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Posts: 636
Location: Ottawa, Ontario, CANADA | Hi, Everyone,
I have been offered the chance to buy an older black Ovation GS Solid Body Electric Guitar with gold hardware, by a friend here in Ottawa. I really don't know too much about them, other than there were not many made, and also their supposed similarity to a Les Paul Custom? Can Al, or anyone else tell me more about his model, and what kind of offer I might make for it? I have NOT seen the guitar in question as of this writing. My friend has never quoted me a price, either, so I'm stumped on this one. Thank you, in advance, for the help on this matter.
Mike Seguin  |
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Location: Keepin' It Weird in Portland, OR | The GS stood for "Guitar Strat".
I had a GS2 with two humbuckers and a Kahler tremolo.
The GP stood for "Guitar Paul" for the Les Paul looking models.
Look HERE
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Posts: 10583
Location: NJ | a great under rated guitar
how many do you want?
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Location: The Great Pacific Northwest | "To my knowledge" which is a safe caveat when dealing with Ovations in general, I am not aware of a production UltraGS or GP with gold hardware. |
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Location: Bristol England | A 1431 Ultra GP has just surfaced on Ebay UK with a starting bid of £2,000 ( about $3,363 USD). Mind you, asking what you want and what you end up getting are often poles apart!
The machine heads are definitely gold in colour but I wouldn't like to comment about the bridge and any other bits that are classed as 'hardware
The seller also states only 400 of these were made but I often wonder where these figures originate from unless they are numbered limited editions or 'collectors' etc.
In the U.K. it is amazing the amount of 'bog standard' Ovation's, Celebrity's and Applause's are classed as 'Rare'. Oh no they're not! |
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Posts: 636
Location: Ottawa, Ontario, CANADA | Hi, Everyone,
Thank you all very much for the information. It is a great help. I am not, and I never was, a fan of the Ultra GS, nor the Ultra Acoustic/ Electric. I am going to my friends' house later this week, just to check out the guitar he has for sale, but at this point, I think I will still try to get the 1983 Collectors' I have been chasing. Eastwood Guitars, headquartered here in Canada, has made some really good Ovation-based electric guitar copies, and The Ultra GS is NOT included in their lineup, just The Breadwinner, The Magnum Bass, and The GP. IMOHO, they are a good bang for the buck, especially for us Canadians.
Mike Seguin
Edited by Michael R. Seguin 2014-05-19 3:50 PM
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Location: Boise, Idaho | Mike,
It seems like every time I check ebay, which is almost every day, I see Ultra GSs for sale in one of the 3 configurations and at least one 83 Collector's for sale. Most of the 83s get relisted, probably because the asking price was too much. Ovation made more 83 Collectors than any other, so there are bunches out there. Thousands of those, plus thousands of Ultra GSs means the supply should exceed the demand. If you've been "chasing" the 83 Collector for a long time, you sure haven't been chasing very hard. |
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Location: Ottawa, Ontario, CANADA | Hi, Mark,
FYI, I'v'e been, "chasing" the 1983 Collector's in my home town for a long time, because my hometown is 35 miles from Ottawa! I'm disabled, and I don't drive, so I'm forced to negotiate a deal over the phone. I'm doing the best I can with what I've got, thank you very much. I tried the guitar over our Canadian Thanksgiving weekend 5 year ago, when I found out it had first went on sale. The lady who now owns this guitar wanted way too much money back then. Her husband was the Ovation rep for Eastern Canada in 1983, and got one for himself, and one for the music store I was working in at that time. He passed away over 10 years ago, and she offered me his guitar, but as I said the price was too high. The price has now come down, and now I will see if we can make a deal yet again,( Round #6 with this lady, and this guitar since October 2009!) or not. The owner may still be asking for too much money? The guitar and case are over 30 years old, after all, and NOT in the best of shape, really. I've seen worse, but I've also seen better! So, I'm not trying hard enough, eh? If that is the case, please come up here to Canada, and try to negotiate with a very stubborn lady, and see how far you get in this particular situation, to obtain the aforementioned guitar. Yes, I would like to buy this guitar, but "This is gonna take a lotta work!"
