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Location: Frozen Tundra of Minnesota | Last night, my Brother and his Son in Law, Paul, brought over some of Don's furniture and stuff to store at my house (temporarily...), and Paul saw all of my Collection downstairs. The only one that was out, was the Applause (because it has no case) and he wanted to know all about Ovations, and why these guitars were so different. My Brother had told me that Paul played guitar, but he never said what, or how good. But Paul started strumming it, and you could actually see the light go on.
I told him to take it home and have fun with it, he was thrilled!
They came back this morning to bring another load, (temporarily...) and the first thing out of Paul's mouth was. "I blame it all on you." I am used to hearing this, so no biggie, and asked "what now?" He said that he was up until 4 this morning playing that Ovation and couldn't wait to get home and play some more.
I found out that he plays a Gibson and Ibanez, but he could not get over the Ovation neck, the bowl, the sound, how good it felt next to his body, on and on. So I got out a couple of the "good ones" and asked him to play.
4 hours later, lots of head shaking, and trying to keep my jaw from hanging open, my Brother and I had one of the finest Concerts I have ever heard. This guy is Crazy Good! Phenominal even! He is now a very Staunch Ovation supporter, and proud Owner (I know, an Applause doesn't really count, but like I told him, Ovation doesn't make a bad guitar, even the cheapest one is a Great Guitar, they just get better up the line!) And he definitely had his favorites amongst all of the ones he played!
His first impression was he LOVED the slim neck, and the shape of the neck, and how fast it is. He said it was easier to play than his Electric. He liked the Contour Bowl and Mid-Bowl, but when he played the 1976 Custom Balladeer, Deep Bowl, he said he could sit with this guitar on his lap all night, it just fit his body so perfectly. He likes Cutaways best, because he uses the entire fretboard, and can get to the high notes so easily. And he could not believe the sound that came out of a "plastic" bowl, and the sustain these guitars have. He was also very appreciative of the incredible detailing on each guitar, that the inlays were not stickers, but actual inlay, how the sound hole was sanded so incredibly smooth, and the beautiful paint jobs on each one.
I am going to blackmail my Brother for keeping his stuff at my house (temporarily...) with lessons from Paul! He has to have something on him!  This kid is really something! And it was SO nice hearing what these guitars can really do when in the hands of someone who really knows what they are doing! (I do not.) It would be interesting too, to see how 2 people with ADHD can teach/learn something that takes so much focus together in one room. Good for a laugh anyway!
Add another Ovation Lover to the List! 
Edited by Nancy 2015-05-23 4:06 PM
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Location: Flahdaw | See, now THAT'S why I think Ovation needs to push "the neck" in it's future marketing campaigns (if it ever comes to pass). Lot's of guitars sound good, but how many have that great, insanely playable neck????
(Well, other than a Conant)
Edited by Darkbar 2015-05-23 4:24 PM
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Location: Jet City | darkbarguitar - 2015-05-23 2:22 PM See, now THAT'S why I think Ovation needs to push "the neck" in it's future marketing campaigns (if it ever comes to pass). Lot's of guitars sound good, but how many have that great, insanely playable neck???? (Well, other than a Conant) Preaching to the choir here my friend. It's why I play 'em. |
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Location: Indiana | It's also why they need to be available to be played... in stores.
I know. Broken record. |
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Location: Frozen Tundra of Minnesota | Jonmark Stone - 2015-05-23 5:11 PM
It's also why they need to be available to be played... in stores.
I know. Broken record.
You are absolutely correct! I could have touted the benefits and playability of an Ovation until the cows came home, but he saw it, started asking questions (which Thanks to all of you, I told him probably allot more than he wanted to know), but the minute he started playing it, you could actually *See* the light come on!
You are right, they need to BE THERE for people to try... Seeing them on a website without trying them will not do it. |
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Location: Hot Springs, S.D. | I guess that's why even though I only sell used Ovations, I can't keep them in stock. I HAVE them, and when people TRY them, they BUY them. And yeah, it is usually the neck that gets them first. Then they notice the tone and the looks. I especially love it when I get a 12-string in and someone comes in saying they can't play a 12-string because they are too hard to play. I whip one off the wall and start playing bar chords all up and down the neck, then hand it to them. They usually end up buying it on the spot. |
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Location: 6 String Ranch | Yes they are great guitars, the world still yawns and goes and buys a fucking Taylor. |
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Location: Frozen Tundra of Minnesota | cwk2 - 2015-05-23 6:04 PM
Yes they are great guitars, the world still yawns and goes and buys a fucking Taylor.
