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Location: Copenhagen Denmark | It has been mentioned in other threads that Artists have "Abandoned" Ovation`s ,the reasons can be many,but ,could it be that the "Special" Guitar, has/is losing it`s appeal,for maybe,just may be,it`s not "special enough no more " or..perhaps to some it is " Too Special " may be they have forgotten to cater for artists who " need " somthing different, if so,what do You dear fellow members think ,Ovation could do about it,a new model perhaps :confused: hereby I do not mean different woods,for that They do allready, I mean , a new model,something different , Yet retaining the Ovation "thing" The Big Forte of Ovation Guitars ,is that they are unsurpassed when being amplified,so..,we keep the Bowl concept , but otherwise .. Anything Goes :p as many of us know,this board is being " kept an eye on " so come with Your Opinion(s) Speak Out !! Who Knows..this is a another century,another Idea,based on well-established values :) perhaps,together we could make something happen ;) Let the Communication Begin :eek:
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Location: south east Michigan | I'll start.
Ovation was the leader in plugging in an acoustic guitar a long, long time. I think the competition might have passed them up. However, the VIP pre-amp address that issue.
Too bad we are the only ones talking about it.
That's my $.02. |
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Location: South of most, North of few | I think in the begining, Ovation had a great push in the mass marketing system with alot of artists "on the payroll", that is supplying instruments to popular groups to get the name out. Now that they have established their name in the market place, I think they have slacked off a bit on the growth potential, and the loyalists,(cult),(us)are the only ones that appreciate the quality and workmanship in their product. Many people still scoff at the idea of a "plastic" and more traditional wood mix in a guitar, not to mention the swing toward Taylor and other newer brands. Maybe I'm way off on this, as I am relatively new to the whole guitar thing, but amplified, the Ovation still blows away all others IMHO. Anyhow, I think they should concentrate on the slothead look and maybe more carved bridges and headstocks. Stick with the higher end instruments instead of putting efforts into the imports. (sorry, I'm a sucker for a slothead) |
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Location: PDX | I think they ought to develop a hollow body archtop that can compete in the jazz box market. They should look at an O version of the Improv, A small market for sure, but one i am in. You did ask for my opinion. :)
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Location: Earth·SolarSystem·LocalInterstellarCloud·Local Bub |  |
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Location: Boise, Idaho | If you include Adamas in the mix, I'd like to see the OFC guitar. I know it wouldn't be a guitr for the masses, but if the original slothead Adamases went to performers for promotional purposes, maybe getting another really high end Adamas out there would promote Ovation sales up and down the line.
I'm on a blue Adamas kick lately and it's got me thinking about the OFC Guitar. |
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Location: Round Rock, TX | OK,
Forget everything I said about contentment in another thread. I WANT one of THOSE!!! (the picture in Jeff's post)
Dang it, now my beard's all wet from salivating. |
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Location: Round Rock, TX | Except, I want the tail piece (and the bridge and the fretboard) to be ebony. I would also like a hidden neck pickup (a la Taylor T5) - maybe a Dale Armstrong, as well as a VIP/Original Pickup combo, with a blend knob as opposed to a selector switch.
To round it off I would like to have both a shallow bowl model and a countour bowl model.
Hurry, KM, hurry. |
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Location: Minnesota | Ovation is known for being the best for amplified acoustic tones. How about if they built on that history by coming out with a guitar that does acoustic as well as electric tones and competed with the likes of Taylor's T5?
I am very happy with my homebuilt electrics and my shiny new C2078LX. So, this is not something I am personally interested in but it does seem to be the next "big thing" in guitars. |
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Location: Phoenix AZ | 1. Make an Ovation version of the Taylor T5.
2. Get rid of the plastic bowl. It was great, it did it's job, but times and tastes have changed. Only the paranoid survive.
3. Raise the prices. If you want to be considered in the same league as the big boys you need to price yourself accordingly. Someone interested in a $4000. Martin will never settle for a $1500. Ovation. He might be interested in a $4000. Ovation. If you price yourself cheap, you are perceived as cheap.
4. Pay some artists to use Ovation gear. I was told at the last factory tour that Ovation pays NOBODY to use their stuff. Their only endorement deals are free gear. Martin PAYS artists to allow their name to be used on a signature models.
