Ovations

[espguitarguy1]

What do you guys think of Ovation guitars. I was looking at the 1867 Legend and it looks like a pretty good deal. How do they play compared to normal acoustics.

Thanks

[flyfis4fun]

Ovations are really easy to play, stay in tune through tempature and humidity changes and can take a beating without breaking. In other words, an ideal guitar for the stage. If you tour a lot, play the club scene etc. then they are really good at what they do.

 

The downside to Ovation is the lack of unplugged tone and comfort. These guitars are meant to be amplified and only sound so-so unplugged. The deeper bowl sounds a lot better then the shallow bowl but both can't hold a candle to a solid wood guitar. The other issue is that they are really uncomfortable to play sitting down. Their shape just isn't condusive to sitting down. Standing up with a strap they are fine.

 

So basically they fill a niche quite well. If you like the idea of the stability of graphite construction but want more comfort then check out Rainsong guitars. They have a traditional shape but offer the same stability. If you are looking for a mid range guitar for playing around the house and occasionally playing out then check into Tacoma, Larrivee D-03, Martin D-15, Taylor 100, 200 or 300 series.

 

Hope this helps.

[IanHey]

 

Originally posted by espguitarguy1 What do you guys think of Ovation guitars. I was looking at the 1867 Legend and it looks like a pretty good deal. How do they play compared to normal acoustics. Thanks

 

 

I have two old Ovations I use every once in a while. They're a totally different animal to a nice "all wood" guitar. But they seem to have held up really well, they play OK although mine don't seem to have the best intonation. As far as sound goes ... they don't quite have that nice responsive full round tone that you expect from a nice solid wood guitar, (Martin, Taylor etc.).... but I put John Pearce strings on mine and they sound pretty good especially for strumming, they're pretty good with thumb and finger picks as well .... but not plain old fingers. I prefer my shallow bowl to the deep bowl .... it seems to have a more balanced sound, probably less overtones?

 

So you have to ask yourself what you're looking for. They're a good workhorse guitar ..... good for stage .... although a few people around here might look down their nose at you - I wouldn't. I would have someone else play it while you A/B its sound against a few other guitars. Then play it to see how it feels - definitely check out the intonation.

 

If you're looking for a decent budget "normal" acoustic you might want to check out Simon and Patrick ... I've played a few - they're great value. Normans and Tacomas are pretty good too. I'm sure if you look / ask around this forum you'll get other ideas too. Just try to check them out in a decent environment with decent strings and A/B them. (Guitar Center seems to be the worst place for this - but they have great prices). I know it sounds corney but acoustics seem to "speak to you" ... you'll know when you've got something thats working .... that's the time to check out the flaws because they all have them - just make sure you can live with them.

[geek_usa]

I've only played one ovation and it's the celebrity baladeer or something like that. A guitarist at our church has one and I pulled it out one day when no one was around and it actually sounded quite nice. It wasn't plugged in, but the unplugged sound was actually astounding. Nice and full, brass ringing all around.

 

the only downside is that you can't really play it sitting down. I tried so hard, but the thing kept bouncing off my belly and slid off my knees. thankfully i caught it, but if you're playing over hard wood floors, that would be a no-no for it to slide off and fall.

[Etienne Rambert]

I like Ovations.

I'll buy another one, one of these days.

 

I bought an Ovation Elite (US Made) in 1988.

It is still great.

Fantastic neck.

Excellent action/playability. It reminds me of

a Gibson acoustic neck.

 

It stays in tune longer than any steel-string

I've ever played. (Grovers came stock on it).

 

Plus when I was gigging, it was the ideal guitar.

I could use it for electric fuzz leads, or sweet acoustic

fingerpicking. Nothing touches it for versatility.

 

As far as the unplugged sound, I like it.

But it sounds more like a loud archtop than it

does a wooden acoustic with a big hole in the center.

 

I'd like to have one of those Taylor Wooden acoustic

with a big hole in the middle. But I'd like to have lots

of other stuff too.

 

My Ovation gives me any sound I want.

 

Acoustic Fingerpicking Ovation Elite

 

Santana/Denny Dias-style Electric Lead Ovation Elite (w/fuzz tone)

 

Electric Twangy Surf Lead Ovation Elite

[fretwizard4hire]

i have a custom made adamas, which was made for me by the guys in CT, and i love it. you will probably never hear acoustic online forums admits this, but i would put my adamas up against any handmade all wood guitar. i had a martin d-35 that i got rid of when i got my adamas because it truely sounds, feels, plays better! they have way more bass then wood guitars, yet have the bright highs you would expect from an a/e. my model actually quite alot of $, but thats because of the style i play i needed lots of mods.

