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Location: Muenster/Germany | >I must try to write that in english, I hope you can understand what I´m talking about<
I once had an old Ovation Artist guitar with a top bracing that I could define as VT 8.
I was very impressed by the sound of this guitar and never have heard one of these again.
The guitar had not so much basses but was a very "audible" guitar, especially when played acoustically with other guitars and voices.
And I never saw or played an Ovation with a VT 11 bracing. In old catalogs you find the Custom legend model with VT 11 top. (As far as I know the CL guitars later all had A braces).
The Ovation custom legend guitars always had the best selected top woods, but even my oldest had the "A" braces (which I still find the best). I experienced that the CL guitars always sounded better than the "Legend" guitars, even if they had the same "A" bracing.
But- how would a VT braced guitar with a selected spruce top sound?
Does anyone have an old custom legend with VT braces? Or both of them, the A and the VT to compare both?
IMHO these old constructions made the special OVATION sound. The newer models with X-braces sound like any good guitar.Or am I completely wrong? |
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Posts: 2316
Location: Pueblo West, CO | Hi Detlef,
The 1978 1117 Legend that I re-topped for Paul originally had the VT-11 braces and he wasn't very happy with how it sounded. So, after he'd owned it for a while, not really liking how it sounded, he sent it back to the factory for a new bowl. He had them use A braces.
I looked at some older catalogs and it looks to me like the V braces were introduced for the 1970 model year.
The 1971 catalog shows the 1117 having VT-11 braces. The 1974 catalog introduced the Custom Legend and the A braces.
By Paul's Legend, we know that the Legend continued to use the VT-11 braces, but the 1980 catalog shows the Legend using A braces.
I didn't see a catalog that showed the CL using V braces. Do you recall which year catalog you saw that showed the CL using V braces?
Sometime in the late 1970s, Ovation changed the Balladeer line over from using the X braces and V braces to the K-5 braces, which look to me like a simplified A braces. And, the K-5 braces sound very similar to the A braces.
With this change, the sound of the two product lines were blurred. By 1994, the Balladeer models went back to the X braces. By 2004, the Legend LX and the Custom Legend LX series both using the 'new' LX brace pattern. The 'traditional' Legend and Custom Legend models in 2005 still is shown as using the A braces. Interestingly, the 2005 catalog shows the 1711 Standard Balladeer as using the A braces. (again)
The 2007 catalog shows that the Balladeer line had also and the LX-series added to it.
I'm not sure when the A braced models were phased out in favor of the LX braces across the entire product line.
Nope, you're not wrong. I agree with you about the LX braces used on virtually every model in the Ovation line.
Personally, I would like to see Ovation go back to using A braces on the Legend series and the LX braces on the Balladeer line. Back in the old days, each line had their own distinctive sound. I'd like to see them return to those sounds.
If I had my druthers, I would phase out the LX braces in favor of the original X braces used on the 1960s Balladeers. IMO, those are among the best-sounding X braces ever produced.
Edited by DanSavage 2017-09-20 10:48 AM
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Location: Texas | For those in the cheap seats:
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Location: Tuscany, Italy | Michel, I own a legend with a mod. VT 11 bracing. I got this guitar from Damon years ago. I really like how it sound but to be honest I prefer the A bracing sound over all other options. I know I'm not telling something new here, however the VT sound is different for sure and to other listeners can be a good or a "Hmm I do not know" sound. One of the idea of Bernie (BBurg) was to call for a european gathering. Maybe one day when we will be able to "get together" we can make a comparison between the two pattern...as well as having a lot of fun  1117
Edited by marenostrum 2017-09-20 2:02 PM
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June 2012
Posts: 2316
Location: Pueblo West, CO | And, for those who are curious, here's the K-5 braces and the A braces, though I suspect most everyone around these parts know what the A braces look like. K-5 braces: 
A braces: 
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Location: Jet City | marenostrum - 2017-09-20 11:42 AM Michel, I own a legend with a mod. VT 11 bracing. I got this guitar from Damon years ago. I really like how it sound but to be honest I prefer the A bracing sound over all other options. I know I'm not telling something new here, however the VT sound is different for sure and to other listeners can be a good or a "Hmm I do not know" sound. One of the idea of Bernie (BBurg) was to call for a european gathering. Maybe one day when we will be able to "get together" we can make a comparison between the two pattern...as well as having a lot of fun 1117 Well technically, the 1117 in question is a Deluxe Balladeer. They changed the model name to Legend the following year, but yes it had a variation of the VT bracing that I'd not seen before. I like the A-bracing better too, but this one was a sound cannon for sure. Very loud. Since I didn't see any examples of bracing called VT-9, I named it that. Here's what Riccardo's 1117 bracing looks like:
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Posts: 755
Location: Muenster/Germany | Thank you all for your interest, esp. DanSavage for the encyclopedical information. I find the stories about history and development of all these different Ovation guitars quite exciting.
I found the CL VT-braced in an old Ovation German catalog on ovationtribute.com.The VT braces seemed to have been used mostly on shallow bowls (mine was one). The guitar played so different from any other guitar I ever had that I was just curious.
But A-braces are hard to beat.
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Joined:
May 2017
Posts: 11
| You should write a book - I think Ovation richly desereves a good book and you have fascinating insights!!
I have an amazing book on Vox amps which shows how it should be done!!
https://www.amazon.com/Vox-Amplifiers-Years-Jim-elyea/dp/142431769X
No other book I own comes close!
Jon |
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Old Ovation guitars with VT 11 bracing
