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Location: Miami | Being a relative newbie to Ovations, what do you think are the relative merits of the Adamas, the Legend series, and the Elite? |
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Location: Phoenix AZ | Adamas is a different guitar, can't compare to Ovation.
Legend and Elite are both nice and to a large extent the differences are cosmetic. I personally do not like the sound of the Elite near as much as the Legend, but it depends what your reference point is.
Whether you choose Elite or Legend, get a Deep bowl or Contour bowl. The shallow bowl ones are for plugged in use only and sound pretty crappy acoustically. My personal favorite for sound and comfort is the Contour bowl, but that's just personal preference.
Good luck |
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Location: SoCal | Legends have more bass, Elites have a more even sound (more mids). To the player, a Legend might sound better. To a listener, the Elite might sound better. It's just the way the guitars project.
If you're going to get a Legend make certain it's either A braced or the newer X braced. I prefer the A bracing but YMMV.
Go with a deep or contour bowl. Best acoustic sound.
Any more questions? |
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Location: Vernon CT | Timolin,
The above Info is right on from 2 members that know their stuff. I own both a Legend and Elite
and enjoy both. |
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Location: Utah | First off, the difference in sounds between the different Ovations is relatively minor. That is, they all sound like Ovations. To borrow a term used around here, they're different flavors of ice cream. So there is a big component of personal taste involved.
For us fans, we might talk about the different tonal balance between two models or between the different bracing patterns. But for everyone else they don't hear the differences. Can you tell what make or model guitar is being played on a recording or on a tv show without looking?
If you prefer the look of a center hole, then get one of those. But if you like the multi-hole epaulets, get an Elite. The sound will be very close between similar era guitars. Unless you are, what's the right term? Picky. And I don't mean that negatively. Some people are very discerning of the small differences in sound between different guitars, and they want to have a multitude of instruments to cover all the possibilities.
Though most of us don't care what others think of our guitars, well, really we do in a way. It is satisfying when someone says "Wow, that's a pretty guitar!", or "Man that guitar sounds GREAT!". But if you, for some reason, need to look traditional, then the center hole might offer an advantage.
You'll find that there are some basic categories, generally based on era of build, that define the sounds and features. Probably that is the place to start if you are looking to buy one particular guitar. There are different bracing patterns, which do have different sounds. The newer necks have a slimmer profile, but it varies from model to model and guitar to guitar to some extent. The newer models have the kidney shaped preamps, compared to the square box preamps. The advantage of the newer ones is that you can swap around preamps for different uses, such as the Studio to perform live, and the iDea to practice.
All of those factors apply to both styles, Elite and Legend.
Adamas is different, but still it is Ovation. Except for the top, it is the same bowl, same preamp, same neck (more or less). The practical advantage of the Adamas is the durability of the top, which is much less prone to damage from temperature or physical shock. In terms of tone, the Adamas does have a wider frequency response and a richer tone.
You do get more guitar for the money with Adamas, but you pay more to buy it. In terms of value for us working folks, I would have to say that cost is a relative disadvantage for Adamas. You get your money's worth, but you gotta have the money. It took me years to find a deal I could jump on for an Adamas. The standard USA made Ovations are professional quality at a bargain price, a tremendous relative benefit compared to any other brand out there.
One difference that might seem silly to some is that the Adamas top is not wood. It is hard to the touch. I love my Adamas, but there is a certain sensuality in my wood topped Ovations that is missing in the Adamas. |
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| FlySig - superb analysis! |
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Location: Newington, CT | FlySig...that analysis should have a place in Ovation/Adamas reference books everywhere! REALLY well said! |
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Location: Miami | Many thanks for your informative replies! |
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Location: Florida Central Gulf Coast | FlySig,
EXCELLENT! |
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Location: Hot Springs, S.D. | Flysig, ya done good! |
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Location: NJ | well I have to disagree
it is unfair to compare carbon fiber to wood.
the Adamas is a far superior instrument in so many ways and on so many levels to dismiss it as being being less bang for the buck is just unfair.
Listen with your ears buy with your wallet. |
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Posts: 6268
Location: Florida Central Gulf Coast | Originally posted by FlySig:
You do get more guitar for the money with Adamas, but you pay more to buy it. Al,
I don't think FlySig indicated "less bang for the buck"; quite the opposite. |
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Location: Keepin' It Weird in Portland, OR | Iffy sez: "Al, I don't think FlySig indicated "less bang for the buck"; quite the opposite."
You can find a Great Adamas for maybe, $1200! :D
The down-side is that you have to have $1200! :eek:
Whereas you can find a Great Ovation for much less.
I had to scrimp and save and sell three guitars to afford the 1681. |
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Location: Utah | OMA, you summed it up for me. Great guitars, but you have to be able to scratch up the $. |
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Posts: 381
Location: Miami | This conversation wouldn't be complete if I didn't butt in and harp about the textured tops :-)
The textured Elites sound very different from every other model (when I say "different" I'm really thinking "way better"). And this is a difference that people HAVE noticed at my gigs without me saying a word. I played a non-textured Elite LX (two of them actually) at a gig once and a couple of regulars who did not see but heard me told me something didn't sound right. It didn't sound as full as before. I showed them the glossies and they said "wow they're pretty! But your other ones sound better" (true story).
Now granted, someone can nullify that and say "oh, yeah, well someone told me the opposite", but I wouldn't believe that for a million bucks. Someone could say I could have fixed it with EQ. Nope. Tried that (and yes I know what I'm doing). The textured tops, because of their MUCH thinner layer of paint versus the standard glossy tops, allow the wood on the surface of the guitar to breathe more, resulting in nice, woody lows, and nice bright highs, both acoustically and plugged in.
I spent 45 minutes talking to an Ovation rep this week in person and he gave me a detailed explanation about it. When he was finished I asked him, "Well, then why the heck aren't they making more of them, and in different colors?" In short, he told me it was a business decision, that not everyone understands the textured paint / bass side epaulet only concept, that the only ones that sold well were the black, so they ship the American parts over to Korea and assemble what is now the black TX.
I have played both, and the Korean that I played sounds about 90% as good as the American. (The rosewood neck is not as good as the ebony, but the spruce top and the bracing is supposed to better: AA versus A and X scalloped versus quintad though I thought it was the other way around). I've only played one Korean so it could have been that particular guitar. (BTW, EVERY guitar sounds different, even two of the same model).
But technical explanations, ovation rep conversations, and this-is-the-best-guitar-in-the-world assertions aside (by the way the textured Elites are the best guitar in the world :cool: ), you really have to sit down and play different models for yourself.
FORGET the reviews (including my own passionate opinion on the matter). If your only going to have one guitar, find the one that is the best looks/sounds/costs combination to you, and the heck with all naysayers.
We're Ovation owners. We're used to being different. |
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Comparing Ovation Models
