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 2171 Reviews, Raves & Complains... (advice?)
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Old Man Arthur |
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Joined: September 2006 Posts: 10777 Location: Keepin' It Weird in Portland, OR | |||
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| Old Man Arthur |
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Joined: September 2006 Posts: 10777 Location: Keepin' It Weird in Portland, OR | |||
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| stonebobbo |
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Joined: August 2002 Posts: 8307 Location: Tennessee | |||
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| Damon67 |
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Joined: December 2006 Posts: 6994 Location: Jet City | |||
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| Old Man Arthur |
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Joined: September 2006 Posts: 10777 Location: Keepin' It Weird in Portland, OR | |||
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| ovationluver |
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| ovationluver |
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| 2ifbyC |
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Originally posted by g8r: Serge, you and I are in the same club re complacency. As noted, this git was over $800 MSRP. They're now at $399. So what? Defects are not acceptable regardless of the price if the item is new. I feel that people in general are too complacent about accepting poorly designed or executed anything. I'm just a PITA that way Yes, the wood may not be AAAA spruce, has a nylon nut/saddle, etc., ergo, lower price. But defects? Not fer me... Mine is due in today and it had best be in grand condition. Otherwise, back it goes...  | |||
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| sycamore |
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| 2ifbyC |
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| 2ifbyC |
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| Old Man Arthur |
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Joined: September 2006 Posts: 10777 Location: Keepin' It Weird in Portland, OR | |||
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| 2ifbyC |
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| Beal |
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Joined: January 2002 Posts: 14127 Location: 6 String Ranch | |||
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| stonebobbo |
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Joined: August 2002 Posts: 8307 Location: Tennessee | I unpacked mine yesterday as well. Maybe my expectations were low, but this delivers on all accounts ... especially given the price point and what we should expect for a mid-range guitar. I figure this is in the same league as other asian made guitars so that's what I'm comparing it against in general. Ditto on the sunburst. Mine has got a red band that popped out at me right away, but it's growing on me. The paint job itself is actually pretty good ... consistent color and fade and all three colors look good. The body binding is done really well ... very tight.  This shot above of the 2171 on my bench shows the red pretty well. In other pictures, it's not as evident and looks more like a standard three color sunburst.  The bridge on mine is really nicely figured, and it is some species of rosewood (not walnut), and also needs some oil. :) But I think it will come in nicely. It is perfectly machined.  Rosette is nicely done and elegantly understated. Appears to be real MOP. The grain of the solid top actually shows through fairly well and it's not a bad piece of wood. The top seam is fairly obvious, but otherwise the two pieces match up nicely in grain and color.  More in the next post ... I can't post any more pictures in this one. | ||
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| stonebobbo |
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Joined: August 2002 Posts: 8307 Location: Tennessee | Review continued ... The fretboard is rosewood species and has some figure to it. The neck binding is well done and only one corner could use a little filing, but that is a total nitpick. The inlays are typical Korean fauxMOP (mother of plastic) that you are familiar with if you have any Epiphone or Celebrity guitars. But very tightly machined ... they look perfect. Every one of them ... the wonders of computer controlled manufacturing.  The guitar plays well all the way up the neck with no fret buzzing at all. The frets themselves are very consistent and nary a one out of place. The action is a little high but not unplayable in the least. I will tweak the Truss rod and pull a shim when I change the strings. BTW, note that the truss rod is accessed from the soundhole and there is no adjustment at the peghead. Speaking of the peghead, it is a classic ovation look of a gloass black with chrome ovation logo and chrome ovation-branded tuners. The tuners are what you should expect on a $500 guitar, but they are holding the tune and feel tight. Overall, this headstock definitely has the US-made look. And notice also the five piece neck.  The guitar plays like an Ovation. If you like the quintessential Ovation neck, this one has got it. Nearly identical in feel to the 2007BCS (more on that whole thing later), more D shaped than V shaped but real fast. Gloss finish has a great feel to it. This is a five piece neck, but it's clear the quality of the wood is a notch or two down from what we expect on New Hartford guitars ... but it's good not crappy. The back of the headstock is beautiful in the same way the typical Ovation looks. I was a tad disappointed in the way the guitar sounded when I first pulled it out. Just sounded tight and lacking in bass response. The top seemed harsh. It took a couple of rounds to get it in tune and the strings seemed brand new. Kudos on the tuner on the OP-Pro ... reall nice and easy to see and read dead on to a Wittner I have. But all of a sudden the sound started to come in. I guess the guitar just hadn;t been played at all. I ended up playing it for several hours on an off, and damn if the bass didn't come in and the top smoothed out a whole bunch. This morning I played it again and it sounds much better. We'll see after it get a whole lot more play.  So here's a pic of it getting played. This is a great deal for $310. It's worth over $500 in the consumer market based on the guitars I've played out there, maybe more. The quality of the construction is real good. And of course, there is the design. ;) So how can you tell the difference between these and the ones 100% made in the US? I figured out one main way. More on the subject in another post. | ||
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| stonebobbo |
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Joined: August 2002 Posts: 8307 Location: Tennessee | Just for fun, I also put it next to the 2007BCS to let you'll see how the two guitars macth up.    Wow. Pretty close, huh? What does the average consumer see? Probably not a lot of difference. But there is one thing that is really different between the guitars (aside from wood quality). And now that I think about it, it is exactly the same thing that was different between my USA-made Ultra and the Korean-made Ultra my twin sister bought. In exactly the same way. Bowl paint! Check it out.   There is a huge difference in the texture bewteen the 2007BCS (top) and the 2171 (bottom). So there you go. | ||
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| 2ifbyC |
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| stone, Super review!  You did remind me 'bout the inlaid rosette. Very nicely done. I as you, though the git was 'tinny' last night. But by this evening, it has really warmed up. I'm quite pleased with the sound now. ovationluver made the same comment 'bout a new 2178. BTW, your 'equator' in your pics is not nearly as obvious as mine. It's still a keeper... | |||
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