|
|
Joined:
February 2005
Posts: 8
Location: Edmonton, Alberta | Hi Folks,
Very useful site you have going here. I picked this model up last weekend at a music store clearance sale and was amazed at the sound. I have looked through this site but I don't seem to come up with much for information on this model. I googled it and found a link to a french web site that has an identical picture from a brochure dated 1997 and a couple of japanese sites but no info other wise. The picture is at:
http://jeromegalopin.free.fr/Adamas%20Models/Adamas%20III%201591-BCB/1591%20BCB%20Adamas%20III.html
Its the first I have ever seen with out the multiple or round sound holes. Is it a common beast? Not being terribly familiar with Adamas or Ovation for that matter, how does this model rate against others - I have played the odd celebrity in stores but that is it. I noticed the label says 1591BCB and then 87. I figured out the 1591BCB but what does the 87 mean. There is a removable disk like piece on the back. Can I assume that this is for accessing the truss rod and electronics?
I have played a rainsong and was not wowed by any means but I am amazed how wood like this graphite(?) top sounds - and loud. I have a Martin OM that is stunning for tone but this is a tough competitor for my affections right now. I have not found any pricing history but can I assume that the $1K (cdn)I paid is fair for this model(it seemed so to me, otherwise I would not have been overcome with GAS for it)? This has to be one of the coolest acoustics I have seen. Any help would be appreciated.
Thanks in advance
Skinny Fingers Lee, aka Rod- I am going to have to change my name to get a catchier nom de plume |
|
| |
|
Joined:
April 2004
Posts: 13303
Location: Latitude 39.56819, Longitude -105.080066 | HI Rod, Welcome to the board.
Paulmac, a member of this board, runs the French site that you stumbled onto.
The Adamas 3 is fairly rare but don't know much else about it. I believe it was the low end of the Adamas line after the I and II but don't quote me.
By tomorrow morning you will probably have plenty of comments for others far more knowledgeable than I. |
|
| |
|
Joined:
January 2005
Posts: 640
Location: boulder | Skinny fingers, hi,
You must have good karma to pick up this Adamas at a clearance sale. I own the one jerome (paulmac) has pictured on his website. I bought it in January off ebay. The sellers mentioned they called ovation factory and were told that there was less then 100 guitars of this model made. I am not sure there is a way to prove this, although the sellers did not seem to be unscrupulous. In fact they seemed quite honest.
Mine was made in 1998. And my fellow coloradoan hurts my guitars feelings. It doesn't think it is low end, I'd never tell it that, even for a laminate. LOL
Skinny fingers, I really like this guitar. But I gotta warn you, I prove daily I don't have a clue as to what I am talking about. :)
So with that in mind, when mine arrived it had medium guage strings. The bottom end was like rolling thunder. But overall sound was not balanced, the upper frequencies were overshadowed by great low end sound. Sort of like a ported speaker, i thought.
I switched to light guage strings and the sound is much more balanced, but at expense of super deep low end. Mine plays great. It has a comfortable neck. However, In my limited adamas experience, Adamas guitars seem to have a full balanced sound with excellent string separation and this model is just a little short of some of the others I have heard.(compared to say model 1581 or even smt 6591). I am not sure if this is due to the ebony fretboard (vs walnut on other adamas models), the sound hole design or simply just me.
Ok with all that said. I love this guitar. i believe that the last # on label stands for it's resonant frequency (or have I really lost it now) so it's model 1591 in black cherry burst with a resonant frequency of whatever that number was. Play it for awhile, mine got better the more it was played. peace mike
PS. Now I have a laminated collectors edition and a low end adamas. Next someone will tell me that I have to pay back all those credit cards. :)
and I love your quote -I think I will take it to heart from now on. peace, mike |
|
| |
|
Joined:
December 2004
Posts: 1673
Location: SoCal | Welcome Rod,
You will enjoy this place.
Fugot, Your description, "The bottom end was like rolling thunder", is probably what Stephen was trying to say.
I guess we will be quoting Stephen for a long time about the "low end of the Adamas line". :rolleyes: |
|
| |
|
Joined:
March 2002
Posts: 15682
Location: SoCal | Rod:
You're guitar is the Adamas III. It was only in production for one year (1997? I'm too lazy this morning to pull catalogs), at the very end of the original Adamas regular production. It was based upon a prototype from the mid 1970's when the Adamaii were still being developed.
