Joined:
April 2003
Posts: 608
Location: Caribou, ME | I think I posted about this a while back but thought I'd give it another shot.
I've got a mid 70s Balladeer 1111-6 with a missing serial number and I'd like to narrow it down. I also have an identical 1111-6 from 1979 and a 1974 carcass I can use for comparison.
Key points that may help:
The 1974's head block has two holes in it, and is painted flat black with a brush. The mystery O and the 1979 have no holes and are sprayed flat black. When did they change?
The 1974 and the mystery O have foil labels. The 1979 has a paper label. I know the switch was around that time but can anyone narrow it down further?
The kerfing (for lack of a better word) on the '74 has the 'appearance' of fiberglass with visible strands of glass or.... something. The mystery O and the '79 appear to have slightly thicker heavier solid black plastic kerfing with notches here and there. Any idea when the transition was made?
The mystery O and the '79 are virtual twins otherwise, except for the tone. The '79 is thinner and choked. I know all guitars are different but the difference here is dramatic. I can't tell for sure what the mystery one has for a saddle, could be bone, I dunno. I think I made the '79s out of Micarta, which I don't care for, but it's what I had. I plan to buy a bunch of bone blanks and refit ALL O's and A's here.
Any clues to narrow the date down on the mystery one? Am I overlooking anything? |
Ovation dating minutiae