5. Call Celebrity models what they are - Import Celebrities, NOT Ovations. Stop trying to fool people with the looks and the "BOWL MADE IN USA" bullshit. Calling them Ovations just cheapens the name.
Dave |
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Location: Round Rock, TX | I have to disagree on the plastic bowl. It is still kickin' the living daylights out of 99% of the woodies out there, and taking a backseat to nobody in the remaining 1% in terms of sound or playability.
I also disagree on the price thing. Put out some outrageously priced flagship, if you must, but one of Ovation's true advantages is its pricing.
Pay artists? Yeah, OK - whatever.
I absolutely agree on the Celebrity thing. I bought one (CS2000) and almost swore off of Ovations for life. If it hadn't been for me trying an LX out of the blue at a GC, I would never have realized that what I had at home wasn't a "real" Ovation. I would have paid way too much money for a Taylor and been placidly chewing cud with the rest of the herd. Instead, I get to smirk at my friends who Paid 1,000's more and got less. |
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Location: SoCal | Keep the bowl. It's what makes Ovations Ovation. But almost everybody who picks up a roundback in a Guitar Center pick up a Celeb and think that that is all Ovation is. The company has to make a bigger effort to get places like Guitar Centers to put O's, and I mean real O's, not Celebs, down where people can try them. Put an amp by them and encouage people to plug them in.
There has got to be a greater effort to get the real deal in people's hands.
Make the distinction between O's and Celebs. To not do so is just stupid. You taint the whole product line if you don't.
A T5 type guitar? That idea has merit...... |
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Location: Phoenix AZ | Originally posted by moody, p.i.:
Keep the bowl. It's what makes Ovations Ovation... And exactly how's THAT working out in the marketplace, at your local GC, on stage and in studio with top name artists, and in the court of public opinion among the entire guitar buying community (not just us roundback homos here) ???
Where would Mazda be today if all their models still had Wankel engines like they all used to? Sure they were cool, still available on one model if you want it. There's a cult following and some people swear by them. Would Mazda have been smart to stick with all Wankels because damn it that's what we were founded on and we're never going to change?
Dave |
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Location: Upper Left USA | I would like to see Ovation expand marketing of the Custom Shop, which is a better kept secret than Hillarious Clinton's tattoo, and actually advertise the options like Carvin does!
You have no idea how many hours I have spent in "The Study" looking through the Carvin catalog and speculating what the perfect combination of options would be.
And yes, the prices need to increase, except for the Ovation Fan Cult discount. |
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Location: Reno, NV | I would like to see a really good solid body electric again. Maybe another Breadwinner or Deacon but modernized. The 15-30 crowd sway heavily to the electrics. Ovation is missing that entire market. They have the reputation to support them, they just need the product. |
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Location: ranson,wva | if ovation would bring back a solid body line i would be one of the first in line to get a new limited. as far as the roundbacks, id like to see more of the original ovation stuff brought back,carved heads,trcs,bridges,fiberglass bowls..keep the deep bowl alive. i would like to see a ssb, non cutaway,bearclaw or koa top,multi's,adamas stereo preamp.carved slothead,bridge and trc...maybe a production adamas nylon...just my thoughts..call me nuts if you want..ive been called worse..jason |
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Location: Orange County, California | #1 OFC Guitar.
#2 Viper with Humbucker and blendable pre-amp. |
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Location: Round Rock, TX | Abandon the Lyrachord and raise the price, let's see - then you'd have...
a Taylor.
The world already has Taylors (and Martins, Gibsons, Breedloves, Goddalls, etc., etc...). Kaman already makes a wood back guitar with which they do fairly well. I don't know why in the world Kaman would take one of the most unique and distinguishable guitar lines remaining in a sea of "me too" wood boxes and convert it so that it disappears into the noise.
Let's face it, if all the guitar buying public wanted was great sound and playability at an affordable price, stores wouldn't be able to keep O's in stock. Instead, the GBP wants their purchase to be validated by seeing a successful artist playing their model, or at least their brand, on stage.
So, maybe, Ovation could pay some endorsement deals and get the artists playing their gear onstage. On the other hand - why? I know I don't keep up very well, but is Ovation in some kind of trouble that they need to fix what they're doing? |
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Location: Sunshine State, Australia | Originally posted by jpcannon:
Anyhow, I think they should concentrate on the slothead look and maybe more carved bridges and headstocks. I don't know, Jim. I'd hate to see Ovation abandon its distinctive 'V' shaped headstock shape. I don't get the whole slothead thing...and I can't stand the carved bridges and headstocks on the Adamii. I'm not knocking them or saying they're bad, I just don't like them.
