Neck and fret wear on older acoustic

[aussie_owner]

I recently acquired an 1985 Ovation Legend from a friend. This guitar has seen some serious playing time. Not quite Willie Nelson wear, but significant. The guitar itself plays and sounds great, and has an amazing top. I cleaned and oiled the fingerboard, which improved the appearance.

Worth a refret?

Pics

Fingerboard wear at 2nd fret

There are also a lot of spots on the fingerboard. They look like water spots, but they are etched slightly into the wood. (Ebony)

Weird bridge saddle too. Not sure what the deal is here.

 

[John Coloccia]

You might get away with a fret level. Of course it's worth it! The only time it wouldn't be worth it is if it was an otherwise junky guitar anyway. So for example, if I bought a Fender Squire for $50, I probably wouldn't waste any money on fret work because for the price of a fret job, I can buy a much nicer guitar. Other than that, I see it as putting gas in a car and doing oil changes. If you like the guitar, it's always worth it

 

[B. Howard]

Looks like a level, crown & polish rather than a re-fret from the pics.

 

[mellecaster]

That's an early style Factory Piezo Saddle...completely normal for that Guitar.

 

[aussie_owner]

Looks like a level, crown & polish rather than a re-fret from the pics.

I'll probably go the LCP route. The frets are jumbos, and mostly in pretty good shape.

That's an early style Factory Piezo Saddle...completely normal for that Guitar.

Thanks for the info on the bridge saddle. I'm not familiar with the earlier Ovation models, and hadn't seen one like this before.