Joined:
May 2003
Posts: 45
Location: Oakton, VA | The UPS man returned my 1972 Balladeer yesterday.
I sent it to the factory three weeks ago to reset the bridge, which had been accidentally torn loose some fifteen years ago. My first pleasant surprise came when customer service rep Kim Keller called soon after the guitar arrived and told me Ovation would replace the top and the bridge and that these repairs were under warranty.
The second surprise was that the work had been finished so quickly.
The third surprise is playing it again.
I asked Kim for a low action and that is what I got. It plays very easily and the intonation across the neck seems dead on. I bought it thirty years ago primarily for its booming bass voice and right out of the case that returned. I anticipate this only getting better as the new spruce top ages and quits thinking it's still a tree. The top, by the way, is much lighter in color; lacquer seems much thinner. Perhaps cause and effect?
My daughter, who rescued this broken guitar from a spring cleaning sweep, played it lot last night. She seemed quite self-satisfied: through the accumulated dust and wreckage, she spotted her first "keeper".
Thanks to the group (especially the many Pauls) for the advice on getting this thing fixed. The outcome couldn't have been better.
Tom |
Back from the factory
