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Joined:
October 2005
Posts: 4081
Location: Utah | Is the VIP a worthwhile upgrade from the OpPro? Gassage is hitting hard and I'm considering upgrading my 6778LX with OpPro to the 2007BCS which has VIP. The deep contour bowl and bearclaw spruce are what really drive the GAS. Just trying to figure out if the $ difference will be worth it. |
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Joined:
May 2008
Posts: 4996
Location: Phoenix AZ | NO. Not in my opinion.
The VIP is fine (unless you like to tune your guitar) and if it happens to come on a new guitar that you're purchasing anyway, great. But as a costly upgrade to a perfectly good Op-Pro on an existing guitar, no way.
If your question was "should I sell my 6778 for 500. and buy the 2007BCS for 900." then the answer is YES. But not because of a significantly better preamp. It's a better top, better neck, better bowl. Just my opinion.
Dave |
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Joined:
October 2005
Posts: 4081
Location: Utah | Yeah, that's the question, but looking at about $700 for the 6778LX rather than $500. For $200ish swap cost I can justify the deep contour bowl and upgraded appearance of the top. $400 starts being too painful. |
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Joined:
September 2004
Posts: 777
Location: East Wenatchee, WA | Stay with the OpPro.
I have two VIP guitars now and before that an Op50. I liked my Op50 as it did not require the "dummy plug" to activate the electronics and the Op50 would be powered by the XLR/Phantom whereas I can't find evidence that the Phantom power affects the VIP at all (my battery still drains at the normal...high...rate whether in Phantom or not).
I did get the proper grounded Pin1 cord, so that the XLR would activate without the dummy plug, but I still do not believer that Phantom powers the package which is a bit negative to me. All that and I still couldn't resist the 2008C.
The VIP has some interesting sound variations that I didn't have on the Op50, but I find I only use a slight amount of the sampled sound in the mix anyway, so may not be worth the difference.
If O is listening, getting rid of the dummy plug and allowing phantom to power the VIP would make it a desireable upgrade. |
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Joined:
January 2004
Posts: 1225
Location: Lake Hiawatha, New Jersey | I have a VIP in my 2080 and although it is a nice preamp, I believe that Ovation went a bit overboard with the bells and whistles on this one. It's just more things to go wrong if you ask me (and they have in my case). I would prefer a good reliable preamp with a tuner and a 3 band E.Q. I think the Op-Pro is a much more reliable unit, and you can use the tuner without a "dummy plug. |
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Joined:
March 2005
Posts: 5567
Location: Blue Ridge Mountains | OP-Pro... |
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Joined:
February 2005
Posts: 11840
Location: closely held secret | +1 on the OP-Pro. |
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Joined:
December 2006
Posts: 6996
Location: Jet City | I'll join the chorus on this one. I like the OP Pro better.
Then again, I'm a simple man. |
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Joined:
December 2001
Posts: 10583
Location: NJ | buy the 07bcs you will not be sorry.
the vip is a cool toy. |
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Joined:
November 2005
Posts: 1126
Location: Omaha, NE | I really like the VIP. I love being able to dial down the "image" slider when I want an edgier tone to cut through the band mix, and the slide it up a bit when I want a mellower, more pure acoustic tone in church. Great versatility.
BTW, I leave it (this is in my LAV Koala, BTW) set at image #2. At most, I'll put the slider at 45% to 50%. At minimum, I put the slider at about 10%.
The dummy plug nonsense really sucks. If you're like me, you'll forget you have it in all the time. The result is lots of dead batteries. I've probably drained five in the last two months. |
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Joined:
November 2005
Posts: 1126
Location: Omaha, NE | Aargh!!! I pulled my guitar out last night, only to discover yet another forgotten dummy plug and corresponding dead battery. |
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Joined:
January 2004
Posts: 1225
Location: Lake Hiawatha, New Jersey | Originally posted by Omaha:
Aargh!!! I pulled my guitar out last night, only to discover yet another forgotten dummy plug and corresponding dead battery. I've stopped using the dummy plug in favor of a 6" long patch cable. That's much harder to forget. |
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Joined:
January 2006
Posts: 5881
Location: Colorado Rocky Mountains | VIP is a nice toy, but the Op Pro is wonderful, plus it has the easiest to use built-in tuner of all the models and, in my opinion, is the only one that doesn't require replacement with a pedal tuner. |
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Joined:
November 2005
Posts: 1126
Location: Omaha, NE | "Toy"? That seems a little pejorative, don't you think? |
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Joined:
January 2006
Posts: 5881
Location: Colorado Rocky Mountains | Originally posted by Omaha:
"Toy"? That seems a little pejorative, don't you think? Not at all. Pejorative means to be disparaging, and that's not at all what I meant. I just don't how to maximize its capabilities, so I tend to just fiddle with it to hear its many tonal possibilities, thus play with it like a toy, then leave it set on one tone that I like. However, in the end, I'm not sure what I have selected is any better or worse than the settings I use on the other models. I tend to go for simplicity, so the older FET style is just fine for me. |
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Joined:
December 2004
Posts: 1116
Location: Keller, TX | My $0.02:
Get the OpPro Studio. A little hotter than the OpPro, but goes in the same can. I dunno if you can get Ovation to swap your VIP to a Studio for free or not... It costs Ovation much more to produce a VIP than a Studio or OpPro. If you have a VIP and want the Studio, call Kim to see what he can do. He may just swap it for free...???
OR, just custom order what you want. I ordered the Cootie with the Studio. Hated the VIP on the 2006 KOA. |
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Joined:
June 2005
Posts: 1320
Location: Round Rock, TX | I'm chiming in on the pro-VIP side of this discussion. I love my 2006 FKOA and 2007 BCS and part of the reason for that is the VIP preamp. I, too, dig the flexibility. I play in different settings through different amps and PA's and the VIP is great for being able to dial in the tone I want, no matter what I'm playing through.
There is, however, no defense for the dummy plug situation. My theory - it's a conspiracy between the designing engineer and a leading battery manufacturer who shall remain nameless. |
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VIP preamp