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Location: erie pa | I expect this to be received by some as heresy, but here goes. To me the greatest attributes of the ovation family of guitars are their consistency, playability, structural integrity, and intonation. I don't perform on one but I have carried one (an applause) in Africa and given it to a fine young musician and I imagine it might be played for centuries there. My first applause was a student size (short scale, gut string, shallow bowl) that was b-stock in a local music-go-round. I loved it for practicing in a toyota pickup as my duo crawled down the highway.
That one was stolen and the nearest replacement I could find has a bowl too deep for my comfort. Now to ameliorate this situation I know I could go to ebay, but the do-it-yourselfer in me longs to modify this guitar. Please don't get excited about lost resale value. the top already has big checks in the finish and I only have $100 in it.
What I want is to flatten the bowl a bit. I just need advice on what ways would work.
One option: slice the "end of the watermelon" off and patch it up with some lexan or even cloth and resin. But what can I use to bind the original to the new? And what products for the new flat back? Drill holes all around and string a web before applying cloth and resin?
Another option: Wrap in a moist bath towel and apply a hot laundry iron. Could it get hot enough? Or heat up a cast iron skillet and set the guitar down on it slowly?
If you wish I'll tell no one that You helped me.
Thanks for humoring me.
ed |
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Location: Louisville, OH 44641 | Ouch...you're killing me. I'd go with option 3. |
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Location: East Tennessee | Buy a supershallow bowl Celebrity on ebay and give the guitar you now have guitar to someone. :) |
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Location: Earth·SolarSystem·LocalInterstellarCloud·Local Bub | would someone please pass Ed his medication.
...since i read that post in Nick's thread that lyrachord is impervious to flame...I've thrown out all ignition sources, so as not to tempt me...i say torch it. |
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Location: Earth·SolarSystem·LocalInterstellarCloud·Local Bub | ORRRR... you could cut off the bowl, flip the cut out over and glue it in backward using JB weld or other super strong epoxy.
Violå...contor bowl |
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Location: East Tennessee | Duct Tape. :D |
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Location: Upper Left USA | The bowls can be heated and bent. Seesquare has done it on a small scale to re-angle a neck plate.
Using two Electricians Heater Guns I would focus the heat in a circle about 6" around the back cover (elite style). If it is pliable I would push in the bowl.
You will end up with either a crispy pile of brittle shards and glue or a Poor Man's Contour Bowl.
I would prefer that you send this guitar to Africa and buy a shallow body. There are at least two OFCer's going in the next year.
Let me know how it turns out... or in! |
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Location: erie pa | Originally posted by Jeff W.:
would someone please pass Ed his medication.
...since i read that post in Nick's thread that lyrachord is impervious to flame...I've thrown out all ignition sources, so as not to tempt me...i say torch it. I couldn't find that thread. Could you be more specific? |
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Location: Earth·SolarSystem·LocalInterstellarCloud·Local Bub | Matt Mattson\'s post |
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Location: Pacific Northwest Inland Empire | Yeah, I used a heatgun to pop the neck heel back into it's pocket on an old 1113, then glued it in. Worked great. As for liposuctioning the bowl, it will seriously alter the tonal character of the instrument. Actually, if you MUST do this surgery, I vote for Jeff W's idea. The piece will fit back in almost perfectly (utilizing a little duct tape to align the pieces from the inside) then run a bit of 2-part epoxy, tinted with black dye, around the seam. Grind off the excess with a dremel tool, wet-or-dry from 240 to 1200 grit to smooth the seam, and you will have one odd, albeit unique, looking critter. Sounds like a lot of work to me, but hey- its a challenge, to be sure. |
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Location: erie pa | Lots of great help here, thanks. I'm thinking I'd prefer a flat back to an indented back. Maybe i could simply cover the hole with black gaffer's tape (cloth, not plastic) and slather on some epoxy.
come to think of it, I own a mando case that goes back a few decades. A school shop teacher I know thinks it was cotton cloth soaked with epoxy that was used to make it. It resembles an anvil case at first glance but up close you can see the weave. Only thing is it has significantly more give to it than the guitar bowl.
Thoughts?
As for the tone, it's a kid's guitar. The volume of air it holds is similar to the O mando. It was never destined for Carnegie Hall or Polydor. |
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Location: Earth·SolarSystem·LocalInterstellarCloud·Local Bub | You could use the heat gun to flatten the cut-out and then trim it to fit and glue as described |
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Location: erie pa | And "heat gun"...
The same gun used to shrink the tubing on connectors and splices? That little thing gets hot enough? |
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Location: Hernando Beach (Tampa area) | I think the JB weld idea is the best bet to have something reasonably close to original. If you look forward inside the sound hole, you'll see the neck joint has a cut-out of some other material (still doesn't appear to be plastic though). The resins used to join the bowl will be pliable (and will burn on any guitar) so you would have to be careful (more so) around joints with heat.
Perhaps I was a bit overenthusiastic in the previous post -- if you heat anything up to critical temperature, it will burn or melt (even sand), but critical temperature for an Ovation bowl is still an ash-heap for the equivelant woodie (and the ability to stay in tune is much affected by temperature). I hope not to many of you tossed your guitar into bonfires to impress the friends . . .
My apologies to those that did. |
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Location: Earth·SolarSystem·LocalInterstellarCloud·Local Bub | looks like a souped-up red hair dryer...
I wouldn't recommend letting your wife coiff with it, however. |
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Location: Keller, TX | Come to think of it, my kids were watching this movie the other night, "Napolean Dynomite" that gave me an idea.
Since everyone is talking about how indestructable these guitars are, and how hot it has been lately here in Texas, just bring it down, and we'll back over it with the van. It should just flatten it just enough as long as we put the top down. :D |
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Location: Carle Place, NY | Originally posted by Jeff W.:
ORRRR... you could cut off the bowl, flip the cut out over and glue it in backward using JB weld or other super strong epoxy.
Violå...contor bowl ORRRR... you could do what Jeff suggests, then flatten the cutout (laundry iron?, cast iron skillet?) trim it to size if necessary, then epoxy it back in place. |
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Location: East Tennessee | As posted by Matt Mattson:
Perhaps I was a bit overenthusiastic in the previous post -- if you heat anything up to critical temperature, it will burn or melt (even sand), but critical temperature for an Ovation bowl is still an ash-heap for the equivelant woodie (and the ability to stay in tune is much affected by temperature). I hope not to many of you tossed your guitar into bonfires to impress the friends . . .
My apologies to those that did. Theere was mention in a post a couple of months ago about a guy who had his Martin wind up as toast. Any Taylors ready for the fire test?
I like MWoody's idea. There are a lot of people in Africa that would love a nice guitar. |
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Location: closely held secret | Originally posted by Gospel Guitar Guy:
I like MWoody's idea. There are a lot of people in Africa that would love a nice guitar. There certainly are.
Guitars are very useful and practical instruments for use there. |
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lyrachord (not plastic) surgery
