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December 2002
Posts: 939
Location: Fort Worth, Texas | Now I'm getting hungry :p
Well, after looking over the official web site, I see a Elite LX in my future!
Will there be 12-string models?
I can hear it now: "But, honey, I need the one with the inlaid epaulets, to go with the one with the center sound hole....." |
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March 2002
Posts: 1380
Location: Central Oregon | Frankly Scallop, I don't give a clam.
/\/\/
I do like the new LX though. |
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Joined:
March 2003
Posts: 555
Location: Wooster, Ohio | I will fully acknowledge that the posters here have far more knowledge and experience than I do. But could it be that the bolt on neck is cheaper to produce and assemble and would creat less warranty problems later on. I don't see many bolt on necks on high end guitars, though I have seen exceptions to this. Just a corporate cynic.
Steve |
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Joined:
March 2002
Posts: 15664
Location: SoCal | Steve, you're points could be very true. You don't see many high end guitars with bolt on necks, but the other way to look at it, is that with a fiberglass body, you've got more opportunities to try different ways of doing things. All wood guitars don't have those kinds of possibilities. Also, the reason all wood guitars (even the high end ones) are all wood, is that they don't try much that's new. Taylor tries new methods of construction, but not too many others. |
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January 2002
Posts: 14127
Location: 6 String Ranch | High end guitars with bolt on necks. There's probably more than we know. All the Collings are bolted on. Taylor is as well(not that they're high end). I thought Laravee was but can't confirm that. Goodall maybe?
Bolt ons are easier to install and much easier for service issues down the road. Done properly you can never tell the difference. |
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Joined:
March 2002
Posts: 15664
Location: SoCal | Do the bolts go all the way thru the body? My other question would be how much of the LX was in the works before the OFC and how much was a result of the OFC? If the former, then Ovation was more on track than we thought, and if the latter, then we'd all better go out and buy one to support the effort.
A modern guitar that sounds more like my Deluxe Balladeer... that appeals to me a lot. |
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December 2001
Posts: 10582
Location: NJ | At least on source tells me the OFC has nothing to do with anything. |
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July 2003
Posts: 1922
Location: Canton (Detroit), MI | Al, that's comforting to know....I think :)
Just a thought I had....often a new feature/version of something is introduced as a premium extra-cost option....when it is actually intended in long-term corporate strategy to be the common version of it in the long run anyway, replacing the older, less-cost-effective, lower-performance (and possibly obsolete) version that had been sold.
This has the advantage of generating some additional income to offset the R & D, plus any possible "oops" in a new model that might cause unforeseen warranty can be limited and the problems fixed before going across the whole line.
It's possible that the LX option is intended to be the "next-generation" of the U.S. Ovation models and will become standard in the next year or two or three anyway. This should definitely NOT prevent you from lining up and buying one now if this is what you want. Just don't be surprised if it becomes "standard" within 2-3 years.
As for myself, I'm lusting after that "New England Burst" Standard Elite.....
Roger
1976 Applause AA14-4 6-String
2001 Adamas 1598-MERB Melissa Etheridge 12-String
2003 Celebrity CC01 Spruce Top 6-String |
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January 2002
Posts: 14127
Location: 6 String Ranch | Go for the Tamali-burst. |
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November 2002
Posts: 1300
Location: Madison, Wisconsin | Maybe I pick up on these things because I'm such a horrible speller myself but, I wonder if anyone at Ovation knows about the typos. I just read thru the info and found "Plus in an LX and....." as well as the "-Bound rosewood ringerboard". |
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Joined:
December 2001
Posts: 7222
Location: The Great Pacific Northwest | they do now
In looking at the LX series, the only thing I am not sure about are the inlay epulets. I like the theory. Obviously something that is part of the top is going to be better than something glues onto the top. Also, the laser technology that does this process is amazing. However, it's almost too good and I wonder if this will lead to yet another Ovation myth on some level. When the 2003 Collectors was intruduced at NAMM, I (and several other people walking by) admittedly NOT knowledgeable, thought they were a decal. They look soo perfect, unless you already know how it's made, when you see it "inlay" is the last thing you , or at least I thought of. By Ovation myth, a few that come to mind are the bowl being made of plastic, the "carved headstock detail" on the Adamas being wood, the UKII being wood, the top is warped (seeing brace pattern). All of the above and more are proliferated by the nay-sayers. Actually another comment I heard that I believe was about the 2003 Collectors was "hey look, the bridge is already pulling on the top." The 2003 (again I think that is the model) has a slight arch in the top.
