So, back to the build.

The glue was cured enough to pull the clamps off and drill the hole for the pickup wire.

Rosette was glued into place with 5-minute hardware store epoxy.

Tuners are mounted, truss rod nut was put back into place. If you look closely you can see a bronze washer under the truss rod nut. The nut was pretty much bottomed out on the threads, so I was left with two choices --cut more threads or find a washer that would push the nut back up the threads.

I looked through my model airplane parts and found a bronze wheel bushing that was thick enough to give the nut some more bite in the threads, but had a large enough ID to fit over the truss rod, but with a small enough OD to fit inside the truss rod pocket. (Thank to Associated R/C!)

While I'm waiting for the Hysold to fully cure the next job is to start making the bone nut. Since this nut is bleached it's pretty bright white. After I finish it and polish it, I'll probably dip it into some Rit dye to give it a vintage look to match the color of the binding.

Well, I couldn't help myself.

I cut the slots in the nut, strung it up (D'Addario PB, 10-47) to set the action.

All I can say is, Wow! I love this torrefied wood. I played a couple of songs for SWMBO and her comments was that it was really LOUD, clear but not twangy. (a good thing)

Here's what it looks like.

I need to fix the high-e nut slot --I cut the slot a little too deep and it's buzzing slightly on the first fret. I also need to round the nut, polish it and glue it down permanently, but the sound of the guitar is everything I wanted it to be.

Tons of sustain, just like Jay's 485 and fantastic tone. In fact, I had to put the OP-Pro in because there was so much sound coming out of the hole. I may just keep the PBs on there for the time being.

I'll take some proper beauty shots tomorrow and post them. I just wanted to share the latest.

Thanks everyone for you kind words. It's been a real pleasure sharing this project with you. Not as pleasurable as playing this guitar now that it's done, but close.

As promised, it's done. Not 100% done, but done enough until I change out the strings.

And, the project has not been without its flaws, such as the binding separation at the waist on the bass bout side.

But, all in all, I'm very happy with it. I did have a chance to play its cousin, the 1619 to compare the sound of the two. They both are of the same generation bowls, necks, etc., and have the same brace pattern on the top. In short, there's no comparison. This guitar sounds better, hands-down.

With no further a-do.

Dan...another sweet looking O. Congrats.

Soooo...are you deducting bracing and top or just the torrified top as being the main culprit in the improvement of acoustic response?

Additionally, I would be interested, since there is acoustical separation...if there is any noticeable difference between the two, plugged in, with the same settings.

I had a chance to compare the 1619 to the 1617 when plugged in.

Before I did the comparison I strung the 1619 with the same strings as the 1617 and to be honest, I can't tell any difference between the two.

This isn't surprising because the pickups only read the vibration of the strings, not the tops.

I did an acoustic-only blind-sound test between the two with my wife and she picked the 1617.

"This isn't surprising because the pickups only read the vibration of the strings, not the tops."

Thanks for doing that. I didnt expect any difference, so thanks for confirming that.

Well...when does the wood bowl project begin?

A good pickup and preamp makes all the difference in the electronic sound of the guitar.

Ovation's acoustic preamp and pick-up has long been recognized as some of the best in the business, which is why they're used so much in the studio.

A friend of mine is a professional musician in L.A. and does a lot of studio recording. Whenever he's got acoustic guitar work to do the engineers always ask him to bring his Legend. I talked to him about why this is and he explained that with most guitars the engineers have to mix out the strong bass response. But, the Ovation electronics are very balanced so it's easier to get good sound out of them than other guitars. Yes, if you want to capture the actual sound of the guitar, you have to mic it.

I'm goofing around in 3D CAD to get an idea of how to build the mold for bending of the wood staves. Here's the first crack at it. This bowl was made with a sphere. But, it's too thick at the upper and lower bouts.

This exercise tells me that the bowls on Ovations and the Alvarez DY92 are not truly spherical. The next exercise will involve making a bowl with a custom contour.