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Joined:
October 2012
Posts: 41
Location: Vancouver, WA | Hello all!
I am just wondering how a Koa topped ovation sounds compared to the UTE I have currently. Not planning on selling my UTE, but I like the way the Koa guitar looks and am considering it as my next guitar purchase. I would appreciate any opinions.
Thanks,
Dave |
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Joined:
September 2003
Posts: 9301
Location: south east Michigan | Apples / Oranges
You have a UTE so you know what that is all about.
To my ear a koa Ovation always reminded me of the sound of a Martin. A guitar with Ovation's balance a easy playability without the Ovation "brightness".
Just my take on it. YMMV
Edited by Slipkid 2014-02-04 2:19 PM
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Joined:
April 2008
Posts: 2985
Location: Sydney, Australia | If there was a fire in my house, the 08 Collectors would be the first I'd grab. If I had a spare hand I would grab the Koa before my 1680 Adamas. |
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Joined:
March 2005
Posts: 12759
Location: Boise, Idaho | Koa sounds like a hard wood, which it probably is. Not soft like spruce or even softer like cedar. It's very crisp. I think if I did a blindfold test strumming the Ute and the LavKoa, the listener would easily be able to tell the difference, although might not be able to articulate it. The Ute also has a huge bottom end. It seems significantly louder on the bass than my #47 Collector or the OFC 1. The only real similarity is the neck, but Al used to have a LAVKoa with a 14 fret neck. If you're worried about getting another guitar that sounds like your Ute, don't worry about it. If you really want a difference, get one with a 14 fret neck instead of a 12 fretter. |
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Joined:
April 2008
Posts: 2985
Location: Sydney, Australia | The 12 fretters all sold straight up, what Al has left are the 14 fretters. |
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Joined:
December 2006
Posts: 6994
Location: Jet City | I didn't like the sound of the Koa at all the first time I played one. Then I played it again a few years later and what a difference, fell in love.
It needs time to open up. |
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Joined:
December 2001
Posts: 10583
Location: NJ | koa is magic |
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Joined:
September 2003
Posts: 9301
Location: south east Michigan | Mark in Boise - 2014-02-04 7:28 PM
It's very crisp.
Interesting... The 4 or 5 that I've played seemed, well.... un-crisp.
Not that there is anything wrong with that.
This kinda advice is so subjective.
Tho he has purposely avoided meeting me for all these years, I know Mark from Boise has enough guitar experience and knowledge to form valid conclusions and opinions.
And yet here he is.... totally wrong... wrong... wrong.
Edited by Slipkid 2014-02-05 8:28 AM
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Joined:
August 2009
Posts: 1137
Location: Germany, where delicious wine is growing (Rheinh) | I have a UTE and a 09 Koa-Collectors'. The Ute ia much louder, but the Koa guitar also sounds very good in it's own way. I love it too for fingerpicking or flatpicking. In comparison to the Ute, it doesn't Comes Close. Here you can hear a 2009C, played by an OFC- member
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ie0myn_kFrw
Bernie |
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Joined:
March 2005
Posts: 12759
Location: Boise, Idaho | Slipkid is correct. Crisp is probably a bad word. I'm a wordsmith and I really couldn't come up with a good word to describe it. One sounds like Koa and the other sounds like carbon fiber seemed like a smart *** response, so I probably should have gone with that. The other difference is the deep bowl on the Ute, although not as deep as an Adamas with the suspension ring, versus the contour bowl of the Koa. That might contribute to the difference in sound, but I've never compared guitars that were identical in every respect other than the bowls. Wasn't there also a Koa collector in 2006 with a contour bowl? That was the first contour bowl I played and I didn't like the sound much, but I later played an 05 Collector with a contour bowl and loved the sound. I still find the deep bowls more comfortable until I gain a bunch of weight over the holidays and fill up the contour again.
As far as avoiding Slipkid, I drove all the way across the country to Michigan last summer just to meet him, but he avoided me. I'm used to it. |
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Joined:
September 2003
Posts: 9301
Location: south east Michigan | You're not "wrong" Mark.
It's way to subjective to be wrong.
But.. I am kinda right. For instance... In the dry winter my friends D28 is a very different guitar than it is in the humid summer. He describes the summertime sound as like a "wet catchers mitt".
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I'm sorry we did not hook up last summer. You drove all that way. Would a mere 500 more miles out of your way have killed ya?
I hope you enjoyed the north west side of the mitten. I'm going up there to ski in a couple weeks.
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Beach... A koa guitar is unique enough to fit into any collection. I'd say if you can swing it, get it.
Edited by Slipkid 2014-02-05 2:18 PM
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Joined:
January 2009
Posts: 4535
Location: Flahdaw | I've never played a "broken-in" Koa,.... they've all been new, and I wasn't that crazy about the tone. It's hard to trust that they will "open up", but I suppose they will. |
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UTE vs Koa