Joined:
March 2010
Posts: 486
Location: Suisun City, Ca | I got the 12 from Lonnie you undoubtedly saw in the for sale forum. I feel like I stole this thing. After a string change, new battery and a couple left turns on the truss rod (1/4" nut type), it is perfect. The burst is stunning and the sound is full. I'll defer pictures and direct y'all to the sale thread. A couple very slight scratches and a couple finish divots are all that is wrong. They are not noticable unless you look very closely and tilt just right to the light. The hand-laid deep bowl looks brand new, so do the tuners. I mean "brand new". Hard to believe this was built in '81. There are a couple very shallow grooves in the first few frets, by a couple I mean 2 or 3; total! Frets are in excellent shape. There was a very annoying buzz on open fret top B and E strings only. No other issues anywhere else up the board, The truss rod adjust seemed to fix that. Looking down the fret-board, it has a good curve but from the 12th fret to the sound-hole it turns back to the sound board in a gentle "s" shape. That's ok since I won't be up there very often anyway on this 12 fret-to-the-neck get. No marring at all on the neck or slotted headstock/ The skunk strip center piece of wood seems pretty well matched, but a little lighter, to the outer pieces. (Thanks Bobbo for showing me what to look for there) The string beak-angle is sharp and I'm sure there are the normal two shims under there. It was kinda sticky so I just left the pick-up alone when changing strings.The home-made walnut TRC is nicely made and looks good with the lovely dark Ovation burst, which is just as nice as my old 1538. The only place I can find wear is the strap knobs which are showing use. The volume knob is black plastic, (I thought these were wooden originally?) It, too, looks brand new. BTW, I used a trusty Craftsman 1/4" drive ratchet, 1/4" socket with 2" extension and it was very easy to adjust truss-rod. The case is the best-conditioned brown case that I own. It is in great shape also. As to sound and feel, I can't help comparing it to the wonderful 1538 that Bear stole from me in a moment of weakness on my part: It is loud, but not really close to the 38 beast. It's certainly loud enough to make me sing louder than my "comfort level", but not a monster like the Elite. The plug-in sound is perfect with no spurious static or hum. The sound is well defined across the spectrum with more muted bass than the Elite. The highs and mids are crisp, sharp and clear as a bell! Under-hand it feels much like the 38 with perhaps a little harder pressure required for barre chords, but that might be only wistfull memory. It plays really easy and smooth just like an American-made Ovation should. This is the only steel-string Ovation I own that has the slot-head, so that might be why the bass is lighter...? When I changed strings, I did my usual cleaning, although this did NOT need it. I'd like to thank Lonnie and would buy from him again in a heart-beat. Thanks for reading (A very happy) Dan |
My new 1615 12er
