|
|
Joined:
January 2009
Posts: 8
Location: Sioux Falls, SD | Greetings,
I just got hold of an old 1982 Ovation Ultra 1311 acoustic, and noticed that the bridge was routed so a thinline transducer could be installed (I'm assuming this was the standard acoustic bridge for the cheaper models at the time), even though it wasn't standard on that model.
I checked with John Budny (The Man!) at Ovation, and he pointed me here. Just curious, does anyone have a thinline transducer and/or preamp that would have been original equipment - or close - for the Ultra acoustic series back in 1982-83 that they're interested in selling?
Thanks!
-Bob |
|
| |
|
Joined:
August 2002
Posts: 8307
Location: Tennessee | Welcome! Nice name. ;) Unfortunately, I can't help you out here. But I also have an Ultra 1311 ... it was my first Ovation and I still have it. Mine came ith an OPP and the single volume preamp which still works great. Sadly, the Urelite neck bowed over time with no way to correct it, so I popped in a high nut and she's now serving well as a slide guitar.
Good luck with your hunt. SOmeone here's probably got what you need. Be patient for a few days and see what happens. Feel free to bump the thread if it stalls a bit. |
|
| |
|
Joined:
January 2009
Posts: 8
Location: Sioux Falls, SD | Originally posted by stonebobbo:
Welcome! Nice name. ;) Unfortunately, I can't help you out here. But I also have an Ultra 1311 ... it was my first Ovation and I still have it. Mine came ith an OPP and the single volume preamp which still works great. Sadly, the Urelite neck bowed over time with no way to correct it, so I popped in a high nut and she's now serving well as a slide guitar.
Good luck with your hunt. SOmeone here's probably got what you need. Be patient for a few days and see what happens. Feel free to bump the thread if it stalls a bit. stonebobbo,
GNTA (Great Names Think Alike)! ;-)
You mentioned that your neck bowed; does yours have a truss rod? Supposedly, the Ultra series necks had a truss rod, but mine doesn't, so I've been wondering...
Thanks!
-Bob |
|
| |
|
Joined:
August 2002
Posts: 8307
Location: Tennessee | Nope, no truss rod on mine. If you look real closely at your neck, you'll find that is actually made of foam with a faux wood finish, but a real rosewood fretboard. The later Ultras went to wood necks with truss rods. |
|
| |
|
Joined:
January 2009
Posts: 8
Location: Sioux Falls, SD | Originally posted by stonebobbo:
Nope, no truss rod on mine. If you look real closely at your neck, you'll find that is actually made of foam with a faux wood finish, but a real rosewood fretboard. The later Ultras went to wood necks with truss rods. stonebobbo,
That's kinda what I was figuring when I couldn't find a truss rod; how good are the Urelite necks in your experience?
-Bob |
|
| |
|
Joined:
November 2002
Posts: 3650
Location: Pacific Northwest Inland Empire | Pretty good..'til the frets wear out. Then, practice your Delta slide technique. |
|
| |
|
Joined:
March 2005
Posts: 12759
Location: Boise, Idaho | If he's got the rosewood fretboard, it should be the same as any other guitar when the frets wear out--get it refretted.
The urelite neck with aluminum fretboard on my Matrix is rock solid. I don't play it much, but I picked it up the other night and the tuning was spot on after several months of hanging there. Sounds pretty close to the new Balladeer RI that hangs next to it. |
|
| |
|
Joined:
December 2003
Posts: 13996
Location: Upper Left USA | For Piezo pickups I usually search Ebay for Artec and make sure that I order the right width and length. Can you identify which preamp you think goes into the instrument?
I have some kicking around. |
|
| |
|
Joined:
January 2009
Posts: 8
Location: Sioux Falls, SD | Originally posted by Mark in Boise:
If he's got the rosewood fretboard, it should be the same as any other guitar when the frets wear out--get it refretted.
The urelite neck with aluminum fretboard on my Matrix is rock solid. I don't play it much, but I picked it up the other night and the tuning was spot on after several months of hanging there. Sounds pretty close to the new Balladeer RI that hangs next to it. Mark,
I've got the rosewood fretboard, yeah. :-)
-Bob |
|
| |
|
Joined:
January 2009
Posts: 8
Location: Sioux Falls, SD | Originally posted by MWoody:
For Piezo pickups I usually search Ebay for Artec and make sure that I order the right width and length. Can you identify which preamp you think goes into the instrument?
I have some kicking around. MWoody,
The saddle on my Ultra is 1/8" by 2-5/8"; would the Artec PP-607 be the transducer that I want?
I'm not sure what the OEM preamp would be for my guitar; it was built in 1982, so whatever would have been the low-budget preamp for that time would more than likely be correct.
Thanks! :-)
-Bob |
|
| |
|
Joined:
February 2002
Posts: 5750
Location: Scotland | The early USA Ultras had a standard Ovation pickup and a volume-only FET3 preamp. The Thinline pickup didn't appear until the late '90's. This wasn't low budget stuff, it was standard on all USA Ovations since the early 70's. At the time the only upgrade was a stack knob vol/tone FET3.
Best bet would be have it routed again to take an Ovation pickup rather than a thinline or undersaddle. |
|
| |
|
Joined:
January 2009
Posts: 8
Location: Sioux Falls, SD | Originally posted by Paul Templeman:
The early USA Ultras had a standard Ovation pickup and a volume-only FET3 preamp. The Thinline pickup didn't appear until the late '90's. This wasn't low budget stuff, it was standard on all USA Ovations since the early 70's. At the time the only upgrade was a stack knob vol/tone FET3.
Best bet would be have it routed again to take an Ovation pickup rather than a thinline or undersaddle. Paul,
Thanks for clarifiying that!
I'd assumed that since the bridge was routed deep enough for an undersaddle transducer - and that the Ultra was a budget line - that the thinline transducer would have been OEM for my guitar.
I got the guitar for $75 - used stock clearance - so I don't want to put a *lot* of money into electrifying it. :-)
Thanks again!
-Bob |
|
| |
|
Joined:
January 2009
Posts: 8
Location: Sioux Falls, SD | Originally posted by Paul Templeman:
Best bet would be have it routed again to take an Ovation pickup rather than a thinline or undersaddle. Paul,
Just curious, how difficult would it be to have that routing done? And what are the dimensions of the saddle slot, specifically the *width* of the pickup? I know it's significantly wider than the 1/8" that it currently is, but not sure of the *exact* measurement.
Thanks again!
-Bob |
|
| |
|
Joined:
February 2002
Posts: 5750
Location: Scotland | Any luthier or repair tech could do it. Or you send it back to Ct and be sure. |
|
| |
WTB: Thinline transducer/preamp for Ultra 1311
