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Which Ovation?

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airbags
Posted 2025-07-29 12:10 PM (#561099)
Subject: Which Ovation?



Joined:
April 2021
Posts: 2

I had registered for an account in 2021 and got upgraded to a member and clearly forgot about it. I've got the Jones for an Ovation AGAIN and tried to register for the forum when I got the reminder that I already existed. How droll!

Anyway, this is my first real post, and I'm finally really getting into stuff, so... here it goes.

I cross-posted this on another forum and I figured I'd get more information and less nonsense here amongst actual knowledgeable fans of the brand. I don't know why I've been so fascinated lately. I have a great Takamine and a Breedlove, so perhaps it's just wanting something a little different, a little less traditional.

I have owned a Celebrity CC057 and still own an Applause AE28 that I picked up specifically for a long road trip back in 2004. I sold the Celebrity a couple of years ago, but still have my Applause. I am definitely wanting something made in New Hartford with a shallow bowl, an Elite model, which from all the reading I've been doing lately is the terminology for having multiple soundholes on the upper bout decorated with "leaves" (and wow those are attractive!).

I have looked at the spreadsheet on OvationTribue [dot] com and even copied it into an Excel sheet so I could filter and sort the data. This spreadsheet does have at least one verifiable mistake, referring to the Applause AE28 as a deep bowl when I am looking at my AE28 and know with absolute certainty over the last twenty years that it's a shallow bowl. I've also found some on Reverb and eBay that aren't on the spreadsheet - ya can't catalog everything, so omissions were to be expected.

Also... wow, a lot of the used models on Reverb and eBay are beat up. I know people don't generally take care of their guitars but there are too often too many examples of damage. When bad things happen to good guitars...

Tell me about yours. What do you love about it? What model is it? What's a great era for these? Have you experienced any problems that you couldn't overcome? I'd love to know.

I included a pic of the back of my AE28 - yep, it's a shallow bowl all right!

Edited by airbags 2025-07-29 12:19 PM




(AE28 Addl.jpg)



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Attachments AE28 Addl.jpg (343KB - 0 downloads)
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aacx22
Posted 2025-08-15 2:40 AM (#561139 - in reply to #561099)
Subject: RE: Which Ovation?



Joined:
September 2023
Posts: 31

I have 4. I usually use my Tangents. They sound good unplugged and great plugged in. I really like how they feel when playing them. They have great necks, shallow bowls, and are not too heavy.

Aside from my Tangents, I also enjoy playing my Balladeers. I have a 12 and a 6. These sound amazing, both plugged and unplugged. But they are heavier and mid bowls that are a bit less comfortable. So, though i like how they sound more, I play them less... Still I love them all.




Edited by aacx22 2025-08-15 2:43 AM




(Ovations.jpg)



(Balladeers and Marshall.jpg)



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Attachments Balladeers and Marshall.jpg (41KB - 0 downloads)
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tpa
Posted 2025-08-15 5:14 PM (#561143 - in reply to #561099)
Subject: RE: Which Ovation?


Joined:
December 2004
Posts: 575

Location: Denmark		Welcome back, then :-)
I have a Pinnacle model 3682, which is a super-shallow bowl (SSB). Japanese made with the traditional sound port. Acoustic sounds is good to my ears, especially for finger picking, very clear, lively, open and un-boomy. This kind of sound will never drown in a mix - if that matters. It has a conventional truss rod with bottom adjustment through the sound port.

I also have an Adamas SMT 1597 which is mid-depth bowl and epaulets. It is in many ways a "delicious" guitar, it has a more sophisticated pre-amp. The acoustic sound appears fuller than the 3682, and it is at its best picked/strummed with a plectrum. It has the Kaman bar stiffening of the neck.

I like them both but they are also surprisingly different. Besides the different in sound there is a different feeling to the neck. The Kaman bar neck seems heavy and very, very, very stiff, where the truss rod neck seems lighter and a bit more flexible (which it probably is) - but still is very stable.

Of the "traditional" appearing US Ovations with epaulets with SSB I would probably look for a 1868. The flatness of the top tends to suffer on older guitars, much depending on which string gauge has been used in its lifetime and the top can have superficial or deeper cracks - which may or may not matter. If I start hunting for another Ovation I will probably look for a LX model or newer with SSB first priority and maybe an Artist Balladeer model 1621 (mid 70s) if one turns up at a good price. Not that I need it but older guitars have a charm of their own.

Edited by tpa 2025-08-15 5:22 PM
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