Where's The Ovation Love

  • Thread starter Thread starter Illsidgus
  • Start date Start date
Illsidgus

Illsidgus

Desiccated Member
I have read quite a number of posts and the only time I see Ovation guitars mentioned it is in one of my posts. I am the only Ovation lover in this whole forum? I bought my first Ovation in 1979 and still have it and could not imagine parting with it. They are great for recording as well as live performances.

Hello are there any Ovation fans out there???
 
While not a "fan" of Ovations, I do like them, having owned at one time an Applause 12-string made back in the early 1980s when the necks for the Matrix/Applause line were made from aluminum. it was a workhorse and had a lot of sustain. I later owned an Ovation Celebrity 12-string [deep bowl non-cutaway body with a passive undersaddle pick-up and VT sliders on side] that I regret getting rid of to this day.
They are workhorse guitars. Granted you won't get the tonal characteristics of a guitar with back and sides made of wood, but I always found they were great for recording without having to mess with a lot of EQing.
I would probably consider getting another Ovation if they resumed offering either a Balladeer or Legend with a deep-bowl, non-cutaway body without having to custom order one, since the only production model currently indicated on their website with a deep-bowl, non-cutaway is an Adamas I with an MSRP of $5,499.
 
YeshuasFan said:
...They are workhorse guitars. Granted you won't get the tonal characteristics of a guitar with back and sides made of wood,
..
Click to expand...
That's sorta been my take on them over the years- an electrified ac guitar tone (.. ie that typical barely passable for 'acoustic thing), but then with the compromise on the real acoustical tone ..

.. but I always found they were great for recording without having to mess with a lot of EQing.
Click to expand...
Curious that then. Do you mean the p/u or miced?
 
mixsit said:
That's sorta been my take on them over the years- an electrified ac guitar tone (.. ie that typical barely passable for 'acoustic thing), but then with the compromise on the real acoustical tone ..

Curious that then. Do you mean the p/u or miced?
Click to expand...
Mic'd. The Applause didn't have a p/u. I never had the opportunity to record with the Celebrity because I was in graduate school when I purchased it and didn't have a lot of spare time for songwriting then.
A friend of mine from college who is an acoustic purist refers to Ovations as "guitars from Tupperware."
 
You guys are talking about Applause and Celebrity, those to me are not real Ovations anymore than a Squire is a real Fender or an Epiphone is a real Gibson. There really is a difference in the sound and playability. I don't think that I would buy a new Ovation. I would like to have an Adamas 12 string but if I could find a 70's or 80's Ovation 12 string that was in really good shape I could be very happy with it.

I visited an old friend about six months ago and took my Ovation Anniversary with me to do a little playing. He grumbled about how he didn't think Ovations were that good and wished he had a Yamaha or something instead of his Applause. Then he played my Anniversary and couldn't believe how great it sounded and played. I have run into that situation on more than one occasion.

There were an awful lot of great recordings made in the late 60s, 70, and 80's using Ovation guitars. A great example is the extraordinary sound of Jim Croce and his partner Maury Muehleisen, much of it produce with Ovation guitars. The list could go on and on. Okay I am through touting the wonders of Ovation guitars for now. But if you ever get the chance to play an older Ovation and not the entry level Celebrity series or Applause, you might find yourselves pleasantly surprised.
 
Ovation is like the acoustic Charvel/Jackson of the '80s. Not that they aren't good guitars by today's standards and not that they don't fit other styles, but they really were popular with rockers back then. I remember seeing ads of Nancy Wilson (Ovation endorsement) back in the day. Playability was great on them for sure.
 
Illsidgus said:
You guys are talking about Applause and Celebrity, those to me are not real Ovations anymore than a Squire is a real Fender or an Epiphone is a real Gibson. There really is a difference in the sound and playability. I don't think that I would buy a new Ovation. I would like to have an Adamas 12 string but if I could find a 70's or 80's Ovation 12 string that was in really good shape I could be very happy with it.

I visited an old friend about six months ago and took my Ovation Anniversary with me to do a little playing. He grumbled about how he didn't think Ovations were that good and wished he had a Yamaha or something instead of his Applause. Then he played my Anniversary and couldn't believe how great it sounded and played. I have run into that situation on more than one occasion.

There were an awful lot of great recordings made in the late 60s, 70, and 80's using Ovation guitars. A great example is the extraordinary sound of Jim Croce and his partner Maury Muehleisen, much of it produce with Ovation guitars. The list could go on and on. Okay I am through touting the wonders of Ovation guitars for now. But if you ever get the chance to play an older Ovation and not the entry level Celebrity series or Applause, you might find yourselves pleasantly surprised.
Click to expand...

