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Joined:
July 2013
Posts: 98
Location: Des Moines, Iowa | I am quoting the seller verbatim off of eBay, "Just like ALL vintage Ovations there is a minor service crack in the middle." ARRRGGGHHH! First off, I don't think this qualifies as a "minor service crack," do you? I've got to just relax, breath, and just let it go, but it still irks me that that is what seems to be the concensus opinion and most commonly used phrase on eBay when a seller is asking WAY too much money for an obviously flawed product. Just because you say that ALL "vintage Ovation guitars" have at least 1, 2, or even 3 cvracks in their top sound-board What kills me is that the price their asking would be very high even if the guitar DIDN'T have any cracks and since it does.... their pricing is ridiculous. My first Ovation was born 30 years ago and would be completely crack free, except I was young, knew nothing about proper care and humidity AND I bought it used about 20 years ago, so there was a previous owner (or two or more...) and eventually it did develop a small crack below the bridge. BUT now I know best how to care and treat my 6-stringed friends Can we sue them all for defamation of product character? I guess that is one of the known and accepted beliefs WE must all deal with as FANS of Ovation, because most people don't get it, don't like it, and don't know how sweet it is - playing an Ovation. I guess I'll just have to smile quietly knowing the truth... |
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Joined:
September 2006
Posts: 10777
Location: Keepin' It Weird in Portland, OR | Don't let it bother you.
Many of those sleazy sellers say that...
They are trying to justify their own lack of maintenance savvy.
Also... Be sure to note if it is really a surface crack or a CRACK!
As to surface cracks...
Long ago I asked why it is a "defect" to have a surface crack on an Ovation,
but it gives "character" to an old Gibson or Gretsch. 
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Joined:
March 2005
Posts: 12759
Location: Boise, Idaho | Ovation originally used a thick hard finish that was very protective, but can crack. That said, I have a 76 and 77 with no cracks. Some of the ones you see for sale have just been abused.
One of the theories I've heard is that the top expands at a different rate than the bowl, but I don't buy that. Most box guitars have different woods on the back and sides than they have on the top. They would expand or contract at different rates. |
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Joined:
January 2009
Posts: 1249
Location: Texas | Not sure how it works...I have a 67 with more cracks in it than my driveway and another 67 that looks like it just came off the rack (I do keep it humidified). It does seem to be a common trait with Ovations. I am sure that someone at Ovation figured it out years ago, when it became evident they had a problem. |
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Joined:
August 2005
Posts: 3736
Location: Sunshine State, Australia | The soundboard on my '72 Folklore is flawless. |
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Joined:
June 2002
Posts: 6198
Location: Phoenix AZ | There are exceptions (my guitar is perfect, blah, blah, blah... ) but the fact is that on average older ovations with the thick hard finish tend to exhibit cracks in the finish (usually not the wood) between the bridge and tail, and between the bridge and sound hole. That's life, so live with it. If this bothers someone they should not buy an older Ovation. |
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Joined:
January 2009
Posts: 1249
Location: Texas | LOL...I didnt think about just putting "blah, blah, blah". What a time saver.
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Joined:
May 2006
Posts: 4227
Location: Steeler Nation, Hudson Valley Contingent | It really isn't that hard to logic your way through it. But like many things, it's never just one thing.
Dave is right, moreso than most brands, older Ovations develop finish cracks.
- By design, the bowl is impervious to climate. It does not move.
- The OLD finish was pretty darn thick and just about impervious as well. It did not flex with climate. (At least not very much.)
- The tops were made of wood. AND the backs were unfinished like most guitars. Altering temperatures and humidity made the wood expand, contract, and occasionally contort.
The VAST majority of players haven't got a blessed clue regarding "proper" care of their instrument. And of those that do, half of them probably don't do everything they should. Frankly, it's a real PAIN to maintain proper humidity and temperature in my little office alone for example. (I do it though.....probably because I'm obsessed/stupid.) Hence, that wooden top moves around within edge-boundaries that are all but immoveable, so that similarly inflexible coating is bound to give if the shifting surface it's attached to stretches it beyond its limits. It really is that simple. Finally, one of the best things about Ovations is their reputation for being insanely durable compared to most guitars. Many have bought them for that very reason. Because of this, they don't think that Ovations need to be babied, and...surprise, surprise....these phenomenal gigging instruments get treated like...well...gigging instruments. I knew a guy who kept his Celeb in the trunk of his car for well over a month while he did his field work near the GA coast. Any guesses as to whether or not it developed finish cracks? The upshot is this, if the guitar is reasonably well maintained, it is unlikely to develop any issues. And it helps that that old finish has been replaced with one that has a bit of flex in it to move with the top. But if the guitar is subjected to climate conditions that push it beyond its stress limits, the end result should come as no surprise. |
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Joined:
July 2013
Posts: 98
Location: Des Moines, Iowa | Yes, I suppose it can be said that many older Ovation acoustics do develop a crack or two in the soundboard when they've not been maintained properly and/or been abused properly. I guess I just ook offense to the part of one sellers statement that specifically said, "... Just like ALL vintage Ovations.." If they'd said, "like many vintage Ovations" or even "like most vintage Ovations" but when they said "just like ALL vintage Ovations," well....
It is true that many don't learn the importance of proper care and maintenance AND exactly what that means in regards to acoustic guitars and especially with Ovations. I know I didn't even learn what was meant by "proper care and maintenance" as it relates to Ovations until I'd owned my 3rd O, though one of the first two I didn't even realize was made by Ovation until years later. It was an old late 70's Matrix, which I thought was just a cheap knock-off or copy, which it actually is... but it's also officially made by the same company. Who knew?
I think someone else pointed out that most pawn shops don't use any humidifiers and are often the source of a vintage Ovation drying out too much and cracking. All but two of my Ovations were pawn shop acquisitions and I do believe that is where one of them developed the first sign of a crack, which I was clueless as to what needed done OR about why it was happening at that time. The nice part, as someone else pointed out, is that those higher end USA made older Ovations still play and sound beautifully in spite of having a crack or two or three.
I wonder how long it takes one of those "regular sellers" on eBay to find a buyer on their extremely over-priced and cracked Ovations, especially since it is probably someone like one of us here who would be their primary target buyer. Just for fun I've "watched" more than a few of them as they went... going... going... GONE, without a single bid.
I'm going to have to start hitting up a few local pawn shops that feature Ovations and maybe take a little road trip down I-80 a ways to check out Omaha or Denver in the near future, just to see what might be "out there."
ANYWAY... thanks for tolerating me on here, my fellow O-Fans and may your O's be crack-less and your A's be slotted.
And to think that many "gentlemen of leisure" that are cigar enthusiasts have humidors for their cigars, which is just a bunch of leafs rolled up in themselve that are enjoyed thru their destruction, yet not enough guitar (or Ovation) enthusiasts bother to throw a humidity pack in their guitars sound hole and in thieir case.
And they call ME a....
SillyLittleBoy |
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"Just like ALL vintage Ovations...."