To answer the original poster's question - my ideal O would be center hole, understated simple elegance, contour bowl, OP Pro, Engleman spruce... - hey??? I've already got one.
Originally posted by jpcannon:
Stick with the higher end instruments instead of putting efforts into the imports. Couldn't agree more. Celebrities are fancy Applauses, not cheap Ovations. |
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Location: Colorado Rocky Mountains | I don't need anything whatsoever, really don't know what I want, and there are already way more options available from the factory than I can possibly deal with. Nonetheless, I sure enjoy all these new models that have already been announced or are floating around on the rumor circuit. I'm not sure Ovation needs to reintroduce a solid since they already have Hamer which also seems to have a great reputation, at least with this crowd. I continue to learn more about various models and options from this Board than any guitar shop I've ever visited. |
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Location: SoCal | Instead of leaving the bowl for a wood box guitar, I'd like to see Ovation make more of an effort regarding 12 fret slot heads. After playing Jeff W's Custom U681 in New Jersey a few months back, I was just blown away. I don't think Ovation is even close to getting everything out of a roundback that they could.
I played Bill's long/wide neck 2080 and was blown away as well.
I just keep thinking that Ovation is not getting a fair shake from the Guitar Centers. In the stores, nobody can play the high end O's because they are so high up, and the salesmen, while good about bringing them down, aren't pushing them at all.
You know, the other thing to consider, is that Ovation probably makes most of it's profit from the imports. Why push the lines that aren't making money?
This is frustrating..... |
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Location: Utah | My first thought was to bring back the classic solid body electrics, updated with modern pickups and electronics.
Another thing would be to expand the electronics package. Include a compressor, and maybe offer a parametric EQ rather than a graphic EQ.
Outside of the actual guitar, it seems that there is a huge potential in the marketing and merchandising end, which we've discussed before and has already been mentioned. Put Adamas in the high end room at GC. Require GC to change the strings at least once per month on each displayed O. Push celebrity endorsements. |
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Location: Omaha, NE | In the marketplace, people know that Ovation, and only Ovation, makes roundbacks. That's just the way it is. Get rid of the roundback, and you have nothing. I suppose you could put an Ovation headstock on some Taks, but what's the point?
My view is that Ovation needs to continuously move their product up-market. Continuous improvement of everything, along with steady price increases. |
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Location: Chehalis, Washington | The thing about Ovation is as a whole, they offer most of what people are looking for already. Solid body electrics with updated electronics or nice bluesy semi's? Buy a Hamer. Beautiful wood-box guitars with multiple wood combinations and features? Buy a Takamine. I don't forsee Ovation eliminating the bowl, as it truly is a big deal for a lot of us. I love wood body guitars, and at some point will probably custom order a McPherson or Breedlove just because, but I'd never trade out of my roundbacks as a whole because it just works. All the merits of sound, durability, and flat-out power that's hard to beat any other way.
By the way...you want artist endorsements? Check out Hamer's website - featured artists from Rock, Country, Blues, R&B...it's quite a list.
It would be nice to see a better marketing plan to separate Ovation's lines (both import vs US AND Ovation vs wood-boxes) from the competition. I agree that something should be done to "educate" the sales staff at places like GC as to what Ovation is all about. I'm a firm believer that you can't sell it if you don't know the product, and I have yet to talk to one staff member who had a clue about Ovations at all.
I think honestly that the best thing to do is focus on the kind of thing the last 3 collectors have done - simple but striking wood choices, easy configurations, no bright, gaudy finishes, and superior electronics with the contour bowl, all in a package that prices in the middle of the standard range. If people are looking for a nice $2000+ acoustic guitar, they're typically not going to pick up a black cherry burst Elite just because. Give them a natural, vintage natural, or sunburst, and it looks more familiar to them. Purple tribal flames have their place, but not usually with the Taylor/Martin crowd.
