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Joined:
December 2018
Posts: 11
Location: Norfolk, UK | Good Morning all
Thank you for letting me join and pick your collective brains. My name is Ralph and I am from the UK, I'm 58 and now getting back into guitar playing properly after a 10 year break.
Around 12 years ago I had a 'mid-life crisis' and bought a Tanglewood TW28 acoustic and a Yamaha Pacifica electric with the intention of finally learning to play. Something I have always wanted to do since I was a teenager. Unfortunately, that intention soon wained and after a year or so the two guitars just sat forlornly reminding me of my failure.
Recently an old friend had his own 'MLC', bought a guitar and started to learn to play. We now meet up every couple of weeks, drink some beer, make a twanging noise and generally have a good time.
However, this has rekindled the fire as I now have more time, more inclination and more opportunity to learn. I picked up my 12 years old Tanglewood and really had trouble playing it. My best friend 'google' taught me about guitar setup and so I took it to my local store and had the 12-year-old string replaced and the action lowered. Amazingly this helped (Doh!). I am taking my first lesson with a guitar tutor tomorrow.
As I progress I am also starting to revisit much of the music I used to listen to. This included Glen Campbell, REO Speedwagon, ELO, etc. etc. and I also 'discovered' Mike Masse (https://mikemasse.com/) and absolutely loved his sound. This led me to Ovation and I realised that this was a common instrument in all the music I liked.
So, to the point of this waffle. I am now in need of a serious 'upgrade', for my old Tanglewood, and I have decided that it will be an ovation elite model. After hours and hours of research, trying to work my way through the Ultra, LX, TX, Legend, Signature, USA, Korea, Applause, factory closure, factory reopening, factory closing again, mess that is Ovation history I have narrowed it down to a couple of models, the Ovation 2078AX-1 Elite AX and the Ovation 2778AX-NEB and I want to ask the collective which one is likely to be a better guitar.
Before you all scream at me :D there are a couple of things you need to know:
1. I would love a USA built model, but simply can't afford one.
2. There are only a couple of dealers that stock Ovations in the whole of the UK and they are, at least, 150 miles away and have a limited stock.
3. Secondhand Ovations can be found in the UK, but decent ones are few and far between. You can find plenty of Applauses and Celebritys, but I want to go to a pro-grade guitar. Once again I will have to travel a long distance to possibly find a 'dog' at the end.
4. I would prefer a contoured body which narrows down the secondhand search even more.
5. I will probably buy from an online retailer without trying (there is a 30 day money back return option) hence why I am asking opinions.
The differences I can see between the two guitars are:
2078 has ebony fretboard and bridge, 5-Piece neck: Mahogany/Maple, gold plated fitting and comes with a hard case
2778 shop states rosewood fretboard and bridge, Ovation website states ebony, (I've asked the shop about the discrepancy) has silver die-cast fitting, no case.
2078 is €966 ($1100) and the 2778 + case is €840 ($950). So there is only €120 ($130) difference.
Any advice, opinion, bias, witticism or other statement helping me to make my choice would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks
Ralph
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Joined:
September 2006
Posts: 10777
Location: Keepin' It Weird in Portland, OR | For $130 difference (12%) you should buy the one that you like best.
I would probably buy the New England Burst, cuz they are purdy.
http://www.ovationguitars.com/guitars-six-strings/2778AX-NEB
You have been "upgraded" so that you can post in the General Posting section and others.
Only a few people can respond in this section. More people can respond in General Posting.
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Joined:
December 2018
Posts: 11
Location: Norfolk, UK | Thanks for that. I shall shorten my message and repost. Hopefully, the massing throngs are just chomping at the bit to give me advice :D | |
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New Member, new-ish guitarist and a new question about a new guitar!