Anyway, other than a question of how they epulets look from a marketing aspect, I like EVERYTHING about this LX system. If this system was applied to the new Adamas slothead, I think I would have to buy one, even with inlayed epulets :) . I love the idea of revisitng the tried and true with modern technology. That is the essence of being a Connecticut Yankee.
Cudos to Ovation and best wishes and hopes in 2004 at reminding the industry that the little factory in Connecticut is still a major force to be reckoned with. |
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Joined:
March 2002
Posts: 15664
Location: SoCal | Ok, my question regarding the LX series has to do with the difference in sound. Does the Elite sound significantly different than the Legend? And what would the differences be.
If I could ever figure out a way to afford it, I'd get the Legend, in natural, but have Ovation put on the older Legend inlays. Now that would appeal to me. And as long as I'm screwing around with it, I'd have them carve a 5 point bridge for it. That way, I'd get the older sound, the older look, but in a fully modern guitar.
Makes me wish I was a professional musician so I could justify it to my wife. |
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Joined:
February 2002
Posts: 5750
Location: Scotland | Miles, the eppaulette thing is a really good point. There was a lot of bitching about the Ovation overlaid rosette as an indicaticaton that the guitars were cheap and mass-produced. But the fact is it's far easier to rout a circular slot, bung in some purfling and sand it flush, than to make an Ovation rosette. I'll take bets now that we see reveiws and/or newsgroup postings that the inlaid epaulettes are decals. Ovation remains a maverick and many, including those in the know, but especially the traditionalists, always presume the worst. |
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Joined:
June 2002
Posts: 6197
Location: Phoenix AZ | In Ovations old literature when they introduced the stick on raised rosette they said it served the same function as a pick guard. Of course that's a lot of bull shit, but I think they were trying to de-fuse some of the flack they took for being a guitar sans-pickguard. Dave |
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Joined:
March 2002
Posts: 15664
Location: SoCal | Somebody, in writing about the LX series said that they had a gloss finish on the necks. I haven't seen that anywhere. Can the person who posted that clarify the comment? |
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Joined:
February 2002
Posts: 5750
Location: Scotland | according to the website the Elite & Legend have gloss necks, the Balladeer and Elite Standard necks have a satin finish.
Dave I don't think it was the lack of pickguard which was the issue, but the fact that the rosettes were "stuck on" which appears to reqiure less craftsmanship than an inlaid rosette |
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May 2002
Posts: 651
Location: Australia | Just on the inlayed epaulets.
I remember back when I was selling Takamine (who are experts at laser inlay work) dealers would often ask me if that inlayed lizard, dolphin etc was a really an inlay and not just a decal.
I'm sure the guys at Ovation will be asked the same question. |
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Joined:
March 2002
Posts: 15664
Location: SoCal | Doesn't make any difference. It's how they sound that's important. |
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Joined:
June 2002
Posts: 6197
Location: Phoenix AZ | Paul, you are all screwed up. Nobody cares how they sound as long as they look good. How many of us picked our wifes/girlfriends/partners because of their voices? Dave
PS - Why does my post say "6:50 AM" when it's 5:50 AM in Arizona. I suspect that the server is in the central time zone. But Paul, that means your last post was at 4:43 AM Pacific time. What's going on, man. Can't sleep because you're busy thinking about your new LX Paul Moody Custom ??? |
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Joined:
May 2003
Posts: 4389
Location: Capital District, NY, USA Minor Outlying Islands | True story. I was dating this girl. We went to see this saxophonist, as I recall he was a member of the world saxophone quartet .. anyway, I can remember raving about him, and she was studying him, and studying him, and I asked what do you think? and she said, "he'd have to play that saxophone all the time, because he's so ugly, I'd kick him out of bed the moment he stops!" |
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Joined:
March 2002
Posts: 15664
Location: SoCal | I got my issue of Acoustic Guitar yesterday and read the review of the Legend LX. In the section on the guitar they spoke quite highly of it, but at the end where recommendations were made, it was nowhere to be found.
Not tradional enough in it's sound or just a prejudice against Ovations? |
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Joined:
December 2003
Posts: 420
Location: On the beach in Southwest Florida | When will they be available for purchase? |
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LX series specs
