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Location: Jacksonville, FL | A local shop has an Ovation ES335 style guitar. The model is 1233-2. As best as I can figure it is a Thunderhead, no tremolo. Natural nutmeg. It sure is pretty and plays very well.
There are som finish checks (nothing major) but there is a round plastic plate unter the pickup selector. Probably a patch after the switch got smashed in.
What would be a fair price for this? They are asking $250 with a hard case.
Thank you,
Rowka |
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Posts: 5750
Location: Scotland | $250 is a great price. Thunderheads routinely go on ebay for twice that & up. They're very nice guitars.
If you want to hear a Thunderhead in action we've just put some live-recorded audio clips on my band's dates webpage. On "Count Me Out" & "Tulane" I'm using my Thunderhead, on "Ain't Living Long" it's a B-Bender equipped Viper 111.
http://www.snakeoilmusic.com/ |
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Location: SoCal | Buy it. That's a rock bottom price. |
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Location: NJ | BUY it!!
A couple of tasty trax there, Master Templeman!!
Your singer reminds me alot of Marty Balin. |
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Location: Las Vegas | Definitely buy it! I paid $600 apiece for the two I have, but even with that damage you're speaking of it should get at least $300-$400 on eBay.
Les
:) |
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Location: SoCal | Les - and you got a good deal :} |
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Location: Las Vegas | I know it! THANKS again!!!!!
Les
:) |
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Location: SoCal | Down the road...we expect all of the details and photos! |
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Location: Jacksonville, FL | Down the road won't be too far off. I picked it up during lunch. :D |
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Location: Fort Worth, Texas | Cool! Great way to spend your lunch and your money....
Congrats on your find. |
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Location: Jacksonville, FL | For what it's worth, the SN is H-448.
It sure is purdy.
If I am tempted to put a Bigsby on it (and I may very well be) what model would I need? What about a roller bridge? Are they generally neede with the trem units?
Please pardon my ignorance here, I am primarily a bass player. ;) |
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Location: The Great Pacific Northwest | They made a model with a Bigsby style bridge on it. Personally I would not ruin the collectors value of the guitar you have by changing it into a model that can also be found. I admit, not at that price, but still... The Natural finish Thunderhead and Tornado and their "with tremelo" versions are probably the most valuable and in general best "Storm" series guitars Ovation made. I don't think it's the finish that makes it such a great guitar, but as the bodies were made in Germany and finished in CT, the decision on what finish was applied was based on what the guitar would look like when finished to some extent. Bodies that had an odd grain pattern, or something else that just didn't look pleasing for some reason were painted with bowl paint, given different electronics and released as the Eclipse model. I think just the fact that the ones that ended up "Natural" looked so much better, extra care was taken as a natural human reaction in assembly. Also, because these guitars are so striking, they in general, have been more cared for over the years.
It is of course you guitar, I'm just providing input because based on your earlier posts I didn't get the impression you realized what you have. I have owned and sold many of these guitars and although I did find one "bargain" similar to yours, as others have said, one that is just playable is worth at least $500-600+. It goes up from there based on the condition and the finish color, with Natural being the highest.
At least try to track down an Ovation version of the Thunderhead tremelo bridge if you really need to have that model and can't wait to find one. |
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Location: Phoenix AZ | I respectfully disagree with Miles. The Ovation models have a pretty cheap vibrato and it is a NIGHTMARE to keep these in tune. I have a few of these and know from bad experience. On two of mine I have actually removed the spring and put a 1/2 inch piece of metal rod in its place. So it looks like a vibrato, but is actually a fixie and it stays in tune. The Bigsby is way better. If you bought the guitar to hang on the wall and look at, then leave it alone. But if you want to PLAY it and want a VIBRATO, then a stock Ovation system is NOT what you are looking for. Dave
PS - If anyone is interested in doing the same spring replacement mod, I actually used a piece of 3/4 in ch diameter copper tubing. I cut to a length of 1/2 inch and painted it black. It is a perfect replacement for the spring and does not alter the look of the guitar. The string tension holds it in place, or you could attached it with a spot of silicon caulking. |
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Location: Scotland | I have Bigsby on my Thunderhead, it looks great & works just fine. I paid $300 for the guitar and bought it as a working instrument, so the fact that I have a non-original vibrato doesn't bother me. I recently sold a Tornado with the original European-made vibrato, and I have to aggree with Dave, they're pretty mediocre. The important part about making the Storms work with a Bigsby is to adjust the neck pitch so there's an adequate but not too acute string-break angle over the bridge. The standard Ovation bridge works fine with a Bigsby. |
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Location: Jacksonville, FL | It seems that a previous owner has butchered the wiring. It is now wired like a ES335, V-V-T-T and a 3 way pickup selector. Is there a wiring diagram anywhere for this? Is it likely the Blend pot was changed for a regular audio taper pot? |
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Location: Scotland | Frankly, that wiring is an improvement. The out of phase setting isn't particularly useful, the standby means you can inadvertantly switch off your guitar mid-song( I know, I've done it) and while the blend control is nice, it's a pain in the ass onstage. I may be wrong but I think Glen Campbell had at least one of his T-heads converted to the Gibson-style wiring, or at least had a PU toggle installed instead of a blend pot |
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Location: The Great Pacific Northwest | On the wiring I totally agree. It's pretty easy to return to normal if you ever want to sell the guitar as original, but quite complicated for stage use. Great in the studio tho.
As for the tremelo comments, replacing the spring doesn't change the value of the guitar as you can always put the original back in.
I know collecting and playing are two different animals. I strive now to try and keep the instruments as original, or returnable to original, as possible or just get the right instrument in the first place instead of modifyng and possibly damaging an existing piece.
JMHO |
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Location: Jacksonville, FL | Okay, here are some pics.
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Posts: 7210
Location: The Great Pacific Northwest | Nice guitar. When you mentioned natural nutmeg finish, for some reason I was thinking "blonde" but your's appears to be red... my bad I'm color blind so what do I know anyway. Too bad about the toggle switch repair, that could have been done a little cleaner, but all-in-all a very very nice guitar in better condition than most of that era. You gots yourself a good deal.
By the way, no need to post the pic, unless you want to, but how does the back look? I have seen some amazing backs on these guitars. I notice the sides look like a very rich grain too on this one. |
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Posts: 10
Location: Jacksonville, FL | The back is clean. No buckle rash to really mention. The grain is similar to the front, but there is some nice tiger flame. Real nice flame.
What is the finish on these guitars? I don't think it's nitro, is it? I'd guess a poly. |
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Looking for price on a 1233-2 Thunderhead?
