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Location: NJ | Well I got the go ahead to give you the inside scoop on the new LX guitars. ( I still think they named them after me aLeX and not an import car.)
As I understand the new guitars are a special series and the K bar guitars will still be available.
inlaid epaulets (this was done on the 2003 collectors)
Patented truss rod system (that is why you saw the truss rod covers on the necks)
Lighter thinner bowl. This in conjuction with the new truss rod makes for an overall lighter guitar.
New neck attachment system The fingerboard is no longer glued or floating on the top of the guitar it is part of the entire neck making neck replacement and adjustment easier.
OP pro pre amp large tuner screen large vol knob modular like the rest of the op series
scalloped top braces
Well I believe I have everything. This guitar is absolutely a step in a new direction. Your next question you will ask is probably How do they sound? Well the couple of examples I played sounded really nice. I did not have time to sit with one and noodle for a long period of time but the results of the improvements are there in the tone.
If I got anything wrong in the specs I hope that someone e mails me and lets me know so I can correct it. I am going by memory and it was a few months ago when I saw these in production.
Thanks to Rick for giving me the OK to share the news with the OFC. |
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Location: The Great Pacific Northwest | Al,
Where do these sit in the lineup of guitars, or is this technology to be applied across the board to a complete line at various price ranges. I guess I'm also sortof asking will this be an option (Like an Elite with LX technology), or completely new guitars with new names? |
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Location: south east Michigan | Thanks Al,
Is the bowl thinner in material thickness or bowl depth?
Will a deep bowl be avalible?
Brad
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Location: SoCal | I think that Ovation shouldn't even mess with calling the series "LX". They should just call them the Alexander Pepiak Signature Series.
Seriously, along with the 12 fret Adamas slothead coming out, this sounds like 2004 is going to be a fun year for Ovation. And those of us who play them. |
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Location: Lafayette, Louisiana | Thanks Al, these sound like they are great guitars. Are they available yet? |
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Location: NJ | Miles
as I understand you will be able to get an elite, legend or balladeer with the LX options. I am not real sure if they will eventually replace the current line or not. Those are questions that will have to be asked to the powers to be
slip
the guitars are thinner in thickness not in depth. As for the deep bowl it is always available with a custom order.
Paul
We could not come to terms with my endorsement price so the gutiars go out with only 2 of the letters of my name on them. What can I say?
Paul
I assume they will be ready at the namm show to take orders.
hope this answers all your questions |
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Location: SoCal | "hope this answers all your questions" - nope! However, more than enough to have patience for release. Thanks for the info... |
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Location: 6 String Ranch | aLeX, I didn't realize it was you they were named after! OK OK OK, I like the name now.
You certainly look nothing a Japakneezs car. |
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Location: Scotland | What about the bracing pattern, are they staying with the A-bracing or does The "X" in LX suggest a move back to a cross brace? One of the protos we saw back in march was cross-braced. |
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Location: Connecticut | The LX's are X braced available as both sound hole and Elite models with mid-depth bowls. |
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Location: Capital District, NY, USA Minor Outlying Islands | Are the tops made of the same material as the elite models? |
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Location: Wooster, Ohio | How about pricing? Will they be at a premium? |
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Location: The Great Pacific Northwest | Actually if you add a little southern drawl to your voice... "LX" is pronounced "aLeX". I really like it.
That is clever...
mkb |
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Location: NJ | Miles
They know where they can forward my check... |
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Location: 6 String Ranch | aLLLLeXXXX, don't hold yer breath |
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Location: Las Cruces, NM | The aLeX?? Does that mean there is a trap door in the back to hold the Tommy gun? |
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Location: Canton (Detroit), MI | Interesting, I'll be waiting to see and play one of these, although I'm not sure if I'll wait for them before buying my 6-string. I'm also interested to see what the answer to 45flint's question about pricing proves to be. It's gotta be more, just how much?
Roger
1976 Applause AA14-4 6-String
2001 Adamas 1598-MERB Melissa Etheridge 12-String
2003 Celebrity CC01 Spruce Top 6-String |
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Location: SoCal | The LX sounds damned interesting. Scalloped X bracing, a thinner bowl, no Kaman bar. Sounds a lot like my 68 Deluxe Balladeer. If these things ring like my DB, then they are going to be one helluva guitar. OAO, I'd wait for one if I were you. If it even comes close to my DB for sound then you're going to want one.
When Ovations first came out, they had an open light sound, with tremendous clarity (as Glen Campbell said, they sounded "brisk"). In the 70's they got away from that and in the 80's they went to a different sound with the "A" bracing. A much better, more woody sound than the 70's.
