Ovations are truly lovely guitars. I know they aren't everyone's cup of tea, but I think they have a wonderful, crystalline sound. I have an older Celebrity with a neck that's loose in the socket, and I'm going to eventually repair it. I used that guitar almost every day for 20 years, and the sentimental value is worth it. In the mean time, I bought another primary Ovation!
I use a pill bottle with a couple holes drilled in top, stuffed with a wet paper towel inside my guitar case...first time I used It i was blown away at the richness of sound..my Tak thanks me
2:50-2:52 "It's a model 1121-1"... That is NOT what Jim Croce played! Jim Croce played an expensive Ovation Legend 1617 with an ebony fretboard instead of rosewood and 24 carat gold plated Schaller tuners.
I inherited an ovation made around that time, looks almost exactly like the one you have. He passed away when i was 3 so i only have his 3 guitars to remember him by. did some work to get it working properly and it sounds amazing. i didnt know him but he had great taste in guitars.
Ovation was about to close in New Hartford and a California investor bought them and re-opened the factory in the USA. God bless 'em. jobs were saved. And Ovations are still made in USA. I enjoyed meeting some of the staff at Summer NAMM last year. They are a great bunch of guys.
thank you. just bought a 1967-1968model 1617 in bad shape. A lot of what you just described. Down in Houston tx, hope I can find someone as good as you did to look at it. Maybe fix it. God allowed me to see your video. Just what I needed.
Just saw your vid! I have exactly the same model here in Wales in UK. I have the same problems too and you have given me inspiration to get it fixed up so thank you. The guitar sounds lovely but the body has bellied and twisted the neck slightly. Hopefully I'll get it restored soon. Again many thanks.
Excellent info. Thanks for making this video. I don't own an Ovation. I own other brands of acoustics, but I'm taking that humidifying method and am using it.
You could have sent it back to the factory and they would have fixed it for free. Lifetime repairs free of charge. Not with todays guitars but with the oldies it still holds true to this day.
Do not send it back. They will send you a thousand plus dollar bill. I know somebody who sent his back and they basically sent him a new guitar and bilked him out of 1200 in repairs.
Only for the original owner. I still have the warranty paper, though not the receipt. I did register it, but with Ovation closing and coming back into business in the US, who knows if they have that info anymore.
Even with good care and careful attention to humidity, old ovations will get that exact crack. Virtually all of them have it. Problem is the back doesn't expand and contract at the same rate as the top. I did not fix my crack as it doesn't vibrate or buzz and the guitar sounds great.
I agree. I have had a few. Even the expensive ones had the issue and that's down here in naturally humid Florida. The only Ovation I had that was problem free, was the Adamas I, a truly fantastic guitar.
Yea I seen that bottom part of your guitar where it was fixed from the light glare in the tail end of your video it's noticeable, but looks nice for 250.00
Funny and sad at the same time for ME. In the early seventies I bought my first Ovation (BEFORE they had electronics!) LOVED it, so in 1975 I bought 3 MORE (a 6-string GC Custom, a 12-string GC Custom, and the NYLON 1624 Country Artist). In 1980 I purchased a GORGEOUS Natural Custom Legend. I then had FIVE (5) Ovations that I loved... By 1984 I had FOUR (4) Ovations with SPLIT TOPS, in the SAME PLACE!!! (from the bridge to the bottom of the lower bout, STRAIGHT DOWN THE MIDDLE on 3, STRAIGHT DOWN THE MIDDLE, then turned right towards the treble side and lifted about 3 inches on the CUSTOM LEGEND!) The ONLY one that hasn't split is the NYLON one, which I still play TODAY. Sorry Ovation, ONE would be a "FREAK THING", TWO would be a "COINCIDENCE", but FOUR is way BEYOND acceptable... I had no choice but to take my business ELSEWHERE, and never looked back. Still love my NYLON, and on the 'bright side", believe it or not, the CUSTOM LEGEND with the "lifted top", STILL holds TUNE! LOLOLOLOL... GO FIGURE! ;)
Yeah, I kind of laughed inside when he said if you humidify them this or that won't happen. Ovation are known to have that crack down the middle. I have two so far in my home and both have it. It doesn't affect the playability though. And the sound is great.
Had the same crack, same approximate year (1976 as I recall). Great guitar that I had for many, many years finally sold it to a musician in need who hopefully will also cherish it for a few decades. Loved the sound and feel of that guitar! (now I have a newer one with the internal pickup and tuner...doesn't have the character or deep resonance of the old Balladeer but sounds fabulous through an amp!).
I have had a few dozen Ovations. All the problems you mention I have had. The one I play the most has 6-7 top cracks. That’s the Nebraska winters, I think. It plays amazing. It’s really the only one I play. They are still worth it. I had another with the headstock repair and it was amazing.
My dad has that exact same guitar Ovation 1112-1, made on New Hartford, just a bit darker, which looks, sounds and smells like new. Not a single scratch or crack. He used to play it on the 70s and kept it on the box for most of the time. I love the fretboard, the action, it's fragrance... and has an interesting sound for palm mute (i play thumbpicking), but I get frustated easily with it as it moves too much.
picked up a model 1111 , at valu village paid 25 dollars cdn,1982,,, massive crack and some small ones , the deck had separated from fibreglass at the butt, and it is a bit dished the bridge lifting by 3/16, well a little crazy glue to the butt and no dinero for luthier, damn if the guitar is quite playable and I am delighted, , 1982 the value well,,,,,makes me want to keep an eye out for some more older ones.
