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Location: Canton (Detroit), MI | Something to ruin your weekend (it did mine).....
http://www.musicgearreview.com/article-display/1897.html
She plays Ovations for over 15 years on stage....Martins part-time for 5(switching off with her Takamine)....oh-kay......
Roger |
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Location: 6 String Ranch | Just wait for the CWK2 signature Martin. Then you'll know that they've lost it down in Pa. |
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Location: NJ | martin will even make a sig model for me..... |
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Location: Phoenix AZ | Nancy has played Martins behind the scenes since way back. Much of the early recordings were done using a Martin. On stage she used Ovation for obvious reason. The HD-35 looks like a nice one. Why do people get pissed off at Martin for having obviously good marketing schemes and advertising. I say good for them. Kaman chooses to do it differently. If you want to be pissed off at them, fine. But it looks to me like they sell every Ovation that they could possibly make. Dave |
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Location: SE Michigan | So what's stopping Ovation from making artist signature series guitars? Seems like Martin is doing something right. |
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Location: NJ | T'do that, you'd need . . . .
. . . oh, I dunno . . . . . . "artists"?? |
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Location: 6 String Ranch | lots of 'em...
and not be afraid to pay royalties... |
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Location: Campbell River, British Columbia | Y'mean that clip I saw of a former Backstreet Boy stumming an O in his promotional vidio for the solo career....doesn't count? |
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Location: Phoenix AZ | Originally posted by cwk2:
and not be afraid to pay royalties... Did I hear correct at the tour Q&A that Rick said that Ovation has NEVER had a paid endorsee and NOBODY is under any kind of a contract? They give guitars to artits to play in public, but these artits are not actually obligated to do so. This sounds insane to me. For christs sake pick SOMEBODY and lock them up in a contract. Can you IMAGINE if Paul Simon, Dave Matthews and Paul McCartney still played Ovation and had signature models?
Dave |
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Location: cincinnati, ohio | Ironically, I came across an Ovation catalog circa 1973 the other day. The title on the cover was "The Guitar of the Stars." The front and back covers (and the inside front and back covers) were festooned with snapshot sized pictures of numerous artists, some very famous and some not-so-famous (incidentally, Heart was NOT among them).
What's the deal with the lack of Ovation endorsees? Is it Ovation's fault-- lack of pursuit? Or does the music community as a whole suffer from wooden guitar snobbery? Kaki King is nice, but Ovation needs someone the caliber of an Eric Clapton.
Or a Nancy Wilson..... |
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Location: SoCal | I've been in this discussion too many times....... |
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Location: Canton (Detroit), MI | Heart wasn't famous in 1973....."Crazy On You" hit big the summer of 1976....that is why they aren't in the '73 catalog.
My gripe with the Nancy Wilson signature is that she isn't known for playing Martin....even now, most of the time onstage, she plays her trusty Takamine.
I'll see her in concert July 17th, and see if that continues to be true.
cwk2 is right....Ovations (and Takamines) would probably be considerably more expensive if KMC paid royalties for signature models.
HOWEVER....I saw Rory Block in concert a couple of weeks ago. She stated that the royalties from her signature Martin guitars (all 47 of them) went to charity.....and it sounded like a standard deal (the artists gain for tax purposes?).
Roger |
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Location: cincinnati, ohio | "Heart wasn't famous in 1973....."Crazy On You" hit big the summer of 1976....that is why they aren't in the '73 catalog." Quote from Old Applause Owner
Duh! I should know that. That's what happens when you get old..... |
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Location: Boise, Idaho | Originally posted by Tupperware:
Nancy has played Martins behind the scenes since way back. Much of the early recordings were done using a Martin. On stage she used Ovation for obvious reason. The HD-35 looks like a nice one. Why do people get pissed off at Martin for having obviously good marketing schemes and advertising. I say good for them. Kaman chooses to do it differently. If you want to be pissed off at them, fine. But it looks to me like they sell every Ovation that they could possibly make. Dave I have to agree with Dave again. If you sell to your capacity, you don't tend to try to advertise to sell more. Marketing people tell us that you should be selling even when you have more work than you need, but most don't do that. |
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Location: Cherry Hill, NJ | Have you ever thought that at this point in her career, she may be too old to play above the 5th fret. |
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Location: GATLINBURG TENNESSEE :) | Personally, I could care less for what Nancy or any other "star" is playing. When people play guitars because they're receiving royalties for it, that tells me the guitar doesn't stand on it's own merits. A wise person should be purchasing a perticular instrument because it sounds and plays great, and it offers the best value for the money. That's why I'll choose Ovations every time! |
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Location: Canton (Detroit), MI | I personally like "signature" guitars if the artist actually USES the model, plus they sign the label. I have an Adamas Melissa Etheridge 12-string, and both points apply to that model.
Yes, it should SOUND good....otherwise, you're just collecting guitars to sit in the case or hang on the wall.
Nancy too old to play above the 5th fret????? I DON'T THINK SO......she plays solid-body electric a good bit of the time in concert, going between a Fender Tele and a Gibby Les Paul Studio. She isn't the lead player, though, she usually plays rhythm guitar, and they hire a lead player.
She worked with Gibson on the new Epiphone Les Paul Ultra model....slim neck for small hands, and lightweight chambered body....a super package. THAT guitar would make far more sense as a signature model than the Martin, IMHO. Unfortunately, that would put the price of the guitar out of the $500 price point Gibson sells it at.
Roger |
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Location: Central Florida | Originally posted by rick endres:
What's the deal with the lack of Ovation endorsees? Is it Ovation's fault-- lack of pursuit? Or does the music community as a whole suffer from wooden guitar snobbery? Rick, I think your second suggestion is probably closest to the truth.
