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Posts: 14842
Location: NJ | I bought my CustomBalladeer new in October of '76 (sh!t!, I just realized it's now 30 years old!!).
Save for the original top cracking and eventually imploding, it's served me faithfully all this time. Always stayed in tune, and the neck's been rock-solid.
It's been re-fretted twice in it's life. The first time was 10 years ago when it was at the Factory having the body replaced (in lieu of a top replacement), and the second time just recently.
I've had it back from MasterKeller & Co. (ThankYou,Lads!!) for a couple of weeks, but haven't really gotten to spend time with it.
It came out of the shipping box at work, went straight to a gig, and it's pretty much been "gig/wipe/in&out of case" since I got it back.
I've had a couple things in the back of my mind that I've wanted to do with it for a while, so tonight I did-it-up.
First thing I wanted t'do was to move up from lights to mediums. I held off on it for a while because the frets were so worn that I didn't want it t'buzz. T'night I kicked 'em up from EJ16's to 17's.
Second thing I wanted t'do was a bone saddle.
I've had one rattling around in my parts box for some time, but I never put it in because I always liked the "look" of the guitar with the black saddle that Al sold me in it. I just never cared for that STARK white look of the plastic saddle.
While the guitar was up in CT, I took the bone saddle out of the box and TeaStained it. Brewed up a pot of really, really, strong black tea and let the saddle sit in it for 3-4 days. Gives it a bit of a "FossilizedBone" look instead of the stark white:
With the combination of the new frets, new/heavier strings, and bone sadle, it feels/sounds like "new" guitar, but it's the same one I've had all the while (kinda' like getting YourLady t'wear a differnt color wig t'bed;-)
This thing sounds aMAZEing with this saddle!!
I shoulda' done this a LONG time ago!
Since Jeanette's in bed sick, I haven't had a chance to "flail" on it.
Can't wait for Friday nite . . . |
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Posts: 2804
Location: ranson,wva | shes beautiful cliff,the sadle looks great with the color of the top..jason |
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August 2005
Posts: 3736
Location: Sunshine State, Australia | Hey Cliff, what's with the Hawaiian Dobro to the left? It looks like a roundback.
Sorry if it's common knowledge, but is it an O? could you tell me a bit about it?
Oh, and the balladeer is way cool. A 30 year old Ovation owned from new. I'll be able to say that in 29 and a half years. |
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Posts: 2804
Location: ranson,wva | i think the resOvation is cwk2's. i cant rember the depth of the bowl but i belive its a shallow or mid bowl,but its got a beautiful sound....jason |
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Posts: 2487
| Cliff that looks great! I have not played one of these, I understand they have that "Sound" nice Job at the factory. Nice to see the service is still the very best there is! |
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November 2003
Posts: 11039
Location: Earth·SolarSystem·LocalInterstellarCloud·Local Bub | Saddle looks great, Cliff. Second honeymoon, heh...betcha've had nightmares about that...
Muzza, you can see the PalmTree reso in action on YouTube. Check out the the jam session link on the OFC NE Gathering thread. Temp puts it through its paces... |
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Posts: 1634
Location: Warren,Pa. | That is one beautiful guitar, Cliff! What a good feeling to give an old friend a second life.
Question: There's a lot of little components in that pickup. Did you rpl and stain just the white pyramids in top of the whole p/u assembly? If so, how much of a project is it to take that thing apart? Where do I get bone pcs.?
John <>{ |
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Location: Sunshine State, Australia | Is it an Ovation or someone's project? |
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Posts: 11039
Location: Earth·SolarSystem·LocalInterstellarCloud·Local Bub | It's an O... |
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November 2003
Posts: 11039
Location: Earth·SolarSystem·LocalInterstellarCloud·Local Bub | PalmTree Reso in Action |
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February 2002
Posts: 5750
Location: Scotland | Cliff, I hate to be a pedant, but I think senility may be kicking in. The cutaways didn't happen till the early 80's.
Did you use the pickup I gave you or is that the original? |
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Posts: 1817
Location: Minden, Nebraska | I was wondering about the cutaway in regard to date, too. Not to be too picky... that's a sweet-looking guitar. |
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August 2005
Posts: 3736
Location: Sunshine State, Australia | Hey Jeff, thanks for that. You've really opened a can of worms for me now.
