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Joined:
December 2004
Posts: 582
Location: Denmark | I am in the market for a shallow bowl steel-string with central soundhole and consider 1867, 1861 and CC057. Tomorrow I will go and have a look at a Legend, I expect to be this model .
Are there experiences to share which could be nice to know beforehand? One thing I worry a bit about is if the pinless bridge is likely to snap off ... is it trustworthy?
Thanks for sharing your knowledge about this model. |
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Joined:
November 2006
Posts: 3969
| I had an 1869, which is similar to the 1867 (except more bling), but it was an older model, ~1984 if I remember right. It was a very nice guitar, but the volume & projection from the shallow bowl didn't excite me. I don't play plugged in very often so I prefer the deep bowls. Other than that it was a fine guitar. It never had a problem with the bridge. |
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Joined:
February 2005
Posts: 11840
Location: closely held secret | My first US Ovation was an 1867. Excellent guitar, especially if you plan to plug in, as the acoustic sound is a little thin compared to a deep bowl (true of almost all the SSB's).
I can recommend it.
I don't know why people worry about the pinless bridge. There's no more reason why it should pull up compared to a pinned bridge. I've never had an issue with one. We had a guy a couple years back who thought it would be a good idea to use plastic tubes to feed the strings through so they didn't load up with sawdust, but we haven't heard from him for a while. |
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Joined:
April 2008
Posts: 498
| you can also find the red-headed step-child of the Adamas line, the 6591 in the same price range as the legends... mid-bowl and graphite top, when they hit the bay they usually sell for between 450-650 dollars.. and they do sound as good or better than the other mids and shallows you have mentioned.
they just don't quite make it as an Adamas tho, at least sound/tone/volume wise, when compared to the other elite styled models...
Glenn |
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Joined:
December 2004
Posts: 582
Location: Denmark | Thanks, everyone, for the support. And so I went to see, feel and hear it. According to numbers it is a 1867 from 1997. Differences from the one I linked to above includes pre-amp (OP-X), old style soundhole rosette, rosewood bridge, peghead cladding and neck centerstripe, Nickel tuning machines and the soundboard is uniformly colored.
Compared to my present medium depth bowl 1597, it weighs significantly less, is very comfortable to play and has a very good tone. Under similar conditions I don't think the sound is inferior to the 1597. Actually sustain and definition of the bass may even be better. I am not sure how much of this is due to the center soundhole. But the sound is good and open. Treble seems crispier which could be because of the light gauge strings (0.010) compared to what I normally use (0.012). Plugged in to a guitar tube amplifier it was very electric guitarish. I did not have the opportunity to A/B test with the 1597.
So far we did not make a deal. The overall condition seems OK but it will need a fret leveling and the preamp had some noises and issues - which may be a problem with spare parts availability here. But I was impressed by it, so it could be a matter of finding the right price. |
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Legend 1867
