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August 2005
Posts: 3736
Location: Sunshine State, Australia | We're in a bit of a financial bind and I need to find a new home for one of my 2 Ovations. I really want to keep both, so I can have an elite, a centre hole, a deep roundback and a contour bowl.
My 1768 has the famous perfect Ovation action and is a deep bowl and sounds great acoustically and plugged in.
Problem is that I prefer the sound and look of the 05 Collectors, but the action sucks and I don't play it hardly at all.
I'm tending towards keeping the 05 and getting the neck reset.
What do you think I should do? |
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June 2006
Posts: 7307
Location: South of most, North of few | Keep the Elite. DEEEEEEEP |
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September 2006
Posts: 347
Location: Reno, NV | Keep the one you play most... The Elite. You play it most for a reason, even if you don't logically know why. Subliminally, there is a reason.
Now, if you do end up getting the neck reset then you'd have to re-evaluate |
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December 2003
Posts: 1889
Location: Central Massachusetts | Muzza, if you sell the 05 Collector's as-is, one of two things is going to happen:
1) you are going to take a bath on it if you disclose it needs major work, and/or
2) you are going to end up with an unhappy buyer..
Not sure what your options are in Australia, but I would suggest getting the 05 fixed and reevaluating from there. That way if you do sell it, you'll get what it's worth. Or maybe you decide to keep it once it plays well.
Of course if this is all due to a financial bind, paying for a reset may be a problem... :( |
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Posts: 12750
Location: Boise, Idaho | I would think the 05 would be harder to replace, although they seem to show up regularly on ebay. If you won't play it much, though, even if you get a neck reset, there's no sense keeping it. Maybe you'd be better off selling it at a loss and keeping the one you know you'll play. |
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March 2002
Posts: 15654
Location: SoCal | I can't believe that a 2 year old guitar needs a neck reset. Have you taken it to somebody who knows what he's doing and had it checked? |
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July 2002
Posts: 1900
| Keep the 1768. They are getting harder to find, especially in good condition. Ovation doesn't make them anymore. And think for a minute that the 'older' 1768 doesn't need a neck reset, but the 'newer' collecor guitar does...Hmmm, what's wrong with this picture?.. (I know, I'm a smart ass..I'll shut up now..) |
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Posts: 12750
Location: Boise, Idaho | If I remember correctly, this is the one that sat in his garage while he unsuccessfully tried to think of a way to sneak it past his wife. |
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Posts: 5575
Location: big island | you mean there are financial challenges in australia too? danged, i was gonna move there. guess i'll set sail for new zealand instead. |
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Posts: 3736
Location: Sunshine State, Australia | Wow, the results are not what I was expecting. I was hoping you guys were gonna justify my choice to keep the 05.
Lanaki, I'm building my own house and we've extended the mortgage twice already and still not finished. I've gotta sell the Ducati as well as a few other odds and ends. The cost of living is about the same in Oz as NZ, but the weather's better.
Mark in Boise - yup, that'd be me. The only guy in the world who's more scared of his wife than you.
Moody, it was crap when it came out of the box. The Oz Ovation importer recommended a luthier and he was just gonna shim it.
There are 2 reasons that I don't play the 05 as much as the other. 1) if the action was lower, it would be my axe of choice. 2) if the wife knew I had it, I could play it in the house as well as the garage. |
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Posts: 5575
Location: big island | i wanna come down there and be an opal miner while building (read: digging) my house. i bet the acoustics are great!
if i can't mine opals in Oz, i'll serenade sheep in NZ.
what would be the worst case scenario in letting your wife know you've got the '05? perhaps she'd lower YOUR action!
wanna go in the opal mining business, partner? a Lee Oskar duet would sound good in an opal cave. |
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November 2004
Posts: 4413
| Isn't a bad neck on a two year old guitar covered by the Lifetime Warranty?
Bad news muzza - good luck. |
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August 2005
Posts: 3736
Location: Sunshine State, Australia | Lanaki, one day, mate.
