Ovation Deacon Solid Body Electric Guitar w/ Orig. Hard Shell Case -- MODIFIED
Up for auction is a later model vintage Ovation Deacon solid body electric guitar in tobacco colored sunburst finish. The guitar is from the estate of a Long Island, New York jazz guitar player and comes with the original hard shell case. As can be seen from the photos and video, the guitar has been modified to include a third pickup, a Dimarzio humbucker for extra boost (volume / overdrive) in addition to the two original Ovation humbuckers. The wiring has been modified as well to included three micro-switches to turn each pickup on and off. Three of the four pots control the volume of each pickup. The two other micro-switches and fourth pot do not seem to have an effect on the sound. There is no adjustment for the overall tone. I have included a photo of the schematic found in the guitar case. The original case has some cosmetic marks and the strap that holds the case lid open at a right angle is disconnected. One of the three hinges is held together by wire. The case is fully functional but opens completely at 180 degrees as shown in the photo. The guitar plays well and has good action. The strings appear to be at least 10 years old and will need to be changed. There are numerous nicks and scratches on the guitar, but overall makes a great presentation. It is auctioned here AS-IS.
This guitar will be packed securely for safe shipping to the lower 48 states for the shipping price quoted. Buyers from Alaska, Hawaii, Puerto Rico, and US protectorates please contact me before bidding for a shipping quote to include a separate surcharge. International shipping only through ebay's global shipping program.
Ovation Deacon History (Wikipedia)
During the 1970s Ovation Guitar Company created a more deluxe version of their exotically shaped solid body electric guitar, the Ovation Breadwinner that was called the Deacon. The Deacon was differentiated by a gloss finish, mother of pearl diamond shaped fretboard marker inlays, and an (cream colored) iv.ry binding on the edge of the fretboard. On the other hand, the Breadwinner had a textured finish created by coating the mahogany body with the company's LyraChord material, the same material used to create the bowls of their acoustic and acoustic-electric hollow body guitars and the helicopter blades from the Kaman Company, plastic dot fretboard marker inlays, and no binding. Less obvious differences include a higher quality hardware in the form of the tuners. A gold plated tuner set were available along with a brass bridge saddle just before the design's end of life. Like the Breadwinner, early models used Ovation's toroidal dual pole, single wound pickups with the original FET preamp. During the 1972 and 1973 model years, these pickups were gradually phased out and replaced with new humbucker, twelve pole dual winding pickups. Touted by Ovation as the quietest pickups manufactured at the time, they may have been a step up to a more mainstream design, rather than a true electronics breakthrough. Many owners preferred the sound of the original pickups as providing a warmer tone when compared to the tonal characteristics of the humbuckers. The Deacon was also available in a 12 string model, which country guitarist Roy Clark played. The Deacon was manufactured between 1973 and 1982. In the movie for the 1979 Electric Light Orchestra album Discovery Jeff Lynne is seen playing the Ovation Deacon.
In response to a question, it needs to be noted that this guitar does NOT have the FET preamp or batteries. I have included a photo of the battery compartment in response to the question. I believe that if a the preamp were part of the guitar, it would be located there. I could not find any photos online of the battery compartment or preamp for comparison. This guitar has a serial number later in the production line after Ovation dropped the use of single coil pickups for mini humbuckers. I am not sure if they dropped the FET preamplifier as well or if the prior owner removed it when modifying the guitar.