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Location: Pacific Northwest Inland Empire | OK, this is especially for Mr. Moody. The 1127 (no, it doesn't have 'Glen Campbell' on the trussrod cover) arrived on Tuesday. First, the good news: This thing has got MUY GRANDE HUEVOS!!! The low end has a lot of power and punch. The high end is clear and crisp. Amazing presence for a mid-bowl. The 5-ply neck is perfect, and straight. Minor wear on the first position frets. Alright, Chris, drop the other shoe: It has a crack in the top, about 7 inches worth, in the left lower bout. Should be easy enough to glue a cleat or two to stabilize the faultline. Cosmetics, be damned, anyway. The other issue is the action height. The saddle has very little height adjustment left (already very low in the bridge slot), and the string height at the 12th fret is 9/32". I see a very suspicious crack in the finish alongside the fretboard extension on the treble side, reaching the soundhole. I fear the set angle has changed on the neck. I'm open to suggestion, but at this point, I may leave it alone. I play mostly in the first position, anyway.
Generally, I'm very pleased with this instrument. I played it side-by-side with my old 1111 & CC267. Straight acoustics, its better. I still like the neck on the 1111 better (a bit narrower, but deeper), and there is the electronics on the Celeb Deluxe. If anybody has some ideas about the action, or neck adjustment; let me know. Otherwise, I plan to play the snot outta this critter. |
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Location: Pacific Northwest Inland Empire | Oh yeah, and the serial number dates it to 1981 (236972) |
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Location: SoCal | Overall, it's sounds pretty good. But it also sounds like it needs a neck reset from the factory. My 68 Deluxe Balladeer needs the same service. When the saddle is very low in the bridge, it seems to be an indicator of that. You ought to email Kim Keller and ask about it.
But in the meantime, if it plays great now, why worry too much about it. Sounds like it has a great tone. Post some pics when you can. We'd all love to see it. Congrats.
By the way, regarding playing only in the first position, do you mean to imply that there are chords above the third fret? |
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Location: Pacific Northwest Inland Empire | So I've been told, anyway. Hey, Paul, thanks for the approbation. Do you really think it's worth sending this instrument to the factory? I'm obviously not the original owner. And, as I have referred to "huevos" previously, which one of mine would you suspect Kim & The Repair Crew would want in escrow for the work?! |
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Location: SoCal | See:
Talk to Kim. They're pretty reasonable about cost. And it would be very cool to put that GC back into great condition.
He's probably want your left cajones since he now has my right one. |
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Location: Pacific Northwest Inland Empire | OK, I just left a message for Kim at customerservice@ovationguitars.com. I hope that was the right place. Please let me know if there's a more direct method. You're probably right; this guitar is worth the trouble. I'll keep you posted on my progress. |
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Location: SoCal | Kim will get back to you. But he's heading out on vacation in the next day or so, so if you don't hear from him right away, it' will be about 10 days before you do. Be patient. |
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Location: Pacific Northwest Inland Empire | Excellent! Many thanks for your assistance & guidance, Paul. Now, I shall enjoy my new acquisition with careless disregard for the epidermal integrity of my phalanges, i.e., play 'til my fingers bleed! |
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Location: Las Cruces, NM | seesquare
Play it for a while and let us know how it works, sounds like a great guitar and I have some thoughts on the neck, but I would rather wait until you have played it for a while and see how it shakes out. Let it acclimatize before you judge it's condition. Enjoy, enjoy.
