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Posts: 266
Location: Tampa, Florida | When, where, how? Are these on the street yet? I am real interested in one. For a guitar magazine to give an Ovation that rave of a rewiew says a lot about the guitar. The Adamas site has no info at all. They should be pushing this bad boy! |
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Posts: 4619
Location: SoCal | Ovation Adamas Slot Head
Ovation has always produced a special breed of acoustic guitars, and the U.S.-made Adamas Slot Head ($2,200 retail, case included) is a 12-fret maverick that features a woven carbon-fiber top adorned with gold speckles—a cosmetic touch that makes this already earthy-looking guitar appear a bit like it’s covered with sand. Mother-of-pearl inlays grace the mahogany neck’s ebony fretboard, and the gold Schaller tuners fitted to the open headstock have nicely contrasting ebony buttons.
Pros Beautiful. Durable. Loud.
Cons A bit boomy on the low end.
Contact (860) 509-8888; ovationguitars.com.
While Ovation is synonymous with acoustic-electric guitars, the Slot Head is strictly acoustic. In fact, it’s the only non-electric model in the line. That hardly matters, though, as tone explodes out of the Slot Head’s 22 soundholes. The Slot’s low end is also dramatically extended—strumming an open E chord yields such a deep-bodied tone, it’s as if a bass-boost button were activated. The Slot Head represents the pinnacle of Ovation’s acoustic guitar-making technology, and its deep-bowl body, “quintad”-style spruce bracing, and uncommon soundholes project tones with impressive volume and girth.
—Jimmy Leslie
http://www.guitarplayer.com/archive/1203/1203_BenchTests9.htm |
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Posts: 15677
Location: SoCal | Thanks for the head up from Guitar Player, Tony. This review and the one from Guitar World have been really positive. Have you noticed tho', that there's no word of this guitar on the Ovation website? |
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Posts: 6202
Location: Phoenix AZ | I checked Milano's Music in Mesa, AZ and they knew about the Adamas Slothead but did not have one in stock (nor did they have any on order). They could special order one but said they would have to check with their dealer rep to find the price and availability. They did have the Glen Campbell Legend re-issue on display. It played and sounded very nice and compares very well to other similarly priced instruments in my opinion. Basically it reminded me of my deep bowl 1117 Legend. I think it should sell pretty well. Dave |
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Posts: 15677
Location: SoCal | My guess is that Ovation will put this guitar out at the January NAMM show and will take orders then.
"Glen Campbell Legend"? Deep bowl or shallow? |
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Posts: 4619
Location: SoCal | After Paul's comment about the Ovation site, had to go out and see for myself. Nope. Sure a lot about Project Q...don't know about the soundhole design. You'd think there would be some press releases about the new slothead if reviews were being written and photos published. |
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January 2003
Posts: 105
Location: San Francisco, CA | $2200 retail for this new Adamas is quite "cheap" compared with other models, e.g.
$2420 CVT W597
$2140 SMT 1597
$2160 Glen Campbell Re-issue |
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Posts: 4619
Location: SoCal | wonder how many of the slothead they will make...don't expect the normal internet discounting...at least at first. |
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Posts: 3005
Location: Las Cruces, NM | Damn, Damn, Damn
An acoustic guitar that costs over $2000, and one that I might be interested in, but is there a chance of a snowball in hell I will ever get to pick one up and play it before I slap down two grand, and should I spend two grand on a guitar I have never seen or played? |
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Location: NJ | I am not so sure that guitar is scheduled for production but who knows I have been wrong before. |
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Posts: 14842
Location: NJ | ". . .$2200 retail for this new Adamas is quite "cheap" compared with other models. . ."
Keep in mind that this is a strictly ACOUSTIC (no electronics) model.
It'll be interesting to see if ACOUSTIC GUITAR Magazine registers a positive review. The other two mags (to me, anyway) always seemed to be geared more to the electric player and looked upon acoustics as the "other" guitar, and it seems that you always saw Ovation ads in them as playing into the whole "electric player's acoustic" mindset. AG always seemed to portray themselves as staunch "purists" and always seemed to look down their collective guitar necks at the "round, plastic guitars". A positive review from them would be major coup and a "jewel" in the Triple Crown of reviews. |
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Posts: 15677
Location: SoCal | It would be a piece of cake to put a pickup in this guitar. I'm not even certain that I'd want more than a volume control on it.
And you're right, $2200 is cheap. Unlike the Folklore Deluxe which was a great guitar that should have sold for about $1400, this guitar looks like (and I gotta play my 3 chords on it to really know) it's going to complete with high end guitars.
It's gonna be interesing. And from what's been implied here on this board, this is the tip of the iceberg as to what's coming down the pike. |
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Posts: 266
Location: Tampa, Florida | I emailed Ovation. Its due out late Jan 2004. |
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Location: Lafayette, Louisiana | Don't you guys think Ovation will offer an acoutic/electric version of this Adamas? Both options would be nice. |
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November 2002
Posts: 266
Location: Tampa, Florida | Originally posted by cliff:
It'll be interesting to see if ACOUSTIC GUITAR Magazine registers a positive review. The other two mags (to me, anyway) always seemed to be geared more to the electric player and looked upon acoustics as the "other" guitar, and it seems that you always saw Ovation ads in them as playing into the whole "electric player's acoustic" mindset. AG always seemed to portray themselves as staunch "purists" and always seemed to look down their collective guitar necks at the "round, plastic guitars". A positive review from them would be major coup and a "jewel" in the Triple Crown of reviews.
