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April 2004
Posts: 795
Location: Texas | I like the way they look, really cool and interesting, the way they feel, very unique and different, but after all these years very familiar, then you think they're completely ridiculous, then you get sucked in for the rest of your life pondering their intricacies.
I love the nonwood roundback concept and that they were the first acoustics with onboard electronics, knobs and various preamps.
I love that you can plug them in and experiment with the acoustic electric sound.
I love the early brown hard cases.
And I'd say Jim Croce and his Ovation, Al Di Meola and his Ovation, John McLaughlin and his Ovation, Glen Campbell and his Ovation, Kenny Loggins and his Ovation, Roy Clark and his Ovation and Adamas, Nancy Wilson and her Ovation, Mark O'Connor and his Ovation, Tony Rice and his Ovation, Cat Stevens and his Ovation and many more that got me hooked on Ovation and Adamas guitars.
Beautiful to look at, delightful to hold, and picks and sounds like a dream and seems to have been the guitar of choice by all of my early influences.
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January 2005
Posts: 4903
Location: Phoenix AZ | I love the cases. | |
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July 2005
Posts: 1609
Location: Colorado | Serge - you said it very eloquently....when I was really working in the business - they stay in tune - you plug them in - they play - the stage rats kick them all over the place - and they still work - OP-24 forward the electronics are quiet - they were novel - then they were industry standard - and still when the company makes a high end model - it is still very very good. | |
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November 2006
Posts: 2241
Location: Simpsonville, SC | So what is it about Ovations that you love?
CA, a rhetorical question??!!
Even though I am a relative noob, I can kinda answer that question.
1) First guitar that I fell in love with in 1975. ('Course tha beauty that was playin it had nothin to do with it)
2) As I have stated before (much to my chagrin) the OFC sucks...OK, OK I'm just kiddin'.
3) Even though my knowledge of, so-called, highend guitars is lacking, I can't belive the bang-for-tha-buck quality and sound that the O's and A's provide.
4) Customer service from "mothership"
5) etc., etc., etc.
(rhetorical question) What more can be said??!! | |
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April 2004
Posts: 795
Location: Texas | I love the bridges with no pins. | |
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November 2005
Posts: 1126
Location: Omaha, NE | I was just in the right place at the right time (early 1970's) when I discovered them. Been a fan ever since. | |
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November 2006
Posts: 2241
Location: Simpsonville, SC | Originally posted by Country Artist:
I love the bridges with no pins. Ok, it was (afterall) a rhetorical question...I was just waxing...ya know, wax on, wax off...back to tha real benefits of an O. :cool: | |
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March 2005
Posts: 12761
Location: Boise, Idaho | Yes, Serge, I could just say "me too." From the headstock to the bowl, they were unique, and back in a time when I really favored moving out of the mainstream they just fit my idea of cool. In 1977 we shelled out around one tenth my annual income for the Matrix so I could play it at our wedding in a white tux with bellbottoms. Can't get any cooler than that. | |
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December 2006
Posts: 6996
Location: Jet City | I fell in love with a different kind of O. I bought my UKII in 1983 and didn't own an acoustic O until just a few years ago.
I loved the fact that it played better than any other guitar in the store, including the Les Paul Custom. I liked that it sounded hotter than anything in the store. I loved the fact that it was different than what everyone else was playing. Kramers, Gibsons, Fenders, Charvels, and others were abundant back then. Alameda, CA, the town I grew up in, was full of guys wanting to be rock stars, and many did make it. I wasn't one of 'em, but everyone knew my guitar, and it always caught they eye of the discriminating guitarist. Everyone wanted to play it. Everyone that played it wanted to own it.
Sorry. You may have a record deal, but I have a UKII and you can't have it so PFFFT. :p
Back then they couldn't just got to eBay :D
I love my UKII, and I always will. She's been with me longer than anything else on the planet, she's my constant, my soul mate.
I could go on, but I'll stop with this last 1000 words...
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December 2006
Posts: 6996
Location: Jet City | oops | |
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March 2007
Posts: 665
Location: Tychy, Poland | neck. | |
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September 2006
Posts: 10777
Location: Keepin' It Weird in Portland, OR | I saw my first Ovation back in the early seventies, and I liked it... Alot.
(apparently, it was one of the First Ovations...)
I saw a new one in this Century and was reminded of that Ovation long ago...