I'd like to see Adamas making more of a statement in stores. I have yet to see more than 1 new Adamas in a guitar store in the past 10 years. Only 1! That's pathetic on the marketing end of things, that a potential customer can't even find your product to try. And no, the SMT's don't count in the high-end market. ;) If Adamas does go to strictly custom-order, as they've hinted at, it would be good practice to work on getting each GC and similar store to pick up one or two custom combinations to have on hand - like I said, you can't sell what people don't know about. Start with simple, classic setups, and give people lots of info on all the options and go from there.
I think Jason's right on one thing - when Ovation went away from the carved bridge/TRC type stuff, I lost a lot of interest for a while. Notice my custom order - carved bridge, lots of abalone, etc. It's the little extra touches that make a LOT of difference in the overall appearance and presentation of the instrument, and likewise distinguish them from cheaper import versions. I got compliments for years on my 1869, but it was the OLD-style cherry burst top with the abalone inlay and carved walnut bridge. You just don't see that in Ovation's lineup these days.
Summary:
1. More Adamas exposure on the market. If people want a $4000 guitar, give it to them.
2. Something unique, a la T5 or a re-vamping on the SSB now that the contour has it's niche
3. An acoustic/roundback/jazz guitar. Blend VIP or Studio preamp with humbuckers on a roundback SSB guitar, floating bridge & saddle, possibly with a 12-fret slotted head and cutaway...it could happen.
4. MARKETING!!! The general public will never fully accept the Ovation product if all they see is imports. In fact, a lot of old-school Ovation fans are turned off to the brand they once loved because of the perception of "cheapening" that they have acquired from the internal brand confusion and lack of the fancy touches in new models.
Whew...glad I got that spit out finally...
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| Bring back the Breadwinner Limited. It's the most unique electric solid-body style without going all retro, it's the best of both worlds.
And personally, I never liked playing anything but a USA Ovation/Adamas. I know they say they are competing with the overseas market with the Celebs/Applauses, etc., but depending on overseas manufacturing costs vs. the profit margin argument, I always thought it was a compromise. But, I'm admittedly an old USA Ovation fart, and I'm not trying to tick off the Celeb/Applause/Pinnacle/Tangent/Trekker players. Ovation should also require their dealers to maintain their stock with fresh strings and a little guitar polish every now and then...it ain't rocket science. |
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Location: Phoenix AZ | Originally posted by Omaha:
My view is that Ovation needs to continuously move their product up-market. Continuous improvement of everything, along with steady price increases. I agree. But it's tough to move up-market with the existing product. Look at Cadillac, they keep trying to move up-market but benz and lexus buyers won't give them a sniff.
Ovation had the golden opportunity with the Adamas line. It was premium priced, premium performance and definately could compete with some of the wooden box guitars. But somehow the salesforce or the dealers just didn't seem to know how to sell them. There are a lot of guys on this board who frequent music shops and have NEVER even seen one of Ovations flagship models.
Dave |
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Location: Earth·SolarSystem·LocalInterstellarCloud·Local Bub | Guitar making is at the cusp of having to utilize building resources differently. High quality tone woods are becoming harder to come by and the best of it will be going to small, select buyers, hand builders, boutiques and such-- and not the larger producers. Available tone wood is generally dropping in quality and large scale producers who purchase tone wood will be getting poorer and poorer lots, which will cause more variation in each guitar of the same model. Production woodbox builders already suffer from this syndrome because they build all guitars to one spec and don't tune it to the specific wood used in each guitar. This causes large variation guitar to guitar. That's why so many of the same model Martin or Gibson etc, sound so different. Some sound good, some like crap.
"New" materials, like carbon fiber are going to be used more and new materials developed and as a result, designs are going to change with these "hi tech" materials. This is where Ovation has real promise.
The "plastic" guitar is going to come back to the forefront and Ovation/Adamas should be leading that charge. |
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Location: Chehalis, Washington | I agree with you Jeff (now that's a scary statement :eek: ).
Anyone checked out Rainsong or CA guitars lately? |
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Location: Cicero, NY | There are plenty of music stores in and around Syracuse (I can think of 7 right off the bat within a 20 minute drive) and I'd bet anyone there's not an Adamas in any one of them and hasn't been in at least the last 5 years that I've seen (with the sole exception being a W597 that I saw in one of the stores' online warehouses that I had shipped to the local store).
