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| Hi all,
I am a new member, longtime reader of this fan-site. I am currently re-topping a Pacemaker. I am an experienced luthier, repairman and longtime Ovation owner. Here is my question.
Do you think the value of this will matter whether I restore it to its original setup or not? I haven't been really excited about the current selling prices on these vintage 12 strings anyway.
So I can't see a big loss of value if I customize it. I have the ability and experience to make this a really dressed up one off Pacemaker. Would that make it more desirable to an Ovation customer?
I intend to sell it when done. What do you fans think?
Thanks for being a great fan site.
Rick Giannini |
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Location: Canada | I am currently looking for a 12-fret 12-string but mainly for the higher end Custom Legend 1658 or ideally a UTE-681. I would definitely be interested in a customized one, though my focus is on playability and sound. Not sure if I would be willing to pay much of a premium for customization though, really depends on specific "value added" features.
Edited by d'ovation 2016-09-15 2:54 PM
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Location: Boise, Idaho | I don't pretend to know marketing, but as a buyer and frequent shopper, I haven't seen much demand for "dressed up one off" Ovations of any type. The sales of the annual Collectors' series petered off and many of the limited editions didn't sell out. I would bet if Ovation made 50 Pacemaker reissues they might have trouble selling them. My guess is that you couldn't resell it for what it would take to compensate you for your effort. |
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| Thanks d'ovation for your comment. Playability/sound is a top priority for me also.
I am definitely leaning towards a different rosette style and purfling/binding. It is a 1115-1 and I
hope to offer the potential buyer a more attractive guitar than just another sunburst 12 string that is 40 years old. I am not anticipating making a ton of money on this anyway, because, as much as I love them, 40 year old Ovations tend not to be highly valuable in the same sense that, say, a vintage Martin or Gibson might be.
I guess I am wanting to give this Pacemaker a new life with a special face. This little Pacemaker top was so destroyed by a hack I want to give her a real big re-birth. If it never sells, so be it. I have a nice place for it in my collection.  |
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| Yes Mark, that is exactly the kind of reasoning that has been going through my mind, and I hoped if I asked you fans this, I would get some good answers. I am documenting this with pics, so maybe I can put up this
job here for your pleasure. But there has already been some great posts of this type of top re-placement
so I am not sure of the interest of the members.
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Location: Keepin' It Weird in Portland, OR | Oh, Hell Yeah.
Each rebuild is different.
Post pics. Post Video! 
Edited by Old Man Arthur 2016-09-15 5:11 PM
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Location: Boise, Idaho | We'd really appreciate your pictures and your efforts. There are some good amateurs here and some like me that really appreciate the craftsmanship, but aren't motivated to try to tackle it ourselves. We even have one notorious painter. |
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| Wow, what a bunch of nice people! Thanks for your kind replies. I will carefully read the picture posting instructions
and give it my best shot.
Rick |
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Location: Lake Forest, CA | sandshark - 2016-09-15 11:43 AM
I intend to sell it when done. What do you fans think?
Hi Rick,
Welcome.
IMO, if you're going to the trouble to re-top the guitar, you might consider using torrefied Adirondack spruce top and braces.
It would be interesting to hear a 12-fret, 12-string using this wood.
Dan |
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| Hi Dan,
Thanks for your suggestion. I do not have any torrefied spruce in my stock, so I am using a nice aged sitka.
However, the instructions for posting my pics is extremely confusing greek to me. Why can I not copy/paste from my photo files? |
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| Can I just use the upload personal photo in my control panel? |
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Location: Keepin' It Weird in Portland, OR | Rick... "Upload Personal Photo" just adds a photo to your Profile Page.
You can go to "Albums" up near the "Control Panel" Button and create an Album.
Or you can upload photos to Photobucket or FarceBook or other hosting site, then post the link here.
Or you can check the "Attach a file after posting" box and attach a file after posting.
If you do that be sure that the photo is less than 600 width or you will get a HUUUUGE photo that nobody can really enjoy and it will make the whole thread wider than you computer screen.
Good Luck with that.
I usually post my photos to Photobucket, then resize them to 600 wide.
Then post them here using "img" and "/img" in Braces.
Hope this is Helpful.
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| Ok Arthur, thanks for the advice. |
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| OK, This is now going to take a little more work. The add an attachment prompt limits me to 100 KB.
Very tiny pic. Feeling pretty stupid here.