So I bought me a seventeen year-old Ovation... Then another... then...
It has gotten so that I don't feel as comfortable reaching over the square corners of a wood-box...
I compare any guitar I see, hear or touch to Ovations.... Do I need counseling :confused: ? | |
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September 2003
Posts: 9301
Location: south east Michigan | My points have been pretty well covered.
Except... I love Ovations because they have a great fan club. | |
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December 2006
Posts: 6996
Location: Jet City | Originally posted by Old Man Arthur:
Do I need counseling :confused: ? HA! That's what I was thinking too after my blubbering on and on about the UKII.
I have O issues. | |
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February 2003
Posts: 2178
Location: the BIG Metropolis of TR | ....The oak leaf rosette, the pinless bridge, the headstock (of course)....the whole guitar just looked unique and different....and the round back was COOL!
I recently bought the "Glen Campbell Goodtimes Again" DVD and although I loved the DVD for Glen's talent and music I also loved seeing all the (vintage) Ovations from the old show from T-heads to GC 12 strings....out of the 17 clips Glen plays an Ovation on 15 ;) .....watching all those old clips, I felt the passion and desire I had for an Ovation guitar as strong as when I was a teenager (I was 16 when the show started in '69)
For me, Ovations are THE guitars.....others may have prettier wood, more bling, etc. but Ovations have IT!!!...... | |
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March 2002
Posts: 1380
Location: Central Oregon | Beyond the fact that I like pretty much all of the above, I really like the fact that I can afford to have one of every type I'm interested in. It's also nice that I can take my current favorite with me when I go somewhere without really worrying about it. I couldn't do that with the old Gibson. | |
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July 2003
Posts: 3111
Location: Nashville TN. | Playability Durability and sound.
I like the electrics too. | |
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February 2007
Posts: 70
Location: Hong Kong | Fell in love at first sight when my friend showed me one about 15-20 years ago. The unique beautiful look of the round back was the major reason. When I got my first O years later, the fast-action neck was another key reason I like them so much. In fact, I don't bother to check on other so-called high-end guitars - I just love Ovation & Adamas... | |
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October 2007
Posts: 2711
Location: Vernon CT | There's really nothing more I can say about why I love Ovations that hasn't allready been said.
But, If I had to pick one thing that makes this "guitar" special to me, it's the tone when plugged in. It is sooooo sweet to my ear. What I am really starting to appreciate is the acoustic unplugged tone of the "older" Models. | |
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February 2004
Posts: 1634
Location: Warren,Pa. | I was at a coffeehouse back in '71 and the guy who was playing stopped to talk about his "Ovation Roundback Guitar". Back then this was a new discovery for me since they hadn't been around very long. This "mystique" or something entered into my head and ever since that day I've been stuck on them.
John <>{ | |
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September 2004
Posts: 1180
Location: Vermont USA | Ease of playing and Tone. | |
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August 2007
Posts: 494
Location: Location Location Location | I got my first Ovation in 1978, a legend, then a custom legend then an Adamas II a few years later. I thought I just HAD to have a Martin, so for the next 20 or so years I bought a variety of Martins. Now, in 2007-2008, I realize just how fantastic these O's are. No knock to the other guitar makers, but these Ovations stay in tune, have a beautiful tone which is consistent through most humidity changes, their necks are so comfortable, and the best intonation of any guitar I've played. Oh, did I mention that they're beautiful to look at, and that I love them, and that....Yes, I guess I did. | |
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January 2006
Posts: 5881
Location: Colorado Rocky Mountains | I agree with Pez. Playability (primarily the neck), tone, and durability in that order. It is only recently that I've come to appreciate the value of the Mothership's customer service department. When I bought my first Legend in 1973, I walked into a music store in Boise looking for a Gibson (I grew up playing an ES-125 3/4). I became interested in Ovation and its odd plastic bowl when I saw pics of Glen Campbell playing one, then was sold on it when the salesman demonstrated its durability by swinging the guitar like a baseball bat and banging the bowl against the corner of the sales counter. The guitar bounced about two feet back, with very nice tone I might add, but with no (apparent) damage. Of course, I selected one of the other models hanging on the wall and have enjoyed the brand ever since. | |
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March 2004
Posts: 86
Location: Detroit area | All of the above. Personally, it's the combo of durability, plugged-in tone, pre-amp, & staying in tune. I work with a couple of guys that play Taylors, and they're always messing w/their tuning keys after up-tempo songs. Believe me, Taylors are great, but they seem a bit fragile. | |
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February 2008
Posts: 158
Location: South Windsor Connecticut | I like the fact that once you own one Ovation you are completely satisfied and never ever long for another Ovation. Yeah right.......