And that one is sold. |
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Location: Idaho | In reading several posts this past weekend on ovation marketing, one concept stands out to me. Where did the notion of the 'boutique' guitar dealers come from, and why do they tend to avoid Adamas? Why was ovation left out of this market? As most lower lines of any product tend to imitate the high end, is this why the wood boxes are dominant? |
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Location: closely held secret |
It seems like at least 1/2 the comments in this thread are about how Ovation should work on their marketing, they don't seem to get it, ect...
Anyone who has been on the factory tour should realize that Ovation is running at near capacity for the CT plant. What makes anyone think they want to sell more USA guitars than they currently do? Do we really want them trying to produce more than they are, at the expense of quality?
From KMC's viewpoint it would make more sense to produce everything overseas and close the domestic plant.
We've got it great. Out favorite guitars are undervalued, in plentiful supply, almost always produce a pleasing response from someone whose opinion was based on the 'plastic' bowl and are for the most part handmade by some incredible people who love doing what they do. New Ovations and Adamii are still cutting edge, old ones are still high quality beautiful instruments. If you didn't appreciate them you wouldn't be collecting them.
Why the cry for higher prices? I don't hear anyone saying, "Geez, I sure wish Chrysler would get their act together and jack the prices on those PT Cruisers up another 10 grand so they'd get more respect."
I guess I just don't get it. I can custom order an awesome guitar without draining my retirement fund. Why is that a bad thing?
I could care less how poorly they're strung at GC, whether they can be reached or if they're on the wall at all. I think CT is selling as many as they care to produce, and as long as they stay in business they'll continue to improve and innovate.
Paying more for a guitar won't make me like it any more.
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Location: Earth·SolarSystem·LocalInterstellarCloud·Local Bub | Originally posted by edensharvest:
I agree with you Jeff (now that's a scary statement :eek: ).
Anyone checked out Rainsong or CA guitars lately? kuuuuhhhha. . . Welcome to the Dark Side, Andrew. . .kuuuuuhhhaaa  |
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Location: Cicero, NY | To a large degree I agree with you, Waskel, but I would also add that I would love to wander into my local GC or mom/pop shop and see an Adamas or two on the wall (or a Hamer for that matter) to play. What would that do? Almost certainly increase the popularity and, ultimately, sales (IMHO). Would it increase the price? Probably in the long run but that would be the by-product, not the goal. But, if they're comfortable being the boutique guitar, so be it. 'Course that may also end up clashing with JW's more proactive approach, which I don't disagree with either. |
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Location: closely held secret | I agree it would be nice to have some available for browsing, Weas.
But aside from that, I guess my question would be, if Ovation doesn't seem to care about increasing sales/popularity, why should we?
Given that the end results would be higher demand (less availability), higher prices and the guitars we currently own would become more commonplace? ("Gosh, I'm glad I bought a Subaru Outback, nobody has one of these!") |
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Location: Canada | The whole reason I'm interested in Ovations is because everything else out there sounds the same. It's Taylor everywhere. Ovations should sound nothing like that.
The deep bowl is to me the very heart of Ovation's uniqueness.
Here's my suggestions:
1- Give Julian Cope a signature Adamas. He's a very cool and influential artist who has played one for years. His association may not mean as much instant recognition as Melissa Etheridge but I'm sure it would make a positive difference in the long run. Of course I'm a fan. :D
2- Discontinue the value lines. I would say this for any US guitar company. Fender may sell the most guitars on the planet but owning a Fender means nothing anymore.
3- I second the suggestions for reviving some of the hallmarks of old: fibreglas bowls, raised rosettes, etc.
4- Under no circumstances try to emulate anyone else. You started as a renegade, vanguard company, Ovation. Conformity is no way for a rebel to behave. This current fascination with vintage will pass. |
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Location: The Great Pacific Northwest | Originally posted by The Wabbit Formerly Known As Waskel:
It seems like at least 1/2 the comments in this thread are about how Ovation should work on their marketing, they don't seem to get it, ect...
Anyone who has been on the factory tour should realize that Ovation is running at near capacity for the CT plant. What makes anyone think they want to sell more USA guitars than they currently do? Do we really want them trying to produce more than they are, at the expense of quality?
From KMC's viewpoint it would make more sense to produce everything overseas and close the domestic plant.
