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Joined:
April 2006
Posts: 103
Location: Townsville, Australia | Hi guys
I just last night ordered a 1778T OF; this is the orange flame version.
Now when I was researching them I came across variations on these; There is the RF, red flame; BF, blue....; PTF, purple flame
In various places I see them with OP 30 or OP Pro, painted top and front of heads. Then they are found with paint jobs all over the bowl as well (beautiful) , heads black. The 1778T RF I fell in love with at my local store had an OP Pro and a paint job only on the top , but when talking to the Brisbane store (1300km's south from them it would have had an OP 30 and who knows what more than the top will be painted. The one I ordered from Ohio for a remarkable price of $950us with $320us shipping. and I still save about $400us
Even on the ovation websit Elite T section the purple one has the top and head painted whilst the RF is painted all over and the head black showing an Op pro but the specs say OP 30; and I think the purple is considerably more expensive and specs an OP pro; thankfully it also shows one.
I thiink that they are all the same construction seen on the ovation web site. (I would have dropped the link but doing this eludes me)
I don't understand how all this works does ovation just do as it pleases when building a particular model.
So as I wait for my guitar to arrive I really am not sure what to expect; at the least it will be the top painted in this gorgeously exotic orange flame with an OP 30. This will satisfy me very much.
So it's not that I'm anal, it is just very confusing; is this a common thing with Ovation.
PS I strummed this 1778T RF and was hooked; it was better than the other higher specced ovations. And the 'to die' for paint job. I honestly didn't knwo they stocked them as I have been circling the ovation web site and stores on the web for months. I was only ever going to look, but there you go! |
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Joined:
February 2004
Posts: 1634
Location: Warren,Pa. | The Elite T's are an interesting little corner of the Ovation world. The guitar in it's unfinished state is sort of a blank canvas, and they change things around as new ideas come to mind. Prices differ accordingly.
The flames are painted by a guy who has a shop near the factory and does custom paintjobs on motorcycles. Each one of those flame paintjobs is a hand-done work of art.
It is interesting that (at least in it's stripped state) this is the "low-end" of the US-made Ovations, yet it is one of the most amazing sounding guitars they make.
Enjoy! And welcome! John <>{ |
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Joined:
May 2003
Posts: 4389
Location: Capital District, NY, USA Minor Outlying Islands | You just got a great gigging guitar. Give us a review after you've jammed! |
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Joined:
December 2003
Posts: 1071
Location: Carle Place, NY | Originally posted by Hobie:
I thiink that they are all the same construction seen on the ovation web site. ( The construction of the Elite T is not the same on all models. Some have the quintaid bracing and some have the scalloped LX bracing. The easy way to tell them apart is the LX bracing models have a truss rod cover.
To my ear the quintaid bracing sounds better acoustically. However, some of the models with the LX bracing have the OP Pro which IMHO sounds better plugged-in than the OP 30. I've never seen a T with quintaid bracing and the Op Pro, but one member here did have that mod done by the factory after he bought the guitar.
According to the Ovation website, all of the flame painted models have the LX bracing. I've seen both the OP 30 and OP Pro on the flamed T's.
I wonder which pre-amp will be on the guitar that you ordered. |
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Joined:
March 2006
Posts: 1634
Location: Chehalis, Washington | I've got the Elite T in black with the OP-30 and quintad bracing, and I absolutely love it. I cannot think of a single sound complaint I have against this guitar. That, with the ebony fretboard and headstock...it's just cool!
Congratulations Hobie! You'll enjoy! |
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Joined:
April 2006
Posts: 103
Location: Townsville, Australia | I received this on email and have included my response
Hello...
I saw your post on the ovationfanclub.com message board. I am not a member
so I can't post a reply.
What I wanted to share was I had gotten a black 1778 from a music store near
me... it had the LX neck/bridge but an OP-Pro pre-amp. The website shows
different bridge systems between the various models of the guitars but
states that the OP-30 is the pre-amp.
I e-mailed Ovation and they told me the following that all the 1778s have
the LX neck/bridge - at least more recent production and going forward - the
bridge that is depicted on the website for the non-flame 1778 has been
discontinued. I think they are using the LX neck/bridge so that things are
more standard which keeps costs down.
Regarding the pre-amp, again I wrote Ovation and they said it should be the
OP-30. The original one I got had the OP-Pro and when I went back to the
music store I bought mine they just swapped the OP-Pro with another guitar
that had the OP-30. Which was dead and that is another story. I ended up
returning the guitar and got it from another music store but it was older
production and didn't have the LX neck/bridge but did have the right
pre-amp. I have since taken that back because I want the LX neck/bridge...
my impression is that it is easier to adjust the action by "shimming" one
part of the bridge so I have one on order.
Hi Michael
First it is very easy to become a member, I just did a month ago or less
All the neck and bridges I see, I think, are the ebony, not rosewood (LX); this is certainly what I am after as it looks so much better and along with the lack of epaulets and lower sound holes give the creamy sound
I was after the black initially, cheaper and very cool looking, but the importer has run out, so I then scoured the net and bought the orange flame which I had fell in love with.
Yes it would be interesting to hear how it pans out
Regards
Bob |
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Joined:
December 2003
Posts: 1071
Location: Carle Place, NY | Originally posted by Hobie:
they just swapped the OP-Pro with another guitar that had the OP-30 That might work, but the T's that come from the factory with the OP Pro also have the six element pickup. The OP 30 models have an thin line under the saddle pick-up. I'm not sure if the OP Pro was designed to work with the thin line. |
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Joined:
February 2005
Posts: 11840
Location: closely held secret | Nope. The OP-Pro will not work in an OP-30 or -40 can. And vice-versa. I've tried it. Don't know about OP-50, never had one. |
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Elite T 1778T *F's