|
|
Joined:
December 2003
Posts: 7
| i have a 1966-1996 30th anniversary model and was thinking about selling it to buy a martin, as i don't especially like playing a round-back because it slips down my lap when i am playing it which is uncomfortable.
i was researching this forum to try to get an idea how much to sell the guitar for and found that it seems to be a rather rare guitar so i am having second thoughts about selling.
mine has a finish crack about 4-5" long between the bridge and end of guitar where strap button is. i had the crack repaired by an ovation authorized repair center so it won't get worse but wondered if sending to ovation to have it refinished is an option and if so is it a viable option or not.
any thoughts or suggestions would be greatly appreciated,
thanks
brian |
|
| |
|
Joined:
September 2003
Posts: 9301
Location: south east Michigan | If the slipping off the leg thing is your only complaint, I got an easy fix. Skateboarders use "griptape" on the top of their boards. Just a few square inches stuck in the right spot does the trick. Oh....use the griptape on the guitar....not your leg ;) .
Brad
. |
|
| |
|
Joined:
March 2002
Posts: 15654
Location: SoCal | Your guitar is not worth very much money with the crack, but to be nice, I'll give you a hundred dollars for it. Just to be nice. |
|
| |
|
Joined:
May 2003
Posts: 4389
Location: Capital District, NY, USA Minor Outlying Islands | satch,
I'm curious what your repairman did to stop the finish crack from growing. And also to stop any others from growing. I thought you had to refinish the whole top.
Thanks |
|
| |
|
Joined:
September 2003
Posts: 171
Location: Indiana | I have the same guitar....no crack though...it's a beauty. I'm fairly tall and maybe that has a little to do with it, but I've found when I am sitting in my favorite chair it puts my knee slightly higher than my lap and the guitar doesn't slip. It would have to run up hill. A lot of the collector's series don't seem to bring what they are worth. I was going to sell mine but I may keep it.
good luck...
mark |
|
| |
|
Joined:
August 2002
Posts: 398
Location: So. Cal. | As a general rule, refinishing is not a good idea. It may change the way the guitar sound completely. Personally, I "play" these guitars. If the problem does not affect the playability and sound, I'd leave it alone. The only finish check I have on all my O's is on a 1987 Collectors. I'd never consider touching it unless it grows, but it's been several years now.
As for the slipping, it's an age old Ovation question. I am one of those who couldn't even get it to slip even if I wanted to. |
|
| |
|
Joined:
August 2003
Posts: 4619
Location: SoCal | Slipping? Not a problem as I don't have an Ovation I play in classical style...just wear the strap. |
|
| |
|
Joined:
May 2003
Posts: 4389
Location: Capital District, NY, USA Minor Outlying Islands | Playadams,
I've just left my top the way it is, finish cracks and all, and I think for my current guitar it wouldn't be worth refinishing. And as you point out it doesn't affect playability, but I'd love to know how you stop just one crack from growing. |
|
| |
|
Joined:
February 2002
Posts: 1817
Location: Minden, Nebraska | Finish cracks are ubiquitous on Ovations, and in my experience are usually related to an impact. Temperature may help predispose the finish to the problem, but the most common cracks I have seen on dozens of Ovtions are not like finish 'checks' on other guitars.
The good news is that they tend to remain stable as long as you don't bang the guitar again in the same place with sufficient force to make the crack grow.
The Ovation factory fix for this problem on guitars I have chosen to have repaired is to replace the top, not refinish the old one.
In a humorous sidebar to this issue, my third Ovation purchase was a 1986 Legend #1867 that I found at a garage sale. The finish had a couple of cracks, it had no case, and it smelled like cat piss. I bought it for $150. A case cost me less than a hundred, and cleaning and setting it up cost me some time and a set of strings. It was a killer player and one of the best sounding Ovations I have ever had. Eventually it needed a neck reset, and since that is automatically done at the factory when the top is replaced I elected to have a new top put on it. Now it looks beautiful but it doesn't sound as good......
Could it be that sometimes the cracks in the finish actually allow the top to 'breathe' better in response to sound?
BTW, it is still my second favorite Ovation. Maybe after I have played it enough to break in the new top it will sound as good as it did with cracks. |
|
| |
|
Joined:
March 2002
Posts: 15654
Location: SoCal | Paul B: What's your favorite Ovation?