We've got it great. Out favorite guitars are undervalued, in plentiful supply, almost always produce a pleasing response from someone whose opinion was based on the 'plastic' bowl and are for the most part handmade by some incredible people who love doing what they do. New Ovations and Adamii are still cutting edge, old ones are still high quality beautiful instruments. If you didn't appreciate them you wouldn't be collecting them.
Why the cry for higher prices? I don't hear anyone saying, "Geez, I sure wish Chrysler would get their act together and jack the prices on those PT Cruisers up another 10 grand so they'd get more respect."
I guess I just don't get it. I can custom order an awesome guitar without draining my retirement fund. Why is that a bad thing?
I could care less how poorly they're strung at GC, whether they can be reached or if they're on the wall at all. I think CT is selling as many as they care to produce, and as long as they stay in business they'll continue to improve and innovate.
Paying more for a guitar won't make me like it any more.
Yep, that sums it up. On the large scale, more is not always better. As they say, "better to leave them wanting more" and by the tone of this thread that is EXACTLY what they have been doing, and doing well for a long time.
I do however, believe that at least one super-flagship, high dollar guitar, would help "Image". Not that Ovation has a bad image, but at one time it was artists that got the words out. Now, it's more based on events to get the word out. Just one model, that they probably won't have to make many of, for lets say $10,000 to $15,000 price range, or even higher. The equal to the PRS Dragon and the like. Exotic bindings and inlay, latest technology, hand made, etc etc... Of course it would have to sound good, but people that buy these guitars, buy them for the artistic and ingenuity value as much as the sound, so just as long as it sounded at least as good as an Adamas, it would fine. Why, just to have it in the Catalog. For it to be the guitar to "wish for."
I was at the International Motorcycle Show here over the weekend. Each vendor had One bike that is just for the show. The buzz starter, the eye catcher, the one to dream about that you couldn't afford even if they did build more than one. We all just saw the thread about the Fender "Blackie". Ok, that's based on an "artist" model, but same idea. It's the one to shoot for. It's the one that will cause all those folks that can't afford one, to just buy the equal model of a regular Strat for a fraction of the price.
And here's an example of the "over the top" level I'm talking about. To start with, a mother of pearl w/gold and silver accent likeness of the Factory or even Portrait of Charley Kaman on the headstock. How about the epulets made of cut Garnet the CT state mineral??
Just my 2 cents... |
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Location: NJ | I heartily agree with what a few here have already said:
Y’want a great-sounding, wood-box construction guitar? Buy a Tak.
Y’want a quality-built solid/hollow body electric? Buy a Hamer.
Or, . . just go "elsewhere".
Ovation has been KNOWN (since it’s inception) as a Roundback Guitar. It Works.
I fail t’see how it would be advantageous for Kaman to re-tool, refit, and venture into things they’re not known for, only to compete with themselves.
Let’s face it, the primary reason we’d like t’see Ovation getting more recognition in stores, TV, and on concert stages is because of that “look” that you sometimes get when you mention that you own/play an Ovation to a member of the self-affirmed GuitarCognoscente (like the AGforum crowd).
I’ll admit that I’m as guilty of it as anyone. But when all’s said & done, “f@ck ‘em!”
I ALSO think that with the advent of the ContourBowl, the VIP, and some of the other stuff that Darren&Co. have been coming up with,
they’re steadily making an argument that Ovation is STILL a hefty “contender” (sound-wise) in ACOUSTIC and A/E models . . .
Sorry, but my opinion of a wood-backed Adamas would be that it’s just “stupid”.
I WILL agree that Marketing & A/R need t’get off their collective ARSES and get this stuff (like the Viper) OUT there
and quit cow-towing to the asswipes at GuitarCenter who’s front-line Customer Support consists of a sales force of graduates from Hamburger U.
If KMC provides a major share of their overall inventory, they should do a “Henry” and throw a little weight around about how/where things are displayed and advertised.
We have a word for this:
“click” |
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Location: closely held secret | Ooo, Miles! Cut mineral inlays and epulets!!! The perfect blend of organic and synthetic!