Teja Gerkin seems to be a big fan of Adamas guitars, so expect a positive review
http://www.acguitar.com/Gear/Reviews/Adamas.shtml |
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Posts: 4619
Location: SoCal | Would sure beat an after-market p/u.
Of course what they should do is offer OFC members an ability to pre-order with an appropriate discount for their long-time fans. |
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December 2001
Posts: 10583
Location: NJ | Originally posted by zchord:
I emailed Ovation. Its due out late Jan 2004.
funny the people I spoke to on the phone today could give me no positive date of production or if it were actually going to happen. |
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Posts: 5750
Location: Scotland | I agree that an electro version of this guitar is a nice idea, but the reason Ovation have sent an acoustic-only version out to the guitar press could well be a deliberate attempt to drive home something that the true believers have always known, which is the fact that Ovation are capable of making great acoustic guitars. The vast majority of the output of Collings, Goodall, Bourgois, Santa Cruz, and even Martin are acoustic-only & they sell plenty without their customers, or for that matter reveiwers, bitching that they don't have pickups. |
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Location: Las Cruces, NM | Hell yes
That's why they make $4000 acoustic mikes. |
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Posts: 651
Location: Australia | I think it's Ovation masterstroke to (at least initially) release this guitar strictly as an acoustic.
For far too long Ovation has only pushed the "Plug it in" barrow, I mean everyone already knows O's sound great plugged.
Good to see them returning their original goal
"Build a better ACOUSTIC guitar" |
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August 2003
Posts: 396
| Originally posted by richardd:
I think it's Ovation masterstroke to (at least initially) release this guitar strictly as an acoustic.
For far too long Ovation has only pushed the "Plug it in" barrow, I mean everyone already knows O's sound great plugged.
Good to see them returning their original goal
"Build a better ACOUSTIC guitar"
I'm not sure I'd call it a masterstroke. Currently we all hear about a new line of ovations. Now, we hear about a new line of Adamas coming out. In both cases, there are no real specifics except for the Adamas reviews in the 2 magazines. There are no expected date of arrivals, orders, models, or really much of anything else. Someone like myself, in the market for something new, is really getting hesitant to buy an ovation/adamas product right now because I'd hate to spend 1400-1500, only to see new top-quality products coming out in 3 months. This advanced press thing, with no specifics, could be a bad marketing ploy over the next several months. Bad marketing around the Xmas buying season can be deadly. |
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Location: Phoenix AZ | I agree with Paul that sending out an acoustic only version of this guitar for review by the press was no accident. Force them to LISTEN and REPORT what they hear. I think it's worked wonderfully as a "teaser". But now comes the hard part for the marketing arm of Kaman. How to place the product (acoustic or A/E) to compete in the proper context for the buying public. And to do it without conflicting with other Kaman products or marketing objectives. I deal with this every day in my other life (outside this board) and it is not trivial. If you make a poor product introduction or placement it may often times be impossible to recover and good products die because of this. Dave |
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Posts: 15677
Location: SoCal | The two reviews we saw, I suspect, are teasers, to start getting people interested to come around and look at the guitar at the NAMM show. Don't worry if we're not seeing a lot on it yet. I suspect that the serious marketing will hit in late January, when the guitar becomes available to the public.
I think Temp's observation and those following were extremely astute. Ovation wants people to look at this guitar on it's acoustic merits. While I am sure that Ovation has had this input from other sources, be gratified that management has listened to those of us on this board who have hollered for Ovation to get back to making a promoting a great acoustic guitar. Not just one that has to be plugged in to play out. |
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Posts: 14842
Location: NJ | Speaking of "reviews":
I just got the latest Musician's Friend in the mail and directly across from the page with the Ovations on it was a FULL PAGE Product Review of the Balladeer!
Granted, this is just a glorified "sales pitch" on the part of MF, but at least it DID tout the facts that despite "popular belief" Ovations are not "cranked out on machines", are produced by "amazingly skilled luthiers" AND are "exceptional ACOUSTIC guitars for the money"!
No doubt this was a way to somewhat "educate" Holiday-shopping parents on good, entry-level guitars. Well done. |
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October 2002
Posts: 8
| Just a comment on AG's reviews of Ovations. I own an SMT because of a favorable review of it given by AG several years ago. It's just an unbelievable guitar and I love to jam blues to CD's with it. What fun I've had with it. |
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Posts: 396
| Secondroy, I have a silmilar story. I had played the less expensive foreign made Ovations and thought the acoustic/unplugged sound was kinda ugly. I had given up on Ovation, but hadn't played an American made model. I read a review of the 1861 Balladeer in an Acoustic guitar archive review for "13 acoustic electrics under $1000" (or something like that). It had a very positive review. I checked it out and I judged it to be the best a/e value in tis price range, and I also discovered the difference in Ovation models that I didn't know about previously. |
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Location: Las Cruces, NM | I believe an outstanding acoustic guitar is what every player wants for his/hers personal guitar that is played when the muse strikes and for personal satisfaction rather than on stage. It is especially gratifying if the guitar is professional quality that will stand up to playing on stage if that is required. I have my own personal acoustic that I have played for nearly 30 years and it is the only guitar I could not replace and would miss like my wife or dog if I lost it. |
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New 12 fret Adamas slothead