I've only seen one of them, and that was in the Guitar Center in Hollywood, probably 6-7 years ago. |
|
| |
|
Joined:
February 2005
Posts: 8
Location: Edmonton, Alberta | Thanks, I appreciate all the info I can get on this unique (at least to me anyways) guitar.
I must admit never having plugged in an acoustic before so it was quite cool to put it through my Blues Jr and have a go.
It was intended to be the perfect office (no where to go at lunch so I might as well play) and campfire guitar but I am having trouble leaving it at the office.
My only wish is that the preamp had a tuner. |
|
| |
|
Joined:
March 2004
Posts: 1388
Location: Paris/France | Moody,
You're right. The Adamas III were only produced in 1997.
Jérôme |
|
| |
|
Joined:
January 2005
Posts: 640
Location: boulder | Hi,
I would have to check my serial #, but I thought mine was 135xx or 138xx. I can't recall exactly the whole #. I thought this placed it as a 1998. But to be honest i can't remember. It still is cool in my opinion.
Hey rod, do they have more for sale? |
|
| |
|
Joined:
February 2005
Posts: 8
Location: Edmonton, Alberta | Alas it was a used trade-in from Long and Mcquade, a decent chain up here. They have an annual clearance on old stock and was originally listed for $1500. I don't have any idea how long they had it though. There were some phenomenal deals though - a new old stock PRS with a 10 top, birds in a killer green that was down to $1800 from $4200 - it was a lefty though or it would have left with me instead even though I'm more of an acoustic kind of guy. But fate brought me here instead which is pretty cool
I must admit that this was one of the more improbable purchases I have ever made since "she who must be obeyed" was with me and she actually acknowledged that it sounded better than she expected. I figure the only reason I got away with it is it was Valentines day (actually Sunday) and she is a mid century modern design queen and the thing is darn attractive (Or it could have been the puppy dog eyes I kept sending her way). The only caveat was that I need to dispose of my other office guitar, an Atlas series breedlove AD200SM and a late fifties/early sixties Harmony Soveriegn Archtop.
With only a hundred or so about I feel darn privledged to become an O owner via this model. |
|
| |
|
Joined:
March 2002
Posts: 14842
Location: NJ | Up until a few years ago, there was a Long & McQuade here in Jersey. Didn't know until recently that it was a chain. It was a pretty decent store. Helluva lot better than GC . . . |
|
| |
|
Joined:
October 2004
Posts: 124
| rod, it's a super good deal & rare find. 1000cdn => us$800. guess the economy there is worse than ours.
it should sound really good. tell us how it sounds vs your om42. |
|
| |
|
Joined:
December 2003
Posts: 83
Location: New Mexico | Very unique and cool. A matter of individual taste but it certainly would have had me digging in my wallet (wife's wallet). But what do I know, I think the 2005 collectors is priced reasonably but it is rather drab in appearance.
:cool: |
|
| |
|
Joined:
February 2005
Posts: 8
Location: Edmonton, Alberta | Sorry if I misled you. Although the e-mail moniker is om42 I can only lay claim to the sweetest OM16GT on the planet. With a real striped ebony(?)Pre-micarta finger board and bridge, bearclawed top and the voice of an angel. I have lusted after a pre-war om42 as it is one of the rarest of rarities but way out of my league price-wise (my first house was cheaper). The number letter combo e mail address was advised by someone as being most excellent at reducing spam, it was also available on the Unofficial Martin forum so I took it.
Tone wise, the salesman gave me a set of exp's with the guitar and so I strung it as such (I must admit to being a fan of Elixir Nanowebs lights). The comment that the A III is very bass oriented is somewhat true, really true if I tune it down a half step but over all, since I am a finger person mostly, the slight bass bias is kind of desirable for my tastes and vocal range. The OM has a shallow 1 & 3/4" neck and weighs almost nothing and resonates so much it almost like getting an internal massage when you lay into it with a pick. The om16 and AIII play completely different but both have a richness in overtones and sustain that I find desirable. Give me a couple string changes and a chance to experiment as I have found strings can make or break the nuances of an instrument. The OM16 was the first good acoustic guitar I ever bought. I have mostly had electrics - assted crappy off shore Strat and Les Paul copies, 65 Jazzaster, 72 Thinline Tele, mid 80s Strat, newer Gibson ES137 so I am still working on learning how to properly critique acoustic guitars. However I sincerely state that the AIII is right up there on my happiness quotient meter. You can always tell if you get a new guitar home and you just want to play it till your fingers are sore, that it was a good buy.
Rod |
|
| |
Info on a 1591 BCB Adamas III