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Joined:
November 2006
Posts: 217
Location: Snåsa, Norway | I've realized that I suffer from hypochondria on behalf of my Ovation. It probably started in a music store more than 10 years ago where some guy told me that all Ovations tops will crack at some point because of the combination of wood and synthetic materials. That was the reason I thought it had cracked last winter, and believed the repair man who said the top had collapsed (as mentioned in an earlier thread). I also think that the "dull" sound i heard when I played it after restringing actually was more in my mind than from the guitar. I got my 12-string in may and has also played a lot nylon string (both Yamahas and to my ear quite good guitars by the way), so both my playing technique and my ears were adjusted to that, and my hypochondria told me instantly that there must be something wrong with the guitar. Are there anyone else with this syndrom? Do you know of any good cure for it. |
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Joined:
November 2003
Posts: 11039
Location: Earth·SolarSystem·LocalInterstellarCloud·Local Bub | I think, more than other guitars, it is more difficult to hear what an Ovation really sounds like from behind while playing it. Get out in front while someone else plays it ... BIG difference. |
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Joined:
September 2003
Posts: 9301
Location: south east Michigan | Here is my story and I am sure there are more out there. I've had my Balladeer for 35 years. It has always been tuned to pitch. I've never worried about the humidity in the house. After 32 years I sent it in for a neck re-set and some fretwork. Now it's good for another 30 years. There are no cracks or issues with the top.
That being said... one of my favorite mottos is, "You can screw up an anvil if you try had enough". I think Ovations have a well deserved reputation of duribility but I think some people take it too much for granted. I would never leave any guitar in a hot car or open the case in a warm room after being in a cold car. Durability is one thing, common sense is another.
The guy at the music store doesn't know what he is talking about. The bowl shape and material offer a much more stable platform for the top than the wood box method. And the Kaman Bar, (and now the improved LX neck system), have always provided a stable, playable guitar.
Ovations have always been the working man's guitar. The one you gig with. The one you take camping or to the beach. Ovations are out in the world while the all-wood guitars are kept in their cases to protect them. Factor in their durablity and reputation and I'm not surprised that there are some real battle worn Ovations still out there making music while other brands of the same vintage sit in a closet somewhere, unplayable.
Does that help? |
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Joined:
November 2006
Posts: 217
Location: Snåsa, Norway | Thanks Brad, I'm recovering fast now! |
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Joined:
April 2006
Posts: 1017
Location: Budd Lake, NJ | My Gertrude (age 30+ years) has suffered a good portion of the indignities that a guitar shouldn't--forgotten overnight in a cold car (but slowly warmed up), fallen on and split by a wrestling 7-yr.-old (wonderfully repaired)--and yet she sounds better than she ever has. All her battle scars have given her character; and Gertrude is aging right along with me! :D
I have found that the cure rate at the Mothership's "Hospital for Ailing Bowlies" is very high; if you're afraid the illness may be terminal, why, transport yours there. ;)
--Karen |
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Joined:
March 2005
Posts: 12750
Location: Boise, Idaho | There is a nice Martin at the local GC with a big finish crack. They said it was caused when their humidifier conked out one day. Only guitar in the room that did that, even though they had probably 20 Ovations in the same room.
Frankly, I don't believe them, because I can see a small ding in the middle of the crack. Looks like it got hit by a case latch or something. I have 11 acoustic Ovations. 2 have been around since 1977 with perfect tops. 3 have finish cracks. Of those, 2 of them have cracks near the neck like someone hit the neck, transfering the force to the finish. The other has "traditional" finish cracks below the bridge.
Just keep them away from extreme temperature changes and you'll be fine. The same thing would happen if you took your piano from extremes of temperature or humidity. |
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Joined:
September 2005
Posts: 138
Location: Birmingham, AL | Mine have never cracked after 30 years of playing, but I treat them just like I would any other acoustic guitar. |
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Joined:
August 2006
Posts: 2804
Location: ranson,wva | all of my ovations have finish cracks and a few topcracks as well but they sound damn good....besides i dont worry as muck if a scratch one...im anal when it comes to a new guitar tho...jason |
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Ovation guitar hypochondria