 

the ovation elite 1778t are nice for the $, but get the deep bowl, otherwise you'll need a bass player to go with it.

[Etienne Rambert]

2 downsides to Ovations, as I see it.

 

(1). They don't tend to hold their resale as well as

top brand wooden guitars. It's especially true of Elites.

Ovation promoted the Custom Legend over the Elite.

And new Elites actually sell for less today, than they did

when I bought mine in 1988.

 

(2). Since they're not 100% wood, the sound does not

improve as much over time as might the sound of a

wooden guitar. This would be especially true of Adamas, but

true of all Ovations to a lesser degree.

 

My 1972 Guild D-25 sounds amazing. It seems brighter and more resonant every decade it ages. Even though the top of my Elite is Sitka Spruce, I haven't noticed any sound improvement in the 16 years I've owned it.

 

But the neck, playability, its ability to remain in tune, and the versatility of the Ovation makes the old red Guild seem like an antique.

[Scoobee]

I've only played two ovations, one was ok, the other sounded alright. Watch the electronics on them,IMO they sound more like electric guitars than acoustics when plugged in.

 

This may not be true with all models of ovations since I really have only played two.

[fergs40]

I have an Ovation Celebrity, which I bought as a replacement for a Tanglewood Ovation copy which had travelled through the Mojave desert in the trunk of a 64 Mustang and warped (doh!).

 

Having got my new acquisition home I left it in my hallway when I was doing some decorating and a radiator fell on it. It survived, albeit with a charming hole in the back.

 

And maybe that's the thing with Ovations. Acoustically they sound, well, 'average' might be kind. Even with a new set of Martins on it doesn't zing in quite the way my other guitars do.

 

But plug them in and 30 years of trying to produce a new class of acoustic guitar begins to shine through. Ovation have worked out how to produce a mass market acoustic pickup - it might not be a faithful rendition of the sound of a good Martin, but it certainly is a fine acoustic guitar sound.

 

Plus you get that (on mine) way cool (or way sad) built in tuner thing...

 

Go forth and experiment, I say...

[outofmoney]

I own a Legend.

 

Ovations are poorly designed when it comes to durability.

 

Why? In different humidity environments, the top of the guitar flexes, contracts, expands, etc. But the plastic roundback doesn't. In a sense, the guitar as a whole isn't functioning as a hole.

 

So what happened to my guitar? The top cracked. right from the saddle to the endpin area. then more cracks started forming.

 

Now I treat it as a beater guitar. I've promised never to buy an Ovation ever.

 

Oh, and I've fiddled around with so many Celebrities. All of them sound like a toy guitar from Toys R Us. Even Standard Balladeers do not sound as good. I guess if you can take care of a Legend by never gigging with it, and keeping it in completely humidified in your room, it'll be a guitar worth buying.

 

but as for me, never again.

[Joe Chiovari]

I had a 1973 Ovation Glen Campbell I bought new for $379.00 at that time. Got it home and decided after several hours of playing that it was not the guitar for me. It was a breeze to play but kept sliding off my leg and the sound just would not sustain. It was like it was in the other room. Sounded better in the store. There was a little rubber patch glued to it to prevent sliding but it wasn't much help. The sound is what really sent me off packing it back to the store while it was still new to trade for another guitar.

Yea, it looked cool but that's where the guitar stopped.

[buddyboy]

Best road warrior ever! That's why we saw them on TV every day for 2 decades. Not the best sound, though. I have a 74 legend that is so stable. Not my favorite but they play so easily. Has ther ever been a more compfortable neck?

 

 

(1). They don't tend to hold their resale as well as

 

 

I saw a crappy condition 77 at GC for twice what I paid for my 74. Of course, we don't know what it finally sold for...

[Allerian]

Good topic.

 

My favorite is the Country Artist nylon (had mine built in '98 during a smooth jazz obession). Electric guitar-like action all the way up with perfect intonation and beautiful looks - smells great too fwiw.

 

This is the only good one I have ever played and have put my hands on maybe 100+ other Ovations in an effort to find another good one - with no luck. All others seem to be nearly unplayable guitars I can't imagine why you'd ever own.