For now....
Let's give DW a chance to do some Marketing Magic, and turn F*****'s F*** Up, into a whole new Ovation/Adamas Generation!
Once people play them, they will buy them, or they don't deserve them. There are allot of followers out there, but being different is ALWAYS more fun! . It is what drew our attention back then, and will do it again.
Seeing Paul's excitement today shows that there are 'real' musicians out there, that know the difference as soon as they play them. I can guarantee he will never buy another Brand now. But if I catch him sneaking in my house to steal one of mine, I will still shoot him! |
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Location: Canada | cwk2 - 2015-05-23 5:04 PM Yes they are great guitars, the world still yawns and goes and buys a fucking Taylor. But would they if they tried an Ovation hanging beside it in the store? I can only speak for 12 strings, but the Taylors are pathetic in that field yet on AGF there's always a moron posting questions about wanting to buy one ... |
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Location: 6 String Ranch | well Nancy, i love your enthusiasm. hopefully it catches on, having invented the flag pole and then been up and down it more times than i can count, you do get a little jaded. I sure hope DW makes a big success out of it and will do whatever to help them. |
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Location: Frozen Tundra of Minnesota | I was thinking of you Beal, when I saw that light go on in Paul's eyes, and when he was going Mach IV with his hair on fire, up and down that neck. You could see the excitement, like someone turning out a spring colt on the first sunny day! Pure Joy! I wished that you were there to see what you created, and how it affects people still today!
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Location: Orlando, FL | Great story Nancy! Paul just experienced the same thing we all did when we had our own Ovation moments!
Now put an Ovation electric in his hands and he will have that experience all over again! |
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Location: Frozen Tundra of Minnesota | It really was fun to watch him light up, and have so much Fun! I will never forget the first time I saw my first Ovation hanging on the wall, and just HAD to play it, and of course, the second I did, I was Sold! So it was allot of fun for me to see his excitement too!
Another thing Paul mentioned was that the bowl on the Ovation didn't cut into his leg like his other guitars do after long periods of time - the rounded back was very comfortable to hold. I like that too, and having had surgery on my chest, the rounded bowl is very nice up against your body, instead of a hard edged regular guitar.
I don't have an Electric - I will probably have to get one for my Collection - and put "Play an Electric Ovation through an Amp" on my Bucket List! I have never used an amp either. It would be fun to play off the deck over the ravine and terrorize my neighbor, his nickname is Crusty...
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Location: Caribou, ME | *I know, an Applause doesn't really count* |
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Location: Frozen Tundra of Minnesota | I am sorry KSDaddy, they DO too count!
Paul made that guitar just SING!! And I had told him, *Ovation doesn't make a bad guitar, even the cheapest one is a Great Guitar, they just get better up the line!*
My apologies, they are part and parcel of Ovation too! They have all the same technology that went into all the rest of them!
Edited by Nancy 2015-05-25 10:38 AM
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Location: Steeler Nation, Hudson Valley Contingent | naellis58 - 2015-05-23 5:02 stuff to store at my house (temporarily...) Famous last words... |
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Location: Frozen Tundra of Minnesota | patchmcg - 2015-05-25 10:44 AM
naellis58 - 2015-05-23 5:02 stuff to store at my house (temporarily...) Famous last words...
That is what I am terrified of....  |
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Location: SoCal | Nancy,
Well, at least you have a big barn to move the 'stuff' to...or an auction if he doesn't move it out within a stated time.
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Location: Tennessee | I know how Paul feels (although he is apparently light years ahead of me as a player). I as always intrigued by Ovations, but never even held one. A few weeks ago I had an out-of-the-blue feeling that I "had to have" one. Got an email from an online seller about "special financing" and thought it must be a sign, but when I looked, all I saw were Chinese Celebrities. It was only on inquiry that I learned the fate of Ovation, and starting doing some digging. Cutting to the chase- I found a nearly-new 6778 LX for less than the new ones I was looking at. When it arrived, I could not believe what I had been missing!
Of course, you all know what comes after the first... |
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Location: Frozen Tundra of Minnesota | LOL!!!! Yeppers! MORE Ovations!!!
Welcome Allen!!! We want pictures of your new Ovation!!
What did you used to play? |
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Location: Tennessee | Thanks, Nancy. I can't claim the title of player; more like a "fooler", but have owned quite a variety of instruments over the years- mostly electric. Apart from the Kay of my youth (unfortunately destroyed in my youth), the only acoustics I've ever owned are an Alverez classical (regrettably sold years ago) and a '90 Epiphone PR350S, which I still have (although it may need to depart to make Ovation room ??).
