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Joined:
July 2002
Posts: 288
Location: Maine | Thanks to all for all your questions. sorry for the long delay in responding... I've been away to Michigan since Sun with work.
I forgot who asked but the Acoutics Guitar mag w/ the topic D45 on the cover was Jan. 1996. It also was accidentally pictured in the back page of the May 2000 issue of AG. They speak of a '42 D45 and a guitar w/ an appropriate SN, but the picture is wrong. Its the same D45 my father used to own. the eagle eyes of Richard (aka."Rick" or "Rich") Starkey (many of you know him from Ovation I'm sure) spotted it and called me to confirm. The pickguard is a sure giveaway, as well as a scratch that was added by my older sister throwing a hair-brush as a child. As you can tell this guitar was always "out" and ready to be picked up and played.
Gizz, you're right... it is "I don't won't want your Mandolin Mister". on "Tone Poems" Track 9 that Tony Rice played the guitar. your web Picture is wrong. :-(
cwk2. do you know the reason for the enlarged soundhole in T.Rice's (formerly C.Whites guitar. Was it something C.White did intentionally? I recall reading a T.Rice interview in some guitar rag a while back, but the details escape me now. just curious. ... Talbot
PS..so how does this fit in the OFC? Many people asked about it and .... I kid you not.. This guitar was the basis for my fathers efforts to work w/ all the engineers at Ovation to understand and build better guitars. It literally inspired his whole career in the music industry. Ironically.. When he had the guitar repaired at Martin... someone there asked if they could measure some things on it, 'cause they really didnt have a good idea how the "used to make them" . Intersting I thought. |
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May 2002
Posts: 651
Location: Australia | TJR,
Thank you for your informative posts, I find them very interesting.
In Walter Carter's book he talks about how your father's D-45 was used as a benchmark to judge the tone of the new Ovation guitars and my question is:
Do you know if Ovation ever felt they achieved the goal of getting their instruments near the tone of the D-45 ?
Thanks. |
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February 2002
Posts: 5750
Location: Scotland | The soundhole was enlarged before Clarence White aquired the guitar. I would guess it may have been done by a former owner in an attempt to hide pick-wear on the soundhole edge. There's a lot of voodoo attached to this instrument, it would be a killer example of a D28 in the first place & it's sound has little to do with the fact that the soundhole is bigger. A soundhole is merely a tuning port which influences the resonant frequency of the soundbox and increasing a standard soundhole diameter by a few mm will make a very subtle difference.
Paul |
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Joined:
March 2002
Posts: 14842
Location: NJ | The "secret" to it's sound probably lies in the fact that the guitar's lived a long, hard life and has had the shit beat out it (and into it) many, many times.
Kind of a "y'gotta suffah if y'wanna sing d'blues" thing.
[ August 01, 2002: Message edited by: cliff d. ] |
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Joined:
January 2002
Posts: 14127
Location: 6 String Ranch | Tal,
Don't know why the hole was enlarged. Paul may have the reason.
How all this fits into the OFC? it just does cause it's interesting and we feel like talking about it. Al slapps us when we get too far out of line.
To Richardd's question if it was ever equaled, that takes us back to the ice cream question.
Cliff has it right, the well used gitters always sound better than the 40 year old untouched jem.
To add a further comment on why it can happen HERE (little joke for Al)
The most important thing is the music. Since leaving KMC in 98 I've come to realize that. The priority used to be Instrument, Musician, Music. Logical since we were in the instrument biz and if we didn't get it someone else did. While some here may agree with that viewpoint it is a little narrow. Now it is more Music, Musician, Instrument. Not everyone plays Ovation but by appreciating all good music we all improve.
[ August 02, 2002: Message edited by: cwk2 ] |
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May 2002
Posts: 3005
Location: Las Cruces, NM | cwktwo
You have seen the light, we play SONGS and we entertain, the instruments are what we use to play the songs, the instrument maker has to have some close feeling with the musicians, it has to sound good. Looking good is fine for kids and collectors, but a musician will always know what sounds good and is reliable. The musician's instrument is like the truck driver's truck, it has to get him where he is headed, with no problems, a good truck will run a million miles, a good guitar will play 30 years and get better every year. A good company will be there at the 30 year mark to help fix the guitar if it breaks.
Bailey |
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Jim Rickard's former Martin D-45