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Location: Fort Worth, TX | With a day to go I'm still the high bidder after two days on an 1112 at $70 on an obscure auction site. The pics all look pretty decent so I'm hoping I end up with it. The only thing concerning me is a comment that "it looks like there's a crack in the neck area". I enlarged the pic of it and there's a faintly visible line around the bottom of the back of the headstock. Can't tell if its ever been broken, just hoping it's something else. Can anybody tell me what a new neck might cost at the mother ship if it is indeed a broken headstock? |
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Location: Muenster/Germany | On old Ovation guitars, especially on the 12 strings, you often find a hairline crack on the back of the headstock. These may have occured when the guitar had to undergo a push or had fallen from a guitar stand. But most of the time these cracks are only superficially, just cracks of the laquer coatings. I had 2 Ovations with these cracks and I cured them with the "Dan Savage method", see the chapter "Harry Chapin's 1977 1613-4" in the bottom feeding luthiery guild forum on this site.
And quite often you only have to use a little ca glue , fine sandpaper and polish to close it. |
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Location: Fort Worth, TX | DetlefMichel - 2018-12-05 10:32 AM
On old Ovation guitars, especially on the 12 strings, you often find a hairline crack on the back of the headstock. These may have occured when the guitar had to undergo a push or had fallen from a guitar stand. But most of the time these cracks are only superficially, just cracks of the laquer coatings. I had 2 Ovations with these cracks and I cured them with the "Dan Savage method", see the chapter "Harry Chapin's 1977 1613-4" in the bottom feeding luthiery guild forum on this site.
And quite often you only have to use a little ca glue , fine sandpaper and polish to close it.
MUCH APPRECIATED! |
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Location: Fort Worth, TX | I finally won the guitar for $100.00. Had to ride the auction to the last minute to beat out someone who raised the price two times on me. Hoping the headstock crack is superficial. It's a very faint, almost not visible line in the closeup pic. When it gets here I'll do a small scrape through the finish down to the wood to check. If it's into the wood I'll see what I can do to seep glue into it using the method shown in a reply to this thread. Then, I'll string it up to tension and play the heck out of it. Can't wait for it to get here! |
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Location: Keepin' It Weird in Portland, OR | DaveKell - 2018-12-05 8:05 AM
...on an obscure auction site.
Which "obscure auction site"? 
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Location: Fort Worth, TX | Old Man Arthur - 2018-12-07 1:39 PM
DaveKell - 2018-12-05 8:05 AM
...on an obscure auction site.
Which "obscure auction site"?
shopgoodwill.com |
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Location: When?? | Could be a decent snag for $100, but best wishes with Goodwill's $12.38 shipping (unless you can opt for better). Please let us know how it arrives. Which location is it coming from? |
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Location: Fort Worth, TX | Love O Fair - 2018-12-07 6:53 PM
Could be a decent snag for $100, but best wishes with Goodwill's $12.38 shipping (unless you can opt for better). Please let us know how it arrives. Which location is it coming from?
It's coming from a Goodwill in Ohio. The shopgoodwill site has several pages of guitars, most of 'em are worthless but every now and then ya see one ya can't believe somebody donated. My best guess is they cleaned out the belongings of a deceased person and had no idea what the guitar was worth. I recently saw an aged nice looking D28 go for less than two hundred bucks. Their auctions go up in one dollar increments so I won this one by entering a max bid of $110.00. If the guitar doesn't meet my expectations I can likely more than double my money on it with Craigslist.
Edited by DaveKell 2018-12-09 10:55 AM
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Location: When?? | I've always wondered about their auctions for for various items, but never participated in sales. And you're right, the guitars are 99.9% beaters of cheap brand like you would find in any thrift store, but if you take an hour to plow through the pile of pages you can sometimes spot a decent deal like you did (or hope you did). However, after studying up on their shipping methods and materials it tends to make me think there's a good chance that what WAS a good deal on the site ends up being a shattered junker once it gets to you.. so hopefully that hairline headstock crack on yours doesn't turn into the Grand Canyon during transit. I guess you just have to roll the dice on whether (or not) there was someone at the particular purchase location who knows (or cares) anything at all about shipping fragile instruments, especially since most I've seen there don't even have a case.