I'm still leading my way around this forum, but will try to add a pic of my first O. Yes, she has sisters now, but they need a bit of attention before they are ready to be photographed.
[can't seem to get a file size small enough to include in the post, but I did create a gallery and was able to upload it there]
Edited by Allen 2015-05-26 6:15 PM
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Location: Jet City | 
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Location: Texas | That is a beautiful burst. |
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Location: Frozen Tundra of Minnesota | It is Beautiful Allen!!!
Thank You for the picture!!!!
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Location: Tennessee | Thanks for the help, Damon67!
It was listed as an "in store demo" with a gouge in the top (pic wasn't great, but it didn't look that bad to me), so I'm thinking I might have lucked up on one made the last couple of years they were made in New Haven, with a bit of wear built-in.
What I received was an '04 (pre-Fender, I know, but wasn't that the first or second year of the LX?), the "gouge" appears to be only a sliver of knot in the top, ~ 0.01"x0.3", that the finish was applied over. That, and minor marring on the back of the neck, low E side, near the first fret (on/off a wall hanger?), are the only things preventing it from being called "mint"... Not even any pick marks!
So... All that, plus a neck I didn't know existed on an acoustic, a tuner/preamp that is unreal, and a body that just BEGS (or demands) to he hugged make for a life-changing experience!
Too bad I still have to work, tend to the house, etc. |
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Location: Colorado Rocky Mountains | It was't Ovation's sound or playability that attracted me to my first purchase in 1971 or thereabouts. It was its durability. I went looking for a Gibson. The owner of the small music store had two Ovations hanging up, then took one down and swung it like a baseball bat against the corner of the sales counter. It bounced off the corner and almost came out of his hands, but there wasn't a mark on the bowl where it hit. I bought the other one hanging on the wall. |
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Location: Suisun City, Ca | damon67 - 2015-05-26 4:36 PM
That burst, the light fingerboard (walnut?) AND the black headstock Wow! Just wow. Really nice get |
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Location: Tennessee | Thanks, AstroDan!
I took this in the sunlight to bring out the detail, but it does skew the color accuracy somewhat. It's actually a New England Burst; outdoors it looks almost cherry, inside it it looks more brown. The fingerboard is rosewood, but has probably never been oiled (taking care of that this weekend). |
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Location: Jet City | Like this one? 
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Location: Tennessee | Yep, like a twin! |
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Location: Always beautiful canyon country of Utah | Anyone who would treat a fine guitar that way deserves a fate worse than ?? |
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Location: Keepin' It Weird in Portland, OR | I got one o' dem... 
crappy, blurry photo... But it is still a Nice guitar.
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Location: Latitude 39.56819, Longitude -105.080066 | Nancy, if it is not sold, the 30th Anniversary Custom Legend in the For Sale section would be a great guitar for Paul to snag. |
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Location: SoCal | I bought my first Ovation in 1986 and still own. Was exposed to them way before but my choice to own one was sound and playability. Years later I own a few more but these instruments talk to me and I love it. |
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Location: Frozen Tundra of Minnesota | stephent28 - 2015-05-28 12:24 AM
Nancy, if it is not sold, the 30th Anniversary Custom Legend in the For Sale section would be a great guitar for Paul to snag.
I saw that too! But I know with 3 little kids, a wife that doesn't work, and they just bought their first house, he could not swing it, even though it is a Fabulous price!!! Thanks Stephent!!! |
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Location: closely held secret | naellis58 - 2015-05-28 1:54 PM
with 3 little kids, a wife that doesn't work
Seriously, Nancy. Even I know better than to say something like that if there's any chance a mother is listening.....
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Location: Frozen Tundra of Minnesota | Waskel@Work - 2015-05-28 7:56 PM
naellis58 - 2015-05-28 1:54 PM
with 3 little kids, a wife that doesn't work
Seriously, Nancy. Even I know better than to say something like that if there's any chance a mother is listening.....
OMG! You are right!!! I didn't even think of that!!! And she could kick my butt too!!! Thank You Waskel, I will never make a remark like that again! Of corse she works, and hard, I have been around those kids! Let me amend that to "does not bring in an income."
Mea Culpa, Mea Culpa, Mea Culpa. |
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Location: Canberra, Australia | You could always buy it for him, in exchange for guitar lessons |
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