 

I'll never understand the disparity - and I won't even consider the overseas-made models which are just... blah.

 

Just my .02,

-Robert

[surfcat]

The ones I've played didn't have the low action everyone keeps talking about-even the US ones. My friend has an 80's one that has super low action that I love, but he had to remove two shims under the saddle to get it like that-the new ones don't seem to have the shims. They sound great plugged in-if that's what you want it for, they're great-hit the pre-shape button and you're ready to go. I like the looks of the new LX series-5 pc. neck, new ust pickup, $799 out the door. I wouldn't mind one if they could get that action set like a fine electric-it can be done without buzzing, just not on the ones I've seen in stores. I don't know about the durability-my friends is an Adamas from 1984 and it's been left in hot cars-the case is melted but the guitar is fine. Sounds durable to me, but I guess some will always have problems-I've heard stories of the backs seperating from the tops. I'm a little confused as what to believe.

[riffdaddy]

Ovations are, at best, an acquired taste.

A taste which I have not acquired.

Nor shall I.

Paging MicWalt...

[codecontra]

IMPORTANT INFORMATION !!

 

OK, first of all there is a VERY quick and easy fix for the old "Ovation slips of my leg when sitting down syndrome". I still can't believe that more Ovation owners haven't heard about this. You just buy some skateboard grip tape and apply it to the bottom of the guitar where the guitar sits on your leg. That's it, all fixed and the guitar will stay put for the life of the guitar. I did this to my Ovation Celebrity 8 years ago and have not had any concerns or problems about slipping once. Seriously, try it, you will thank me. It will also be competely unnoticible.

 

OK, now that that's out of the way, let me just say that I LOVE my Ovation. I have played hundreds of acoustics and I haven't heard one that completes when plugged in, not even $3,000 models. Unplugged, the shallow bowls are not going to give you the same sound as a wood body acoustic, but the sound is still very nice. It's a bit more subdued and not as "boomy" as a wood guitar, but still crisp with nice tone. I run D'Addario 12's on mine and they make all the difference in the world. They give it a nice silky, smoth sound. I tried Martin strings and they sounded horrible. Strings make a big difference on these guitars and not all will work well with it, not even Kamans.

 

I also live in New England and the temp and humidity in my room vary greatly. I have never had a problem with my guitar in 8 years. It stays in tune quite nicely and can take a beating.

 

The Legend's have ebony fretboards and are actually quite affordable. The Celebrity's are a great buy, especially used.

 

I have 3 friends who recently bought Ovations after trying my guitar out. They were die hard wood body lovers, but made the switch after A-B' ing my guitar compared to theirs.

 

Bottom line, try a few out and compare them to others guitars in the same price range or above. If you like the sound and feel, get it and don't worry about playing a guitar that's not "all wood".

[bsman]

One caution about Celebrities: I have an older (probably late 80s/early 90s) model that is now unplayable, because the neck has essentially begun separating from the body to an extent that cannot be compensated for by adjusting the truss rod. According to the folks on the Ovation Fan Club BBS, this is a common problem with Celebrities and is difficult and expensive to fix. I have noted on other occasions that Ovation provides essentially no after-sale support for Celebrity owners. If I were to buy another Ovation (and that's pretty unlikely) I would definitely stay away from the Celebrities.

[mikeSF]

agree on the tone comments vs a good all-wood guitar.

 

I have a '73 Balladeer, deep bowl (all acoustic), which I got for $50 at a pawnshop. I am sorry, but I have yet to play anything that even comes close to this thing for $50, or even $250. In other words, it is well worth the money, and i do not have to feel bad if i drop it, or my kid puts a banana into the soundhole, etc. The construction is still holding superbly, although the original frets are getting very low. I only play it sitting down and have a self adhesive rubber pad in place at the lower waist to keep it stable. There is no slipping or otherwise wrestling with this guitar. The Skateboard tip is brilliant, BTW.

 

When i want the tone of a $1000 Taylor, I'll buy a $1500 Taylor.

[riffdaddy]

Mike, why are you going with that Kenny G quote in your sig? That was one of the dumbest things he could have possibly said (and keep in mind that I don't completely hate the guy like most people do). Truth be told, he couldn't play like Coltrane. Nobody else could, hence why he is so highly revered.

[mikeSF]

are you kidding? I thought it was obvious that I am mocking that lite-jazz lame-o. Yes, when I read that he said that about playing Coltrane, I was dumbfounded. I am no fan of Kenny G, that's is certain.