Rick  |
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| For the time being, I made an album to show my progress. That was easy. Will work on getting adept at posting in the threads. |
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| Thanks for the photo album. I was surprised that you didn't just remove the neck, isn't it a bolt-on? It seems like doing so would simplify the rest of the work even if it doesn't need a re-set. |
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Location: Muenster/Germany | I am also looking for a 12string 12fret Ovation, and it does not have to be original. I had a wonderful 1658 sunburst, but it has broken and is past remedy.
Many of old Ovation guitars have a "hump" behind the 12th fret, the older models have glued necks and thus this problem is not easy to solve. The younger Ovations have bolt-on necks, with these it takes me an hour or so tomake a neck-reset.
Did you examine your 12string in this respect? (A good Ovation must have a string action of 2,25mm at 12th fret on E 6th and should be playable on the whole fretboard. Little by little I managed to fine-tune almost all of my Ovations to this standard, there are only one or two waiting for this procedure.)
Are you planning to sell your guitar when it´s finished? And if so, can you make a rough estimate of what you want to charge? I´m so fond of 12string guitars that I might be highly interested.
And are you planning to built a different bracing pattern? That was the only thing that I disliked on the Pacemaker, the A-braced custom legend sounded so much better. I have a custom-made (wood) 12string guitar with offset soundholes and a kind of classical fan braces, and this guitar is a cannon. If you consider that 12strings are mostly tuned at least one halfstep down, you may use a slightly lighter construction than usual for the guitar.
OMG, all this is so hard to explain if I can not write it in my mother-language, but I hope you understand what I´m talking about. The good old X-braces are in my opinion not the ultima ratio.This would be a chance to make an Ovation 12string that could outplay any other one. |
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Location: Jet City | 
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Location: Lake Forest, CA | Doesn't that look familiar.
I've got a couple of re-tops I'm going to be starting on this weekend, myself. |
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Damon67, thanks for moving my pics to the thread. Your great!! I will figure it out eventually.
Well, how nice to get so much action on my project. OK, here are some answers to the questions you all have.
It is not a bolt on neck. The neck was still set nice, so I didn't mess with it. Fretboard is in quite nice shape, some minor wear on the lower 4 frets.
I am still determining the bracing pattern. I feel that the original fan pattern was a little weak in the bridge area, for a 12 string, so I may tweak it, or go to a X pattern.
I plan on selling when done, if it meets my approval to sell. No idea on price.
Still working on the rosette design.The electronics are fine, but needs a new plastic saddle top piece. The pickup works fine.
Currently working on the top spruce prep. Dan, I have thoroughly enjoyed watching your work. I am also an old model airplane guy. |
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| OK, posted a pic of the bracing on the removed top in my album. Plus a few pics of some of my other guitars. |
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Location: Keepin' It Weird in Portland, OR | sandshark - 2016-09-16 4:03 PM
OK, posted a pic of the bracing on the removed top in my album. Plus a few pics of some of my other guitars.
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Location: Yokohama, Japan | sandshark - 2016-09-15 8:17 AM
Wow, what a bunch of nice people! Thanks for your kind replies. I will carefully read the picture posting instructions
and give it my best shot.
Rick
Hi sandshark! That's a nice looking project you've got going there. Looking forward to following and learning from your progress. Are you planning on staining or painting your new top? It looks like the old top was black (-5)?
I'm just a hack, but the more time I spend on a guitar repair; the more I get attached to it; and the harder it becomes to sell! Anyway, OFC hospitality is like no other forum, I've experienced on the web. I hope you enjoy hanging around. BTW, when posting pics are you using the "Rich Text Editor"? There's a button down in the lower left of the screen that says, "Use Rich Text Editor". I've always found this easier than using straight HTML.
Look forward to following your thread! |
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| Hi arumaku,
Thanks for the compliments. Tried the RTE. Still figuring it out. If you look at the pic of the top closely
you can see someone put a pickguard on it and removed the rosette. It is a 1115-1, which was a sunburst. They painted the top withblack rattle can spray. I scrqped the top a little after I removed it and found some of the original finish. I have not decided on a finish yet, but I work exclusively in Nitro lacquer, so it will be in that medium.
I have followed your posts as a guest before I joined. I think I am in good company on this site. Everybody has been very gracious and kind. That I have not found on some other guitar lovers sites. I live out in the desert in NW arizona, on solar and wind turbine. Not exactly a crowded area. LOL. So having a friendly web site like this is a real nice thing to be a part of.
Rick |
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| Oops, sorry for the typo arumako. |
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Retopping a 1975 Pacemaker