But in the last several years, they have been moving back towards the guitars of the 60's, with the inlaid rosette, and now the X bracing, lighter necks, and thinner bowls.
I don't know about the rest of you, but I think that this is a very exciting trend. Pay attention guys. We're seeing something very special here. |
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Location: Fort Worth, Texas | What exactly is "scalloped" bracing. When I think "scalloped" I think of the fancy bridge and head a la the older Adamas'. |
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Location: NJ | scallops are sorta like clams but larger Sometimes they substitute shark meat for them in cheaper restaurants.
A good measure is to look at the scallops and see if they all have the same size then you can generally know they are shark. |
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Location: NJ | more info on the Ovations site today!!!!
http://www.ovationguitars.com/?fa=lxupgrade |
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Location: Lafayette, Louisiana | They have gloss finished necks! YES! YES! These guitars look great. Is there an LX in my future....YES! |
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Location: Fort Worth, Texas | Aw geez, one of my fisherman cousins on the gulf coast told me that the scallops down there are from manta rays
~this was the day after we had some in a local restaurant - actually pretty good :) |
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Location: 6 String Ranch | scalloped braces are made with potatoes, ham, onions and some kind of cream sause and baked for a while in the oven. |
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Location: 6 String Ranch | Actually scallops have the grain running vertically and the ray or whatever has the grain running horizontally. For either one, fry them up and some hot/tarter/cajun sause, don't matter if they're real on not, they're all good. |
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Location: Fort Worth, Texas | Now I'm getting hungry :p
Well, after looking over the official web site, I see a Elite LX in my future!
Will there be 12-string models?
I can hear it now: "But, honey, I need the one with the inlaid epaulets, to go with the one with the center sound hole....." |
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Location: Central Oregon | Frankly Scallop, I don't give a clam.
/\/\/
I do like the new LX though. |
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Location: Wooster, Ohio | I will fully acknowledge that the posters here have far more knowledge and experience than I do. But could it be that the bolt on neck is cheaper to produce and assemble and would creat less warranty problems later on. I don't see many bolt on necks on high end guitars, though I have seen exceptions to this. Just a corporate cynic.
Steve |
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Location: SoCal | Steve, you're points could be very true. You don't see many high end guitars with bolt on necks, but the other way to look at it, is that with a fiberglass body, you've got more opportunities to try different ways of doing things. All wood guitars don't have those kinds of possibilities. Also, the reason all wood guitars (even the high end ones) are all wood, is that they don't try much that's new. Taylor tries new methods of construction, but not too many others. |
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Location: 6 String Ranch | High end guitars with bolt on necks. There's probably more than we know. All the Collings are bolted on. Taylor is as well(not that they're high end). I thought Laravee was but can't confirm that. Goodall maybe?
Bolt ons are easier to install and much easier for service issues down the road. Done properly you can never tell the difference. |
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Location: SoCal | Do the bolts go all the way thru the body? My other question would be how much of the LX was in the works before the OFC and how much was a result of the OFC? If the former, then Ovation was more on track than we thought, and if the latter, then we'd all better go out and buy one to support the effort.
A modern guitar that sounds more like my Deluxe Balladeer... that appeals to me a lot. |
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Location: NJ | At least on source tells me the OFC has nothing to do with anything. |
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Location: Canton (Detroit), MI | Al, that's comforting to know....I think :)
Just a thought I had....often a new feature/version of something is introduced as a premium extra-cost option....when it is actually intended in long-term corporate strategy to be the common version of it in the long run anyway, replacing the older, less-cost-effective, lower-performance (and possibly obsolete) version that had been sold.
This has the advantage of generating some additional income to offset the R & D, plus any possible "oops" in a new model that might cause unforeseen warranty can be limited and the problems fixed before going across the whole line.
It's possible that the LX option is intended to be the "next-generation" of the U.S. Ovation models and will become standard in the next year or two or three anyway. This should definitely NOT prevent you from lining up and buying one now if this is what you want. Just don't be surprised if it becomes "standard" within 2-3 years.
As for myself, I'm lusting after that "New England Burst" Standard Elite.....