TOP | |
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March 2002
Posts: 15682
Location: SoCal | I bought my first Ovation (Artist, 1121) in the fall of '72, and then in '78, traded it in on my second (Legend, 1117). To be honest, I loved the way they looked, felt, and played, but I knew I was never thrilled with the sound. It wasn't until I bought my 1537 in the summer of '93 that I got an Ovation with sound to stand up to anything around it.
Was I basically influenced by celeb performers? Probably. They all seemed to get the sound that I never could (Shut up Clifford!).
But now I play them for all of the above reasons and also because I love the sound. I just got my 87C back from the factory with a new body on it, and it is simply wonderful, sound-wise. My OFC slothead may be the best sounding guitar I've ever played. They don't sound like most other guitars. They have their own voice and I, for one, like it best.
Now, having said that, if I win the lottery, there will be some all wood guitars on my walls...... | |
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February 2005
Posts: 11840
Location: closely held secret | Looks, playability, sound and they're really affordable.
What do I hate about them? They're too stinkin affordable. I'm not tempted in the slightest by a $3k Martin, but when I see a classy, high quality guitar like a 1537 or CL for a price I can actually afford I start sweating like a junky late for his appointment at the methadone clinic. | |
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November 2005
Posts: 4833
Location: Campbell River, British Columbia | 1.The loudest unplugged acoustic at the guitar pull.
2.It stays in tune as the weather changes.
3.Sounds better than any other guitar in it's price range. (well, it did in 1974 anyway....) | |
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November 2006
Posts: 3969
| Everything already said, plus I really enjoy how the looks on the faces of the wood box players turn from snobbery to puzzlement to amazement to envy as I break out the 1537 or 1619 and they actually hear a fine old O head to head against their wood box du jour. | |
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March 2002
Posts: 15682
Location: SoCal | You know, I should have also mentioned affordability. When I can buy a guitar that's better than a $3000 Taylor, for a third of the price, I just get all a twitter...... | |
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February 2005
Posts: 11840
Location: closely held secret | Originally posted by moody, p.i.:
I just get all a twitter...... ...everybody.... STAND BACK!!!!! :eek: | |
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January 2005
Posts: 4903
Location: Phoenix AZ | Originally posted by moody, p.i.:
You know, I should have also mentioned affordability. When I can buy a guitar that's better than a $3000 Taylor, for a third of the price, I just get all a twitter...... I'm glad you said "Taylor", otherwise I might have had to unleash some machine gun smilies on you ...
Dave | |
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March 2002
Posts: 15682
Location: SoCal | Dave, there are a couple of Martins that I would enjoy owning as well as some Larivees, Lowdens, Collings, and a few others. Just not Taylors..... | |
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February 2008
Posts: 129
Location: Berkeley, CA | I like their round, sexy, uh...backs.
After I actually learn to play I'll probably love them for their minds.
knuckles | |
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April 2004
Posts: 795
Location: Texas | I love the old antique sunburst tops.
Just recently got a killer old Artist 1621-1 sunburst.
Great recording guitar and so purdy.
