Some of you may remember me mentioning my CL find. It was advertised as an Ovation 1671, which was the first question I asked when I called about it. It's definitely a 1617 and even without the label saying so, I think the features would be enough for confirmation. I ended up getting part of the serial number in my photo of the label, so in keeping with a tradition (I believe) of not revealing ALL of the numbers, I airbrushed out the last three numbers and you can see the first three are 190XXX=serial number.  The CL ad listed it for $200 and claimed no other damage but the bridge. After seeing the big, long crack in the top I offered the son $100.  His dad, the seller, was in FLA and may not have known about the crack and/or the crack was more recent.  He agreed on the price and I took it home.  I started researching all things Luthier and considered using this guitar as my first practice project.  I ended up looking up The Lutherie Shop in Des Moines (highly skilled and highly sought after master craftsmen, two of who apprenticed under Dave Plummer) and decided to give them a go at it.

I just got this rescued baby back yesterday and was very happy with the work and end result. Not only was the repair work EXCELLENT, but they even strung it (I gave them a new set of my favorite strings), polshed, and buffed it. The guitar plays and sounds AWESOME!  I've been playing my Legend and Elite lately and they're both SSB's, so it was nice to play a DB again.  My other deep bowl was a 1651 Legend Ltd. (made in 1979, too) that my son had coveted for many years AND often borrowed when he and his band's fellow guitarist would do an acoustic show.  So, about three months after I had gotten my newer 1867 Legend AND it was Christmas Day, I decided it was time to create an Ovation family heirloom.  I know my son couldn't have been more thrilled when I announced that my guitar he'd recently borrowed (again..  was now his to keep, BUT... with the following conditions: he was not allowed to ever sell or trade that guitar EVER. The only way he could transfer ownership was to do as I had done, bequeath it to one of his own kids someday.  Of course he agreed. 

ANYWAY... where was I?  Oh yea, playing my new vintage Legend DB guitar, which was... ironically... pretty much identical in every way to the one I had given to my son only a month or so earlier.  It was a great save that got me a really nice sounding vintage 35-year old Ovation Legend guitar for... $100=guitar, repairs=$170, and $50 on eBay got me an old brown vintage Ovation hard shell case.  So, maybe a BIT more than market price, but just knowing that I've rescued and revived an old Ovation classic that will be treasured and played, well... it gives me a nice warm feeling in my heart...or maybe that's just the Taco Supreme I ate earlier.  I don't know... you be the judge (P.S. Outside of the repaired crack that is visible, the only other flaw/blemish is in the last photo and I believe is JUST in the finish and not the wood):

BEFORE:

AFTER:

Way to go SLB. Nice to see another old Legend saved and appreciated.