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Joined:
August 2012
Posts: 17
Location: Auckland, New Zealand | Hi there. I'm a self-taught guitarist living in New Zealand and I mostly play 12 string acoustic. I've have long admired the Ovation products and due to a possible financial windfall I'm currently thinking seriously about buying myself an Adamas 1598-MEII Melissa Etheridge signature 12 string.
In chatting with the current owner he mentioned that he had bought the guitar in Denver, Colorado and had brought it back to NZ with him as carry-on luggage in the plane. He mentioned a few months after he got it back to NZ "it started fretting quite badly" - much to his dismay (apparently). He took it to a guitar tech who, over the course of a week or so, "tweaked" the guitar and explained to him the difference in relative humidity levels in Denver (apparently quite dry) and NZ (reasonably humid).
Now, my take on the "fretting" business is that the change (increase) in relative humidity caused swelling movement in the timber portions of the guitar which resulted in movement of the neck and changes in action height, etc. Once the guitar has acclimated to ambient conditions here, and been adjusted by a guitar technician, it should remain relatively stable shouldn't it? Does this neck movement signify a major problem?
Obviously I'll be checking for neck warping, bowing and action height, and I would imagine maintaining humidity and a little bit of care would keep this instrument playing well, but should this issue be ringing alarm bells for me as a potential buyer?
Thanks in advance for any help you can provide. |
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Joined:
December 2003
Posts: 13984
Location: Upper Left USA | You'll find that the Ovations put up with a lot more humidity issues than most any other. Going from Denver to NZ, as well as the Plane ride in between can be difficult on anything.
You need to check in with the Aussies and network with what Adamas guitars they may be willing to share! |
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Joined:
August 2012
Posts: 17
Location: Auckland, New Zealand | Are the electronics on the Adamas guitars susceptible to humidity, corrosion or related issues? Auckland summers tend to get kinda hot and humid at times so I'm really thinking about potential problems I should be looking out for.
Cheers |
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Joined:
August 2005
Posts: 3736
Location: Sunshine State, Australia | Can't be any hotter or humid than the Sunshine Coast. Electrics shouldn't be a problem. The Adamas guitars are pretty bullet proof. I dont own one but curently have 2 wood topped Ovations and have no problems with humidity. Once you've got it set up for your local conditions it should remain fine with the occasional minor 'tweak'.
Pity you're not in Brisbane as one of our local OFC members is a very talented luthier with a penchant of or Ovations.
Once you're given full access you should check out the 'Downunderers' forum and address any questions to 'The Wizz'.
Welcome to the madhouse! |
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Joined:
August 2012
Posts: 17
Location: Auckland, New Zealand | Thanks Muzza. The more I look around these forums the more I see to like.
Sounds like this particular guitar just had a bit of jetlag to overcome but should be OK now its settled. Auckland is certainly not a patch on the Sunshine Coast, that's for sure.
BTW, you should be careful what you wish for Muzza, we've been looking seriously at hopping the Tasman and invading the Brisbane area like a lot of other Kiwis.  |
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Joined:
December 2001
Posts: 7211
Location: The Great Pacific Northwest | Grinna, Welcome. As others have stated, Ovations are about the least affected by humidity and elevation of any guitar. Also, what struck me about your description was that it was a new guitar and I wonder if anything else was done like maybe the new owner put new strings on it of a different weight than was previously, or maybe the store did it as part of buying a new guitar, or or or . In the end, when you get the guitar, it may be already set up for your playing, or maybe not. In either case, once it is, it will likely stay set up for years to come. |
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Joined:
August 2012
Posts: 17
Location: Auckland, New Zealand | Thank you all for the welcome and information. I'm already learning so much about these awesome instruments. |
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Joined:
August 2012
Posts: 17
Location: Auckland, New Zealand | I recently decided that rather than just desiring an Ovation from afar, I should really check them out and see what the fuss is all about. In the last 2 1/2 weeks I've been learning about the various Ovation guitars and I've tried several 6 string and 12 string models. Actually getting my hands on the first one was a mistake because that just ensured that I wasn't going to satisfy my GAS until I got myself an Ovation.
My biggest mistake though was playing an Adamas 12 string. It played beautifully.
So ..... realising the only way to be able to sleep at night was to scratch the itch I decided to take the plunge. A new Adamas 1598 MEII Melissa Etheridge Signature 12 String is on its way and due to arrive here on Thursday 23 August.
Can't wait. |
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Joined:
December 2006
Posts: 6992
Location: Jet City | that's quite a plunge, it'll ruin you for anything else in the future. ONce you've had Adamas, there's no going back. |
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Joined:
August 2012
Posts: 17
Location: Auckland, New Zealand | Quite a plunge? Yeah I guess it is.
This is intended to be a "lifetime" instrument. I don't think I'll have too many opportunities to satisfy any GAS symptoms in the future. The logic was to aim high and get a quality guitar ... do it once, do it right. So far I've had secondhand guitars and mostly cheaper instruments and while I'm pretty sure I've never played any of them to their potential, a nice guitar is so much easier to play and sounds so much better.
Having said that, it might be an Adamas, but its not the highest spec or most expensive Adamas model. |
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Introduction and a question
