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Joined:
November 2004
Posts: 110
Location: Peoria, Illinois | Hello all. I am new to the site, sent here by a Harmony Central friend. I will also be a new Ovation owner by the end of November. I have a 1778 LX on order.
I am playing Taylor products right now. Love them to death, but have always had an eye on an Ovation. After reading about the LX upgrades, decided to check it out.
I have not had an opportunity to play this model, but have played some of the other models. What can I expect from this guitar?
Thanks, and I plan on getting an education by reading the posts here over the next few weeks.
Regards, |
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Joined:
June 2004
Posts: 365
Location: NC | Well you can expect alot..........I have the 6778 LX in NEB finish and love this guitar. It too is my 1st "O". I had a purely acoustic Walden prior and still do. The 1778 is gloss neck where the 6778 is satin. I played a 1778 many months ago and find the sound the same bewteen the two. They are excellent made instruments and the built in tuner is sweet for quick tuning. It is fairly accurate maybe a little low on tuning but you can ear the rest. The acousticness if that is a word of this model is rather pleasing whether plugged or not. I love the plugged feel and you will too. The action is nice from the factory and you will get compliments as well for beauty. Let's face it....image is everything! Really though, nice instrument that will give you a lifetime of enjoyment. I never owned a multi-hole prior and love it. I was worried about the resonation it may be lacking but it doesn't. My Walden is a little higher in throat but the "O" is like a Jaguar compared to a Hyundai.........! The neck was a little beefier than I had wished but I will get stronger hands the more I play and fatigue gets less each time. Post a picture when you get it.......what color did you get? :) |
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Joined:
March 2002
Posts: 1380
Location: Central Oregon | Hi Jim. Welcome to the board. I don't own an LX but I have played one. Looked great sounded great played great. You'll love it. If you don't love it when you first pick it up I'd be surprised, but if for some reason it isn't set up for your style of playing don't hesitate to adjust it (or have it adjusted) to your preferences.
/\/\/ |
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Joined:
December 2003
Posts: 13997
Location: Upper Left USA | Welcome Jim
It is a thumpy flavor of Ice cream. If you finger pick you can pull out some amazing character. If you strum you can find another chorus. I find mine very reactive to my mood and style.
And, like eating a potato chip... |
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Joined:
March 2004
Posts: 52
Location: Iowa | Welcome to the site! There are some great guys here and great wisdom, although you may have to put up with some abstract references and unprovoked tangents. It's good to have more midwestern OFC's on the site. I've played in Galesburg but thats still about an hour from Peoria if I remember. Enjoy the site. |
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Joined:
January 2004
Posts: 123
Location: Massachusetts | Welcom Jim. I've had my Ovation Balladeer since 01 and the LX upgrades from a tone perspective are fantastic.
You are getting the Legend LX? Awsome ebony with mother of pearl inlays on that one.
You will find this very very mellow compared to your Taylor. The Legend LX is actually mellower than the Balladeer LX.
I really dislike the gloss neck unfortunetely it is very sticky and slow feeling to me. I love satin and oiled necks. If you are used to gloss necks on your electrics you probably will be ok.
You will find the beefiness of the neck, the radius and the string spacing more comfortable than a Taylor.
I really wanted a Taylor and almost bought one until I spent some time doing some hard funky chord changes..E to F to F# and throwing in some E7th in the first position. On the Taylor my tiny fingers cramped up fast. On the Ovation? I can play it all day and throw anything at it...it's that comfortable.
Preamp wise it is very good. I love the large tuner.
You will find build quality superb, equal to the Taylors easily.
You are choosing a great guitar and I wish you the best with it. I think you will really love it. |
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Joined:
June 2004
Posts: 580
Location: NW NJ | Well Jim, I agree with Elite LX -- you can expect alot. I also have a 6778LX in the New England Burst finish, but it is probably my 7th Ovation. I have always loved the way an O sounds plugged in - nobody else in the business has cracked the O code for plugged in sound. Every U.S. made O I have ever played has had a beautiful, low action with no buzz - most of them with factory setup. The action on O's is really easy to adjust simply by removing one or two of the shims from underneath the saddle when you change the strings. You can make it play just the way you want. My only problem with the shallow bowl O's that I have/had is they don't have a big enough acoustic sound. Plug them in though and the sound is amazing and nearly impossible to make feed back. Now, as far as the Elite LX ...
