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Joined:
July 2005
Posts: 354
Location: Flushing, MI | After seeing all of the J. McLaughlin/L. Coryell clips on YouTube, and various others, I think I'm falling head over heels in love with the old style Balladeer, Legends, and the occasional Glen Campbell model. I'm finding the older ones pretty cheap on ebay. I think that it's a wonderful thing that they're not popular anymore, since we can pick them up so cheap nowdays.
Is the post 1980, non truss rod cover models (A brace) considered to be the preferable ones? Or is that just a matter of personal opinion? I've yet to play to pre-80 model. Is there THAT big of a difference? |
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Joined:
January 2004
Posts: 799
Location: Athens, GA & Gnashville | My experience has that it really depends on the individual guitar. I have a V braced 1127 that is still my favorite recording guitar. It sounds very balanced, open and sweeeeet!
Like quite a few people here, I have models from 1968 all the way through to the current production. They all sound great for different reasons.
That is not to say I haven't owned a couple of dud Ovations, 'cause I have. My 1982 Collectors' was one of the worst sounding guitars (acoustically speaking) I've ever heard! But, it sure was purty.
Some people here will tell you that you will have better luck with the X and A braced Ovations, and I can't disagree. But don't discount the 70's made O's. It just depends on the particular instrument |
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Joined:
February 2002
Posts: 5750
Location: Scotland | There was a transition period in the late 1970's where the Legends had gone from VT to A bracing but still had a conventional neck-rod rather than the K-bar. These in my experience are usually great-sounding guitars. (Patriots, Legend Ltds, and Anniversary models were around this time and the same generally applies) Late 70's pre K-bar Custom Balladeers with 5-piece necks can be pretty damn good too.
Maybe it's just a personal bias or down to the particular guitars i've played (A LOT!) but I find most of the early K-bar guitars to be very heavily built and pretty clunky acoustically. |
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Joined:
March 2007
Posts: 665
Location: Tychy, Poland | what is tradiional neck-rod and what is K-bar? |
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Joined:
November 2005
Posts: 4833
Location: Campbell River, British Columbia | Enquiring minds.....and dooofuses......want to know. |
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Joined:
January 2004
Posts: 799
Location: Athens, GA & Gnashville | The traditional neck is easily recognizable by truss rod cover on the front of the headstock. Underneath the cover is a where the adjustment to the truss rod embedded in the neck is made.
The K-bar Ovations have no truss rod cover, just a solid wood veneer, on the front of the headstock.
Someone else can do a better job of explaining what the K bar is than I. It is adjustable from inside the bowl where the neck connects. Ovation still offers the K bar as an option on some models. They make the neck virtually indestructible, but very top heavy and heavy overall. My traveling guitar for the last 27 years has been a 1980 1717. It has been accidentally been thrown across a 50 foot stage and survived with just a couple of nicks. That blow would have probably destroyed any regular truss rod guitar. BTW, my 1980 K bar sounds very good! But as Paul says, a lot of them sound very muted. |
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Joined:
August 2006
Posts: 2804
Location: ranson,wva | ill take a shot at it.
arnt all bolt on necks kbar? i had a '82 or '83 1567 legend ssb that was the cats ass. that guitar was the best sounding ssb guitar i have ever owned of played. it was a kbar. as to the explination of ho it works.
heres the best i can do...its a big ass peice of aluminium that runs from the first fret to the neck block where it attaches to the bowl. inside the alum.bar is a rod that adjusts at inside the bowl. they hold adjustment verry well. i know this because i broke the headstock of my old beater legend and couldnt fix it so i cut the neck in half lengthwise on the band saw to see what was inside..lol jason |
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Joined:
November 2005
Posts: 4833
Location: Campbell River, British Columbia | Nothing to do with the topic at hand, but....
...only place I could (hell, I'm drunk) think to insert this. (Did I mention, I'm drunk?) and it came to mind.
-sometime in the '70's (the everything the 60s claimed they were) at a sales pitch. From a stage with a bare micstand and a speaker.
"Jeff, (name changed for local entertainment) throw me the .....(now this is gonna suck, cos I just looked aroudn for the answer).....Electrovoice XXXXXX" (I know it's an EV, Can't remember or find it right now...)
woooooooosh! crack! (off the back wall)
Reg: "That's not the EVXXXX!"
(throws it to the back of the room)
wooowooowoowooo.....crack.
Jeff: " Yes it is!"
(picks it up and tosses)
woooowooowooowoooo......crack
(plugs into empty line)
"Ladies and gentlemen, the Electrocvoice XXXXXXX"
sales were good that night. |
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Balladeers, Legends, and Campbells, OH MY!