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October 2011
Posts: 6
Location: Michigan, United States | Hello OFC!!! I'm new here. I just found out about this place from a user at ultimate-guitar.com when I did a new gear thread about my latest purchase:
It's a Preacher! I picked this up for $450 at a used gear store, along with the original case. As best as I can tell, it was made at some point during 1976-1979. It's in decent shape - there are a few dings here and there, some of the chrome is coming off of the neck pup, one of the saddle screws isn't original and the truss rod cover is missing, but otherwise it's in great playing shape.
Now on to questions... I notice that it plays a lot of sympathetic tones when I play something and don't mute all the other strings. I'm assuming that it has something to do with the way the bridge seems to be a solid piece of brass held up by the screws that adjust its height. Does anyone know a way to stop this? There's a bit of a cavity under the bride, so I was thinking about stuffing some cloth down there to stop it from transferring vibrations to the other strings while I play, but I'm concerned that it might hurt my sustain as well. Any thoughts?
And does anyone have a more precise way to date these then the "Cracking the Ovation Code" site? It's a great tool, don't get me wrong, but I'd like to know exactly when this was made.
This is my second Ovation (my other is a one of the newer Celebrities) and I really love the tone it has. Overall, it was a good purchase and I look forward to discussing it more in-depth with other users here :) |
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Posts: 8307
Location: Tennessee | Welcome. I'm not sure how you figured out that it's a tradition to have your feet in your guitar photos, but you've done well.
There are others around who know Preachers that should be able to provide some input for you.
Glad you found your way here. |
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Joined:
December 2001
Posts: 7210
Location: The Great Pacific Northwest | If you go to the reference link at the top you should be able to dial in the year based on the serial number. Can't really get any closer than that. Nice guitar...
As far as the sympathetic tones... I always thought it was from the pickups. I found if I backed off the volume on the guitar to about 7 I could get better control especially on the bridge pickup. I really don't know what causes it, but it's a real good question. |
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Joined:
October 2011
Posts: 6
Location: Michigan, United States | Hmm maybe it is. I read that each pole piece is actually an individual magnet (as opposed to the usual PAF style with the one big magnet). Maybe that has something to do with it. I'll try putting something under the bridge next time I switch strings and see if that does anything but I'll work with the volume knob for now.
One more question, too: I mention in the OP that the truss rod cover was missing when I got it, but I can't see any screw holes for one to go on. Did these ever have covers that clipped on to the nut at the top of the rod? That confused me.
Thanks for the replies! |
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Joined:
December 2001
Posts: 7210
Location: The Great Pacific Northwest | Originally posted by barden1069:
Did these ever have covers that clipped on to the nut at the top of the rod? That confused me.
Thanks for the replies! Hmmm to my knowledge they all went on with three screws. I'm wondering if you have a refinished neck? It doesn't look it from the picture... but as I look closer at the guitar it doesn't exactly look like a stock color. It looks kinda like a grey or translucent gray or translucent black. The closest stock color would be barnburst which was a gray-ish burst color. There was also black, but I think I see grain pattern. This guitar may have been refinished. Looks like a great job if it was. |
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October 2011
Posts: 6
Location: Michigan, United States | The pictures actually don't really do the color justice (thanks, crappy cell phone camera lol.) It's actually a deep reddish color but you can see the grain. Though I don't know, to be honest, it might have been refinished at some point. Part of the fun of getting guitars second (or third, or fourth) hand. |
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Joined:
December 2001
Posts: 7210
Location: The Great Pacific Northwest | Ahh ok.. the deep translucent red is a production color, one of the more popular for that model...
As for the TRC... that's just plain odd that there aren't any screw holes... |
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January 2006
Posts: 1111
Location: NW Washington State | You might try backing the pickups away from the strings a little and see if that makes a difference.
Didn't some (or all) of these bridges come with a thin piece of foam underneath? By now it's rotten. I always assumed it was worthless anyway.
Are all of the springs for the saddles tensioned and fairly tight? Sometimes a spring can rattle.
An old thread about a solidbody saddle problem: http://www.ovationfanclub.com/cgi-bin/ubb/cgi/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=ge...
-Steve W. |
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December 2006
Posts: 6992
Location: Jet City | I doubt it's an issue with the bridge. Those came on several different models with no issue.
I'd suspect pickups, microphonic maybe? |
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October 2011
Posts: 6
Location: Michigan, United States | I didn't see any foam when I checked under the bridge, but I think I might try just lowering the pickups a bit and see if that does it. Thanks for all the suggestions! |
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Joined:
January 2006
Posts: 1111
Location: NW Washington State | Originally posted by Damon67:
I doubt it's an issue with the bridge. Those came on several different models with no issue.
The saddles that won't sit flat can be an issue on the earlier bridges without the slots and screws on the back that hold the saddles down.
I've had loose/buzzy springs, probably because I messed around with the bridge and put the wrong springs in.
Was it the Ovation bridge that had a piece of foam between it and the body, or am I thinking of some other electric? If it was there originally, maybe it served some purpose.
Do the strange tones occur on every string, all up and down the neck?
-Steve W. |
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December 2006
Posts: 6992
Location: Jet City | The later O bridges had the foam, I don't remember on these older ones. |
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October 2011
Posts: 6
Location: Michigan, United States | All my saddles sit well, and my springs don't buzz or anything. But there are strange tones on all strings up and down the neck. It's not too big of an issue, but it's just odd. The volume knob seemed to take care of it. |
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January 2006
Posts: 1111
Location: NW Washington State | Do both pickups have the same strange tones, and does turning down (?) either volume knob get rid of them?
There is probably a bolt that goes through the bridge and has an adjustment on the back. Could that be loose? |
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June 2007
Posts: 3084
Location: Brisbane Australia | The tension of the strings will keep that firm
AJ |
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Joined:
October 2011
Posts: 6
Location: Michigan, United States | Yeah the bolt on the back is tight. Lowering the pickups didn't really do much so I moved them back. I'll just learn to live with it; like I said, it's not too big of a deal. I've just never had a guitar behave like that before. Thanks for all the replies! |
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Joined:
December 2011
Posts: 7
Location: Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA | Wow! That looks brand new! I'm sure you know what you'd pay for a new solid mahogany guitar with ebony fretboard these days. |
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Oh look, another new member and his guitar...
