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| First post newbie here. Been playing guitars since I bought Scott Kempers old SG around 1980. The Ovation line is long and storied but is there a consensus on the absolute pinnacle of this fine company? What I mean to say is, what is the most coveted Ovation and why so? |
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Location: Upper Left USA | One of the original Slotheads would hold the crown based on historical and qualitative issues.
Then we can squable over single hole and multihole, hand laid bowls or Carbon Fiber, innies or outies and a whole lot of nonsense.
The best one is whichever one you are holding at the time. |
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| MWoody
I've read so many of your posts, I feel like I already know who you are. I guess it makes sense the acoustics are favored over the solid body electrics. Was the UK II the last US made model? Which of the electrics had a tapered heel? I searched here for a list and couldn't find one so could we make one up here or on another thread? |
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Location: Upper Left USA | Let's try this; type the answer you were expecting to hear and then you might get some responses.
It would be an enjoyable conversation. I don't think there is any "One" model or type.
If I got to be King and could have any guitar I wanted - Cat Steven's brown 1689 slothead #56, it deserves to see a little daylight... |
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Location: Upper Left USA | BTW - have you bought the 2014 Calendar yet? |
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| MWoody
Thank you for your attention. Expecting an answer mitigates the reason to ask a question in the first place. Are you implying that I won't get a reply I can use without a calendar? That is a somewhat heavy handed promotion considering I'm not even a 'real' member yet 
Seriously, rather than making me look up the photos of the entire Ovation history (of which the solid body electrics seem to be the minority) and hoping that they all show the neck joint would be a lot less efficient than asking for a list from those that know from memory. If you don't know enough about the electrics to direct me to the models with this attribute, then refer to then please refer me to a person or URL that can. |
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Location: Upper Left USA | One of the best visual references for me is Jerome's site.
www.ovationtribute.com
There was a Solidbody site but I'm not sure how its reappearance is coming along. |
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Location: The Great Pacific Northwest | If you look for visual reference then the site MWoody posted is probably best. I have a list of the specs, but not as many pictures at www.baronaudio.com/collection . There were over 40 models of solid bodies divided across at least 8 body styles of guitar not including sub sets of basses and such. The "last" made was the VXT a few years ago. In reference to your question about "most coveted" is where Ovation stands alone, for good, bad or otherwise.. While most makers have a "flagship" model and "cheaper" models... Ovation just had different lines. ALL of the Ovations were built to the same "Quality" level. Price was just based on materials and finish. Lets face it... throughout the entire catalog of retail pricing for Ovations, there is only about $1500 difference between the most expensive guitar they ever produced and the least expensive guitar they ever produced. Unlike other brands that have a $5000 or $10,000 guitar in their catalog, Ovation never did. The only "holy grail" guitars are really because of the rarity and lineage, and they still aren't as expensive as you will find on the cover of most of the other high-end guitar catalogs. Ovation's montra has almost always been... An excellent instrument at an affordable price. |
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Location: The Great Pacific Northwest | I have updated your status to member so you can post in the main section. Others will then to be able to answer as well. |
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Location: Keepin' It Weird in Portland, OR | USA Elite T 1778T-5 
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Location: Tennessee | gmaslin - 2013-09-12 6:26 AM MWoody Which of the electrics had a tapered heel? I searched here for a list and couldn't find one so could we make one up here or on another thread? I'm no expert, but I'd venture to guess: Ultra GP PF-22 And maybe I misunderstiood the question.
Edited by stonebobbo 2013-09-12 6:27 PM
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Location: Jet City | stonebobbo - 2013-09-12 4:25 PM gmaslin - 2013-09-12 6:26 AM MWoody Which of the electrics had a tapered heel? I searched here for a list and couldn't find one so could we make one up here or on another thread? I'm no expert, but I'd venture to guess: Ultra GP PF-22 And maybe I misunderstiood the question. The UKII is still a bolt on, but the area is still ever so slightly tapered. Especially if you compare it to the previous models. |
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| I forgot about this thread. Thanks to all for the suggestions, even you stonebobbo, both of yours are now on my radar for the future but right now I'm pursuing a weird preacher (yes, I know that sounds wrong)  |
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Location: Upper Left USA | Consensus - the judgment arrived at by most of those concerned
Compromise - the art of making sure that nobody gets what they really wanted.