The problem, as I see it, is most players today just consider Ovations passe, plain and simple. I'm not agreeing with them or saying they're right; nor am I trying to over simplify the matter, but I believe that's really it in a nutshell.
A lot of the musicians I talk to consider Ovations the "leisure suit" of the guitar world. You know, fashionable at one time and everybody had to have (at least) one, but now wouldn't be caught dead with it. Again, not my opinion by a long shot, but that seems to be the general perception of Ovations these days in the view of a lot of players.
Is that Ovation's fault? I dunno. Maybe to a degree.
Beginning in the early 70s, Ovation shifted their focus away from using modern technology to build better acoustic guitars, to putting all their energies and resources into making great stage guitars. The result was increased sales and near saturation level visibility. Suddenly, Ovations were everywhere! But, within a decade or so, as other guitar makers caught up with the technology and began offering pick up systems in their instruments, Ovation's predominance and visibility immediately began to wane. I think it's also important to note that many of the artists that were never seen on stage without their O's in the 70s and 80s, still opted to take their beloved Martins, Gibsons and other wood box acoustics into the studio when it came time to record.
In hindsight, it's almost as if Ovation's were merely used as a stop gap measure until artists could get what they really wanted--all wood guitars that would perform like an Ovation on stage, but still give them the "traditional" acoustic tone they were used to.
We all know that Ovation is building some of finest guitars they've ever made these days. And, if they're really selling all that they're manufacturing, that's awesome! But, as far as their visibility and viability in the general marketplace is concerned, unless they can figure out a way to reinvent the leisure suit and make it fashionable once again, I'm afraid their best days may already be behind them.
Again, not my opinion... just an observation. |
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Location: Canton (Detroit), MI | I agree with Rick's and Jeff's observation that the music community as a whole suffers from wood guitar snobbery. However, what is equally interesting to me is that when I myself indulged in that, buying a Larrivee Parlor and a Martin 000-16RGT, both instruments ended up neglected, and were eventually sold. I just didn't like playing them as much as my Ovations.
Roger |
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Location: SE Michigan | I think that Ovation's tide is rising lately. I'm actually starting to find more positive things than negative things on the other boards. I don't really buy the whole leisure suit metaphor.
My guess about artist endorsements is that Ovation doesn’t view their "typical" customer so much as a middle-age beer-belly baby-boomer, hence they have little interest in stars from the 60's and 70's. Rather I think they view their average customer as a 17-year-old grunge rocker type who will appreciate such things as Nicki Stix sitting on an American flag.
Now Martin on the other hand, has come to understand which side their toast is buttered on.....Martin realizes it is older hobbyist players that buy the bulk of their guitars, especially the higher end and signature models. |
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Location: south east Michigan | If only..
If only.. If only.. If only.. If only.. If only.. If only.. If only.. If only.. |
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Location: Canton (Detroit), MI | Yeah....instead, there's a Peter Townshend signature Gibson SJ-200......and, in case you didn't know, Nancy Wilson states in an interview in Acoustic Guitar several years ago that the reason she dropped Ovation and went to Takamine was being inspired by seeing Pete Townshend playing one.....
Roger |
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Location: Latitude 39.56819, Longitude -105.080066 | So Brad, is that a real Ovation flyer or did you cleverly make that up.....if made up, it is very very good. |
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Location: SoCal | Real flyer.... |
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Location: Orlando, FL | Wow Brad! That one brings back some memories of my youth! I remember those ads in Guitar Player Magazine around '73 or '74. Thanks for posting it. |
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Location: south east Michigan | I found it on thewho.net . |
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Location: Latitude 39.56819, Longitude -105.080066 | So Brad, are you a who fan? |
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Location: Earth·SolarSystem·LocalInterstellarCloud·Local Bub | Brad, A who fan?
...Every morning the doors open for work, he tramples 11 customers. |
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Location: CT | Anyone remember the days before artist endorsements? Fender had the Tele and the Strat, Gibson had the Standard, the Custom, and S.G., Ovation had the Balladeer and the Legend etc. Now you look thru a Musicians Friend catalogue and there are 5 pages of Strats! Or you can get an 'aged' guitar and pay to have someone beat it up before you buy it. The $2,500 L.P. Custom looks just like the $7,000 special order one. I can't tell what anyone is playing anymore. |
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Location: cincinnati, ohio | Quote by Jeff W.
Brad, A who fan?
...Every morning the doors open for work, he tramples 11 customers.
December 3rd, 1979, Cincinnati, Ohio. The building was called Riverfront Coliseum in those days (today it's called Fifth Third Megaconglomerate Bank Center or something Godawful like that). It was a big old barn then and it's a big old barn now. This is where major concerts were held in the days before they built Riverbend, the beautiful outdoor ampitheatre about 10 miles downstream at Coney Island. That was also in the days before exclusively-reserved seating. We'd been going to concerts for years in Cincinnati and had never had a problem. The Who sounded really good that night, even with the less-than-perfect acoustics. We had no idea what had happened outside; we found out later when we got home and played back about 6 messages from our parents (that was back in the days before cell phones, too) wanting to make sure we were all right.
Eleven people died that night. It should have made more of an impression, but for some reason it didn't. We went back down there for a James Taylor concert and thought nothing of it-- although by then the policy had changed to reserved seating only. It never occurred to us that there but for the grace of God could have gone us. Looking back, I think we were more than a little callous. |
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Location: cincinnati, ohio | BTW, The Who (two of them, anyway-- maybe they can call it "Who's Left?") is going out on tour again. Don't imagine there will be an "O's" on stage. |
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A Stab In The Heart!!!! Nancy Wilson Signature Martin....