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Joined:
March 2002
Posts: 15664
Location: SoCal | An administrator hasn't been by to let Clay49 post in general posting so I thought I'd get his question up in a place where it can be responded to....
Hi Folks,
I’m a long-time professional musician (40+ years) and have been playing all sorts of electric and acoustic guitars through my career. I have always known about Ovation, but never really had a chance to play one other than picking up and strumming some their low-end (import) line at the local Guitar Center, or when I found one used in a local shop.
That being said, I’d like to explore the higher-end, USA models, and would even be open to the higher-end import offerings, but have no idea where to begin this process.
Perhaps I should journal here what I’m looking for in my electric-acoustic tone. I know we all have the struggle of finding a good amplified acoustic tone that doesn’t just sound like every other piezo/UST acoustic guitar out there...you know, that mid-range quack and thin sound that most UST-equipped guitars give.
As I have done some initial searches on Ovations (both new and older USA models), I see a pretty wide range of electronics and so my question(s) is (are): Which models, and which electronic set up (pickup system), gives the most convincing acoustic tone when amplified (and by that, I mean mainly through FOH, not a portable amplifier)?
My goal here is best sound through a system, not necessarily best overall acoustic sound...does that make sense?
Does “bowl” size make a significant impact on the amplified sound? Which size have you Ovation players found to be “accurate” to the true acoustic tone?
I know there is a lot of “subjective” ground here to be considered, but I just wanted to throw this out to those of you who are true devotees to the Ovation line...
I’m all ears.... |
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Joined:
October 2005
Posts: 4044
Location: Utah | Great question, with a whole lot of different choices and opinions for answers!
The 2007 Collectors Edition with an OpPro Studio preamp sounded great through a FOH system. That's a deep contour bowl, modern LX construction wood topped guitar. The Adamas 2080 (carbon fiber top, basically the same modern LX construction with the deep contour bowl) with the VIP preamp sounds great, too. Those two guitars are very similar in sound amped or acoustic only, so I sold off the 2007 and kept the 2080. Any of the deep contour USA made Ovations should be similar.
The Studio preamp has an aural exciter and compressor built in, and I like using just a touch of both. The VIP preamp has digital signal processing to emulate several different microphones, with the idea of sounding through the house system like the guitar is mic'd rather than plugged in.
One of the acoustic pedals can give you similar results. I've found a bit of compression alway makes it sound more refined.
Having said that, one of the very best plugged in Ovations was a mid-bowl 1778LX that my daughter's bandmate had in a particular venue. The point being that the sound man is hugely important, and the basic mid-bowl Ovation can sound spectacular.
I have a 1983 vintage deep bowl with the two-knob FET preamp that doesn't sound thin or quacky. It does benefit with compression, and I do like to use an acoustic pedal with it that has an aural exciter. Just a little bit of both helps a lot.
The regular OpPro preamp is excellent but has no onboard processing.
The original patented Ovation pickup (the most common out there) is considered better than the thinline. |
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Joined:
October 2005
Posts: 4044
Location: Utah | FWIW, imho, Ovation has gotten it backwards on which preamp they offer as standard equipment. The VIP does a fantastic job in the Adamas line (carbon fiber top) but it doesn't quite hit the mark in Ovation (wood tops). Conversely, the Studio really is outstanding in the wood tops but falls flat with the carbon fiber top. |
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From Clay49
