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Joined:
February 2018
Posts: 67
Location: Oklahoma City | Last night I was comparing my '82 1615 vs the '06 1618 Reissue. The 1615 is much brighter, with almost a jangly banjo type sound, whereas the 1618 Reissue offers a much more mellow sound. My question - is this unique to the 1618 Reissue or were original 1618s similar in comparison? I've never played an original 1618. Perhaps they used a different bracing? |
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Joined:
March 2002
Posts: 15664
Location: SoCal | Interesting observation Brad. As far as I know, Ovation always used braced their 12 fret 12 strings with a fan braced top. In all honesty, I never cared for that brighter sound. The 14 fret 12 strings used a "modified" A brace that can be found in this catalog http://www.ovationtribute.com/Catalogues/Ovation%20Newsletter%202/O... I would imagine that the Elite and Adamas 12 strings use the Quintad bracing |
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Joined:
May 2011
Posts: 755
Location: Muenster/Germany | Basically these guitars should be identical, except for the golden tuners. They have the strangest bracing of all times...
But imagine the older top wood of your ´82, it has dried out years more than the newer one. And maybe you have less shims under the bridge of the older guitar, this causes a different string angle. And I am quite sure that the ´82 has a different bowl, they used quite heavy ones in those days.
But IMHO the 1615 always tended to be a bit sharp to my ears and I preferred the 1618 or better, if available, the custom legend 1658 which is a class of it´s own.
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Joined:
February 2018
Posts: 67
Location: Oklahoma City | The 1615 is significantly heavier than the 1618 Reissue, that was immediately evident. A couple years ago I recall having a similar experience when comparing the 1618 Reissue with my 1658....1658 was again brighter and more jangly. Because they are currently stored in different areas, I have not compared the 1615 with the 1658 to see how those two fare against one another. |
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Joined:
December 2017
Posts: 104
Location: Gardnerville, NV | When I compared my 1658 to my 1659, the 1658 came off like a cannon as opposed to the 1659. I'm sure it was due to the different bracing, sound hole placement on the top as compared to the 1659. The slightest strum on the 1658 made so much more noise than the 1659. Loved both, but the 12 fret gave me a cramped feeling when I played it. |
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Tone discussion - '82 1615 vs '06 1618 Reissue