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January 2005
Posts: 4903
Location: Phoenix AZ | Originally posted by moody, p.i.:
Dave, there are a couple of Martins that I would enjoy owning as well as some Larivees, Lowdens, Collings, and a few others. Just not Taylors..... Well said. | |
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March 2008
Posts: 2683
Location: Hot Springs, S.D. | I was spoiled while working there. They are just so darned easy on the fingers. Then, when I got my black legend, I took it everywhere. I kept saying it was because I was afraid my Gibson would get damaged or stolen, but secretly, it was because I sounded better playing a guitar whose action was so low it almost played itself. And they do have a unique sound. Almost mystical. And you're right about the bridge. Why do people mess with bridge pins? Ovations just make more sense. | |
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Joined:
March 2002
Posts: 15682
Location: SoCal | Originally posted by Tupperware:
Originally posted by moody, p.i.:
Dave, there are a couple of Martins that I would enjoy owning as well as some Larivees, Lowdens, Collings, and a few others. Just not Taylors..... Well said. | |
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January 2006
Posts: 2120
Location: Chicago | I love the way the combine "acoustic soul" with "electric attitude": great projection for lead playing, razor sharp. And then again, excellent for rhythm. I really like the way the chords, especially "strange" ones, dissonant ones, don't all melt in a soft "Martin-like" mush. Each strings holds its own and you get a loud, transparent, ringing, effect (darker tone than some boxes, but STRON G). To me that is really the "Ovation Sound." Oh, yeah, and the OFC! The best. | |
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Joined:
November 2004
Posts: 4413
| They're so comfortable to hold. They sound like church bells ringing across a field or like a mile-long freight train coming out of a tunnel. And then there's the necks. I used to only love the oiled Vs, but they are all wonderful. Nobody makes a neck like Ovation. And no other guitar has a forum like this. It says something about the guitars, I'm just not sure what. | |
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Joined:
November 2003
Posts: 11039
Location: Earth·SolarSystem·LocalInterstellarCloud·Local Bub | Originally posted by schroeder:
no other guitar has a forum like this. It says something about the guitars, I'm just not sure what.. We probably shouldn't lift the lid to look at that one... | |
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February 2005
Posts: 11840
Location: closely held secret | Why, Schroeder! You sound absolutely poetic when you speak about your Ovation Guitar that way!
I always knew you were the sensitive type. | |
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June 2007
Posts: 270
Location: Yorkshire, England | The headstock and neck does a lot for me, but my first loves are the Breadwinners and Deacons. Such a fantastic body design. I've recently purchased my first really good acoustic, a 1990 Elite - absolutely beautiful. In my opinion no other acoustic will match an Ovation. | |
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January 2006
Posts: 2120
Location: Chicago | Clive's just drinkin' tonight. In a few hours, half way to the label, he'll be "talkin Taylor" :) (wish I could join him...) | |
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December 2004
Posts: 4394
Location: East Tennessee | You guys have covered all the bases. The Ovation sound, (plugged and unplugged), is great. They are durable, affordable, and fun to play.
The most underrated guitar on the planet.
Some other brands mentioned are vastly overrated. | |
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April 2006
Posts: 1017
Location: Budd Lake, NJ | My first Ovation came complete with a blue-eyed carpenter; quite a package deal. (But, since the next five came unaccompanied, I will have to conclude the first one was just beginner's luck! :D ;) )
With Gertrude, the incredible neck that is perfect for small hands, the huge sound--the fact she was Jack's. The quality of workmanship on my Jewel. The incredible Mothership. The relationships on the board--the bantering, the sharing, the caring.
--Karen | |
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June 2007
Posts: 3084
Location: Brisbane Australia | I first heard and had the opportunity to play a Balladeer back in the early seventies.
My brother was a budding professional muso and had borrowed it from a friend for a gig.
I never forgot that sound.
I didn't own an Ovation until 2003 when I bought my Adamas 1581.
Since then you can see the result :D
I agree with all above.
AJ | |
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April 2004
Posts: 795
Location: Texas | Karen, you are a princess, thanks for being a part of the OFC.
Yep, one of the most incredible experiences in my life, was at an Al Di Meola concert in the 70's.
It was at a big rock and roll venue, after the first set of loud Les Paul music he pulled out the Legend, and played a full set of the most incredible music I have heard live in my life, and I am talking before the Super Trio with John and Paco.
I loved the music but was too young to understand it, but I could not believe the Ovation sound, look, vibe, the impact.
I had to get one right away.
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Joined:
March 2007
Posts: 843
Location: CA | Well, I'll probably get struck down by a bolt of lightning, but I don't like the cheapo rosette and I think many other makers make prettier guitars. But Ovations are certainly not BAD looking. And durability? You can practically drive fenceposts with them. I bought one just before I went to Europe in '71 and that thing followed me on a sailboat for 2.5 years all through the Med, across the Atlantic, through the Caribbean and up the East Coast. Survived all that only to get the tail snapped off by the airline on the way home. It didn't affect the fretboard, though, so I whipped up some boat epoxy and glued/screwed it back together. Plays excellent to this day. In between all that, I recall several wood guitars owned by other people coming apart, breaking, warping, etc. The O played on through it all.
