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January 2025
Posts: 8
| Hello all. I’m primarily a Gretsch collector with a large collection of new and rare examples, but recently became obsessed with Ovation guitars after a guitar buddy was bad mouthing “the bowls” as I call them. DON’T BAD MOUTH THE BOWLS DUDE!!!
I always liked a super shallow and being a bit bored with my main collecting pursuits I started on a journey to learn all there is Ovation and have been on the hunt with at least one in the bag for good, in the form of a next to new condition Custom Elite C2078 AX in a tobacco sunburst finish. I think it’s a 2019. That was a Sweetwater gear exchange find that I got for a decent price considering all the extras. I had a new Sweetwater CC48 tiger eye pass through the collection, but returned it as at couldn’t live up to their website pics of it. In person it just looked dull to me.
The current goal is to land one of each bowl size, so I’m shopping for Mid and SS. I’ll be sticking to the mid priced guitars, so no Adamas for me. I’m a cheap(er) guitar guy, which brings me to my current curiosity.
I recently landed a used b-stock (serial sticker over original) CE48 T-5 in Transparent Black from GC. I was originally repelled by the color as it was advertised as “black”, which was what I was hoping to get. I call the color baby poop grey, but the color is growing on me.
The real problem is not the color, but the deformations in the laminate top. There is a long thin hump running from the bridge to the edge of the body and a dip adjacent to the lower rear corner of the bridge. I removed the rear panel and inspected the top from the inside and don’t see any indication of these defamations. I would assume that the long thin hump is what turns into the notorious cracks in the top that I’ve been coming across and read about on the web, but could use some education on all of that. I can’t live with these issues as the guitar plays and sounds great. Live with it That is if they don’t turn into something worse. What I need to know is what I’m dealing with here and if I should return this one or keep it. Can it be corrected or is this more of a feature than a bug? Any input will be greatly appreciated.
Here are the best I could do with some pics:
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Joined:
January 2025
Posts: 8
| Can I post pics? It appears not? Used the advanced reply button and the attach photo after posting button, but no joy. Not a newbie here when it comes to forum posts, but I'm just not seeing it.
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December 2001
Posts: 7225
Location: The Great Pacific Northwest | Upgraded you to full member and moved post here to General Discussion area. Welcome, you should be all set now. |
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April 2003
Posts: 242
Location: Pewaukee, WI | Don't forget American made deep bowls, the original bowl. |
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Joined:
January 2025
Posts: 8
| Thanks! |
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Joined:
January 2025
Posts: 8
| Finally the aforementioned pics:
Edited by YaDaddy 2025-01-10 2:33 PM
 (IMG_6807.jpg)
 (IMG_6809.jpg)
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 IMG_6807.jpg (79KB - 0 downloads)
IMG_6809.jpg (66KB - 0 downloads)
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Joined:
January 2025
Posts: 8
| Any ideas on what I'm dealing with in those two pics? First one is the hump or more accurately described as a ridge. The second pic has the arrow pointing at a dip in the top. |
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Joined:
January 2025
Posts: 8
| Here's the first Ovation member of the herd in the form of a Ovation Custom Elite C2078 AX 
 
Edited by YaDaddy 2025-01-10 2:58 PM
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C2078AX.jpeg (697KB - 38 downloads)
C2078AX 2.jpeg (752KB - 37 downloads)
C2078AX 3.jpeg (840KB - 38 downloads)
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January 2025
Posts: 8
| So I’ve decided that the line that I describe as a hump or ridge is the joining point for the two book matched halves of the laminate top. At first I thought it was too far off the center line to be that joint, but while it’s not perfectly centered on the bridge it’s close enough that that’s what it has to be. I still think it odd that it isn’t flat and it’s raised up the length of the line from the bridge to the edge of the body. I have had my hands on quite a few Ovations recently and none of them have been like this one. The tops have been perfectly flat. Maybe it’s just bad manufacturing QC and a feature not a bug. I can live with it as I got it for a pretty good price. I’d still like to know what some experts here think and about the dip also. |
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Joined:
December 2017
Posts: 108
Location: Gardnerville, NV | You've got the Deep Bowl covered. My next move would be checking Reverb for an 1869 Custom Legend. Super Shallow Bowl and stunning looks. I have a -1, also a Sunburst. Then I'd go looking for an 1121 or a 1621 Artist or an 1127 or a 1627 Glen Campbell Artist. Both have the original Shallow bowl, which I think is called the Mid-Bowl now. I'd look for a mid-seventies to mid-eighties USA made one. Best of luck. They're wonderful guitars. |
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Joined:
January 2025
Posts: 8
| Maybe the serial sticker signifying that this is a B stock is the answer to my question. Could be that the laminate top defects are why this one got branded with the replacement serial sticker covering the original. |
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I’m obsessed with Ovation! …but what to do about this?
