Ovation Legend 1117

[evenkeel]

Thanks everyone. Good input.

I stopped in the shop today for a more compete inspection. Noticed two things I missed earlier.
1. A small ding on the back side of the neck, right where the headstock meets the neck. A small bit of the finish is missing. Will be tough to repair and have it be seamless. Smooth, no problem, but the fix will be visible.
2. A bigger concern is what looks to be a crack in the top. Runs from just below the bridge to the tail piece. When I first looked at it I thought it was just some crazing in the finish (there are other areas where the finish has crazed). My second and closer look, makes me think it's a crack in the wood. When I ran my hand across the "crack" I could feel a very slight height difference. Then sighting across the lower bout you can see a bit of a change in surface.

Wingsdads comments re: "beater duty" seem spot on. The guitar certainly has had some knocks so I'm thinking there could be other internal issues.

So, for now I'm in the thinking about it mode. Maybe go back and offer $200 and see what happens. She sounds very good, that classic Ovation sound, even with some very old nasty looking strings.

[Jampy]

My old ovation has had a cracked top for as long as I can remember, in the 70's the "plastic' backs did not flex like the wood tops did often resulting in some sort of damage.

if I am correct.

I would still go for it, would make a nice addition to any collection.

[wingsdad]

Wingsdads comments re: "beater duty" seem spot on. The guitar certainly has had some knocks so I'm thinking there could be other internal issues.

I meant nothing 'disparaging' by that comment, by the way. I really love how my super-shallow bowl solid-top has opened up in 8 years, and I'd put it to an A/B test with any solid spruce topped, thinner body/lam b/s guitar. It's just that they're so durable compared to more climate-sensitive wood guitars, they tend to get used for 'risky' situations.

If you go back, tap on the top a bit, all around, with the tip of your index finger. You'll hear it right away if a brace has come loose. That top crack might not be the worst thing, if it looked like crazing. Cracks in that area, if not huge, can be cleated successfully from inside by any decent luthier or bravehearted owner. I've got a Guild that had a whopper. It's held up fine for 8 years, but with a lot of TLC, at that, though.