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Location: The Great Pacific Northwest | I figure with recent banter about "interesting" guitars, I'd put up one I have had kicking around to see if anyone can "speculate" what it's all about.
While the pictures are a bit rough, I figure that's fair considering what we normally see on eBay anyway.
I will say that it has a real Ovation bolt-on neck. There is an Ovation decal logo on the headstock. I only mention this, cause it's hard to see in the photo.
So, anyone want to take a stab on where this one came from and why? Year?? Also, if for some reason you are one of the very few people who know the story, let the others take a few guesses.
Make believe you ran across this in a pawn shop and let the speculations begin. :)
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Location: Atlanta, GA. | Pre Deacon/Breadwinner "axe" design prototype? |
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Location: Brisbane Australia | Good start Colin .....but I think not with that later Schaller bridge.......
AJ |
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Location: South of most, North of few | Looks to me like a Woody creation. On second thought, I think Mike would do a better job. Looks a little rough around the edges, like it wasn't cut or finished very well. (no offense Miles) ;) |
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Location: Budd Lake, NJ | Done by someone who should have joined "Bandsaws Anonymous"? (I'm sorry; I'll be good, now.)
--Karen |
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Location: Sunshine State, Australia | Thats my sort of guitar.
A volume knob and a tone knob - and the Tone knob is overkill. |
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Location: Winnipeg, Manitoba CANADA | The body has sort of a primitive BC Rich-type vibe to it. And there is the Rich standard micro switch?
I think the body shape would look more interesting reversed though. Sort of an Ibanez Iceman kind of look.
Definitely seems like a prototype for something... |
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Location: Florida Central Gulf Coast | Originally posted by cholloway:
Pre Deacon/Breadwinner "axe" design prototype? My guess also. |
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Location: Corpus Christi, TX | Looks like a rendition of a single action revolver, maybe it belonged to Guns & Roses |
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Location: Hot Springs, S.D. | Looks like it weighs a ton. |
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Location: The Great Pacific Northwest | Oh this is getting good.... |
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Location: Jet City | A CWKII wood shop project. My guess is he was bored one day. Or maybe he just said "Go make me something weird to play" to one of the shop dudes.
definitely 1980 or after. the pickup is odd, are those some kind of covers over the poles? It sure looks like the kinda plastic Ovation would use on that pickup ring.
So that's my guess. There was a bored gas station dude. |
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Location: Boise, Idaho | I was thinking along the same lines as Damon, but with the corolary that, Charlie, noticing the total lack of any woodworking skill on Bill's part, convinced him that the risk to his fingers was too great to sacrifice his promising career as a guitar virtuoso. |
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Location: Newington, CT | An MWoody challenge. Someone went up to MWoody and said, "I have this neck and this hunk o'wood. What can you do with it in one day?" |
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Location: The Great Pacific Northwest | Well so far Damon is closest and I'd rate his response in the old "you're getting cold / you're getting hot game" as.... warm... |
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Location: Texas | I don't know what it is, but it looks like a pistol/rifle to me… |
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Location: Newington, CT | A rough draft of an electric prototpe that never made it past rough draft? |
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Location: Newington, CT | Slightly wider nut-width than usual? |
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Location: Newington, CT | Though the body's kinda rough, I kinda like it. A bit minimalist, a bit backwoods, but I like it. Didn't see a lot of ways to attach a strap to it, though the buttons could be hiding. |
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Location: closely held secret | BFU-2. |
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Location: Utah | The bottom curve sort of looks like the tail end of a board used to cut out Breadwinner/Deacon bodies. I vote for Bored Beal assembles a Frankenstein from spare parts. |
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Location: Tennessee | It needs a neck/headstock like Al has on his FrankenViper. |
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Location: Colorado Rocky Mountains | Looks a bit like a left-handed or reverse Hamer Standard. Maybe after the shop came up with this, management said, "To hell with it, let's just buy Hamer." |
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Location: Flahdaw | NICE |
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Location: The Great Pacific Northwest | From the Certificate of Authenticity certifying that this guitar (and another) were hand built by Bill Kaman in the 1970's.
