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Joined:
April 2009
Posts: 5
Location: Vancouver BC | All three of my Ovations have lacquer cracks between the bridge and the edge of the binding. Some run only half the distance, others run the full distance. One of my guits has about 6 cracks between the bridge and binding. Running my hand over the soundboard between the bridge and binding I can really feel the surface warping. Both the warping and cracks are clearly visible. Still, I love that guit!
I have a 1761 Balladeer USA 95-99 era, natural finish, deep bowl, cut away, elx that has the standard issue crack but this one I can feel the surface is raised a bit for the length of the crack. Its definately a finish crack b/c I can feel the crack with my nails. I had a look with a mirror and feel under the soundboard - nothing to note.
Thoughts? Should I freak out? |
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Joined:
April 2006
Posts: 1017
Location: Budd Lake, NJ | "Should I freak out?"
If they bother you a whole lot, it might be worth a major "freak," but you should probably just save it for something more worthwhile.
There are folks here who have repaired them, and I'll let them chime in with their know-how; of course, Mother is able to do magic with them, too.
But...I just tend to figure that sooner or later, extended life experience does leave its' mark; my very old Balladeer has a dandy through-the-top split that's been cleated and sealed by Mother and the top doesn't undulate that much. (And I love her more than the others, because of all the history and memories I have from her.)
The open cracks are really just extra "sound vents," anyway. ;)
Ovations tend to be like that Timex watch commercial from years ago, "Takes a lickin' and keeps on tickin.'"
--Karen |
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Joined:
November 2006
Posts: 3969
| Did these finish checks just happen, or have they been there for a long time? If they're just now showing up (or getting worse), your guitars could be suffering from improper humidification.
I don't know what kind of weather you've been having in BC, but if it's anything like the rest of the continent and you've been running forced air heating for extended periods this winter, the guitars may be overly dry. If that's the case you need to humidify them, with either a case or room humidifier. |
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Joined:
November 2005
Posts: 4833
Location: Campbell River, British Columbia | Here on the Wet Coast humidity is seldom a problem. May be different in The City where people have things like Air conditioning.... :rolleyes: (I just looked up to see if all my acoustics have surface cracks. I think they do, but only the full metal reso was right in front of me...)
Just looked, my 35+ yr old Balladeer has no surface cracks. I think I'm just lucky 'cos the 12 string has numerous surface cracks, some of them running the full length of the body.
Freaking out is seldom the correct reaction, though the adrenaline rush is cool!
I'm pretty sure minor surface cracks are normal in any guitar over the years, especially the super hard Ovation surface.(after all, it's so tough you don't need a pick-guard.) Wait 'till someone from the BFLG chimes in here. (Bottom Feeders Luthiers Guild) |
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Joined:
December 2008
Posts: 1456
Location: Texas | Virgil,
The cracks you describe probably won't affect the sound or playability, just the cosmetics.
Unless you have been exposing all your guitars to sudden temperature changes or some other abuse, (you haven't been taking them on the Danville Train have you?) then it sure sounds like a low humidity situation. If your heater (or fireplace) is running a lot, you probably have very dry air indoors, which can cause the wood of your guitars to dry out, and that can result in cracks…
Do a search for "humidity" in "General Discussions" and you'll find lots of information…
You might want to explore using either case humidifiers or a room humidifier when the air is dry in the room where you keep them, that should keep them from getting any worse… and could possibly even close up the cracks somewhat…
Monitoring the humidity can be tricky too… I recently tried 3 different humidistats at the same time in the same room, but, even after letting them sit overnight untouched, they still varied by as much as 35%… I found some simple calibration tricks on the Internet, so I think I'm keeping my cave properly humidified now…
sure feels like it… ;)
YMMV
Good Luck… |
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Joined:
September 2006
Posts: 10777
Location: Keepin' It Weird in Portland, OR | Originally by standing:
Monitoring the humidity can be tricky too… I recently tried 3 different humidistats at the same time in the same room, but, even after letting them sit overnight untouched, they still varied by as much as 35%… ;)
YMMV
Good Luck… Yeah... Let me know if you find a good humidity gauge.
I have three. The two digital ones claim 43% and 38%... The dial gauge sez 62% :p
(Oh! And the Dampit card on my wall sez 30%) |
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Joined:
December 2008
Posts: 1456
Location: Texas | You can find some home-brew info here:
Calibration Information
I'm not sure how accurate their method is, but I tried it, and it indicated that my digital humidistat was about 6% low. There's no visible way to actually calibrate the reading on mine, but at least I know to add 6% to what it says… and it seems about right… when I start to need a snorkel, I figure the humidity is too high… |
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Joined:
April 2009
Posts: 5
Location: Vancouver BC | Thanks for the input everyone. I was just joking about "freaking out" but this Balladeer is the only one I've owned where the crack is raised above the surface. Like I can feel a bit of a ridge with my fingers ...
I'm pretty sure its not a crack, I took a mirror and I can feel the inside of the sound board. Plus the finish crack is not straight, the (finish) crack crosses the grain. |
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Yes another crack soundboard
