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Location: sitting at my computer | I noticed the post by a newbie who wrote he'd just bought a UK II and that he "had never heard of these things before". Not at all surprising, right? Just like their acoustic siblings the Ovation electrics seem to get overlooked, especially the UK II (IMHO). Many of you "old guard" probably already know about this article, but for those newbies and others who haven't seen it, here's the Vintage Guitar Magazine article entitled: Ovation UKII 1291 - Rodney Dangerfield of solidbody electric guitars
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Location: Jet City | Miles, I was just thinking about this article the other day and how you should pop it up there with the other ones you've posted.
Great post Jeffrey. But then again, I'm biased. |
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Location: The Great Pacific Northwest | @Damon - I hadn't seen that article before but yes I will add it (ot it may be added by time you read this).
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| Hello I guess I'm the newbie mentioned above... When I was thinking of buying the UKII (the only one I've ever seen) I found that article and read it twice... Reading "between the lines" helped me make up my mind (as did other web searches that led me here) to buy the UKII. Now I can't put the thing down! So.. What are Breadwinners like?
Will. |
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Location: Jet City | I've never bonded with the Breadwinner/Deacon tone... The one-off chambered JM Deacon excluded. They play like a dream though. It's a very comfortable guitar standing or sitting. |
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Location: Colorado Rocky Mountains | Welcome Will. This is how it starts. There'll be no turning back now. |
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Location: sitting at my computer | Welcome Will, Congrats on getting your UK2. Yeah, it was your post that prompted me to start this one. Can't help much about the Breadwinners, haven't owned or played one. Search the club posts and archives though, that ought to turn up some interesting info. |
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Location: Latitude 39.56819, Longitude -105.080066 | Talking about the TRUE Ovation solid body guitars (ending IMHO with the UK2)..........
I love the Breadwinner/Ltd and the Deacons.....specially the 12 strings.
Also love the UK2 and the Vipers.
The only ones that never gave me any "thrill factor" at all are the Preacher models. |
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Location: Colorado Rocky Mountains | stephent28 - 2012-03-02 1:02 PM Talking about the TRUE Ovation solid body guitars (ending IMHO with the UK2).......... .....and perhaps resurrected with the VXT? |
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Location: Texas | boltonb - 2012-03-02 1:55 PM
stephent28 - 2012-03-02 1:02 PM Talking about the TRUE Ovation solid body guitars (ending IMHO with the UK2).......... .....and perhaps resurrected with the VXT?
I'd agree with that. Like the UKII, the VXT really should have been a big home-run for Ovation. If you could only have one guitar, a VXT would cover a lot of bases, and do so very well. I suppose you could argue that it's not a true solid body guitar, but, if that's true, then neither is a chambered Les Paul… heck, if "solid" means solid wood, the UKII doesn't qualify either…
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Location: Boise, Idaho | The VXT was an improved Hamer Duotone. It was a great attempt at a "one size fits all" concept that would work for performances, especially when the need to switch between electric sounds and acoustic was necessary, without the time and hassle of changing guitars. For the buying public, though, there probably will never be much demand for that. In a band, there's usually someone on lead and someone else on acoustic. Not too many songs where one guitar goes both ways.
The UKII didn't try to be all things to all people. It's a great electric guitar that just never got accepted by the market because the public wanted something other than a great electric guitar, especially from a company that was known for unique acoustic guitars. |
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Location: Jet City | I didn't know any better. I played with (didn't know what I was doing) every guitar in the store and liked the UKII the best. Didn't know what an Ovation was, I just liked the guitar. It felt right and more than any other I played could get that heavy metal/hard rock sound I was after back then in '82. |
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| Thank you all. Very informative. I came across my UK2 by accident about a month ago. I shop at a local vintage store that displays 800 - 900 guitars and the UK2 had been hanging around for a year or two. I saw it but never looked closely enough to realize what a high end guitar it was. I was reading the website for the store when I read about it and thought... Wow it has every feature I'm looking for in a solid body. The guys at the store let me take stuff home to try so I had it about a week before I paid for it. In that time I did a web search and found a lot of info about it including this site! I was able to date it and learn what it is capable of and after reading comments on this site and playing it 6 hours a day I had to have it. I am now a convert. |
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Location: Colorado Rocky Mountains | Wow it has every feature I'm looking for in a solid body. Or even for a not-so-solid body. |
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Location: out there | It's an ok guitar I guess for being plastic. |
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Location: Connersville, Indiana | I love all my solid body electrics, Viper, Preacher, but I love my UKll the most. With the switch making the double blade pups into single, adjustments with the tone knobs, using both pups or just the neck, the bridge or both, it can almost create any sound I want to achieve with my music. I would love to get another, for just in case, but I would also love to have a Deacon or Breadwinner. And since I have no money I can dream. 
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Location: puerto vallarta, mexico | i have always loved my ukII's. they are one of the easiest to play electrics out there. great necks. the coil taps add a range of single coil"ish" sounds. the saddles need to be softened a bit as they are pretty sharp and wipe out d strings---maybe my playing style---but graphtech saddles triple the string life. i was getting 2 gigs max out of a d before it would break. a little file and abrasive cord dressing helped but the graph tech saddles are the trick.
my favorite uk is a white one out of R&D with chrome hardware and dot inlays. the brownbird 12 i have has similar urelite over aluminum construction but with active pickups. another amazing neck that set up and plays like a 6 string. if i recall correctly the ukII pickups had 10,000 winds on them. pretty hot for the day. i really felt sorry that bill's baby got cut before it ever had a chance. it is one of the most innovative and best live guitars i have played. and it had a more mainstream classic look to it. i have no doubt it would have become a success story if ovation hadn't decided to take the "acoustic only" path at a very untimely moment for the ukII. |
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Location: Mobile, Bama! | UKIIs rule! :-) |
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Location: Massachusetts | I noticed a local shop had a UKII in the "not for sale yet" section among a ton of other stuff. I didn't get a chance to check it out very closely as I was in a hurry (and wasn't supposed to be looking there! :-) ). Maybe I'll ask about it this weekend. It was black and I did notice the big square abalone fret markers - later run I know but NICE markers!
So what should I look for?
It seems from what I've read here that missing pickguards is an issue with these. Did all runs have factory pickguards?
Any warning signs would be great. Of course I'll ask to string it up and check the electronics.
Thanks,
Bob |
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Location: Jet City | Only early models had a pick guard, and most people took 'em off. Nothing really to look for that's different than any other guitar (neck twists or warps, fret life, general abuse). If it plugs in and plays, you're set.
Nothing plays feels or sounds quite like one, good luck! |
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Location: Massachusetts | Great - thanks for the info.
Bob |
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Location: Boise, Idaho | The early ones also had the bowtie fretmarkers, so the one you're seeing is probably later. That's about the extent of my UK 2 knowledge, except that Damon's (the only one I've played) is one sweet guitar. |
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Location: Mobile, Bama! | I love the bowtie inlays! :-) |
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UKII - Rodney Dangerfield