It’s About Time

Browsing thorugh some guitar enthusiasts forum, one question posted was the kidn of guitar one has own over the years. This prompted me to recollect my guitar acquisition journey. Well, what guitars have I owned (and sold) since my interest in guitar began when I was 11 years old? Let’s see if I can correctly list it chronologically…

Congress acoustic (reward for passing PSLE by my eldest sister). No s/no nor model. Music knowledge? Zero. I just like the cool look I suppose. J

A year or so later with my brother’s help, I got enrolled in Singapore’s first Yamaha music school. It cost $25 each month for 45 min each week. I didn’t finish the basic course. Come to think of it I had thought it ended when actually the course still has another 2 months to go. By then I had learn to fingerpick as well as certain rhythm styles to get going.

Congress dreadnaught – Don’t know about model. Bought purely on sight. inspired by John Denver but couldn’t afford more expensive ones; anyway Congress was the only brand I know and Swee Lee the only guitar shop when it was still along North Bridge road (capitol bldg). tried to learn some rock songs. I think it was Deep Purple’s Temple of the King that caught my attention. Besides the Malay kids were twanging that song away in the neighborhood. John Denver’s Country Roads was every folks favorite then. I sold it to my cousin a couple of years later.

Yamaha FG512-II

Yamaha CG (can’t remember the model but it was expensive though mass produced). A fellow youth dropped it during sr teen’s camp and cracked the base (when you normally attached end pin). Interestingly the sound was still great. I still remember working at factory with the sole aim of buying this model. I did it.

Yamaha FG512-II. My first 12 strings guitar. It was a gift from Vivian. The action was high. Had trouble with tuning so got frustrated and discouraged from playing. There was no electronic tuner back then. Otherwise I would have played more on it. Left it with Teck Leong in 1995 and brought it home only in 2005. during those time, the guitar was left in the closet the whole time. He was kind to take care of things for me. Had the neck adjusted and action set. Played well until recently some buzz in A and E strings. Guitar Workshop adjusted it for $50 but not so nice to play. Will probably do something myself later. Still using it for SS singing. The sound is still loud and pleasant. Had wanted to sell it but only one person response but didn’t pursue further.

Ibanez classical (semi-handcrafted) – mom paid for it; this is the most well-utilized and liked guitar – brought it for missions trip in Indonesia; then when in the USA I brough it along on extension ministry across Iowa, Utah, Idaho; Wisconsin, Upper Michigan. Didn’t know much about climate’s effect on wood instrument. It sustained cracks on sound board. Didn’t affect quality of sound. I suppose the guitar bought the trademark of quality and character with it. Sold it by proxy when I couldn’t return to US because of visa rejection. Somebody from DTS bought it. Sigh…

Ovation Applause (AE 100 something). First online purchase while in US. A letdown because my mental imagery was like that of Custom Legend model played by Cat Stevens. J This model was made in Korea. Jon Mulder’s Ovation Custom 1624-4 was a very enjoyable guitar to play while interning in Marshalltown, IA. Didn’t like the feel of the Applause. Frankly I have no idea that there was so many models that Ovation had produced (duh!). Somehow, cutaways don’t really appeal to me.

Hofner H-12 – Brought my Ovation Applause to this shop in Mpls, MN, and did a trade-in for this German made guitar. Top it up with some cash but thought it was well worth it since I didn’t like my Applause. I passed it to my elder brother who hardly plays the guitar though he paid for few months of lesson. He is a busy servant of the Lord. Told him to return to me should he decide not to have anything to do with guitar anymore.

Ovation Custom Legend 1117-4. First EBay purchase of guitar. I think it cost about $360 then in 2000. It was not too sightly considering the strings were gone etc. Did restringing, and could have done more if I had known anything about setup; familiar with guitar scene in US etc. However it played well for me. I was rather pleased with it. Brought it home from Dallas, TX to Singapore. Had it until July this year then sold it for SGD$400.

Ibanez Classical acoustic electric cutaway (don’t know model). Bought it for $200 from the owner of music school in Bedok central. He was a nice guy and gave me a huge discount for it. he even delivered it personally to me (cos he was living rather near my home). Sold it to Crocker to $150 a year later.

Just this year, I managed to sell away the Custom Legend 1117 and then found craigslist (never heard of previously) and found several folks wanting to sell their Ovation classical guitars. Doubtless the price and condition varied let alone the states where individuals are located. What prompted me to sell is the maintenance of acoustics. The thing is that it has tendencies to bend its neck because of string tensions. This applies to all acoustics not just Ovation. Besides I had wanted to switch to classical model of Ovation. Perhaps it’s because since I passed up the chance to buy an Ovation classical during our church planting trip in ’97 that I have often regretted it. At that time, we saw it at a pawn shop during a lunch break in Reno. I believe the amount then was about USD$400 or so.

I searched for a replacement and found Ovation 1997 Collector’s edition. The guy listed it for sale due to financial reasons and it happened that CK was going to SF and even more delightful was that the guy was living right smack in that city. So the guitar flew business class back to Singapore and saved it a couple hundred of bucks in shipping. However it wasn’t what I had in mind. It was my mistake to think that just because it was a slotted head that it must be a classical model (what was I thinking at that time?). This model is a parlor guitar but sounds good and it is an acoustic-electric. The neck is thin and narrow. Really meant for finger picking but still sounds pleasant when strummed. Another disappointment is that the strap button was fixed on the bass side of the heel, on the bowl. This made it difficult to play as the bowl keeps flipping upward. Will get somebody to install another button on the treble side and should solve the handling problem.