Mike Seguin
Edited by Michael R. Seguin 2014-05-19 10:32 PM
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Location: The Great Pacific Northwest | jamesholl - 2014-05-19 10:30 AM
A 1431 Ultra GP has just surfaced on Ebay UK with a starting bid of £2,000 ( about $3,363 USD). Mind you, asking what you want and what you end up getting are often poles apart!
The machine heads are definitely gold in colour but I wouldn't like to comment about the bridge and any other bits that are classed as 'hardware
The seller also states only 400 of these were made but I often wonder where these figures originate from unless they are numbered limited editions or 'collectors' etc.
In the U.K. it is amazing the amount of 'bog standard' Ovation's, Celebrity's and Applause's are classed as 'Rare'. Oh no they're not!
Over the years the number has varied, but reliable sources all seem to hover in the 600-800 GP's. As far as GS's go... I believe the term used for how many built was a "cr#$load" or some similar expression of way too many to count. The GS's and constantly on ebay and craiglist and VERY under-rated. Just the pickups and bridge sell for more than the complete guitars do which I'll never understand.
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Location: Ottawa, Ontario, CANADA | Hi, Al, and Everyone,
Thank you, Al for your mountains of Ovation information, which I did not know about, of course. They don't call you 'Mr. Ovation' for nothing. To everyone else who also helped in this regard, thank you very much, also. (In case you missed it, the stereotypical "polite Canadian" in me just came through, and yes, I was raised to be polite to EVERYONE!). I have found 2 more, very rare Ovations right here in Ottawa, through our local Kijiji internet site; but, as I mentioned, I'm basically looking for the 1983 Collector's Series from my hometown. I'm always impressed by the way The Ovation Fan Club community supports each other here, especially in those instances when it has nothing to do with Ovation guitars at all?, but just plain old life as we know it. Just keep on doing what you're doing. It feels like a family. I will keep on playing my Ovation.
Mike Seguin
Edited by Michael R. Seguin 2014-05-20 4:08 PM
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Location: The Great Pacific Northwest | I think that's likely the first time someone has mistaken me for Al or Al for me... cool. |
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Location: Boise, Idaho | He said such nice things about you, I didn't want to correct him. |
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Location: Ottawa, Ontario, CANADA | In the words of my fellow Canadian, Howie Mandel, "What? What?" I really thought I had addressed Alpep, but apparently not. I had always assumed he was Mr. Ovation!? Yikes. My bad. "Never assume. It makes an "***" out of "u", and "me!" Please correct me on this. I know somebody definitely will. Thank you.
Mike Seguin |
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Location: SoCal | Mike, relax...we are a good group here. Doesn't mean we can be sarcastic or turn a posting on guitars to something like facial hair. Heck, you can call me Tony or 'hey you'...
Miles (Mr. Ovation) and Al are the founders of the OFC.
Al is the New Jersey dealer I frequent often. Al has a strong knowledge of guitars, amps, mikes, etc. He has also done interviews and written articles on the industry.
Miles has a lot of background and a great collection on the Ovation electrics (pretty good on the Ovation/Adamas acoustics also). He also has a good background on studio recording, etc.
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Location: Ottawa, Ontario, CANADA | Hey Tony,
I stand corrected. Thanks for setting me straight on this faux pas. You can call me anything, except late for supper. (Who wants to be called that?)
Mike Seguin |
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Location: The Great Pacific Northwest | Mark in Boise - 2014-05-20 8:57 PM
He said such nice things about you, I didn't want to correct him.
