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May 2002
Posts: 1026
Location: Back in the Valley of the Sun Mesa Az. | Old Man Winter got to my Legend this past weekend.
Found a three inch long crack starting behind the B string on the bridge, running toward the base of my guitar :( !
With the sub-zero temps. this past weekend, and me leaving the door open while hauling in wood, must have been a deadly combination for my Legend! That, or my constant fight with keeping humidity up.
I have moved all my guitars to an inner room,with a humidifier going 24/7 now.
I read in another thread somehow you use superglue to repair a crack? I believe this is only in the finish. What to do?!
Norse(sick to my stomach)man1 :( |
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June 2002
Posts: 6202
Location: Phoenix AZ | Ouch. I can feel your pain. Maybe a good reason to move to Arizona, although it's so dry here that I have to humidify year round. As bad as you must feel, look on the bright side - your Ovation is now "official". Kind of like coming of age or something. I'm not sure about super glue, I'm sure other will chime in on that one. I've never done anything to repair these kinds of cracks - I just let 'em be. Somebody posted once that they thought tops with cracks sounded better since the "stress" was all loosened up. Not sure about that one. Sorry again to hear about your incident, but hopefully you can feel soem comfort that you are definately not alone. Dave |
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Posts: 1026
Location: Back in the Valley of the Sun Mesa Az. | Thanks Dave,
I know it's not the end of the world, but it sure felt like it when I saw it! Ever see a 6-3 250 pound weightlifter cry?! It's not pretty! I was in a stupor all weekend (SuperBowl?! who cares, what about my DeepBowl?!).
Dave, I would just as soon leave the crack alone, but worry it may grow if I get a little aggressive with my strumming/picking.
She had a lot of extra dips and curves, but her finish was perfect. Oh well, she still sounds better than anything else I have, or have ever owned! I tried to take good care of her, but feel like I let us both down.
Norse(I think my wife is getting jealous,I don't fret over all the new cracks and wrinkles she's gotten lately! :eek: just kidding sweetie :D )man1
p.s.Of course, her dips and curves putmy Legend to shame! ;) |
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March 2002
Posts: 15686
Location: SoCal | Norsey:
Your wife would probably not be so jealous if you didn't bring your guitars to bed with you every night.
Sometimes stuff like this happens. I have all my guitars (almost all) out on stands and have picked up a couple of dings and nicks along the way.
I've got a 1914 0018 Martin that is a family heirlom. It used to be a a stand until it seemed like I was trying to destroy it. First, something fell on it putting a gouge in the face, then the back split (temperature change on an old guitar?). Can't do anything about the gouge, but I had the back patched from the inside.
Sometimes you just gotta chaulk these things up to life. |
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May 2002
Posts: 1026
Location: Back in the Valley of the Sun Mesa Az. | Yea, you're right Paul, I guess the crack just gives my guitar a little more "character". Iguess these things do happen, no sense going over the deep end about it.
Thanks for the encouragement.
Norse(Anyways, I shot my dog, moved my youngest out to the doghouse, and converted her bedroom into a music room to store my guitars in, where I know they will be safe and sound. I mean, I can always get a new dog, and have more kids, right?!)man1 |
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February 2002
Posts: 5750
Location: Scotland | Norse, get it stabilised so it doesnt get any worse. My Legend has a crack in exactly the same place, it's not uncommon with 70's Ovations. It was fixed over 15 years ago, han't moved since and sounds fine. |
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August 2002
Posts: 110
| I agree w/ Paul T. |
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May 2002
Posts: 1026
Location: Back in the Valley of the Sun Mesa Az. | How do you get it stabilized Paul?!And should I unstring, or just not use it until it is stabilized?
Norse(EMT)man1
p.s. Hey Paul, I was back looking at that 1139 Ovation we discussed last week. It's serial number is 258317. Accordingto the refernce chart, this is a 1981 "Special Balladeer" The guy is sure it has a truss rod, and that it must have been snapped off by a previous owner, but I want to agree with you, since the neck is composite,or some kind of formed plastic. The fret board looks like ebony (not rosewood), and it also has the hole drilled in the lower soundhole brace for an adjustment wrench. Any definite way of knowing for sure what the heck it is? I would be interested in buying it for 125.00 if it indeed has no truss rod, the action is a little high, but playable, and It'sin my price range (that is Norse(CHEAP)man1). |
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Posts: 613
Location: Zion, Illinois | Norseman,
I'm the one that was talking about the superglue to fix a crack. My crack (strike that, my GUITARS crack), was in the wood from the bridge right under the B string to the bowl. The repairman said that it was right on a brace so they couldn't glue it back together (couldn't pull the split side together because the brace was holding them). On suggested to fill it with superglue, which he did. I think he could have done a better job, but for the most part it looks OK and I'm not worried about it splitting more.
Was your top's crack in the wood or the finish?