Never really liked that neck, though as it was too narrow. I looked around at a lot of other guitars, owned a Gibson and very nice Larrivee, but finally gravitated back to O-land. I've had a Balladeer, Ultra (the foreign made one), and currently have a 1778T that has the absolute most perfect neck I've EVER played (including electrics), and an older Legend currently en route back from the Mothership. | |
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February 2004
Posts: 2487
| Well Women seem to be attracted to me anyway, but I notice the facination is a little stronger when I whip out my Ovation!
Did I say that?................... | |
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September 2006
Posts: 10777
Location: Keepin' It Weird in Portland, OR | Originally posted by The Wabbit Formerly Known As Waskel:
Looks, playability, sound and they're really affordable.
What do I hate about them? They're too stinkin affordable. I'm not tempted in the slightest by a $3k Martin, but when I see a classy, high quality guitar like a 1537 or CL for a price I can actually afford I start sweating like a junky late for his appointment at the methadone clinic. I have this same problem...
I was actually Proud of myself cuz I let five or six go by last weekend for under $600!
I can only play one at a time, and I only have four stands... | |
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April 2006
Posts: 2491
Location: Copenhagen Denmark | Best A/E Stage guitar..
Vic | |
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October 2004
Posts: 256
Location: chicago | Dimeola once said you cant play mediteranian sundance on a Guild,true story! | |
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April 2004
Posts: 795
Location: Texas | great intonation...
yesterday I had a recording session (jingle) and the producer wanted me to play rhythm mandolin and tremolos and also some guitar melody lines in unison with a keyboard; well, he had 3 guitars in his studio that I could use, (an old Tak and 2 boutique D copies), and because he mentioned he may want an acoustic electric sound I took my old Artist model with me and sure enough it had the best intonation up and down the neck and was the one chosen for the job.
:cool: ;) | |
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January 2006
Posts: 5881
Location: Colorado Rocky Mountains | Great story, Serge. Incidently, I used the SST at the service on Sunday. I wasn't satisfied with the tone until I bypassed the compression pedal, then it was great. There seems to be very little difference between it and the EA68 in the mid to high tone range, but at the low end, the EA68 Viper brings on more bass. Although the SST is a tad bigger in the body, the contour cut on the upper backside works very well. | |
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April 2004
Posts: 795
Location: Texas | I am glad, now you have more different flavors.
Enjoy!
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January 2006
Posts: 5881
Location: Colorado Rocky Mountains | Exactly! I love the star fret markers. | |
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May 2003
Posts: 4389
Location: Capital District, NY, USA Minor Outlying Islands | Price, Necks and gig worthiness. In that order. | |
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September 2003
Posts: 9301
Location: south east Michigan | Their fan club. | |
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December 2006
Posts: 6268
Location: Florida Central Gulf Coast | Originally posted by Slipkid:
Their fan club. Their fan club members' offerings!  | |
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April 2004
Posts: 795
Location: Texas | ;) :cool: | |
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June 2007
Posts: 3084
Location: Brisbane Australia | The fact that the Fender and Gibson fans aren't around.
AJ | |
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November 2003
Posts: 231
| I learned about Ovations from a "Pickin Magazine" that had a Tony Rice ad for a sunburst Legend, and I just had to have one like it. I still have that one today, and it still sounds great. I own other guitars, including Martin, but the older deep bowl acoustic Ovations are my favorites. As already mentioned, they stay in tune, but the tone and playability is what I like most, not to mention the simple beauty of their unique shape. I own many Ovations now, and the list keeps growing. There always seems to be one more that I need.
Mike | |
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Joined:
October 2006
Posts: 118
Location: Winter Haven, FL | What I love about my Ovation...
[list]
[*]The wonderful smell that comes through the soundholes
[*]Having an on-board tuner
[*]The incredibly comfortable contour back
[*]The fact that it's made in USA
[*]The sweet tone that oozes from it
[*]Its great looks
[*]How comfortable it is to play
[*]Durability
[*]The excellent pre-amp and EQ
[*]The great deal I got on it
[*]Its ability to stay in tune
[*]The customer service that is behind it
[*]The unique pickup system
[*]It came with Dunlop Straploks
[*]Solid case
[/list]
That's just off the top of my head. | |
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So what is it about Ovations that you love?