Can you imagine a black Ute with this for inlays?
azurite, malachite, and tenorite 
malachite
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Location: Upper Left USA | Cliff, you were concise, collected and correct. Make that one a double... |
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Location: NJ | ". . Cliff, you were concise, collected and correct . ."
ahhh, sh!t! . . . I must be "slipping"!! . . . |
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Location: The Great Pacific Northwest | Originally posted by MWoody:
Cliff, you were concise, collected and correct. Make that one a double... ditto |
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Location: Upper Left USA | At least you didn't blow up the freak'in Topic with your dyed lapidary specimens! :p
A little turquoise with that 95 Collector would be sweet! |
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Location: Campbell River, British Columbia | What Waskel ranted and Cliff said. It's a great guitar, put on your big girl pants and just take the snide comments from the uninformed. It's just another opportunity to inform the stupi....unfortunate.
And really! You'd like to pay MORE for a guitar? Fine, send me seven grand, I'll ship you the Ovation of your choice. Better? |
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Location: Campbell River, British Columbia | Asked one of the local music shops why he didn't stock Os. A good fellow, supportive of local musicians and events.
A pyrotechnition as a hobbyist, he builds and designs most of the fireworks displays in the area. (so he's not a boring, numbers only, businessman... but he's still all business)
He said he didn't stock Ovations because of:
A- Low market demand.
B- Thin margins.
He'll bring them in for special order, but won't stock them. He has often special ordered stuff for me, and takes an admirably thin profit as the item never sits in inventory. |
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| Did he specify USA Ovations or all Ovations, or did he understand the differences? I've had people listen to me play my Legend and remark how impressed they were with the sound quality, surprised there was a 'USA' model... |
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Location: Campbell River, British Columbia | He knows Ovations. Not like us, but he knows.
;) kinda like Christians discussing Agnostics, wot? |
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Posts: 1900
| I guess were just a bunch of fanatics, plain and simple... :) I've got a running spec sheet on a custom-made longscale O'. I'm always tweeking it here and there. Probably cost me big bucks if I'm ever able to send it to alpep.. |
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Location: Omaha, NE | Here's a simple rule of business: If you are at or near capacity, raise your prices. If you do so, and are still at or near capacity, raise them some more. Keep raising them until you aren't so busy.
Personally, I think Ovation as a brand is underperforming from the perspective of stockholder value. I'd love to spend a couple of years working on fixing that, but who's got the time? |
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Posts: 11039
Location: Earth·SolarSystem·LocalInterstellarCloud·Local Bub | Originally posted by fillhixx:
He knows Ovations. Not like us, but he knows.
;) kinda like Christians discussing Agnostics, wot? :D |
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Location: Upper Left USA | Ahem,
"He knows Ovations. Not like us, but he knows.
kinda like Christians discussing Agnostics, wot?
That would be "like Agnostics discussing Christianity".
There, I feel better now.
Omaha is right btw. |
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Location: Earth·SolarSystem·LocalInterstellarCloud·Local Bub | More like Jews discussing Zoroastrianism |
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Location: closely held secret | Or Virginians discussing consanguinity. |
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Location: Earth·SolarSystem·LocalInterstellarCloud·Local Bub | huh??? |
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Location: closely held secret | Which 'huh?'? Virginian or consanguinity? |
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Location: NJ | Consanguinity:
It's the box that must be "checked-off" by both people on a VA marriage license . . . |
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Location: Earth·SolarSystem·LocalInterstellarCloud·Local Bub | I jus cull'd my brothah t'ask his betroth'd whud thad meens... an my sistah seeays id'a meean we's relahtive. |
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Location: closely held secret | So in VA, if your brother divorces his wife, is she still your cousin? |
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Location: Earth·SolarSystem·LocalInterstellarCloud·Local Bub | 'corse she'be, w'ain't no cath'lics |
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Location: Copenhagen Denmark | Amusing ,I must say,and very interesting that many( most ) blame the P R department,nice idea`s for esthetics too,a 100.000 dollar Martin can be had,it`s all Abalone ,back to fro,so why not an Ovation,..but it seems to me as if I were n `t able to explain the question right..I will try to do better in another thread...might take a while though,but I do thank You All for your Input and I`m sure that it caused some people who are in a " certain position" to have taken some notes,.. ;)
:cool:
Vic |
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Location: Chehalis, Washington | It's interesting to see how much the opinion of the "fanatics" may vary from the "uninformed" buyers out there. We feel a certain way, but we all know the quality and value in the USA O's.
I think it's primarily for selfish reasons that most of us would like to see some upper-end Ovation products in our local stores, even though we probably wouldn't buy them. Most of us will just pick out what we want and call our favorite dealer and order it from them, but the ability to walk into a guitar store and pick up a dozen different guitars to try is too good for most of us to pass up.