First strum, my jaw dropped. The acoustic sound is amazing - big and full, evenly balanced, stunning projection. The action on mine was a little high for my taste, but a couple of shims later it was perfect, low and no buzz. The neck is straight as an arrow and completely adjustable if it ever becomes necessary. The neck is so good that the frets don't have to be dressed as much so they are taller than my other O's, which takes a little while to get used to. And also, like Elite LX said, the neck is a little "fatter" or something than my others as well which has meant that my hand strength has had to develop a little to make for good sounding barreing up above the 4th or 5th fret. Since I've been playing it for a little while now, it is completely comfortable and not an issue at all. And pretty, oh my word, what a beautiful guitar to look at. The fit and finish on mine is flawless. The inlaid epaulets are a huge improvement over the glued on ones of non-LX Elites. Plugged in, the axe is really breathtaking. The new "original" pickup is brilliantly executed and the OP Pro pre-amp beautifully functional. I noticed that it doesn't have a notch filter, but that has not been an issue as I can only get the thing to feed back if I stand facing the mains and crank everything up way too hot for mortal man ...
In case you couldn't tell, I love the LX upgrades and I love my Elite. I believe that you will too. In any case, when you get it, let us know what you think after you play it for a while. That is, if you can put it down long enough to type the post - Enjoy! :D |
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Joined:
April 2004
Posts: 234
Location: Phoenix, AZ | Jim D welcome. I'm surprised someone actually read my post at HC and came over here. Searching here will keep you busy learning about the LX changes until your's shows up. Also, there's a magazine reprint at www.ovationguitars.com which goes into great detail about the LX changes. Between this and the Factory's web site, you should keep busy until just about the time you get your LX. After that, you'll be so busy playing it, you'll forget all about us. Welcome to the "family". |
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Joined:
December 2003
Posts: 26
Location: NYC | Hope you get your 1778LX soon! I can only echo everything already said. I have the 6778LX in NEB like some of the other folks, and it's really a great guitar. Neck cross section is just right - not too thin, not too thick. Action is good, and intonation is excellent all the way up the neck. The tuner is a real convenience. Fit and finish couldn't be better. I thought it was a way better value than Taylor - not even a fair comparison. Congratulations again! |
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Joined:
March 2002
Posts: 15682
Location: SoCal | Congrats on the LX. When you get it, have somebody else play it across the room from you, then have them play your Taylor. I'd be interested in hearing your feedback and the differences.
Whatever guitar you play, it should put a smile on your face. Otherwise there's no point in picking it up! |
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Joined:
January 2002
Posts: 14127
Location: 6 String Ranch | Welcome Jim,
Corvairfan, take some OOO or OOOO steel wool rub rub the back of the neck. It will rough up the surface a little and will be much more comfortable. After playing it for a week or so you'll never see the scratches. I used to do this to whatever was my main guitar at the time. |
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Joined:
December 2003
Posts: 26
Location: NYC | cwk2,
That's a nice trick with the steel wool. My 6778LX has the satin neck, but I have a mid-80's Legend with the gloss finish. After it smooths out a bit, do you wax it all? I put a light coat of Butcher's paste wax on the LX, and it made it nice and velvety. Would it do the same for the gloss neck after the steel wool? |
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Joined:
May 2004
Posts: 295
Location: Ottawa, Ontario, Canada | Jim, another welcome. Note especially worshipleader's advice about the removable shims. When I bought my Elite I really didn't know anything about Ovation guitars. After purchasing I asked the salesman if something could be done about the action, as I found it too high for my liking. He said he wouldn't recommend messing with the bridge/saddle assembly, as it contained the pickup, and suggested I just try a lighter gauge of string, which would make the guitar a little easier playing.
I took it home, played it for some time, was still unhappy, and finally said to myself that I should poke around with it on my own. That's when I discovered the shims. I took one out and, voila, really nice action.
Why, oh why, don't salespeople educate themselves about the products they sell!? Maybe Ovation needs to make a point of educating music stores about this feature of Ovations; after all, easily adjustable action is a strong selling point, no? |
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Joined:
November 2004
Posts: 110
Location: Peoria, Illinois | Thanks for all the great feedback. I have one more question for you all. What guage, and brand of strings will this guitar come with?
I also appreciate the feedback on the shims under the saddle. I am not afraid to investigate these type of things, and like a lower action, so that will be a great place to start once I see how it is set up. I like acoustics to come with a higher action, with the option to fine tune.
By the way, I ordered the natural finish. I thought the inlays looked really nice with the natural finish. |
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Joined:
May 2004
Posts: 295
Location: Ottawa, Ontario, Canada | Probably D'Addario phosphor-bronze, light gauge. |
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Joined:
January 2002
Posts: 14127
Location: 6 String Ranch | When there's finish on the neck I wouldn't put anything on it. Maybe some pledge later if you feel it needs it. I'd wax the raw wood necks (or the ones with oil finish) |
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Joined:
March 2002
Posts: 15682
Location: SoCal | Bill, before were you implying that you take steel wool to a gloss finished neck, to rough it up? |
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New to site, and will be new to Ovation soon.