Neal

They sure have, but you either love the round back and personality of them, or you don’t. I think they appeal to a smaller, more specialized population of guitar players, thus, “niche”. I think players would either want one, or one would be totally off their radar.

It certainly could be, but it has created some interest, and offered me, at least, 10-15 minutes of diversion looking at the Ovation fan site. It’s amazing how much time and effort people go thru for niche products.

This was kinda fun, looking at all the Ovation stuff, and I have no opinions on the brand..(well, some, but mostly unfounded)..so thanks daddymack and DeepEnd. Cool to see dedicated consumers put together all that concise info. Want to see what models they made: http://www.ovationtribute.com/O_Decoder/O-Decoder rev8.htm Can’t find a single one that spell check would render “elevation” though.

I was curious. Searched Bently acoustic guitar. 50-100 bucks.

You are now a luthier.

I think ol’ Laura’s regrets encompasses all you’ve mentioned. But what the heck, I’m thinking of a 20 year old guitar purchased new, fawned over for a few weeks, put back in the case and forgotten for years and years. No maintenance like that on a National or Martin/Gibson, etc., it may be worth the neck reset and work to bring it up to speed...Norman? Not so much. Hey, may be pristine though. I can be an optimist! Optimism doesn’t have to be realistic! Laura, hows the neck angle? Frets poke you? Binding, if any, still flush? Y’see, musical instruments that DO have value need to be maintained, air too dry, well, 20 years of that takes its toll, add to the story the string tension and neglect over years of wet/dry, and a lot of times those old pristine instruments have some issues a simple setup won’t address. But maybe not!

Hey Mr. DeepEnd, it turned out ok, didn't it? Quit your goddddddammmm bitchin'. It's a valid thread and there's no need for snarkiness from you old-timers driving folks away.

IMHO, what you should do is find some antique camel bone, have a luthier make a nut and saddle. That will dramatically change your perspective, I guarantee. I said "change your perspective".... http://www.acousticguitarforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=233682

There are very few mods (if any...) that will cause a dramatic positive change to a guitar. It could be as simple as a bone nut/saddle, and a good setup. I've found that a good phosphor bronze string is pretty much as good as the next. You could try using a heavier pick, or losing the fingerpicks, or putting fingerpicks on, or... Think about what you do, what things are changeable on your guitar and with your technique, and try them out. Process of elimination. But if we're talking about an inexpensive ( under 500) laminate guitar, not a whole lot except you.

So rosewood is a better tonewood then? I have never played a guitar with koa No, it's ANOTHER tone wood. That's all. It's a great tone wood. As is rosewood.

Where do you want it? Back/sides? Top? What do you want it on? Dreadnaught, ukulele? Are you going for flash or sound? Your question makes as much sense as someone asking "How much is a house?" No offense. Generally the more figured the wood, the more expensive. This has no bearing on the sound. When thinking of Koa as a tonewood, think more mahogany-like. It is more expensive on a guitar, usually in every case with the exception of Brazilian Rosewood.

Wow! All the recent threads! Hey, it's really good to know you've done these things to save us from trouble! A big sloppy KUDOS to all! Totamus, I had the cap off the superglue as I was typing. Oops, just got some on my fingerrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr rrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr