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February 2002
Posts: 5750
Location: Scotland | Originally posted by shar:
The guys at the shop were very impressed with the elite koa, and they claimed that the top was solid. i guess they knew what they were talking about... :cool:
Guys in guitar stores who know what they're talking about? Wow! what a great concept, maybe some of them should try it.
Cliff, It's "wanker" not "wank" if you're going to be offensive in the Queen's English please try to be grammatically correct. |
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December 2003
Posts: 43
| I meant the guys at the shop, not the sales :)
don't you have that in UK?
:D :D :D
Hey what time is it in UK now? |
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November 2002
Posts: 1196
Location: Lafayette, Louisiana | Just because you remove the back plate and see wood grain that looks like the top does not mean it is a solid top. On the 2002 collectors, I took the back plate off, and the grain looked just like the top. Kim Keller told me the top was African Cherry/Birch/African Cherry laminate. I agree with Paul T. VERY FEW guys in music stores know much about Ovations! |
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December 2003
Posts: 43
| cool :cool: |
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May 2002
Posts: 3005
Location: Las Cruces, NM | WOW
I was an expert on KOA wood instruments, having had the opportunity to buy a custom made Koa lap Dobro steel from John Dopyro in Escondido, CA in the 70's. Koa was a Hawiaiin Steel guitar wood in the 50's and 60's not noted for its resonence but a beautiful wood to support an electric pickup, one that Les Paul and Leo Fender would value but Martin would reject. In other words a beautiful backing for an electric, a KOA Les Paul would be great, but a wood that has NO acoustic properties.
Bailey |
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February 2002
Posts: 5750
Location: Scotland | The acoustic properties of Koa are comparable to similar hardwoods such as Rosewood & Walnut. Koa is a fine choice for back and sides, not only for it's appearance but also for it's acoustic performance. Far from rejecting Koa, Martin have often used Koa for their guitars, for tops as well as rims & backs. Many of their "H" suffix (Hawaiian) guitars were Koa, many of which later owners instaled frets and a low nut for regular playing, and Martin made thousands of Koa ukes. Weissenborn (And his other brand Kona) were mostly all-koa and their sound is legendary. Koa makes fine sounding acoustic guitars, but to get back to my original point, as a top material it doesn't sound "worse" than spruce, but it does sound very different. |
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January 2002
Posts: 14127
Location: 6 String Ranch | Koa is a nice wood for guitars but I've found that it has limited effectiveness. As Paul T states, spruce sounds better. I've found that little guitars sound good in Koa but not big ones. I had a D-42K (spruce top, koa B&S)and it was nothing special. I looked at the all Koa Martin D's and again, nada. I had a jumbo Collings, all curley Koa and it just didn't get it either. Now I also have a C-10 Collings all curley koa and that is great. (Like a B-25 gibson body size) I also recently picked up a '31 O-18K Martin and it's a wonderful guitar for fingerstyle things, bright and very responsive. A friend has a "28 O-28K and it's the same.
There's my two cents. |
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July 2002
Posts: 1900
| paul, the acoustic properties of wood is a interesting subject; what's a good source for study or research on that? i've seen so many different guitar tops, but it seems most are for cosmetics rather than acoustics or harmonics...
steve |
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February 2002
Posts: 5750
Location: Scotland | Steve, I'm not sure where to find research material. I've been around instruments & guitar builders for so long, and read so much stuff over the years, but I'm no expert. I guess there must be a ton of material on the web. www.frets.com might be a good place to start. |
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December 2003
Posts: 43
| Here is another one:
http://www.acousticfingerstyle.com/
;) |
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January 2002
Posts: 14127
Location: 6 String Ranch | And another two cents, a Weissenborn that is NOT made from Koa just won't sound as good. |
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February 2002
Posts: 5750
Location: Scotland | I have a 2 Weissenborn replicas in stock at the moment. One is all Koa and sounds absolutely stunning, one is all mahogany and sounds pretty good by comparison, bearing in mind that nothing else sounds like a Weissenborn. The Koa one is almost 3 times the price of the Mahogany |
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April 2003
Posts: 2503
Location: Fayetteville, NC | I have a Friend who started playing guitar on an entry level Epiphone. After playing around and getting better about a year later he got a great deal on a new Koa Model alvarez. he still has it along with two Spruce top taylors. I've played that Alvarez. The top was Solid Koa the back and sides Looked Laminate. The Sound was good. Just Different from Spruce .(Which is What I Prefer)
Even after 2 Taylor purchases(One a Black with Flame Collecors edition) hge still refuses to part with his Alvarez.
For the Record: When My Elite 12 String arrived last August to the workplace . He Played it and was really impressed with the Craftmanship, Sound and Action of it.Anytime it come with me he just has to play it! He said, And I Quote "God this thing is Loud and the tone is unbelievable. I had no idea and Ovation could Sound this Great!" He's Still a Taylor Snob, but at least Ovation made an impression on him!
As For the Soud of Koa like I said, It's Different than Spruce- Not as Bright. But it still has a pretty good sound on some guitar models and is stunning to look at. |
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June 2002
Posts: 1614
Location: Converse, Texas | I learned on a Harmony roundtop, then went to an Epihpone, then a Guild, then a Martin D-45. But once I tried a Legend ... I never turned back! :cool: |
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Hokey Smoke What A Guitar!!!!!!!!!!!!