Subsequently I laid hold of a Ovation Country Artist 1124-4. Bought it from a lady who hardly plays it. Interestingly this model has 14 frets instead of regular 12 frets for classical guitars. The neck is thinner and what galled me were the way the strings are loose and the sound rather thin when I tried to strum it. Later I came across an ad in craigslist and it was $350. it was Ovation Concert Classic 1116 which much more like the one I missed out in Reno. Long story short, I got hold of it. less than a month later, I sold the Ovation Country Artist 1124-4 to a guitar fanatic who is apparently single and well-off. I covered my cost and boy am I glad about that! In the interim I really enjoyed the 1116.

I would like to have a jumbo or grand auditorium acoustic guitar later. So far the affordable ones with pleasant design is the Yamaha’s L series. Read that they are all made in China though handcrafted. The only exceptions are the L-26 and L-36 models which are still made in Japan. The cost is about $3.5K to $4.9K for either of these models. The china made price range is about $1.3K. oh well, just thinking…

I’ve been having trouble with the location of the strap button on my ovation ’97 edition. I don’t know why they installed differently form other models that I have had. Ovation installed on the bass side of the heel/bowl. The downside to that position is that the body tends to flip upward if I were to play standing.  After consulting opinions from fellow Ovation owners on Ovation fan club site, they concurred with my thought that the problem would be minimized if not eliminated if the strap button was installed on the treble side of the heel.

Anyway, Ovation sent me two strap buttons upon request. However City Music that is the authorized dealer of Ovation said they don’t do it!  how frustrating can that be?  Sinamex luthier sounded cocky and wanted to charge me $35 for the job. I wouldn’t mind if he didn’t sound that “hokkien beng” type of “hao lien.” 

Thankfully, found Malcolm Tan of MTLutterie who has a website. The price quoted seems reasonable plus it’s nearer to my home! This guy actually custom built guitars. So will see how good he is at simpler task. Who knows? I might ask him to make one acoustic for me!    Will see him tomorrow. Thought of dropping by Parklane during lunch time but Amanda woke up with high fever. Well, plans changed. 

I’m not sure how it happened but recently I got a liking to Yamaha acoustic guitars. Can’t remember what triggered this matter.  I found out that Yamaha’s L series guitars though mostly made in China these days are really handcrafted. The only ones still made in Japan are the LL26 and 36 models. However the Yamaha sales person told it’s about $4900-$5500 respectively.  What caught my eye is the design which is still the kind that I fancies after all these years.

If I do get it I will likely just let it stay in my study.  It will be for personal enjoyment. 

I came across this quote today by Ellen Goodman and thought it amusing:

“Normal is getting dressed in clothes that you buy for work and driving through traffic in a car that you are still paying for – in order to get to the job you need to pay for the clothes and the car, and the house you leave vacant all day so you can afford to live in it.”

“Integrity without knowledge is weak and useless, and knowledge without integrity is dangerous and dreadful.” ~ Samuel Johnson (1709 – 1784)

Recently sold two of my Ovation guitars (Custom Legend 117 & Country Artist 1124-4) due to space constraints and to downsize my “maintenance cost” not necessarily in monetary terms.

I’ve also listed my Yamaha FG-512II for sale in ad but no response thus far. Most people I think doesn’t like 12 strings guitar. Besides many of the younger players prefer acoustic-electric so that they can plug into amp to play.

I’m not active shopper in the market but I do notice from chatting with store managers it appears that the contemporary Christian music scene (mega churches’ praise worship style) helped fuel the demand for electric as well as acoustic-electric guitars. Recent years saw the emergence of higher end guitar shops peddling Taylor, Goodall, etc. in the past, Gibson,, Fender and Martin are the exclusive brands locally. Yamaha was the mid-range priced guitars.

Anyway, now I’ve got two left: Concert Classic 1116 and the ’97 Collectors Edition Parlor. I will likely keep them for a long while. Should the 12 strings be sold then I might consider adding an intermed priced acoustic guitar (Yamaha?) for variety sake. Will see.

I’ve been trying to post some pics of my Ovation guitars but was too busy until this morning. Some shots didn’t turn out well but the great thing about digital camera is that you can delete whatever shots you don’t like without costing you a great deal.

The Ovation ‘97 is a Collectors’ Edition and the company supposedly made only 1000 pcs. Mine has the s/no 79 on the back of the head slot. Its electronic pickup was subtle and a Parlor guitar size. Parlor guitar supposedly is smaller but loud in sound.

Got this in July through craiglist listed by a Purdue Univ student living in SF who needed cash. Thankfully a friend of mine needed to go the SF for quarterly business meeting. What’s more he travels business class, so that helps when it comes to transporting of the guitar. The exchange rate was S$1.37+ at that time (probably one of the lowest rate). I think I got a good deal mainly because of the exchange rate and free express shipping!

Frankly I have no idea that ‘97 model was acoustic. All along I thought it was a nylon string classical model. When my friend brought it back and I opened the OHSC, I was actually disappointed. After a while it did grow on me. I guess it’s a case of managing expectations. Since I sold my Custom Legend 117 which is an acoustic, I felt better though I was thinking of classical. I think what led me into thinking it was classical model is the head slot. Instead of standard dreadnought type it has the typical classical head. So not being meticulous enough I ventured into it.

Smaller than usual but loud in sound

Last Wednesday, received an sms in response to query about availability of my Ovation country artist 1124-4. as mentioned in one blog entry sometime in August I wanted to sell off this model since I got my hands on Ovation Concert Classic 1116 which I liked much better.