[riffdaddy]

Okay, fair enough. I couldn't tell if your sig was sheer mockery or some sort of misguided comment about the nature of musical expression as it relates to the individual. To be fair to the guy, he does have a knack for improvising variations on a theme. Having said that, the themes upon which he bases his variations are, in a word, lame. And the fact that he had the nerve to overdub himself on a Louis Armstrong track is bewildering to me (Pat Metheny ripped him a very R-Rated new one for having done that, one which can't be printed here under forum guidelines without considerable editing).

 

 

From www.amazon.com, concerning Mr. G's attempt at playing an album of jazz standards:

 

After listening to "Classics in the Key of G," I experienced a disturbing revelation: for five years, I had been lying to myself about what jazz truly was. I thought Miles' "Kind of Blue" was a masterpiece, I thought Coleman's "The Shape of Jazz to Come" revolutionary, and The Quintet "Live at Massey Hall" a landmark performance. Since then I have trashed all of my jazz CD's, and replaced them with one definitive album: "Classics in the Key of G."

John Coltrane, Miles Davis, Charlie Parker, Duke Ellington, Ornette Coleman, Sonny Rollins, Dizzy Gillespie, Don Ellis, Pharoah Sanders, Sonny Sharrock, Sonny Stitt, Cannonball Adderley, Elvin Jones, Art Blakey, Chick Corea, Wayne Shorter, who are they? Nothing but false idols when compared to the God of saxophone and jazz: Kenny G.

When Kenny plays all of these "classics," it makes me forget the musicians who made them "classics." Kenny makes Getz look like a four-fingered cripple with his sultry version of "The Girl from Ipanema." And even Louis Armstrong, the so-called "Father of Jazz," must relinquish his title to the True Messiah, Kenny "Jesus" Gorelick. God willing, I'd give this album a billion stars because for me, it can light up the night sky.

 

On a more shocking note: After reading "Bright Moments: The biography of Rahsaan Roland Kirk," I found out that it is alleged that Kenny G is not actually the record holder for the longest-sustained note! That's right!, the book alleges that Kirk sustained a tone for two-hours-and-forty-five-minutes. This coming from the guy who could breathe through his ears! How could a blind guy who played three saxes at once, a nose flute, and various bells, whistles, sirens, and gongs, hold a candle to the smooth, sustained, sop tone of Kenny G.

BECAUSE IT'S TRUE! Kirk made G's feat look like child's play. In fact anyone who can shove a sax in his or her mouth and blow will look like a virtuoso compared to the wishy-washy tripe that comes out of Gorelick's horn. WAKE UP, IF YOU REALLY THINK THIS DESERVES FIVE STARS, YOU HAVE NO REASON TO GET UP IN THE MORNING; YOU'RE ALREADY DEAD!

Thank you for indulging, and enjoy this masterpiece, "Classics in the Key of G" (the G stands for great!

[mikeSF]

thanks for posting that...uh, i think. on second thought, you just wasted 3 minutes of my life.

yes, i have read Metheny's heated remarks about the "Wonderful World" crime. He is so right.

[outofmoney]

 

Originally posted by mikeSF thanks for posting that...uh, i think. on second thought, you just wasted 3 minutes of my life. yes, i have read Metheny's heated remarks about the "Wonderful World" crime. He is so right.

 

 

what the...

[Etienne Rambert]

Wow!

 

Now I see the problem with Ovations.

I've owned one since 1988. And I've loved it.

Played it yesterday - sounded great. Better than

most wood guitars I've played, in fact.

But for the first time - I see the problem.

 

On a thread devoted to Ovation guitars,

the subject of "Kenny G." arose!

 

That hit me like a ton of bricks.

 

OK I get it!

 

Kaman Industries - you guys have a SERIOUS

P.R. problem! You better get to work on it - soon!

Or 4 decades of innovation is toast.

[surfcat]

That new LX series has me gassing-pre-set eq with Al Dimeola setting, five pc neck, new preamp. The Al Dimeola signature looks really great but expensive. Do any of the Ovations come from the factory with really low action? I'm talking electric low-my friends was like that but he had it adjusted. The ones I've played were higher than my Gibson acoustic, which is fairly low (from the factory) but I don't think a new Ovation should have to have it lowered-don't they have a reputation for low fast action?