Bradley |
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January 2003
Posts: 1498
Location: San Bernardino, California | It's my understanding that RAPID changes in temperature and/or humidity is the main cause of damage like this. A case is supposed to slow down these changes. After having 2 guitars destroyed (while out of the case) and 1 damaged, I'm a firm beleiver in cases. |
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November 2002
Posts: 1196
Location: Lafayette, Louisiana | Hey guys, I have a 1990 Custom Ballaeer. The top is perfect, not a scratch on it. I live in humid southern Louisiana. Do I have to worry about the top eventually cracking? I got the guitar from a friend who had it leaning against a wall for years. In fact, he has no idea where the case is. I have it in a new Ovation case now, but all this talk about top cracks has me worried. Should I be?....Paul Hebert |
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Posts: 5750
Location: Scotland | Norse, Bill can confirm this, but as far as I remember the "Special" Balladeer from that era was basically a posh Matrix & eventually became the early USA made Ultras. If so it has a Urelite/Ali neck without a rod, regardless of what the dealer may beleive.
Take your Legend to a decent repair guy, if you get any sharp intakes of breath or bullshit take it somewhere else. These types of cracks can usually be fixed for sensible money by any compentent repair guy, as long as they don't have Ovation predjudices and many do. The repair to my Legend isn't cosmetically perfect, that would have involved an expensive refinish, but the guitar has been fine ever since. You can see the repaired crack in the gallery. |
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May 2002
Posts: 1026
Location: Back in the Valley of the Sun Mesa Az. | Paul Templemen,
Thanks again for the reply, I appreciate your knowledge on Ovations! I may jusy buy this Balladeer just toget my mind off my Legend. I will search for a repairman. I don't believe the crack goes through the finish, but if it did, it is directly above a cross brace, so probably notmuch can be done from underneath.
Thanks again!
Norse(getting over the trauma one day at a time)man1 |
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August 2002
Posts: 8307
Location: Tennessee | I have a first year (1983) USA Ultra ... with the Uralite/Ali neck. There is definitely a hole for truss rod adjustment drilled at the base of the neck, right up next to the soundboard inside the body, but alas, NO TRUSS ROD. And yes, there's a real nice bow in the neck with no other way to make it right other than having Ovation put a new neck on. The factory tells me it will cost $500+/-, so while I decide, I'm playing around with learning some slide licks.
BTW, it hasn't been in a case for 20 years (except to travel) ... and no cracks. Maybe its the mild California climate. But I too would feel a large pain if one day she split on me. Stone(if my wife asks, the last sentence was about her)bobbo. :D |
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December 2002
Posts: 86
Location: ma. | i was told by an authorized Ovation repair that in general a crack in the wood will follow the direction of the grain. it seems to me that it would take some sort of trauma to split the wood. i think 99% of the cracks we're talking about are finish only. but it still hurts! |
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February 2002
Posts: 5750
Location: Scotland | Rapid changes in temperature will tend to cause crazing in cellulose-based finishes, polyester finishes are a lot more robust. With older Ovations most of these traumas are actually structural, but in my experience are repairable with little or no adverse effect on tone. To put top cracks into perspective, Bill Monroe's priceless Lloyd Loar F5 was reduced to sawdust by a burglar and rebuilt by Gibson. The late John Fahey destroyed a (Roy Smeck model?) Gibson Hawaiian flat-top in a fit of pique, which has been rebuilt recently. It's never as bad as you think. |
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Posts: 3005
Location: Las Cruces, NM | Norsey
If the sound is not affected, don't get too upset. It might just be tension relieving on the top. Guitars are not like autos where you can judge them by perfection of appearance. They grow as they age and all kinds of changes take place. The sound is the test, many times a change in appearance on a quality guitar might even improve the sound, as tensions snap and parts that weren't resonating break loose and start vibrating. Did you ever suddenly realize that your hidebound predjudices had changed a little, and you now bent a little more with the wind.
Bailey |
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Joined:
January 2003
Posts: 43
| A crack is not the end of everything. Just check out the guitars I have on my site at www.overacker.com/ovationrestoration.htm. Cracks can be fixed, whether in the finish or the top. If anyone wants the tips on this, let me know and I will put them on the site. I have fixed all kinds of cracks on guitars, and it is not really that hard, but you must have patience and take your time. Cracks are the result of the difference in expansion and contration rates of various products. As guitar finish is exposed to UV and air for years, it becomes less elastic, more brittle, and thus more likely to break. If the finish stress breaks it free of the wood, just the finish will crack. If the finish is bonded well to the top, the resulting stress can transfer to the top and the top can crack. If your top has proper moisture content, it will resist the pressure with its own expansion or contraction while remaining pliable. Good care will keep your guitar better longer, but there is no way to stop everything that might happen to your guitar as it ages.
Photogazer |
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Sickened,Heartbroke, and Disgusted!