Schroeder, only if you live in the US of A. |
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Posts: 4413
| Whoa - does that mean my 2 lifetime guarantees are worth diddly-squat??????????????????? |
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Posts: 11840
Location: closely held secret | Depends on the country of origin of your diddly-squat. |
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Posts: 1634
Location: Warren,Pa. | I would email the Service Dept. and talk about the '05. You're making a big decision here w/o having all the facts. |
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July 2002
Posts: 1900
| I remember when all O's were USA and had a lifetime warranty. Those were the days....still I'm confident the mothership will do you right. |
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September 2006
Posts: 54
Location: Taiwan | It would be nice to enjoy playing the guitar you keep while you wait to have enough money to replace the one you sell.
Keep the Elite. |
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March 2005
Posts: 12750
Location: Boise, Idaho | Originally posted by muzza:
Wow, the results are not what I was expecting. I was hoping you guys were gonna justify my choice to keep the 05.
Mark in Boise - yup, that'd be me. The only guy in the world who's more scared of his wife than you.
Moody, it was crap when it came out of the box. The Oz Ovation importer recommended a luthier and he was just gonna shim it.
There are 2 reasons that I don't play the 05 as much as the other. 1) if the action was lower, it would be my axe of choice. 2) if the wife knew I had it, I could play it in the house as well as the garage. I suspect that there are a few that are more fearful than both of us, Muzza, but I've been fretting about how can rationalize the cost of the OFC guitar ever since Paul announced that it was a go last week. Sometimes I fear myself more than I fear SWMBO.
If the action was out of spec when you got the 05, you should contact the factory. The contour bowl isn't my cup of tea, but everything else about that guitar is top notch. I'd get it fixed and sell the Elite. Used ones should be more available when you recover from the house building. (This assumes you will be able to bring the 05 into the new house when they are both completed.) |
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August 2005
Posts: 3736
Location: Sunshine State, Australia | For the information of all foreigners that purchased their USA O's in the US, the only way to get the warranty honoured is to return it to the retailer that you purchased it from. Postage costs from Australia to Vic Litz would cost more than the current used price of an 05 on eBay.
These ARE the facts - straight from the mother ship.
I'm not happy about the situation, but hey... Ovations are still great guitars. I just happened to be VERY unfortunate to get one of the rare lemons. Which still looks great and sounds fantastic if you just play cowboy chords. |
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July 2002
Posts: 1900
| There's got to be a way to help Muzza. He shouldn't have 'to eat' this instrument because he lives down under. Kaman is a world-class organization and an incident like this is just going to give the Ovation critics more lame excuses to trash the roundback... Anyway, I had to express my frustration because it's genuine.
Steve |
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January 2005
Posts: 4903
Location: Phoenix AZ | Muzza, I think I missed the whole story. Did you buy this '05 guitar new from a US dealer? If so, then I would send it back to the US and get it repaired under warranty. The shipping costs will be less than the loss you'll take selling it. Is there nobody in Oz that can repair it (for a price)? Has a good luthier looked at it? I can't believe a brand new guitar needs a neck reset. Dave |
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January 2005
Posts: 4903
Location: Phoenix AZ | Shipping FedEx international priority looks like $180 each way. Dave |
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March 2004
Posts: 120
Location: UK - Canterbury Kent | Shame about selling the Ducati. Now that would hurt. I would not like to be parted from my bikes or Caterham 7.
It's not an 888 SP4 by any chance, because I've been chasing one for a few years now, after riding one at Goodwood. It knocked spots of the 916.
Get rid of the Ovation you don't play. |
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August 2005
Posts: 3736
Location: Sunshine State, Australia | Steve - thanks for your kind thoughts.
Tupp - I bought it new, FRG, from Victor Litz for $1000 and got them to ship it to my wife's cousin in LA. She shopped around for the cheapest shipper and it cost me over $400US to get it delivered. (thats over $2k AUD in total, still cheaper than recommended retail - $3.5kAUD)
I'm over dealing with shipping companies.
The 'recommended' Ovation luthier was just gonna shim it, but from what I've researched, that does not seem a good way to do it. I've got another luthier lined up to look, just waiting for the finances to plateau. I'm still hoping to be able to keep both. Hard to find anyone down here that takes Ovations seriously.
Piers - its a 2001 750SS full fairing that I purchased new from OnYerBike in the UK. I'll be selling it locally. Do you do any ride-outs with the Ducati Sporting Club? (www.ducatisportingclub.com) Some of them should remember me. |
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which one should I keep?
