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Location: Las Vegas, Nv | I need some advice from experienced Ovation fans.
In the past 4 years I have been through about 40 guitars looking for my ideal off-road/on-road nylon string, cutaway, thin-body, electric guitar--an instrument that can stand on its own acoustically but also play like an electric and respond well in performance and recording.
I recently played an Ovation 1863 and was surprised at the comfort, tone, and projection of the shallow body. But I did not like the 2" nut width or the long scale.
So I turned my attention to the 6773LX with a 1 6/8 nut width, which I like. But I do not like the mid sized bowl and various reports suggest that the the projection of the 67 is not as good as that found in the 1773LX (could this be the difference between a spruce and a cedar top?)
In looking at the 1773 I find the the mid sized bowl. Which brings me to the notion of a custom guitar.
I'm thinking of a shallow body Ovation with a cedar top, cutaway, 25 1/4" scale, ebony fret board and bridge, 1 6/8" nut width. Does this combination sound workable? Does Ovation do custom work? What do you think the price would be for such an instrument?
Thank you for any advice you can pass along. Hope this finds you all well and in good spirits. Evan |
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Posts: 1817
Location: Minden, Nebraska | Hi, Evan
Welcome to the OFC. I can't really weigh in on all of this, since I don't play nylon string Ovations.
However, there will be obvious tonal differences with different woods AND the fact that Ovation has several different bracing schemes, of which the LX is one.
You have at least couple of options as far as the custom guitar is concerned. One is to contact Kim Keller or John Budny at the Ovation Custom Shop and inquire. Another I recommend is to contact Al Pepiak at Lost Art Vintage, one of the sponsors of this website. Al has a close association with Ovation and working knowledge of custom orders.
No idea about price... Good luck! |
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Location: SoCal | Evan, you need to go thru Al or another dealer (I'd go with Al personally) as a custom guitar can only be ordered thru a dealer. John and Kim run the repair shop/customer service. This is not their area.
As to whether Ovation can do what you want, sure they can. |
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Location: NJ | If you are interested.
send me the specs I will get it priced out for you and you can go from there.
or go to the dealer of your choice |
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Location: Tennessee | Have you played a Viper EA63? It may fit the bill for you ... although the top is spruce. |
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Posts: 1673
Location: SoCal | My EA63 has a cedar top. I thought they all did. |
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July 2007
Posts: 5
Location: Las Vegas, Nv | Thanks to all of you. I'm going to check out the various recommendations. How do think a shallow-bowl, cedar-faced,Ebony fret board and bridge, cut-a-way Ovation will sound? will it come close to the 1863 in projection and tone?? |
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Posts: 5750
Location: Scotland | an instrument that can stand on its own acoustically but also play like an electric and respond well in performance and recording.
Evan [/QB] You need at least two or possibly three different guitars. There is not a single instrument which will meet all of your critera without some degree of compromise. |
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Location: Las Vegas, Nv | Five years ago, I would have agreed with you, which is why I have 8 guitars. However, there are a number of relatively new guitars that come close to the on-road/off-road instrument I'm looking for. For example, I have a Takamine Santa Fe (ESF60C)that stands on its own as an acoustic or as a performance/recording tool--it's just a little thick for me (4 inches). The Ovation 1863 that I played seemed to project very well and I really liked its shallow bowl--which is why I'm considering a special order.
I would also point to the Ibanez AEG10N and the Fender Grand Nylon (GN45SCE)as examples of thin body nylon string electric guitars that come close (for me) to being all-around-instruments.
Anyway, I appreciate your thinking on this matter and hope that you are wrong. Hopefully, in a year or so I'll get back with a more definitive assessment. Take care. Evan |
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Location: Budd Lake, NJ | Evan;
Private message sent.
--Karen |
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Posts: 5750
Location: Scotland | Evan, I make a significant proportion of my living as a musician and currently own around 40 instruments, and the reason for that is that I'm not prepared to compromise. You need the right tool for the job, and it's a little ambitious to expect a thin-bodied electro-acoustic, with electric guitar playabilty to be the only or primary tool. Good luck in your quest. |
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Location: 6 String Ranch | To get the sound of an 1863 in a shallow bowl ain't gonna happen. Get an 1863 with the ctwy and the neck you like. |
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Location: Minden, Nebraska | Isn't the 1863 a shallow bowl cutaway by nature?
The EA63 is a great stage/studio nylon string but it doesn't stand on it's on acoustically. |
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Location: 6 String Ranch | Yeah, I guess you're right. I fergit these numbers.
Just call up Al and order what you want. |
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Location: Las Vegas, Nv | cwk2 Or maybe the first 1863s were a mid bowl and not cutaway?
PAUL: You sound like a professional musician and from a professional perspective I could see where you might use all fourty of your guitars in your music. I am limiting myself to nylon string guitars because I like them better with my voice. So when i say an "all around guitar," I mean one that plays acoustically and/or wired with the kind of material I sing and play.
Having excluded steel string guitars and numerous types of music from my search, I hope that I can find my on/road off/road guitar, my perfect nylon string, cutaway, acoustic/electric, slim-neck, thin nut, fine sounding guitar.
In the meantime I am out there checking out Ovations, using my Takamine Santa Fe as the top of the scale.
Twhich excludes a lot of sounds. |
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custom ovation