Joined:
April 2021
Posts: 3
| I just purchased a '77 Custom Balladeer and have a few questions.
It has the foil sticker inside, when did Ovation start/stop using?
It has a few finish cracks, a crack below the bridge, which looks to have had a repair done - see glue residue and slightly dulled finish (if I can get pics posted), maybe it was buffed.
https://www.flickr.com/photos/specialmonkey/51150708775/sizes/k/
I'm not sure if this repair will prevent humidity from improving the crack?
I believe the guitar was stored in its case under close to concert pitch string tension for several years.
There are some apparent finish cracks above the bridge, and on the bass string side of the fret board, from near the rosette to where fret board meets the top of the guitar body (hard to see).
There is also a crack on the corner of the bowl, but I can't tell if it's superficial, or if any repairs were done. Electrical tape was placed over these.
There are also some spots where I can see fibers - maybe paint has worn off?
The battery needed changing, it was difficult to get the pack free from the body, the screw didn't seem to release it. Turning the screw also turned the recessed screw enclosure,
which I think might have / should be attached/fixed to the bowl?
I was able to finally pop the battery pack off. I think the rubber gasket that receives the screw, on the pack was a bit stuck on to the inside of the bowl.
I replaced the battery, and put the battery pack back in place, by turning the screw 1/4 turn. It was previously held in the pack with electrical tape.
I noticed the battery doesn't fit below the metal arms on the enclosure. It's as if it's too tall. But the arms do hold the battery in the enclosure (but so tight to give confidence). Maybe 9V batteries were slimmer in the late 70s?
I think the battery pack may be resonating on some frequencies. Something is, and it seems to be coming from inside the bowl.
I plan to wrap a Velcro band around the battery and pack, to hopefully address the resonance, and provide more security to keep the battery from popping out of its enclosure.
The guitar sounds nice plugged into an amp, if a little treble-y (and not bad w/o amplification). For practicing I don't raise the guitar volume dial much above 1.5 -
my little Roland Blues Cube Hot amp volume and master dials are both between 3 & 4.
I had to clean the guitar and put new strings on, the strings felt like they must have been at least 10 years old. In doing so, I noticed there were at least 6 shims under the bridge and pickup - the action is a little high above the 12th fret -
I'm plannning to remove 1 or 2 shims, but am a little worried about figuring out their orientation - I've read the shims are radiused to adjust bass / treble string height?
One thing I just noticed was an almost hairline crack right below the headstock on the back, it really looks like a finish crack, but I can't be sure. I'm hoping to see what others think, if this is a common occurrence, etc.
I can't feel anything running my fingers across it. Maybe it's a result of (too much) truss rod adjustment/tightening? I don't think there's much relief in the neck.
Also, I'm not sure what a fair price for the guitar is. I paid what I was willing to. I'm curious to know what you think it's worth, given its condition?
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'77 Custom Balladeer 1612-1 (101xxx)
