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Joined:
October 2002
Posts: 153
Location: Huntington Beach, CA | There's been considerable talk about the LX lately. Just read a full page article in one of the mass-merchandiser rags. Based on Ovation authorized (or at least "undisputed") releases, the LX is so far advanced over prior technology that basically all prior inventory (you know... all of our guitars) are inferior relics. It's great to hear that Ovation is advancing to the forefront. Not so good to know that the earlier models are not so hot anymore, and why.
Thought about selling my present O's and buying what Kaman claims is the better instrument. That might give me pride of ownership, at least until the next innovation.
How'd you like to be the guy that saved up his hard earned cash and bought the latest greatest Ovation only to see the store putting the new LX in it's place on the wall the following day. Ouch!
With Martin, you have "pre-war" high quality sound followed by "structurally improved". One can make a case for either (aside from the exceptional sound from either). Please share with me, what are the advantages to the pre-LX Ovations? Selling side by side, why would anyone buy the non-LX for basically the same price???? |
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Joined:
January 2004
Posts: 648
Location: Florida | Because they're not basically the same price.
The LX's are $100-$150 more than "standard" discounts, and we're beginning to see deeper discounts on the non-LXs, making the gap larger. |
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Joined:
January 2004
Posts: 627
Location: Cherry Hill, NJ | I bought my 177LX back in Feb, a month after they started making them. I did not know that LX was a big deal. Actually, I chose the model because I'm a deep bowl guy, and all the others were shallow. It was only after I received my guitar, did I realize the LX modifications. I am very happy with that guitar, but, that does, not mean that I like my 1981 Custom Legend any less, or my Taylor, Gibson Vintage Dove, Balladeer, or any of my guitars for that matter. Each quality guitar has its own special beauty. Sound, neck, wood, etc. Someday 40 years from now you may see a Vintage pre-LX Ovation as a collectors item.
Tommy |
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Joined:
July 2003
Posts: 1922
Location: Canton (Detroit), MI | Eman, I resemble that remark. I bought a non-LX 1777 Legend in January and I am NOT sorry. It sounds wonderful. I compared it heads-up to a new Standard Elite LX and the SE LX LOST sound-wise to the 1777. Not every LX sounds better than any non-LX. That is NONSENSE.
Of course, Ovation is going to tell you that the LX sounds better. It may. I can't find any Balladeer or Legend LXs to even TRY. I sure enjoy playing my "inferior relic" 1777, though.
I guess the mid-bowl LXs will be "inferior relics" when the deep-bowl LXs finally get here.
An older Ovation with a nicely aged top may well sound better than the new LXs.....I wouldn't hurry to sell your current Ovations. Find a few LXs to play first.
Roger
1976 Applause AA14-4 6-String
1978 Ovation 1617-4 Legend 6-string
1981 Ovation 1118-1 Glen Campbell 12-string
2001 Adamas 1598-MERB Melissa Etheridge 12-String
2003 Ovation 1777-NAT Legend 6-string |
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Joined:
April 2003
Posts: 2503
Location: Fayetteville, NC | While it's True that The New LX Models Have made some improvements and are great instruments. That does not mean by any stretch of the imagination that their past instruments are inferior.
Some of the improvements that I know of from attending the recent Factory Tour and from Printed Material recieved From Ovation is..
1)a New advanced Neck system that allows For Adjustement to The truss Rod and the Neck angle as well. - The Neck is also fitted with Carbon Stabilizers to kepp the fretboard straight and True. teh neck is also Jined at the Bowl with a Bolt on Type Joint-Making any kind of Neck or Fret Jobs Easier-because you don't have to- heat up and remove Glued and epoxied NeckJoints and Fingerboards.
2 a new Bowl Design- which is In Fact Lighter Than The previous one-while Retaining Strength.
Because of the lighter Bowl- The Changes to the neck syster were made so that the Guitar would not be "Neck Heavy".
