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 1973 Legend 1117-4 arrives…
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Joined: December 2008 Posts: 1453 Location: Texas | On the right is a 1973 1117 Legend that I just received. On the left is my trusty 1979 1112 Custom Balladeer. (I'm the original owner of that one…) I have not even as much as wiped off the 1117 yet, but I will clean it up soon, just thought I'd post some pics and ask a few questions while I'm at it:  I just HAD to list all the differences in response to the inevitable SWMBO comment; "But they look exactly the same, why do you need two of them?": My 1112 has: a rougher texture black bowl with a "roughened" patch on the lower "side" to prevent slipping on your knee, a thicker heel, a shallower head angle, chrome tuners, 2-piece neck, Kaman Bar, sitka spruce A, oval paper label, plain (unpainted) wood bracing with "modified x-bracing." This 1117 has: a smoother texture black bowl, narrower heel, greater head angle, gold tuners, 5 piece neck, truss rod/cover, sitka spruce AAA, oval metal label, black paint on bracing areas near sound hole, "VT-11 bracing" (with extra piece indicated in red here):  I was told it had; "some finish cracks, a 'scratch' on the headstock, dings, nicks, some fret wear, minor fingerboard scratches that appear to be from a partial fret-replacement, etc. and a brown hard-shell Ovation case with a small area covered by duct tape, and 'we don't know what's under that tape.'" Upon arrival, and looking very closely, I can see that a large corner of the right "ear" has been glued back on (nicely done, almost invisible) and that repair is aligned perfectly with where the case damage is located when it contains the guitar. I was not pleased that the broken head repair was not mentioned…  … but I am pleased with the sound, and overall appearance, even with the stale strings that are on it (for a few more minutes… ;) ) There is some pretty-advanced fret wear, but every note plays cleanly and effortlessly, so a fret job can be delayed for a little while. It has a deeper and more resonant sound than the 1112, but the 1112 currently has slightly lighter strings than the 1117… I was aware that the 1117's had a steeper head angle, it's a LOT steeper than the 1112… Any guess what the extra bracing inside might be for? If it was to support a soundboard crack repair, there is NO visible repair on the top, nor inside, other than the extra bracing. (I know some of you have strong opinions about the efficacy of different bracing patterns on these old ones, but it is what it is…) There is one 2-3" finish "aging line" ;) on the soundboard along the high side of the neck, with a few other very tiny finish cracks in that area, the bridge area looks flat, and has no cracks, just a couple of tiny dings. There is a small piece missing from the rosette, but it is under the bottom of the neck and you would never see it without looking with a bright light. Was it ever standard to spray black paint on the bracing to make it less visible around the sound hole? I have never had this type of truss rod on an Ovation, but it looks to me like something might have been over-tightened, changed or possibly even the neck was replaced, but again, if so, it was really well done, you would never know from the outside. A mirror-photo of the inside of the sound box at the neck block shows that it looks to have had something done to it, there is a tell-tale area where a washer may have been. A bolt and/or the end of the truss rod are visible deeply sunken into the wood block there. Does that seem normal? Here's the pic:  This is the one I thought I was going to cut holes in and add a pickup and iDea pre-amp. I may or may not, since, now that it is here, and in pretty good shape, the concept of cutting into this old deep bowl is a little less appealing. I'm going to play it for a while first. It sure has a different sound than my (relatively) similar Balladeer. Regardless of whether I decide to just refurb it and keep it acoustic… I just can't bring myself to even consider cutting into my old Balladeer instead, besides, that one is still under warranty… ;) There are a few more photos on my NING page… | ||
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