"The guitar was a reach for a new body shape. It was intended to be a straight-ahead guitar, one pickup, one tone, loud and in your face. The body was cut and the neck attached but no routs for pickups of control cavities were done until the late 70's when I got around to finishing the guitar. It originally had a DiMarzio of some kind and the coil switch for some tone variation. I also toyed with the idea of a second pickup but there wasn't enough room. It later became the basis for a model made in Japan in 1986. This new guitar had a slightly different horn arrangement, a little more conventional like a strat, but the back half of the body remained the same." While this may not be the guitar to set the world on fire, it is certainly very significant for historical reasons, and one of the most prized guitars in my collection.
The part of the above description that is often overlooked is the date reflecting that the original design was mid 70's. That was around start of popularity of "pointy" guitars. A single pickup pointy shredder, many years before "shred" became a term openly used in music. The BC Rich Bich didn't happen until about '77 if I recall.
I have not checked, but at the model but the pickup has some funky cool covers on the bobbins? Also of note is that this guitar weighs just a smidge over 7lbs. Not bad. Again, this is mid 70's.
Someone mentioned balance or straps. The buttons are on the heel and behind the neck joint. The guitar is VERY well balanced, and due to the cut-out, also easily works in the seated position as well.
A lot more thought, or just natural instinct went into this guitar than appears present at first glance.
So, how does it play??? A very lightweight, easy to play, shredder. A great guitar.
One more note... So.. what did happen to the "model made in Japan in 1986??" The description doesn't sound like the UltraGS or GTX guitars that were both made in Korea.
I also present this as the ultimate example of not judging a book by its cover, and never NEVER think that you have seen or heard of every Ovation model made. Up until recently I had over 100 Ovation solid bodies, with very few duplicates. Now granted to some people a Breadwinner is a Breadwinner. I have a hard time seeing anything in common between a Breadwinner and a Deacon other than shape, but to many shape and color are the only identifiers they go by. That's fine. But to me, if its different wood, different finish, different pickups, different bridge, it's pretty much a different guitar, your mileage may vary.
One final note that I find interesting is that as happened many times before. When Ovation built it first, or nearly first, or innovated it first, no one cared cause it was "so weird." Now 30-40+ year later the same design is ignored again because "it's been done." I mean really, if I saw this in a pawn shop today, I'd think someone took a 90's Ibanez, stripped it, and put an Ovation neck on it.. the only hint that it may be something more (and the reason I didn't take a picture of it) is the serial number on the neck plate.. E-6065 (1973-1975) Also, it must have started with the intent for the early plastic and brass bridge as there is a bridge angle adjustment hole in the back that's been plugged.
And to answer a question from another thread... I guess I like guitars that cause me to ask more questions than I can find answers for. |
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Location: Boise, Idaho | And Bill was only in his 20s when he did this. |
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Location: closely held secret | Cool. So it's a BBB-1. |
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Location: Atlanta, GA. | After this little experiment it was decided the best way to keep him away from the tools was to keep him busy as President. :D |
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Location: Colorado Rocky Mountains | Wonderful post, Miles. Thanks for sharing. |
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Location: The Great Pacific Northwest | Originally posted by Mark in Boise:
And Bill was only in his 20s when he did this. Oh yeah, and that too. |
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Location: Upper Left USA | I was going to say it was one of the "concepts" thrown around when the solids needed more support.
If you turn it upside down its a bit like a Hobby Horse.
Sweet chunk of Mahogany there. |
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Location: Orlando, FL | Cool guitar, cool piece of history! Thanks for sharing the pics and the story!
This is the sort of thing you won't find anywhere but the OFC. |
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Location: Texas | Nice bit of mystery/history, thanks for the intriguing post Miles. |
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Location: Jet City | So did I win something for being closest? |
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Location: Upper Left USA | How about one of Beal's golf balls? |
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Location: London, UK | Maybe he did sell that body shape to the Japanese...
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Location: Brisbane Australia | Great story Miles........thanks for sharing
Oh yeah........thankyou Bill....
AJ |
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Location: Connersville, Indiana | I really like the guitar because it is different. I like being different. Instead of a ibanez to me it appears as a rough attempt to battle the gibson firebird. It seems a lot of the solid bodys were an attempt to compete with gibson, I guess, thats what I would say.
Love the guitar |
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Location: Brisbane Australia | Bill loves Henry........ya gotta know the story....
AJ |
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Location: michigan | Mr. Ovation, did that guitar become the
Fernandes travel guitar with one pickup and the built in amp (I have one of those), the name slips my mind though. I know they are a hit in Japan. The shape is very different, but a similar concept. |
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Up For Speculation and a bit 'o fun.