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Joined:
September 2008
Posts: 4
| Greetings --
I play 90% electric, but I'm looking to pick up an electric-acoustic to practice with and for unplugged rehearsals. The Celebrity series fits my budget. One of my most important criteria is a v- or u-shape neck profile with a width that doesn't exceed 1 11/16". I'm trying to get close to the v-neck on my Baja Tele and 50's RI Strat or, preferably, the U-profile on my 1969 Strat.
I'm going to try and get out to try some Ovations and Takamines this weekend, but, in advance of that, I'm wondering if the following quote from the Ovation website is accurate in practice:
"A bound rosewood fingerboard and a slim 'U' shaped neck make the Celebrity Deluxe one of the easiest-playing guitars in the business."
Any experienced opinions would be appreciated. Thanks in advance.
SB69
Louisville, KY |
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Joined:
December 2003
Posts: 13987
Location: Upper Left USA | Welcome!
Skip the Celebs and pick up a USA made unit.
Like the 1778T I have on Ebay :rolleyes: |
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Joined:
March 2002
Posts: 14842
Location: NJ | Agreed.
Get a USA model (even if it's used).
an'Welcome! |
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Joined:
August 2002
Posts: 8307
Location: Tennessee | Welcome stratboy and greetings from a fellow strat owner. The hype is totally true ... if you are an electric player, Ovations are the guitar that you'll feel real comfortable with.
If you don't go for Woody's T, I'd say buy one of the blowout 2007 Collectors models. Even if you have to eat mac and cheese for a month or two. I'm an electric player at heart and I got one of these and it is just the ticket. Al at Lost Art Vintage has a couple of these left. See the post in the For Sale section. You won't go wrong. Seriously.
If your budget is limited, the guitar to look at is the Ultra 1578-4 (mid bowl/solid spruce top) or Ultra 2178 (Contour). These are around the same price point as the Celebrity and are a whole step up and assembly and QA is done in the US factory. Check 'em out. |
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Joined:
March 2007
Posts: 841
Location: CA | Reason USA guitars are better is that 95% of them have solid tops, thus better tone. Most Celebrities have lamintated tops. Makes it easy to put those pretty quilted top laminates on, but it's basically plywood and does not resonate anything like a solid piece of wood.
Of particular interest to you might be the Elite series, particularly the Elite T guitars, which have very electric-like necks. |
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Joined:
October 2005
Posts: 4044
Location: Utah | Ditto the above advice, get a real Ovation if you possibly can. If you have to go Celebrity, they are fine guitars for the money, but for just a little bit more you will get a much better instrument.
I have an Ovation 6778LX which has a slightly V shape to the neck, and is fairly slim. (It's for sale, too). My 2007 Collectors has a more U shape, slightly beefier than a slim electric neck but not thick by any stretch of the imagination. My daughters' T guitars (1778T and 2078T) both have a slimmer U shape, similar in thickness to the 6778LX but not V shaped.
It's all very confusing, so I think the answer about neck profile might be very dependent on the specific guitar model. But all of our Ovations are much like electric guitar necks in terms of thickness and nut width. Very easy to play.
From the factory, Ovations have a good setup, as good as any other off-the-shelf guitar, but you can make it a great setup easily. You may want to remove a shim under the saddle to lower the action, and the truss rod might need a slight tweak now and again. The nut maybe could use a little lowering.
The advantage of the Celebrity line is that the top is laminate (plywood), so it is durable and you don't have to worry so much about humidity or rapid changes in temperature. For a guitar to knock around your music room and take abuse from careless band mates, you'd be less worried about the Celebrity than an Ovation. If it were me, I'd get an Ovation (probably a used 2078T or 1778T) unless I expected the guitar to get abused. |
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Joined:
September 2008
Posts: 4
| Thanks much for the great info, guys. There are indeed a lot of excellent Ovation alternatives. This is a very knowledgeable and helpful board.
SB69
Louisville, KY
Home of the 2008 Ryder Cup |
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Joined:
April 2004
Posts: 234
Location: Phoenix, AZ | One of the "beautiful" aspects of an Ovation is that the neck plays like an electric compared to most other acoustics. However, since your "50's Strat has a 7.5" radius, you'll never find an acoustic that will be similar. (U.S. Ovations have a 10" or 10.5" radius, I can't remember exactly. Most other acoustics are in the 16" range.) |
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Joined:
May 2003
Posts: 4389
Location: Capital District, NY, USA Minor Outlying Islands | Speaking as a fender fan, welcome. If you like the tele necks, you will adapt quite well to the ovation necks. After getting used to my ovations, I found them to be the smallest neck I'm comfortable with, so I've swapped out my tele's neck for a warmoth pro neck 25.5" scale and 1 11/16 nut width.
Once you go ovation, you don't look back. I'd recommend you try an Elite T 1778, if you can find one. Might want to try ebay. |
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September 2006
Posts: 10777
Location: Keepin' It Weird in Portland, OR | Future 1778T's will be coming from Korea in about a month...
Before I stick my foot in my mouth, I want to say that none of us have played one of these (that I know of) and they my turn-out to be fine instruments like the New Ultra's.
But I think that the price of US-made T's may go up on eBarf, so now might be the time to get one while they are still relatively inexpensive.
So if you have the opportunity, you should go try one if you can find one at you local Music shop.
Compare this at $500
To this
Or better yet... This!
Or you may want something else... Korean T's should cost around $599. |
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January 2006
Posts: 5881
Location: Colorado Rocky Mountains | I love the V neck profile on the EA Vipers. |
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August 2002
Posts: 8307
Location: Tennessee | Ditto, Prof. The V shape on my 2000 is my favorite neck of any guitar I have. And I have too many. The EA68 is is a very close second. |
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Joined:
February 2008
Posts: 38
Location: Hopkinton, MA | Don't buy one without playing it first. That's always my advise with any guitar. Personally, I seem to use different neck profiles for different things. Look at my list of guitars below. Like you, I'm an electric player most of the time. My only full acoustic is the USA Ovation. Although my Guild can work if needed.
I could probably pick up a sample of about every neck profile in existance without leaving my house. :D
jack |
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Joined:
April 2008
Posts: 2985
Location: Sydney, Australia | Originally posted by Jack FFR1846:
Don't buy one without playing it first. That's always my advise with any guitar. That's fine except the nearest one of what I was after is at Povation's house in Thailand. It's sight unseen for me, but I know I'll be happy. |
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Joined:
January 2006
Posts: 403
Location: Thailand | Welcome to my house, The Artist (FKA Richard) |
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Newbie With Neck Profile Questions