I think you miss my point. I'm not dissing the Ovation sound and certainly wouldn't disagree with your assessment of the difference between a solid-top Ovation such as the Balladeer or Legend and laminate top models such as the Matrix/Applause and the Celebrity lines. I'm simply saying it's a different sound from that made by a guitar with wood back and sides.
I'm simply saying that the way they were designed made them an ideal guitar for recording because they did not require a great deal of EQ or compression to balance the sound. By inference, if I could achieve what I believe were satisfactory results using a budget line guitar like an Applause speaks well for the product.
If I have a complaint about Ovations, it is that they offer only three options if one wishes to have an Ovation guitar with a deep bowl and a non-cutaway body: an Adamas [which with an MSRP of $5.5k is outside the range of most guitarists to pay], an Applause [which is going to lack in tonal quality because of its laminate top], or a custom/special order [which requires a non-refundable deposit of 50% of the calculated MSRP and at a minimum would run about $1.2k or better--so if you don't like it when it arrives 3-6 months after you order it, you are stuck with either accepting a guitar which you don't like or want, or losing over $1000]. Before Fender bought out Kaman, Ovation only required a 15% deposit for custom/special orders.
 
Not dissing the Ovations but in my experience, they're a great gigging acoustic but not what I want in a pure acoustic guitar. I had a 12 string back in the 70's that played REAL nice and was loud but as an acoustic guitar, I found it lacking in tone. I had a Guild 12 string that just spanked the Ovation for tone. No dissrespect, just my own humble experience.
 
Track Rat said:
Not dissing the Ovations but in my experience, they're a great gigging acoustic but not what I want in a pure acoustic guitar. I had a 12 string back in the 70's that played REAL nice and was loud but as an acoustic guitar, I found it lacking in tone. I had a Guild 12 string that just spanked the Ovation for tone. No dissrespect, just my own humble experience.
Click to expand...
I understand what you mean and I agree. My dream guitar would be a Guild F-512. I don't know how John Denver ever managed to play 2-hour concerts standing up tho'. Those suckers weigh a ton! I had the opportunity to pick up a used Guild F-412 about 14 years ago for $1000 and kick myself now for not getting it.
 
The main problem with the Ovations is that you have to use a strap even sitting down because those fiberglass bowls are slicker than snot on a glass doorknob and slide all over the place.:laughings:
 
YeshuasFan said:
The main problem with the Ovations is that you have to use a strap even sitting down because those fiberglass bowls are slicker than snot on a glass doorknob and slide all over the place.:laughings:
Click to expand...

That's probably my number one beef with the bowl back guitars. I will say that for gigging, an Ovation would be high on my list.
 
I have an Ovation 12-string that I use for gigs. I agree, you need a strap even if you are sitting down. The bowl back will slide all over the place.
 
YeshuasFan said:
The main problem with the Ovations is that you have to use a strap even sitting down because those fiberglass bowls are slicker than snot on a glass doorknob and slide all over the place.:laughings:
Click to expand...

Both of my Ovation acoustics are deep bowl and I never feel the need to us a strap while playing seated. About four years ago it was a different story, I weighed about 80 pounds more than I do now. A big belly and a deep bowl are not a good combination.

As far as a 12 string goes, I would still like an Ovation but have seriously considered a Guild. Guild made some really fine 12 string guitars. When I think of 12 strings, Ovation and Guild are the only two brands that come to mind. The thing about the Ovation 12 strings of the 70's and 80 is that you could tune them to concert pitch while it was recommended that other 12 string be tuned a third lower than concert. I don't know if that is still true with the new Ovation 12 strings. And maybe new 12 strings from other companies can be tuned to concert pitch now. Does anyone know?
 
Guilds could also be tuned to concert pitch back then because they used two truss rods in their 12-string necks and the tops were braced more heavily. I think they've quit using the double truss rod in the necks since Fender took them over, but the only 12-string I've seen in the past 15-20 years that does not recommend tuning to concert pitch is the Leo Kottke Signature Model from Taylor, but that is because it is strung with medium gauge strings.
For people who are concerned about the possibility of the top bellying, I recommend the JLD Bridge Doctor, which can be purchased from Stewart-MacDonald and retrofitted into any guitar. I know Breedlove installs these on almost all of their guitars except the Retro and Revival series guitars and I've never had any issues with my Breedlove.
 
I recently got a Breedlove. That's a crazy bridge bracing system for sure. Very cool.
 
I used to play one with about 6 soundholes, all these butterfly paintings on it, a round plastic back and I thought it sounded a bit twangy. But to be fair, I didn't have long enough to check it out as it belonged to the playground I was working at. I can't remember what happpened to it in the end.
To be honest, I'm not precious about any brand of anything. Except when it comes to food.
 
I have a SE I use it to flesh out out a lot of tunes, don't really have a problem with it sitting and playing , for some reason it is my go to acoustic when I playing with others. I wish I had the old 12 string but they do not come up for sale very often and when they do I don't have the money
Tim
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top