EXACTLY !!! LOL |
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Location: Ottawa, Ontario, CANADA | Hi, Miles,
Thank you for the information on The Ultra GS. I finally did get to see the guitar, and try it out today. It is very similar to the #074 in your personal collection. Can you say, 'TWIN?' My friend only wanted $300.00 CDN for it?! I don't think he knows what he's got, but he (kind of) assumed I wanted it simply because it is "an Ovation." It is actually in fairly good shape, and I was quite surprised by the feel of the neck, and the sound of the 2 pickups after all this time. LOUD! The single volume and tone knobs were knurled, with no numbers, and I'm not used to that, really.(Not a deal-breaker, just different for me.) The fulcrum bridge was operable, and may not be the original one?, but I couldn't say for sure. The tremolo bar was loose, as was the pick up switch, and the bottom strap button. I have no idea how to take the tremolo arm off. The tuners were in good shape as well. The only drawback was the lack of a hardshell case, but my friend did at least provide a cheaper foam gigbag for it. Are the hard cases for your Ultra GS guitars all original? Any guitar tech worth his salt could bring it back to life with a new standard setup, new strings, and a good polishing/cleaning. It's not my cup of tea, really, but being a STRAT? clone, as it were, but some teenager into heavy metal could find it an interesting entry-level guitar. Lets' hope not. I may end up with it by default, along with the 1983 Collector's Series from my hometown, simply because nobody wants any Ovation guitars now, am I right? I have been wrong before. Again, thank you for your kind help. It is much appreciated.
Mike S.
Ottawa, ON. CANADA
Edited by Michael R. Seguin 2014-06-03 3:18 AM
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Location: The Great Pacific Northwest | The term arm just spins off. Righty-tighty, lefty loosey. Not a fan of the fulcrum bridges, but they are fine also made by Schaller who made the tuners. If the pickups are origianal they are Dimarzio DP2's I think. I don't have the reference in front of me. The original cases are hard to come by. They were an odd mauve color with furry lining. Most standard cases for a strat style work just fine. Al used to sell some really good ones for a good price.
The knurled knobs are a pretty standard upgrade. I have them on most of the guitars I play. The "numbered" knobs are standard ones. |
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Location: Ottawa, Ontario, CANADA | Hi, Miles,
Thank you for your prompt reply, and yet more information about this guitar. I should have known about the tremolo arm? (DUH!), but that's what I get for playing... other solid bodies with a Bigsby! "Most standard cases for a strat style work just fine. Al used to sell some really good ones at a good price." So, now, at present, Al is just selling some really bad ones, at a bad price?
I'm kidding, of course, because Al always has good stuff. I shall keep the OFC up to date on the fate of this GS.
Mike S. |
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Location: Ottawa, Ontario, CANADA | Hi, Everyone,
Just to update, as I mentioned I would do before, I got another offer on this particular Ovation Ultra GS electric guitar this past Saturday. The offer is tempting, but I really need a new couch more than I need another guitar, and yes, I still have "G.A.S". I'll have to sell something from my stuff to acquire one, or both, of the aforementioned Ovations. Decisions, Decisions,...?
Mike S.
Edited by Michael R. Seguin 2014-06-09 2:59 PM
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Location: Ottawa, Ontario, CANADA | Both the Ultra GS, and the 1983 Collectors Series have been offered to me again, but each of which offered on the installment plan this time around. I'm looking to trace the year the Ultra GS was made through its serial number. It is an interesting dilema for me, I must say. I'm leaning towards the Collector's Series, not both, but stranger things have happened.
Mike S.
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Location: The Great Pacific Northwest | The serial numbers on the GS models are useless for dating. They only meant anything to the store that sold it. Id' say 90% of them, the serial number sticker fell off long ago. There actually should be two, one on the neck, the other on the body. But, there's good news, they were only made for about a year from 1982 to 1983. So there ya go. |
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Location: Ottawa, Ontario, CANADA | Hi, Miles,
Thank you for new information. It's always a big help.
Mike S. |
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Location: Ottawa, Ontario, CANADA | Update: The Ultra GS in question has been sold locally in Ottawa, ON, CANADA as of August 5th, 2014. Unfortunately, not to ME!? Ooops.
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Value of an Ovation GS?;