3) The Guitar also features The New Op-Pro Preamp and a return to the original Pattented Pick-up Design.
The guitar Is Ligter than the older models and with the changes- make them different-But the question of better??
While there are improvements, and the New LX Models are Great Players-It doesn't make them better That the Older Models. It's really a Subjective question. How you feel about the Models you Own?
If You Love Your Instrument Models and They Serve their purpose for you and you are truly happy-Then they are not Junk. I really don't think that Ovation and Kaman are Expressing that The older Models are Bad or Inferior. They are just keeping up with the tradition and ideas that Charles Kaman had when he started Ovation In The First Place. you know the story-but it bears repeating.
he set about to create a Guitar with Better Sound and Projection basically, Creating The Roundback Guitar-and onto Helping create the First True Acoustic/Electric Guitar! The tradition continues with The Research and Development Department at the company. There are always new ideas, new concepts and some see the light of day and others don't.
Ovation Guitars are Great Instruments Period.
The New LX Guitar design is an improvement. But it doesn't make it better than my 1858 12 String Elite or a Legend that came out in the last couple of years or even models that came before..
If you'd like to try an LX Model- head to your Ovation Dealer and give it a try.. If you like it and can afford it add it to your collection.
The Conclusion..You Don't have to feel like you've
gotta sell you older model ovations-especially if your happy with them. While Ovation Really believes in their LX Products- I really don't feel like they want you to part with products that have helped get them to where they are today.
Just an opinion & my 2 cents worth..hope it clears the confusion. :) |
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Joined:
December 2003
Posts: 13986
Location: Upper Left USA | Too often I am hearing that one is better than the other, as in, Deep bowl vs. shallow, LX vs. other, etc.
I'm with Steve on this. They are tools and there are differences. This means there are several ways to have fun or make a living. I hope to have one of everything for the reletives to fight over when I go! |
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Joined:
February 2004
Posts: 1634
Location: Warren,Pa. | Hey eman! Question for you....do you still like your older guitars? Still enjoy playing them? I have a 2 year old Custom Legend 12string. Then I go on the tour a few weeks ago and play the new guitars. Just for a moment I got this sick feeling..."why didn't I wait 2 years?" I asked myself! We have to get a grip here...I'm 48 years old and I've seen some changes through the years...and I'll see more yet! And maybe I'll someday buy another Ovation(they will ALL be of the new design by then). But I'll still love my '02 CL 12 String! You just enjoy those guitars of yours! John. |
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Joined:
August 2003
Posts: 396
| It's interesting to note that musiciansfriend.com is out of stock on a lot of the older/standard models and awaiting arrival of stock updates. Will they get them? The question has been brought up before about how long they will continue to make standard models since the prices are so close and it seems like too much work and cost to produce different lines just so you can compete with yourself.
Eman, I have an elite lx and a shallow bowl 1861 and I have no plans to sell my balladeer. As good as the lx is, it does not make older models obselete. For instance, the balladeer is more comfortable to play (shallow bowl), for me the neck is smoother, faster, and more comfortable, and you get quality plugged sound for the price. The unplugged sound lacks low end, but it does have a good balance for what it does have and does not have that celebrity tinny quality to it (imo). Due to the shallow bowl it's easy for me to kick back anywhere on couch or bed and play. My balladeer probably gets more play than my lx for that reason, but the lx is clearly a better guitar (plugged and unplugged). If other Lxs are like mine it will be stronger competition unplugged against equally priced rivals and you get the excellent electronics (sounds like a bargain to me). Like many here, I'm not going to run out and dump my "old" ovation. Everything I liked about my older 1861 (op30)..... I still like about it. I like them both. |
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Joined:
June 2002
Posts: 6197
Location: Phoenix AZ | Eman, I disagree. The LX is great, but not the end all of acoustic guitars. There are some K-bar models and years that sound better than LX. And there are shiny bowls which even sound better than that, etc, etc. Yeah, things change mostly for the better but that does not diminish my fondness for what I loved previously. Heck, what if Ovation finally concluded that a wood box guitar Martin copy was the new standard. Would that make all of our roundback collections worthless? No way. Something new will always come along. A lot of people dropped money on CL30's which is a great guitar. Will they be pissed off in a few years if there is a CL35 that is even better? In my opinion, new is not always better ... and better is not necessarily more desirable. DAve |
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Joined:
March 2002
Posts: 15664
Location: SoCal | Dave & Roger are right on this. My 2 favorite 6 strings are a 1968 Deluxe Balladeer shiney bowl, and a 1983 1537 Elite. I'd never sell either and both get played. Do I want an LX? Hell yes, when they come out with a deep bowl made of the new material.
