012
Posts: 135
Location: New Bern, NC | Great replies, everyone. I had my 1619 serviced about a year ago by an authorized Ovation repair rep and he put a new battery in for me. In all the years I've had my Ovation I've not had to replace the battery but a few times. So, it should be a good battery, but you're right that checking the battery would be the first thing I would otherwise check. |
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Location: sitting at my computer | MeredithI - 2012-11-21 8:01 PM So, it should be a good battery, . I wouldn't bet on that. Although it's possible for some batteries to last a year or more, I'd recommend changing it anyway, especially since your now experiencing problems, the kind a dead/dying battery can cause or contribute to.
Could be a very simple, inexpensive fix. - imho ymmv |
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replace/fix electronics?