Mid-70's Breadwinner, need parts and help
bartbrn
Posted 2015-03-10 10:25 AM (#507504)
Subject: Mid-70's Breadwinner, need parts and help


Joined:
March 2015
Posts: 2

I have an Ovation Breadwinner, S/N E00679, that I bought on eBay last Spring. I live about 2 hours from New Hartford, CT, but I see that Fender has closed that facility down (Fender-owned Hamer is in there now, I think), so I’m looking for a source for parts.  My Breadwinner (in textured black with the gloss neck back) seems to be complete and in VG condition, with only 2 or 3 very small dings in the upper edge of the body. Unfortunately, all the control knobs and a toggle switch are missing, and somebody has gouged all the potting out of the neck pickup, for reasons I cannot understand. I’ve downloaded every wiring diagram I can find, but can someone tell me where I might find spares and how to check if the active electronics and pickups are OK, and what sort of potting should be used once I've checked the pickup and I'm ready to put it back together?

 

Also, are the pickups on this Breadwinner single coil, humbucker, or what?

 

Thanks for your help!

 

Bart Brown



Edited by bartbrn 2015-03-10 10:46 AM




(MYBWF.jpg)



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Attachments MYBWF.jpg (80KB - 3 downloads)
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Mark in Boise
Posted 2015-03-10 11:44 AM (#507510 - in reply to #507504)
Subject: Re: Mid-70's Breadwinner, need parts and help


Joined:
March 2005
Posts: 12755

Location: Boise, Idaho
I can't help you much, but you are in a place where someone can. I just wanted to correct your assumption about Hamer being in the old Ovation factory. Fender shut down Hamer several years ago, shortly after buying KMC Music. There is still a small Ovation service crew in the building, but I suspect they ran out of Breadwinner replacement parts many years ago.
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numbfingers
Posted 2015-03-11 6:01 PM (#507588 - in reply to #507504)
Subject: Re: Mid-70's Breadwinner, need parts and help


Joined:
January 2006
Posts: 1118

Location: NW Washington State
Bart-

Your Breadwinner is a very early version and those plastic saddles are original. Since 3 out of 4 of the controls are gone, I wonder if the active preamp is there at all. You can look in through the battery compartment to see if there's a circuit board.

Those pickups are single coil "toroidal" made specially by/for Ovation. I have the idea that the backplates were prone to fall off, but I'm not sure where I got that idea. The set I have has some blue rubbery goop oozing out of the back, but I think someone might have done that after the pickups were made.

-Steve W.
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