Bailey
Somebody said the shortest poem was
me, whee
I'll write a shorter one
Why, I? |
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Location: Pacific Northwest Inland Empire | Thanks for the advice, Bailey. Kim has instructed me to contact him after 08/04/03, to confer on the shipment of the guitar. I glued in a couple of spruce cleats last night to stabilize the crack until then. It also appears the bridge itself has been sanded down to compensate for the change in the neck set angle. There is a definite change in the angle of the fretboard around the 14th fret. I will string it up again tonight and see what new strings do for it. I dunno; I think it will eventually need to be returned to the Mothership. "The greatest burden is that of high potential." |
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Location: Pacific Northwest Inland Empire | Well, I put a new set of mediums on the critter. Significant sound improvement, but the action is intolerable. Maybe a bit higher than before (actually I misspoke earlier- the clearance is 5/32" at the 12th fret), but using lights is not going to radically improve the playability. The 1111 & CC267 actions are much better. I had to play my CC163 classical later in the evening cuz my fingers were so tired and sore. Looks like I will be engaging in negotiation with Kim next month. If I can be nosey, what timeframes, and costs, have you all had with factory repairs? I'm figuring, at the minimum, a neck reset, and probable soundboard/bridge replacement. And yes, I'm in the process of getting some images for your collective perusal. |
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Location: Pacific Northwest Inland Empire | Well, the critter is off to The Mothership. John was very gracious, and charmingly interested, in this repair project, and provided me the necessary information for the shipment. Now, we will see what miracles and magic the Factory Wizards perform. John was inferring neck resets are pretty commonplace for the veterans in the shop. Hmmmmmmm, neck resetting......me, them, me, them, me, them-that's probably why I'm sending the instrument to THEM!!!! As for the soundboard repair, I don't know; the bridge doesn't have much meat left from being sanded down (NOT BY ME!!!), and there IS that 7 1/2" fissure in the lower bout. So, next installment in a couple of weeks, I guess. |
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Location: SoCal | Have faith. The guys at the factory are damned good. They can stabilize the crack so it won't be a problem. And with a neck reset, they can raise the height of the saddle so there's a good break angle over the saddle and still maintain good low action. It should improve the sound a bit also. |
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Location: Pacific Northwest Inland Empire | Thanks for the encouragement, Paul. I feel I'm doing the right thing here. In a related post, I wrote about playing some O's in a few Seattle shops. The neck on the 1127 beats out all but the Adamas, and possibly the Elite, IMHO. Aged wood, too. That's why it's going in for repair. |
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Location: SoCal | My guess is that the guys in customer service and repair really feel good about rejuvinating an older Ovation, especially an upper end model like a GC. Who knows? Maybe you'll get a GC truss rod cover. |
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Location: Pacific Northwest Inland Empire | From your lips to God's ear. |
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Location: Lafayette, Louisiana | Seesquare, I can't tell you how happy I am with the job Kim and the guys at Ovation did fixing up my old Custom Balladeer. I don't know how they fix these top finish cracks, but they got the top looking great. My guitar was kept in a hot car trunk for years, and the guys at Ovation brought it back to life. I spoke with Kim on the phone yesterday, and told him how happy I am with the guitar. They also did a great job on the fretjob. You will be very happy with the results on your guitar.....Paul Hebert |
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Location: Pacific Northwest Inland Empire | The repair order is in! After some serious agonizing on my part, and terrific counsel on the part of my learned colleague, Mr. Paul Moody (who is allegedly, greatly, underappreciated by his offspring), I have ordered the refurbishment of the 1127. No bells & whistles this time around. Probably save up my pennies for an Adamas. I really wanted to keep it original, after all the deliberation. Really, thanks for all the help, Paul!
Kim Keller was very helpful and informative, and I'm looking forward to having an heirloom to pass on to the ingracious, conniving, reprehensible, opportunistic.......OOPS.....I mean, valued and precious younger generation, struggling for identity and autonomy. Yeah, right. |
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Location: Phoenix AZ | You will not be disappointed with the work the factory service guys do. I just received back a very old Josh White acoustic that they referbished for me and it is absolutely stunning. I could sell this guitar today as BRAND NEW. Then again - I think in 1967 the list price was something like $340, so maybe selling it as brand new isn't exactly what I want to do. Dave |
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Location: Pacific Northwest Inland Empire | Yep, I will have invested about what the guitar cost new, in 1981!! Pretty good deal, IMHO. A fine bunch of fellows in New Hartford, to be sure! |
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Location: SoCal | c2: I understand your reasoning on keeping the guitar stock. I thought about putting a pickup and preamp in my 68 Deluxe Balladeer, but in the end, am keeping it stock. It's my "Front Porch" guitar.
But do ask Kim if they can put a GC truss rod cover on it! |
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Location: Central Oregon | Originally posted by moody, p.i.:
Who knows? Maybe you'll get a GC truss rod cover.
Maybe you should ask if one is available?
I'm very interested in before & after pix. This is a good opportunity for us relatively new Ovation owners to see what the factory can do.
I will be more inclined to buy an older O with some problems if I can send it in & have it repaired for a reasonable amount of money. Especially if it's a cool one.
Nils |
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Location: SoCal | There is something really wonderful about rescuing an older Ovation, especially one that was of high quality to begin with. |
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Location: Pacific Northwest Inland Empire | Well, Guys, I've been repairing guitars about 4 years now, and by far, Ovations have been the best instruments for restoration. I couldn't replace the top on this particular one, and didn't want to attempt a neck removal to do so. From what has been reported in this discussion, and other threads regarding factory refurbishments, I find no complaints about quality or usurious pricing. Time is a relative concept (see Albert & Alexander- Reprised), so how long it takes for the repair process will be judged by the customer, I would surmise.
As a guideline for restoration, I put a sound & comfortable neck highest on the list when contemplating the project. After all, how many slide guitars do I need, really?! |
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Location: Pacific Northwest Inland Empire | The repaired & restored critter arrives tomorrow! Stay tuned for pictures & impressions. Looks like about 12 weeks for the reconstruction.
Oboy, oboy, oboy........... |
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New Critter in the Zoo
