Ovation Op Pro noisy ??.
 

Hi,
I own a LX 6778 since a few weeks. I'm absolutely confident except one issue. The Ovation sounds noisy while playing a tube amp with a Zoom G3.
My Martin, equipped with a Fishman pre amp, doesn't generate any noise at all, attached to the same equipment, so I fear it could be the pre amp. The build in equalizer can eliminate some noise but then of course also treble ... The shape/bypass function doesn't really influence that issue ...

Does anybody has similar experience or even a solution ?

Best regards

Did the noise just recently start up? I would suggest plugging both guitars into a mixing board and listening to them side by side with both channels set the same and see how they compare with no pregain from the tube amp or the Zoom effect unit. I've got an Ovation Elite that I had to get the Preamp cleaned cause corrosion had setup and was causing static. Currently I alternate between my Ovation and Taylor. The Ovation seems to hit my pedals hotter than the Taylor, but that may just be me. If you don't get any more responses here I would suggest the OvationFanClub website or at least have a local guitar tech take a look at it.

Thx for your answer. According to Ovations website my Ovation was manufactured in 2003 ... what is really amazing to me since I thought it was a new one ... more or less ... Need to have a little talk with my dealer ;-)
Anyway, due to the age corrosion might be possible and I will check for it. Direct comparison is also a good idea since "noisy" was not more than a first impression after attaching the guitar to the - also new - tube amp.
I will report ...

Get some DeoxIt (or German equivalent), remove preamp from guitar and spray a stream alongside volume knob. Spray more on the preamp's electrical connectors, and on the preamp's receptacle's electrical connectors. Turn the volume knob several times, back-and-forth, to its limits. Insert the preamp back into its receptacle and hear if that helps your noise problems. If not, go inside the guitar and pull out and push in the pickup's connector where it inserts into the preamp's receptacle's housing. While you're inside the guitar, make sure the pickup's leadwire isn't moving around too much inside the guitar. If these remedies don't help, pull the pickup connector out of the preamp's receptacle and bring it outside the guitar. Unscrew the sleeve and check the wires where they join the plug. Look for a frayed lead wire or loose crimp on the wire pinch support. These are possible solutions that I've applied to Ovation noise problems and they most likely will work if there isn't any actual pickup structural problems or preamp electronic problems. Let me know if you're successful in solving your noise issues.

Regards,

SpruceTop

It could be an NOS guitar = New Old Stock. Corrosion could have occurred depending on the store's management of humidity over the years.

Regards,

SpruceTop

I removed the back plate and cleaned the internal connectors as first aid. Great result: noise is significantly reduced now... so it was definitely corrosion or something similar ... not really surprising after 11 years :D

I'll also clean the rest as soon as I have the proposed spray.

Thanks again for your support.

Best regards
Kroeverix

Glad it worked out for you. :)

You're Welcome and glad your Ovation is amplifying much better now!

Regards,

SpruceTop