If you buy what you really like in the first place, it will never loose it's luster. |
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Joined:
February 2002
Posts: 5750
Location: Scotland | I think part of the LX thing is largely philosophical. For years Ovation have been the red-haired stepchild of the acoustic guitar market, and many buyers have stayed away purely because of the way they have been marketed with the whole "get plugged-in" & "the electric players acoustic" thing, neither of which would entice a prospective Martin or Taylor customer. The LX guitars are fantastic, but I have several (much) older Ovations which sound better to me. The point is that with the LX at last Ovations are being marketed as great-sounding guitars FIRST, rather than guitars which only sound good amplified. The fact that there is not a supershallow LX model reinforces this. This is something we have all bitched about since the OFC started, and regardless of what we may think of the old vs the new, it is a very positive development. As a dealer I can't wait to get my stock of LX's, but I'm not about to ditch my old guitars or my 10 month-old "old technology" Custom Folklore. |
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Joined:
December 2001
Posts: 10582
Location: NJ | there are many GREAT K bar guitars out there.
I will continue to play and own them.
The LX is nice but it does not mean toss out your old guitars. |
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Joined:
January 2002
Posts: 970
Location: Atlanta,Ga. | Al, "YES" it does mean to toss out your old k-bar guitars.Send all old ovations to me.I will pay fair(to me) market value for those old useless ovations..Now go and order you new LX's people and pack up those awful k-bar ovations to me especially those adamas |
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Joined:
December 2001
Posts: 10582
Location: NJ | sam
you take the ovations I'll take the Adamas guitars
You know my address I expect you to start shippping tomorrow |
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Joined:
August 2003
Posts: 2246
Location: Yucaipa, California | .... uh, say Al, how 'bout sending a SMT Burgundy Single Cutaway to me... I could probably find a use for such an old, useless dog of a guitar! :D
tim |
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Joined:
July 2003
Posts: 181
Location: North Carolina | One of the reasons I love my relic CE778 is due to the incredibly stable neck the K-bar gives it. I have not played an LX yet but I am wondering if the new truss rod system will sacrifice some of that stability, at least in terms of feel. The bottom line is that the person playing the guitar makes a helluva lot more difference to the overall sound than does the guitar itself. I will continue to enjoy playing my relic despite the hype.
Franklin |
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Joined:
November 2002
Posts: 1196
Location: Lafayette, Louisiana | When I first joined this group, all I did was bitch about the lack of deep bowl Ovations. I do use my Ovations plugged in, but I always wanted a great sounding acoustic guitar first. Now my favorite guitar is my mid-bowl Legend LX. I first got interested in them after seeing the "Made in America" program and seeing the new neck mounting system. But when I got to play one for awhile, I was hooked. This is the kind of guitar you just love to play. It is so light that standing with it over a period of time is no problem, and the sound is just wonderful. I don't think it comes down to the LX against older Ovations. I love all Ovations. I think the members of the group love all Ovations. They have been from the onset great guitars. And to me the LX is just the evolution of a wonderful line of roundback guitars that started in the late 60s. So play them all, and don't think that your older Ovation has been replaced. Each one is special to each member for it's own reason. :D |
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The LX word on in-Ovation...