Man, do I miss my old ovation... The deep bowls are THE DEAL!!! My "bride" broke mine... (She said it was an accident... : > ( ) I traded it for an "Art and Lutherie"... Should have just gotten it fixed. That f'n guitar was amazing... It just sang... Such a nice guitar...
there is a thing about an ovation guitar they are strong much stronger than any brand ever made and the harder you play it the more it rings //the thing is that the price was always to high i paid $700 in 2000 for an ovation balladere thats like $1500 in todays money //
My dad has almost the same guitar from around the same time period and its cracked in the exact same spot down the body. i hope he will give it to me one day.
I smashed an Ovation and threw it down the street a couple years ago. One of the biggest mistakes ever. Awesome guitars. Im getting ready to buy me another one.
wouldn't the wet rag get moldy in the dark over time? I live in SC where the humidity is over 70% most of the year, so I don't think dryness will be an issue.
I found a guitar quite similar to this one, I think it's the same brand, it belonged to my grandfather. unfortunately it is a little broken, but I think it can be fixed so that I can learn to play
My first guitar (Ovation ) I bought it at a pawnshop for about $250. I love it and left it in my hot vehicle and two days later the bridge came apart. It was horrible and not worth fixing for the price they were trying to charge. Anyway i got a Martin and I miss my first baby.
Ah, when talking about value in guitars its all relative. I've got a old Charvel I picked up in the 80's/ to me priceless, street value/not much. Same with your Ovation can't put a price on memories. Actually looking to pick an Ovation up here soon, going to have to order it and wait, but never the less, worth it, had one 10 years ago about time I got another. Best of luck, -Cheers
Hi, I am a begginer and I've found a secondhand ovation cc67 guitar by 150€. Is that a fine price? Or it is too expensive? I don't know a lot about guitars.
I found the exact model he has in the video, completely identical to it for only 100$ where I'm at. I'm having a battle with myself on whether or not to buy it since I hate Ovation with a passion. Lol
I live in nevada and have this exact model here and it dried up on me one summer ,leaving a good sized warp/crack that i've since successfully repaired with superglue and additional bridging inside where the crack's located . Only issue is matching the finish ,any ideas ?
Hellow pastor larry i had ovation guitar same model 1767 but very badly broken now, and i have capabilities to fix it. It was use in church for logest time and it was wet on flood last 2011 when flood wash out the small church my pastoring here in it the Philippines, dumaguete city. Visayas region
Hey Prayer6226, any chance you could share the name of the guy who did the work? Mine has the same issue and the luthier who works with my local guitar shop said it would cost more to fix than it's worth, which I thought was a crappy thing to say as it should have been my decision to make......he didn't even bother to quote me on the job. My guess is he probably wasn't capable but didn't have the eggs to say so
Nice guitars, but the two I owned, Custom Balladeer, and Legend, both had fat, chunky necks! The sound is beyond belief tho. I played mine using a Boss stereo chorus run through two amps---that was heaven, but the fat necks were too much for my medium hands.
Could you please provide the name and number of the luthier in Arizona that fixed your Ovation? I have an Ovation that got damaged that I would like to get fixed.
I think the body is made of carbon fiber. I bought my Ovation in 1985 in Hong Kong (~US $800), one with thinner body. However, it begin to sound nice after I replaced the a bone saddle at the bridge and got rid of all the original junk (the preamp). It took me quite sometime to work out the saddle height with the lowest action that the Ovation can reach. It's a good guitar no wonder for almost 35 years - still look great and shiny with a black top and the nice binding. Those made in China for Ovation nowadays are not unlike those made in USA.
I have a limited edition Ovation that was made 27 years ago. It is a shallow bowl that I got off a friend of mine for $550. I really don't care for Ovations because they are too hard to hold when you're sitting down.
I own the same guitar. Great guitar. It was my first real guitar. I bought it used 105n 1994. They all have an issue with cracking and crazing on the sound board. Any guitar will if you do not humidity it but the Ovation Balladeer is hard to find without one. Does not have any affect on the sound but cosmetically they are like an old dog; you love it but it looks like shit!
Quality has dropped. I know of an expensive custom ovation shallowback bought directly from Ovation that developed a hairline crack out of nowhere and not only would ovation not honor the warranty, they said it was his fault and blocked the twitter feed. Doesn't sound like a company that has good customer or quality skills. Also the plastic around the strap is cracking.
@@Prayer6226 yeah. I have several ovations and the one that's 35 years old is still perfect. Had it luthiered twice in SF. The same model but new bought from the custom shop (expensive) is of terrible quality. Its really a shame really! The Ovation founders must be cringing im sure
Are the Korean guitars any good? I recently saw a celebrity ovation model CC57 and they were asking 230 bucks. It looked to me that it was starting to have a couple of splits or buckling on the front/top of the body but it seemed that damage did not go all the way thru. I strummed it and it sounded good to me nice clear sound.It was missing one of the strings but that was it. Ah and it came with a solid case. Was it worth the two hundred plus that they were asking for it?Good video! very informative.Cheers
Go to Amazon, and purchase a guitar humidifier. I agree, putting a wet rag into a plastic bag, and punching holes into it is a horrible idea. Water could drip into the guitar and permanently ruin it.
No. Mine is about 5 or 6 years old, still like new. My '84 Shallow bowl cutaway has surface cracks but is repairable. It's a collector's series and worth saving.
I don't know who told you this, but I was told about the plastic bag method from a guitar maker-dealer, so it can't be all that bad. And I don't see what difference it makes whether the dispenser is high tech commercial or low tech plastic bag; water is water and humidity is humidity no matter where it comes from. I don't think you have thought this one through. I own 13 guitars, for several decades the plastic bag dispenser has worked just fine.
