Ovation Balladeer

[Phil G]

I'm probably going to buy one tomorrow. Anyone got any reasons why I shouldn't. i like the sound and the feel, I just want to make sure it's not likely to fall apart 1 week after I buy it. Also I can't decide between the shallow and medium bowls. Any help please.

 

[Treeline]

Go for it. "I like the sound and the feel." That's 90% right there.

If this is a true Balladeer and not a budget version, you'll probably like it quite a bit. The deep bowl back will have a beefier sound, but the shallow back will behave itself better with a mic or on a stage.

Kaman is an interesting company. Diversified, you might say. Here's a link to the main page:

http://www.kaman.com/

And here's the part where they do guitars:

http://www.kamanmusic.com/Flash/main.html

You can find out quite a bit about the Balladeer at this site.

 

[dragonworks]

Everyone I know, including myself, who has owned an Ovation guitar has come to regret it. I finally sold the
piece of junk and bought a Guild. I had one of the high
end models from the early 80's and the neck started peeling away. They suck, get a Martin, Gibson, Guild, Taylor, Gretch, anything but an Ovation.
Just my 2 cents worth.

 

[Top Jimmy]

I have to argue with dragonworks. I have a USA made Balladeer and I love it. You just have to decide if you will play it unplugged or plugged in. The Ovation in my opinion sounds great plugged in. I have to shallow body and it is a very solid instrument. For live performances it is the way to go.

 

[Phil G]

Cheers all. I bought the deep bowl and I love it. I've been playing it virtually non-stop since yesterday!

 

[chernman]

Good luck.

For others, I too agree with Dragonworks. My banjo, I mean balladeer had many quality problems and comparatively sounded piss poor to the Taylor I chucked it for.

Again, good luck, I hope you don't have the problems I did.

 

[hongteck]

ovation are good quality guitars. its not everybody's cup of tea because its not made of wood. some may not like it due to biasness but some just don't like its characteristic sound. anyway i do have to agree that its plug in sound is quite remarkable.

another guitar i do like plug in is the Takamine. Unplug is sounds a bit thin. well this is just sharing my personal opinion.