Ovation, just recently, refinished the top on my 68 Deluxe Balladeer, crack and all, and it plays beautifully. I wouldn't have wanted the top replaced as it is one of the old 3 piece tops. You can see the crack, but can't feel it. If you feel inside, you can feel a bead of something along the crack. Glue?
However, on my 69 GC 12 string, there's a crack (put there before in came into my hands), and while it's very stabile, the top hasn't been refinished and I don't intend to refinish it. It's fine the way it is. |
|
| |
|
Joined:
February 2002
Posts: 1817
Location: Minden, Nebraska | My favorite Ovation at the moment is a 2000 Custom Legend #1869. That is the one I use with my band. Yes, it has finish cracks. I got it for $350.
I suspect the bead you feel inside the top on yours is glue used to seal the crack before refinishing.
Maybe Miles can offer a bumper sticker through the OFC store for Ovation owners like us that says: Cracks Happen. |
|
| |
|
Joined:
March 2002
Posts: 14842
Location: NJ | ". . a bumper sticker through the OFC store for Ovation owners like us that says: Cracks Happen. ."
Or:
"Got Crack?" (but it might get misconstrued) :rolleyes: |
|
| |
|
Joined:
December 2001
Posts: 7210
Location: The Great Pacific Northwest | I like the Tag line someone is using for a bumper sticker... "Get Off My Round Back!!"
I think that's clever. |
|
| |
|
Joined:
February 2002
Posts: 1817
Location: Minden, Nebraska | Quasimodo came up with "Get off my round back". ;) |
|
| |
|
Joined:
February 2002
Posts: 5750
Location: Scotland | Old joke...updated for this board. Quasimodo junior comes home from school to see his mom holding an Ovation Custom Legend. "Are you learning to play guitar?" asks young Quasi. "No", says mom, "I'm just about to iron one of your dad's shirts. |
|
| |
|
Joined:
December 2003
Posts: 3
Location: Bangor, Maine | Hi to all,
I have a AE 35 12 string with a crack in the finish. At first I was worred about the top being cracked all the way through but I used a mirror and light and found no cracks on the inside of the guitar. So now I just play it, but I tune it down to d and use xtra light strings. I love this guitar.
Steve |
|
| |
|
Joined:
December 2003
Posts: 7
| seriously... how much would you say this guitar (w/ crack) is worth, and how much would it be worth if it didn't have a crack?
thanks,
brian |
|
| |
|
Joined:
December 2001
Posts: 7210
Location: The Great Pacific Northwest | On a guitar like that a finish blemish is a finish blemish and doesn't affect the actual value all that much unless it looks really bad, then it depends on the buyer. I think if I had a rare and valuable guitar and could get the original factory to re-finish or touchup the top, I might do it, but then again... depends on how bad it looks. If it doesn't affect play, then I wouldn't worry about it.
I guess in a way Ovation's durability gets a bad wrap. Maybe not in this specific case, but whatever conditions cause an Ovation finish to crack, would probably have rendered most guitars useless. It's kinda like if you hit a tree with a Hummer or a Jeep. The Hummer's paint would probably chip, but the Jeep would now just be swept into a shopping bag.
As far as "rolling off leg" I still don't get it. If you are sitting, and place the guitar on your LEG not try to stuff it against your belt like you must to hold a box guitar... it ain't going anywhere. I have a well earned "gut" and when I play a deep bowl, it just barely touches my stomach. I got into a habit of playing in a more "classical" left leg position, but that was for picking comfort, not holding the guitar. |
|
| |
|
Joined:
March 2002
Posts: 1380
Location: Central Oregon | You guys crack me up.
/\/\/ |
|
| |
|
Joined:
September 2003
Posts: 171
Location: Indiana | Brian,
Elderly had a nice one listed at $950 a while back which I believe is bluebook retail. I'm not sure what they ended up selling it for. "Worth" always depends on how bad someone wants it. That preacher deluxe 12 string on ebay was "worth" $1200 because someone really wanted it. I will say that on your guitar (I have the same one) that the beautiful transparent burgundy finish is part of what I like so much about it and what gives it its character (along with all that mother of pearl). A good finish would be more important to me on this guitar than on an older Balladeer or something similar.
There is only one way to really find out what it may be worth and that is to list it. Set your reserve at what you have to have for it and maybe you will get lucky. I'd be surprised to see you get more than $500 for it with the crack (if it is very noticeable). On a bad day, you may not get that much. I'd keep it before I gave it away.
that's the best I can do....good luck.
mark |
|
| |
30th anniversary w/ finish crack question