Consession - having to admit to something when you have run out of ammo and there is nobody else to blame. |
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Location: Jet City | Preacher/Preacher Deluxe/Deacon etc. humbuckers are my LEAST favorite Ovation pickup. They can get a bit squealy and don't seem to do well for me at high gain. I've tried 'em all and with the exception of MWoody's Messina Deacon, I myself wouldn't consider buying another unless it was as an ornament on the wall.
UKII and Vipers are the way to go.
That's my opinion based on the types of music I play. Your mileage may vary. |
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| Damon67
Squealy? I might understand thin and perhaps sterile given what I've learned recently but if you're getting squealies you might have an overabundance of eddys from wire strain in the windings. A bump in tone cap would probably smooth those edges and transform the squealies into beautiful accents. Just piggyback another cap on the one that is there with half the uF to test this out. |
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Location: Jet City | Dammit Jim I'm a guitar player, not a technician. I don't do that stuff. If a guitar doesn't sound or feel right after owning it for a bit, it goes out the door and I try something else.
Squealy as in prone to feeding back. Thin and sterile are also good adjectives to describe those pickups. I bought my first Ovation solidbody in 1982, a Preacher. I traded up to the UKII just a few months later. There was just no comparison between the UKII and ANY other guitar. There were no internet forums to discuss the topic, no articles or marketing or anything really. I didn't know anything about wire, windings, magnets, poles, in phase or out of phase, and for that matter had no idea it was made out of foam over a aluminum frame. I thought the thing was wood for many years before i found out different.
It was a sound and feel thing for me, period. More than 120 guitars later, it's still #1. |
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| That's one hell of an endorsement. I have a decent condition UKII available to me locally for $500 but several things have prevented me from pulling the trigger:
1. I never liked single cutaways. I'm not an orthodox player and that is why I never owned a LesPaul type guitar.
2. I never liked nitro finishes because I play my guitars. When it comes off the UKII (and it will), there is nothing nice to look at.
3. There is just something cheap and unattractive about a plastic guitar to me even for all the space age tech it embodies.
The inferior sound capability of the Preacher pups seems to be unanimous but I suspect I can find a tweak to fix it.
Does anyone know if those pups were potted or insulated in any way? Sometimes you can make the most interesting sounds with stuff people consider junk. My nephew once gave me plywood guitar (late 80's jap import called a 'Sting' with the cheapest, most brittle, unattractive sounding ceramic magnet pickups I had ever heard but I did a setup, profiled it on my scope, played with a few caps and other tweaks. Bingo! He still plays it and says he always gets comments on how good it sounds. A dear friend (who builds the Picasso guitar) once said, 'a guitar is ultimately like a person, it will usually end up in the hands of someone that loves it the most and gets the best out of it. Perhaps the Preacher is my destiny
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Location: Upper Left USA | "a guitar is ultimately like a person, it will usually end up in the hands of someone that loves it the most and gets the best out of it."
I like that alot.
You can always gut the Preacher and put in Viper or Filtertron pups. |
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Location: Jet City | gmaslin - 2013-09-20 3:24 PM There is just something cheap and unattractive about a plastic guitar to me even for all the space age tech it embodies You might be in the wrong Fan Club. We embrace plastic here. I'm not sure what the finish is on the UKII, but mine has thousands of hours on it and there's no wear on the finish. The mothership has refinished my neck, changed out frets, and some other minor work, but other than that it's all original and in great shape. Now my '84 Gibson V bought not long after is a mess. Wear marks where my arm hits the body, the back of the neck, etc. As for nothing pretty to see underneath, I suppose it depends on the UKII. There's alwys this one... 
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| LOL, I think the quote above your post definitely applies to you and your UKII. rock on brother |
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Consensus on the top dog?