Roger
1976 Applause AA14-4 6-String
2001 Adamas 1598-MERB Melissa Etheridge 12-String
2003 Celebrity CC01 Spruce Top 6-String |
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Location: 6 String Ranch | Go for the Tamali-burst. |
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Location: Madison, Wisconsin | Maybe I pick up on these things because I'm such a horrible speller myself but, I wonder if anyone at Ovation knows about the typos. I just read thru the info and found "Plus in an LX and....." as well as the "-Bound rosewood ringerboard". |
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Location: The Great Pacific Northwest | they do now
In looking at the LX series, the only thing I am not sure about are the inlay epulets. I like the theory. Obviously something that is part of the top is going to be better than something glues onto the top. Also, the laser technology that does this process is amazing. However, it's almost too good and I wonder if this will lead to yet another Ovation myth on some level. When the 2003 Collectors was intruduced at NAMM, I (and several other people walking by) admittedly NOT knowledgeable, thought they were a decal. They look soo perfect, unless you already know how it's made, when you see it "inlay" is the last thing you , or at least I thought of. By Ovation myth, a few that come to mind are the bowl being made of plastic, the "carved headstock detail" on the Adamas being wood, the UKII being wood, the top is warped (seeing brace pattern). All of the above and more are proliferated by the nay-sayers. Actually another comment I heard that I believe was about the 2003 Collectors was "hey look, the bridge is already pulling on the top." The 2003 (again I think that is the model) has a slight arch in the top.
Anyway, other than a question of how they epulets look from a marketing aspect, I like EVERYTHING about this LX system. If this system was applied to the new Adamas slothead, I think I would have to buy one, even with inlayed epulets :) . I love the idea of revisitng the tried and true with modern technology. That is the essence of being a Connecticut Yankee.
Cudos to Ovation and best wishes and hopes in 2004 at reminding the industry that the little factory in Connecticut is still a major force to be reckoned with. |
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Location: SoCal | Ok, my question regarding the LX series has to do with the difference in sound. Does the Elite sound significantly different than the Legend? And what would the differences be.
If I could ever figure out a way to afford it, I'd get the Legend, in natural, but have Ovation put on the older Legend inlays. Now that would appeal to me. And as long as I'm screwing around with it, I'd have them carve a 5 point bridge for it. That way, I'd get the older sound, the older look, but in a fully modern guitar.
Makes me wish I was a professional musician so I could justify it to my wife. |
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Location: Scotland | Miles, the eppaulette thing is a really good point. There was a lot of bitching about the Ovation overlaid rosette as an indicaticaton that the guitars were cheap and mass-produced. But the fact is it's far easier to rout a circular slot, bung in some purfling and sand it flush, than to make an Ovation rosette. I'll take bets now that we see reveiws and/or newsgroup postings that the inlaid epaulettes are decals. Ovation remains a maverick and many, including those in the know, but especially the traditionalists, always presume the worst. |
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Location: Phoenix AZ | In Ovations old literature when they introduced the stick on raised rosette they said it served the same function as a pick guard. Of course that's a lot of bull shit, but I think they were trying to de-fuse some of the flack they took for being a guitar sans-pickguard. Dave |
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Location: SoCal | Somebody, in writing about the LX series said that they had a gloss finish on the necks. I haven't seen that anywhere. Can the person who posted that clarify the comment? |
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Location: Scotland | according to the website the Elite & Legend have gloss necks, the Balladeer and Elite Standard necks have a satin finish.
Dave I don't think it was the lack of pickguard which was the issue, but the fact that the rosettes were "stuck on" which appears to reqiure less craftsmanship than an inlaid rosette |
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Location: Australia | Just on the inlayed epaulets.
I remember back when I was selling Takamine (who are experts at laser inlay work) dealers would often ask me if that inlayed lizard, dolphin etc was a really an inlay and not just a decal.
I'm sure the guys at Ovation will be asked the same question. |
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Location: SoCal | Doesn't make any difference. It's how they sound that's important. |
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Location: Phoenix AZ | Paul, you are all screwed up. Nobody cares how they sound as long as they look good. How many of us picked our wifes/girlfriends/partners because of their voices? Dave
PS - Why does my post say "6:50 AM" when it's 5:50 AM in Arizona. I suspect that the server is in the central time zone. But Paul, that means your last post was at 4:43 AM Pacific time. What's going on, man. Can't sleep because you're busy thinking about your new LX Paul Moody Custom ??? |
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Location: Capital District, NY, USA Minor Outlying Islands | True story. I was dating this girl. We went to see this saxophonist, as I recall he was a member of the world saxophone quartet .. anyway, I can remember raving about him, and she was studying him, and studying him, and I asked what do you think? and she said, "he'd have to play that saxophone all the time, because he's so ugly, I'd kick him out of bed the moment he stops!" |
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Location: SoCal | I got my issue of Acoustic Guitar yesterday and read the review of the Legend LX. In the section on the guitar they spoke quite highly of it, but at the end where recommendations were made, it was nowhere to be found.
Not tradional enough in it's sound or just a prejudice against Ovations? |
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Location: On the beach in Southwest Florida | When will they be available for purchase? |
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LX series specs