Edited by Love O Fair 2018-12-09 7:24 PM
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Location: Texas | It has been my experience that most of the good guitars go for market...at no real discount. Given that it is goodwill, I have shied away because the thrift worker that described the guitar is going to pack it also. About a year ago, I pulled the trigger on a 1624 in beautiful shape with no concerns in the description. I paid 175 for it shipped. Excited until it got here. The damn thing needed a bowl bend. On a nylon! Sold it, full disclosure, on ebay for what I had in it. Had it not sold, I could have parted it out and gotten close.
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Location: Fort Worth, TX | Love O Fair - 2018-12-09 7:18 PM
I've always wondered about their auctions for for various items, but never participated in sales. And you're right, the guitars are 99.9% beaters of cheap brand like you would find in any thrift store, but if you take an hour to plow through the pile of pages you can sometimes spot a decent deal like you did (or hope you did). However, after studying up on their shipping methods and materials it tends to make me think there's a good chance that what WAS a good deal on the site ends up being a shattered junker once it gets to you.. so hopefully that hairline headstock crack on yours doesn't turn into the Grand Canyon during transit. I guess you just have to roll the dice on whether (or not) there was someone at the particular purchase location who knows (or cares) anything at all about shipping fragile instruments, especially since most I've seen there don't even have a case.
I'm not really concerned that it will arrive a shattered junker. I'm mainly concerned about the cold weather it will endure on the trip. So far there are no cracks in the top. I too have seen firsthand the crack through the finish only on the back of a headstock on an old Gibson a friend bought. Twenty years later it is still being played almost every day. I considered it to be a throwaway guitar for what I paid for it if it arrives damaged. Then again there's always the chance all will be fine and I will have snagged my second $100 Ovation. The last one I got for $100 was a Glen Campbell That had what looked like a ball peen hammer ding through the top in lower bout. I filled it with clear silicone and the defect nearly disappeared. I advertised it on Craigslist and a woman flew from Washington state to Texas, rented a car and came to my house to buy if for $225.00 a week later. She wanted to leave it at her dad's house in a city 20 miles from me so she never had to travel with her guitar again when coming to Texas for visits. I'm hoping this one will be a keeper but if it isn't, I'm out negligible money on it so it's all good. And this one DID have one of those brown cases.
Edited by DaveKell 2018-12-10 9:43 AM
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Location: Texas | With your penchant of being around big names, I just have to ask...Dave...was the woman Courtney Love? |
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Location: Fort Worth, TX | jay - 2018-12-10 10:22 AM
With your penchant of being around big names, I just have to ask...Dave...was the woman Courtney Love?
I think Courtney did an Oscar worthy part in the movie about Larry Flint that starred Woody Harrelson. I did see Woody drive past my house in a convertible Vette on the way to a federal prison a few miles from where I used to live. He was going to see his dad who was doing life for offing a federal judge. I later read in the paper a guy loaned him the Vette at the airport for the 3 days Woodie was in town. Woodie dropped the guy off at his home and later made him come to the airport for his car which he left on empty. Some thanks, huh? I'd still be talking about it if Courtney had come to my house. The woman who came to get the Glen Campbell was a Tommy Emmanuel level picker. Best living room concert I ever had. |
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Location: Fort Worth, TX | Guitar arrived today. The brown case is badly beat up and has an open gap along one side. I might be able to fix it. The headstock crack appears to have been into the wood but was somewhat adequately repaired. I've already generated a dispute ticket on it. The only full front pic in the listing was very blurry. All the rest were perfectly focused. There was a long, straight deep scratch on the top that wasn't visible in the pics and WAS NOT mentioned in the item description which thoroughly covered everything else. No cracks in the top though and it looks to be pretty old from the top coloring. It plays okay too so all in all it looks like it'll become my campfire guitar. One thing I was surprised to see was it's an acoustic electric with what appears to be a factory installed plug in in the back of the bowl. However, there's no preamp. I never saw one like this before. I plugged it in and the pickup works fine. It's got a blue label saying made in Connecticut. Did Ovation make ac/elec without preamps? For what I paid for it I consider it to be a score and I'm loving the sound I've missed for too long. |
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Location: Fort Worth, TX | Forgot to add... serial number lists it as a 1979 |
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| I think you got a great deal for $100, even with the undisclosed flaws. The fact that there are no cracks in the top is a big plus. As long as the neck has been glued satisfactorily and is properly aligned it shouldn't be a problem. |
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Location: When?? | Purchased from, of all places, Goodwill, a guy receives a playable USA Ovation, with a working electric upgrade which that model didn't originally have, complete with OHSC, delivered directly to his door, all for a simple $100. Said guy then relates, "For what I paid for it I consider it to be a score and I'm loving the sound I've missed for too long."
