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Joined:
July 2019
Posts: 7
| Today I brought home the first Ovation I can truly call my own, a 1979 Ovation Anniversary. Snagged it at Guitar Center for $400 only a few hours after it was traded in there. It was labeled as a 1978 but if I'm reading the serial number chart on this website, its actually a 1979. It came with the original case - in questionable condition - as well as the original owner's manual and business card from the store it was purchased from! The guitar itself is in great shape - its definitely 40 years old and it has some character to show for it. Changed the strings as soon as I got it home, wiped it down and polished it, and cleaned and oiled the fretboard and now it looks like a million dollars. Preamp and pickup works great. It was definitely taken good care of but was dry and dusty and looked like it had been sitting in it's case for a long time. I've been pining over an Ovation since I started learning on my grandpa's 1978 Ovation 10 years ago - it was poetic to find one for my own that's from nearly the same year! Does anybody have any experience with this model in particular? Or just general advice for the new owner of a guitar twice my age - specific to Ovations of just in general? I've been playing and maintaining my own guitars for years now but this is my first time owning an acoustic of any real age or value. I do have a specific concern about keeping it properly humidified - I didn't have to worry about that with my $30 antique store Yamaha acoustic. Thanks! |
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Joined:
July 2019
Posts: 7
| Pics from before cleaning and restringing plus the original case
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Joined:
July 2019
Posts: 7
| Pics after cleaning and restringing
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Joined:
October 2005
Posts: 4063
Location: Utah | That's a beauty!
You should aim for consistent temperature and humidity to the greatest extent possible. Changes are bad. Ideally the humidity should be around 45%, but 35% to 55% is ok. Wetter than that is not good. Dryer may be ok, but if you're in a desert area with <20% humidity you're asking for cracks. Many of us have room humidifiers in the guitar room to keep the humidity stable in the 40-50% range.
Never ever leave it in your parked car! You risk severe damage from hot or cold temps.
Otherwise there's nothing special really about caring for an Ovation. Enjoy! |
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Joined:
July 2019
Posts: 7
| I’ll definitely look into a room humidifier- I live in New England where right now it’s pretty warm and humid but it gets pretty dry here in the winter. Thanks for the advice! There’s a few cracks in the finish but thankfully no cracks in the actual wood. |
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Joined:
March 2005
Posts: 2791
Location: Atlanta, GA. | Congrats!!! That's a nice guitar. |
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Joined:
December 2003
Posts: 852
Location: Canada | Congratulations, those custom legends are as gorgeous as it gets. |
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Joined:
May 2006
Posts: 4230
Location: Steeler Nation, Hudson Valley Contingent | Those Anniversaries are great guitars. But you definitely need to keep an eye on humidity in New England's cooler times from early fall to late spring. Humidistats help immensely, but get a good one (or two). I lost a custom-built Elite when I didn't know my humidistat was broken until it was too late. I got one several years back that got busted during shipping. I wanted it so much that, instead of returning it, I had the factory (Which was still open then.) re-build it with an Adirondack Spruce top/bracing and a burst finish. It's a joy to play, and I'm sure yours is too. Congrats on the acquisition and welcome to the nuthouse....I mean...forum. |
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February 2016
Posts: 1838
Location: When?? | What a great $400 snag! We should all be so fortunate. Congratulations. |
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Joined:
May 2013
Posts: 152
| That's a real beauty. My first guitar was an Ovation 1657-7 Anniversary.
After many years I gave it to my daughter who really fell in love with it. The great thing about giving things to your kids is that they never go away for good. I still get frequent visitation rights.
Check out these two threads about Damon's 1657 and mine:
http://www.ovationfanclub.com/megabbs/forums/thread-view.asp?tid=34...
http://www.ovationfanclub.com/megabbs/forums/thread-view.asp?tid=34...
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Joined:
September 2006
Posts: 10777
Location: Keepin' It Weird in Portland, OR | Made me get mine out and play it for bit.
Those Anniversary's are nice guitars.
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1979 Ovation 1657-7 Anniversary
