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Location: Taxed To Death State | My uncle called me today and said he was at a customers place and he had an Ovation protoype for sale. I got his number and called the guy. Anyway long story short, I checked it out tonight and couldn't pass it up. Looks legit but according to the serial it's 1977-1978 era. Guy claims Glen Campbell played it, but no proof. Anyone here have any info on identifying & dating prototypes? Here are some pics.
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Location: Boise, Idaho | I didn't check the serial number against the date chart, but I think the first Elites came out in 1983, when the 1537, initially the "wood topped Adamas" was a sort of prototype that became the Elite. So if there was an Elite II Prototype, it wouldn't have been mid-70s. There are better experts on the labels around here, or check Jerome's Ovation Tribute site. He goes through a history of the labels. |
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Location: Upper Left USA | Nice color!
Herringbone binding and Two Knobber!
Take a side shot of the headstock and see if the peghead face runs into the neck like the 1537s do. |
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| Most of the prototypes have the Kaman Music Group label to distinguish them from a factory run.
The serial number of a prototype is actually the date of manufacture, so in this case the guitar is dated 12/08/83.
At one time I owned one of the three known 1537 Elite protoypes, and it had a serial number of sometime in 1982, so this model is dated approximately one year after the original Elite prototypes.
What is interesting is that the neck is not glossed as are the 1537's. Ovation began to introduce the non-gloss necks around the time this guitar was produced. Perhaps that feature was part of its prototype status . |
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Location: Boise, Idaho | It also has kind of a herringbone binding, where the 1537 is plain walnut. Maybe a second prototype to transition from a 1537 to a production Elite? |
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Location: Keepin' It Weird in Portland, OR | Killer guitar! 
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Location: Jet City | nice one |
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Location: Taxed To Death State | The color is really nice the pictures don't do it justice. The volume and tone knobs look almost hand made. I'll post some better shots with a better camera. |
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Location: Taxed To Death State | Side shot of headstock, knobs, and back
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Location: Upper Left USA | Those knobs are rare, from the early Adamas days.
Very nice transitional piece! |
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Location: Steeler Nation, Hudson Valley Contingent | Just when you think you've seen'em all!
Cool guitar! |
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Location: Tuscany, Italy | Congrats on your new guitar. very cool !!!
Maybe could be of your interest to know that the very same guitar surfaced back in 2011.
http://ovationfanclub.com/megabbs/forums/thread-view.asp?tid=27095&...
and
http://ovationfanclub.com/megabbs/forums/thread-view.asp?tid=19293&... |
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Location: Taxed To Death State | Spent some time with the fine gents down at Ovation today with this guitar, they liked it. Most likely the only Elite II Proto made. It was made at the Moosup plant. It's quite unique with it's color and single piece leaflet sound holes. |
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Location: south east Michigan | Sometimes I wonder about proto-types.
Are they desired for how rare they are or a perceived higher quality build and sound?
It could be that there is a lot of hand crafting and attention to detail put into one or, it may be that they are just first attempts to work out the problems before it goes into production. . Either way... that is a fine looking guitar. |
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Location: Taxed To Death State | Agreed Slipkid. It all depends on what they were testing or what it was made for. In my case, I bought it because it played super nice, sounded great and the color is just stunning. Is it perfect? Heck no. Prototypes in many cases are put together with what parts happen to be kicking around. That is what makes them unique. I don't think for one second that this guitar plays or sounds any better than it's production version. It's certainly not disappointing that it could be a 1 of 1 that's for sure. |
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Location: Boise, Idaho | I like the history. I like the fact that someone spent some time thinking about it and making it primarily by hand. I like the fact that it looks fantastic, plays well and is unique. All those things make it more interesting to me than any one of those things separately. |
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Location: Taxed To Death State | I think this pic shows the color better.
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Location: Tennessee | That color and herringbone were lifted from the Anniversary guitar. Looks great. From the looks of everything, I would guess they were prototyping how to make a more "standard" (affordable) version of the 1537 ... which at the time was the most expensive guitar in the Ovation line.