But then...
@DaveKell - >>>I've already generated a dispute ticket on it.<<<
Why does this part not surprise me?
Edited by Love O Fair 2018-12-15 3:56 AM
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Location: Bristol England | @DaveKell - >>>I've already generated a dispute ticket on it.<<<
Some people are never happy!
He should be making a donation not bitching.
The 3 ghosts of Christmas will have a new address to visit this year. |
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Location: Always beautiful canyon country of Utah | I am curious as to what the dispute ticket is about?? |
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Location: Texas | Ol Dave never disappoints. A ringer for grasping defeat from the jaws of victory. Keep em coming! |
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Location: Fort Worth, TX | jay - 2018-12-16 12:09 PM
Ol Dave never disappoints. A ringer for grasping defeat from the jaws of victory. Keep em coming!
Wow. The judgement factor here is slightly off the charts in the few days I've been out of town. Ya see, in order to communicate with the seller and voice my displeasure about a long gouge through the finish on the top not being in the description, it was necessary to open a dispute ticket. I only suggested to them maybe mentioning a totally obvious defect like that might avoid problems in the future. NO WAY I'd let them refund my money and have to send this back.
Okay, now onto something else. This is the 6th Ovation I've owned and as far as I recall, the first one with what I'm assuming is a bolt on neck. There's a large bolt head visible in the sound hole at the neck block. If I was to decide to replace this neck, is it an easy DIY and where do I obtain a replacement neck? |
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Location: Texas | If it’s of similar vintage to my 1112,
that’s the truss rod adjustment, not a neck bolt.
First clue; lack of a TRC.
(And, even if it has a TRC, remove it and see if it’s just decoration or not.) |
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Location: Richmond, VA | Does it have a wide Ovation pickup/saddle or a more common undersaddle piezo with a standard bridge? I ask because an early GC I got recently has an undersaddle pickup. I assumed it was 3rd party newer vintage, but you make me wonder.
Edited by Lefty665 2018-12-17 2:01 AM
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Location: When?? | I fully agree with Standing.. remove any TRC first! If it truly is a 1979, then the TR adjustment on the 1112 should be on the headstock and the bolt you see in the sound hole is for the neck (kind of like the one the doctors put in your own neck during surgery.. what was it.. #17?). Anyway, starting 1981 it went to the K-bar and the adjustment was in the body up near the soundboard.. and on those (or at least most of them) there was also a bolt on neck. Confused yet? If so, feel free to generate a dispute ticket on my description. |
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Location: Muenster/Germany | I doubt that a 1979 model has a bolt-on neck. If so, you should see TWO 11mm hexagonal screws inside the bowl where the headstock is.
If the guitar has a TRC it´s a set neck. They never built bolt-on necks with trussrod screws on the headstock.
And if it´s an old set neck model, you should keep the old neck, these have the best playable neck dimensions. The newer bolt-on necks with the "k-bar" are more stable, of course, but not so nice to play. |
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Bidding on Ovation 1112