Let's face it - GC doesn't carry a nice Ovation selection. However, even with what they do have, how many of us here have actually bought one from a GC store? How many of us bought our guitars from online dealers or off ebay? I think that the numbers show why the GC stores don't carry too many Adamas and LX models. |
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Location: closely held secret | I've bought a Celeb and 2 6778LX's from GC. Course I used Guitar Trader ads to get the price down... |
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Location: Boise, Idaho | I've bought 2 Ovations from GC in the last year. Both used and I bought a bunch of other ones before I finally got something from them. |
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Posts: 138
Location: Birmingham, AL | It's sad that everybody has switched to the old payola to get people to play their instruments. But I guess that's the reality of it now. The guitar may be crap , but we'll pay off someone to use it so someone else will be disappointed when they get one of their own. I know, I've bought some Gibsons recently and promptly sold them. As far as abandoning the roundback, forget it. It is Ovation, after all. I think the LX series is going in the right direction, but I think they need to go back to the deep bowl, because you get the fullest sound and I think it would compliment the newest top and bracing design. I have some old 70's and early 80's Ovations, and for some reason they play a whole lot better than the new ones I have tried out in the local music stores. I tried many models, and wasn't especially impressed. I was really disappointed in the Legend LX. The neck felt clubby and the action was horrible, it was pretty close to more traditional acoustic instrument factory setups, which wasn't the case when I got mine. It did sound nice, though. I haven't done anything to mine in 30 years except a couple of truss rod adjustments. It seems like the old addage "they don't make them like they used to" applies here. Maybe that's why the interest in new Ovations have been lukewarm. Just my two cents...... |
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Location: The Great Pacific Northwest | Keep in mind, that I know in many cases (I asked) that GC and other Guitar stores DO INDEED get USA Ovations. According to one dealer who I accused of NEVER having any, told me he gets at least one a month, but usually a few each month. They almost never actually make it to the wall because they are immediately sold.
I'm not sure there is a reasonable way around this other than for dealers to order "display only" guitars, but then again... what's the point. |
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Posts: 1900
| Today's new guitar market is saturated it seems, regardless of the model. Boutique guitars are the way to go now. If I were to ever spend big bucks on an instrument again, I'll just have Ovation USA make me one and buy it from alpep... |
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Posts: 1320
Location: Round Rock, TX | Reading these posts I feel preety darn blessed by the GC here in Austin. While they don't normally have any Adamii, they do have a good selection of the LX line, including the contour bowl models. They're fairly easy to get to, even the 06 Collectors. They're always real helpful to me and always work with me on the price, especially Doug Steiger in the acoustic room. That, however, is almost certainly due to the fact that I have spent big bucks (to me anyway) in their store. I buy guitars from friends and off eBay, mostly I buy used, but I do buy from my local stores at least 1/2 the time. Otherwise I soon won't have a local store. Besides, now I know Doug and go hear him when he plays at a local establishment (he plays Taylors) and I've met other people and get to do the whole network thing.
If you only use your local stores and don't support 'em, don't be surprised if all you get is used back. |
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September 2006
Posts: 143
Location: Shotley Bridge, Northern England | I've read all 5 pages so far, and agree with Waskel, Oster and Tup:
1 The Celeb brand needs to be labelled as such; they're not bad guitars (runs for cover...), but they aren't of the same quality as the USA made guitars
2 USA made Ovations are priced under the market.
3 Enjoy this (rare) anomaly in todays world :)
4 Don't lose the bowl; it defines the product: simple
My dream O? AAA sitka or Englemann top, ebony board, abalone inlays and Elite soundholes. Deep bowl too.
Getting there...
HW |
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Location: Boise, Idaho | Sounds like you need to look for an 87 Collector's. No abalone inlays, but nice abalone trim around the body. |
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Location: SoCal | Mark, go take a look at your 87C. There's not only abalone around the body, but also up and down the neck. And the inlays are done in abalone as well. |
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Location: Chehalis, Washington | Yup...and Mark, remember barely beating me to that one as well while you're at it. ;)
It's definitely one of the most striking of the Collectors. I put that one with the 5858ASW Limited Elite for overall looks. |
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How/What would you like a new Ovation Guitar to be/Have