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Joined:
March 2002
Posts: 15664
Location: SoCal | As a follow up to Dan talking about light strings on a torrefied top, on my Dan Savage Legend (torrefied Addy spruce top and braces) I've gone to Martin Monal strings (nickle), mediums. The guitar sounds great and is handling the pull with no visible problems. |
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Joined:
June 2012
Posts: 2315
Location: Pueblo West, CO | Just a follow-up post.
Here's what the 1113 top looked like four years ago. (2017)
Here's what it looks like today.
As you can see the polyester finish continues to shrink. The amount of curl has increased significantly. 
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Joined:
February 2016
Posts: 1801
Location: When?? | All of that from the contraction of finish. That is amazing. Give it one more year and it'll be a full-on cowboy hat! Was it on the wall the whole time, or laying flat? And does being so close to the beach shore like you are with periodic hour-to-hour-to-day fluctuation of humidity possibly help to accelerate it? |
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Joined:
June 2012
Posts: 2315
Location: Pueblo West, CO | Yep, just the finish shrinking.
Yes, it was hanging on the wall in the garage. Granted, we do park two cars in there, but on warm days we leave the garage door open after we park to allow the heat to escape.
We're about 4-5 miles from the actual shoreline. Where we live in California, the relative humidity remains pretty constant throughout the year.
Two things accelerate the shrinking: heat and UV. That's why it's bad to park your guitars anywhere near a window or any heat source.
Folks who keep their old Ovations in the case are going to experience the least amount of shrinking.
Edited by DanSavage 2021-07-02 6:35 PM
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Joined:
September 2005
Posts: 138
Location: Birmingham, AL | I've been working on my '81 1658 and I noticed that the top is domed all the way around. it's flat where the top is glued to the bowl and has a noticeable dome on it from there. verified with a ruler. The dome is in front of the soundhole as well as behind the bridge.
This guitar has very little top distortion when strung up and not a sign of a crack anywhere.
Didn't know that at some point the guitars were constructed that way.
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Joined:
June 2012
Posts: 2315
Location: Pueblo West, CO | To my knowledge, Ovations are true flat-top guitars.
Guitars like Martin, Taylor, etc., have 'domed' or radiused tops, but not Ovation.
That's why the fretboard extension has a drop-off where it joins the body. 
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Joined:
December 2008
Posts: 250
Location: Seattle | This is all very disturbing to me
……….Keeping watch on my beloved 72 legend.
Wonder if the textured guitars tops like the Elite1778-tx are going to have similar shrinkage/curl issues.
Edited by kentrookie 2021-09-23 11:56 PM
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Joined:
June 2012
Posts: 2315
Location: Pueblo West, CO | Although the Elite-T guitars still use polyester finish, it's much thinner than the gloss tops, so they shouldn't shrink as much.
That being said, no matter what the finish, it's always a good idea to keep guitars away from heat, cold, sunlight, etc. |
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Warped & Cracked Tops...