Are there any more videos of OFC get-togethers?
Who's who in the vid? I guess it's you on the Adamas and Dobro on the dobr'O'?
Who's on the flaming T? Who's on the uke? Good to get some faces to some of the names.
I hope I get to attend one or two of these get-togethers one day.
One day... |
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August 2006
Posts: 2804
Location: ranson,wva | jeff's on the "flaming" elite,cliff's on his old adamas,temp's on the reso,dave's on the uke..i think amy was picking on a M.E adamas?? ...jason |
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Location: Marlton, NJ | Muzza - you should host the "down under" OFC gathering... I've always wanted to go to Australia! :cool: |
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Posts: 3736
Location: Sunshine State, Australia | I already offered my property for the S.E. gathering.
Well, Australia IS S.E. of the 'States. |
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Posts: 14842
Location: NJ | One More Time:
". . It's been re-fretted twice in it's life. The first time was 10 years ago when it was at the Factory having the body replaced (in lieu of a top replacement), . ."
The guitar was taken to the Factory by my ex and my daughter for a top repair for my 40th. They couldn't replace the top in time for my birthday, so they opted to throw a new top/bowl assy. on it, and 10 years ago, just about EVERYTHING had a cutaway . . .
They salvaged the bridge from my old guitar, along with the original foil label (which is NO easy undertaking), and I BELIEVE my orignal rosette. Along with the new bowl came an FET3 pre to replace the single volume knob. What I gained I paid for with losing the hand-laid bowl and the original bracing . . .
A lot of people ask if the top is "cedar", but it's spruce that's just warmed & reddened really nicely.
This guitar's always sounded "good", but now it just STONKS!!
Temp;
I started to use the p/u assy. that you left with me, but one of the wiring connections looked a bit dodgey, so once you showed me how absolutely simple it is, I pulled my old one apart.
John;
It's just the "saddle" component that's stained not the pick-up assy. The "pyramids" that you refer to is actually just one long, continuous plastic piece with a "V" profile and little "cuts" in it that make it look like individual saddles . .
You pop the pickup assy. out of your guitar, and then take out the two black plastic "endpins" out of the assy.
With a knife or a scribe, you SLOWLY and CAREFULLY lift saddle off the pickup. It's held in place with a very thin bead of silicone, and the little cuts cause the saddle to "flex", so you're literally "peeling" the saddle off.
The bone saddle was a gift from Uncah Beal from the first time I visited the MountainTop a bunch of years ago. It's machined to the same specs as a plastic one. I stained it in the tea for a couple days and let it dry for a couple weeks. I had a small brush-n-cap bottle of BestTest paper cement (thinned-out rubber cement) and laid a "thread" (about the thickness of a B string) along the inside of the "V" in the saddle, popped it in there, held it in place till the glue dried, and then just re-assembled.
If I knew it was that simple, I woulda' done it long ago.
That IS the ResO from the video, and the silver/blue Adamas next to it is the "LongLegg" D-scale referred to in another thread. Bill pointed out that there's kind of a white "patina" in the grain on the back of the walnut neck . . . it came from all the talcum powder that Adrian used on his hands when he played live . . . |
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Posts: 4389
Location: Capital District, NY, USA Minor Outlying Islands | Thinking about all the instruments at the NorthEast gathering, my memory is dimming, the one's that still stick in there are the Resonator and the Mandnocello. Come christmas, I think the resonator will be one I will remember most.
Man, that was such a great guitar. |
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February 2002
Posts: 5750
Location: Scotland | The amazing thing is that at that point we weren't even plugged in. Cliffs's slothead and the reso are making a LOT of noise |
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Posts: 1792
Location: Rego Park, NY, | I'm the one with the FILM camera who walked in front of and past the video camera |
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Posts: 11840
Location: closely held secret | Yeah, I recognize your backside from the Tour video footage. |
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Posts: 2804
Location: ranson,wva | i have a picture of bill's reso as the wallpaper on my desktop..jason |
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November 2005
Posts: 4827
Location: Campbell River, British Columbia | Where would I look for a replacement bridge for my old electric Balladeer? A chunk north of the 6th string broke off at a gig 20 years ago and I never got around to doing anything about it 'cos no one around here handles Ovation anymore.
Doesn't affect the sound, just looks a little grody. |
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New Light thru Old Windows