Nice guitar. Good get. |
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Location: south east Michigan | Looks Good / Plays Good / Sounds Good
That's a hat trick right there! |
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Location: Suisun City, Ca | <p>I love the look of the single wood-type epis, the herringbone, everything! Sweet! I notice no layered headstock and, I assume, heel-plate like the '37.</p><p>Does the fret board "float" over the top?</p>
Edited by AstroDan 2014-02-11 5:23 PM
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Location: Taxed To Death State | Fretboard is glued to the top. |
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Location: Nashville TN. | Very nice find! |
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Location: Taxed To Death State | Now if I could just find me a slot head Adamas...... |
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Location: California | Nice guitar, the number 120883 will be for m/d/year. congratulations!
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Location: Nova Scotia, Canada | Super find!
Wayne |
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Location: California | Nice guitar, the number 120883 will be for m/d/year. congratulations!
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Location: Taxed To Death State | Fixed the electronics today. The battery was plugged into the PU port. |
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Location: Boise, Idaho | You're killing me. Will you go look through some old barns and see if you can find an old Porsche for me? |
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Location: Taxed To Death State | Mark this is the best find I have ever stepped in trust me. I wish I found the old Porche Model 1. My Uncle actually found this for me so he really gets all the credit. I just bank rolled the find. |
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Location: Flahdaw | I'll give you $295 for it right now.... |
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Location: Taxed To Death State | if you add a zero to that number maybe. |
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Location: Flahdaw | danomyte - 2014-02-12 8:07 PM
if you add a zero to that number maybe.
Yeah, that's a great find. I'm still waiting for something like that to fall in my lap... |
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Location: Des Moines, Iowa | Super Sweet Guitar! Ya gotta love those wooden knobs, which I believe... in my uneducated (but learning) memory is an Adamas feature. The one thing you didn't mention was how much you paid, which you'll have to forgive me for asking if that's out of "protocol" for the group. I'm a bit new, so just slap me if I get out of line and I'll figure it out. Of course it does help those of us less educated on pricing to learn what others have paid for this year of this model of that type of guitar, because it helps us build our own mental price buying guide for future reference.
Sweet find no matte the price, since I know for myself that I've paid and probably will pay more than I should for something I really want in mint condition.
But that's just me, because I'm a....
SillyLittleBoy |
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Location: Colorado | There are a few original slotheads floating around |
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Location: Taxed To Death State | Ovation guys told me the wooden knobs are from an early adamas guitar. They probably were just kicking around the factory and they threw them on. I traded another guitar so no monies exchanged hands. My wife appreciated that :-) As far as value goes, I have no idea what its worth, but early Elites bring some good scratch. They are really nice playing sounding guitars. At the end of the day it's pretty much worth what someone wants to pay for it and how bad they want it. |
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Location: Des Moines, Iowa | danomyte, you said it JUST right. I'm probably going to be guilty (if I'm not already) of paying more than I should have or could have paid for a particular guitar just because it was something I really wanted and just the right year and model that turned my head or felt right in my arms. I paid $100 for an old 1979 Legend model 1617 that had a long crack in the top, the bridge was broken and torn off completely, (taking a thin layer of the top with it), the tuning pegs are pretty pitted, and there's not much shine left in that top's finish, BUT... I have another 1979-year Legend (model 1651), so when I discovered (by serial number) that that guitar was basically the same as my other Legend (year, series, and basic materials) I couldn't resist buying it and paying even more money to repair the crack, buy a new bridge and have it attached, and I might even get real stupid and have it completely refinished. I've already paid/put almost $250 into it, which is probably more than what many/most would value one already in very good shape and I might end up putting even MORE money into it.
So, it's definitely about preference and what sounds, looks, or feels good to you OR just makes you FEEL good owning it. If you're buying and selling for profit or to finance upgrades, then emotion, sentimentality, or desire of ANY kind towards ANY guitar better not come into play. Dang it, I guess I'm not quite there yet, because something sweet like this guitar coming into my view would most certainly cause me to throw logic and caution right out the window along with my brain AND my bank account. |
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