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Location: montreal | As a huge fan of Ovation, I worry about them. It seems to me that they are quickly losing ground on other manufacturers. They seem to have been labeled as the 'starters guitar' and that bothers me. I think that the problem lies in the fact that they have not made any major changes to their line. Also, they release all these cheap korean stuff, which is alright but not quite up to par when it comes to the big boys of the bizz. I know about the tangent series and the ea & cv 68, but other than that all their stuff looks the same. Am I crazy or am I not alone in my concerns? |
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Location: 6 String Ranch | You are right on the money.
read the would would like to see playing posts
Tell the president of Kaman Music what you think |
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Posts: 10583
Location: NJ | you are not crazy ...you have found the right place.
Many of us at this site have similar views. We are passionate about the guitars but have concern with market share, quality issues and overall acoustic sound.
If we keep a dialogue going here our collective voice may help to influence decisions re new models and old line models. |
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Posts: 7251
Location: The Great Pacific Northwest | I'm not sure the folks (we'll call them folks) at Ovation, realize how pationate people are about their instruments, and this is a great forum for reminding them. As with most large companies, it's hard to take the temp of your clients.
The rants AND the raves I think are seldom heard by the people that actually plan the ops at Ovation. Sure if a guitar is broke they hear about it, but I doubt they hear from all of the people that have been playing their instruments for over 35 years that may have suggeestions, and worse... I'm pretty sure they don't hear from the person that owned an Ovation for 10 years, decided to upgarde it, and ended up buying a Taylor.
So this is the place to rave about your favorites, rant about your not-so-favorites and maybe, just maybe, someone will hear ya. |
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February 2002
Posts: 48
Location: CT | Hopefully the Adamas Q will turn some people around. Ovation has always been up against traditionalist thinking, much like alternatives to Les Pauls and Strats and tube amps in the electric guitar world. But when something new really works, some part of the market share has to reconsider its prejudices. My brief impressions of the Q protos tell me people will *have* to listen to these with open ears, and stop with all the pycho-babble about wood vs plastic, traditional luthiery etc. Tone is tone. |
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Posts: 2
Location: RI | Originally posted by s_mkheidze:
As a huge fan of Ovation, I worry about them. It seems to me that they are quickly losing ground on other manufacturers. They seem to have been labeled as the 'starters guitar' and that bothers me. I think that the problem lies in the fact that they have not made any major changes to their line. Also, they release all these cheap korean stuff, which is alright but not quite up to par when it comes to the big boys of the bizz. I know about the tangent series and the ea & cv 68, but other than that all their stuff looks the same. Am I crazy or am I not alone in my concerns? |
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Posts: 2
Location: RI | Originally posted by s_mkheidze:
[QB]As a huge fan of Ovation, I worry about them. It seems to me that they are quickly losing ground on other manufacturers.
Hey dude..Unfortuantly untill you've been playing for a while...you don't really see past the "flash" and cheaper price of the korean instraments, which appeal to "less informed player" Admittedly almost fell into that trap myself,when purchasing my used 12string balldeer...but after doing a quick comparison between an americian balldeer and a korean celibrity, there was simply no contest.
Think it was Jimi Hendrix who said..."I don't play with teeth...I play with my ears"...
I've personally told many a aspiring guitar player...when shopping for a first instrament
line up the ovations in your price range and then close your eyes....after the worst sounding get cut...then start thinking about features,appearence...etc..
Happy playing... |
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Location: 6 String Ranch | Buy first with your pocketbook,
second your ears,
third your fingers
and fourth your eyes
not that I always do that!!! but it's a good guideline |
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March 2002
Posts: 15686
Location: SoCal | I agree with Bill's criteria. I can't tell you the number of times that I've been in a guitar store, played my few hot licks and had somebody come up and ask if they should buy a cheap Martin or Taylor as their first guitar!
I always tell them to not listen to the salesmen, but to pick up a number of different guitars in their price range and see what puts a smile on their faces. That smile counts for a lot more than the salesmen's pitches. |
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Posts: 4389
Location: Capital District, NY, USA Minor Outlying Islands | I agree that the last thing you do is "look" at a guitar. If I did I never would have bought my used ovation which has finish cracks, or my used telecaster which has dents and dings. The price was what I could afford and they felt great. You just have to brave to get over the looks. Reminds me, as Bo Diddley said, you can't judge a book by looking at the cover. |
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Posts: 39
Location: California | Takamine seems to have better reputation than Ovation nowaday. Kaman seems to be content with their current marketing strategy. It's sad !
Take a look at Taylor. They make a big deal out of their latest pickup system - ES! Marketing has to do with most of their success. |
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Location: Scotland | I heard the new Taylor pickup system being demonstrated at NAMM. Huge trade shows are never good places to evaluate acoustic instruments but Taylor had a large room upstairs, away from the noise of the main hall & a pretty big Mackie PA. Dan Crary demonstrated a standard Fishman-equipped Taylor then one of the new systems. The Fishman equipped guitar had the usual generic piezo tone, OK, but nothing special. The response by the audience to the new ES system struck me as a classic case of "Emperors New Clothes" While they all nodded approval I thought it sounded like the guitar was being played through a cheap microphone and actually preferred the Piezo. I'll reserve judgment until I can try one myself in better circumstances, but the NAMM demo left me underwhelmed. Rupert Neve has supposedly designed the preamp circuitry, which is a very shrewd move from a marketing standpoint.
Another pickup which is supposedly superior to Piezo is the Schertler BlueStick, which is a miniature undersaddle condenser mike. I spent some time on the Schertler stand at NAMM trying to get a decent sound out of a very nice guitar with one of these installed, again, to me it sounded like cheap mike. Piezo pickups have their faults & will never sound like a mike, but at least they produce good usable sounds. The Baggs I-beam is the best-sounding pickup I've heard, but it's feedback threshold is so low it's pretty much useless for live work. |
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Posts: 110
| I guess they come out with new cheap korean models and colors cause it sells. Maybe if more people purchase "new(instead of vintage)" US made models, Kaman will have new designs and colors. I see alot of folks on this site suggesting others to buy vintage O's, but for me, I like to be the original owner. I just feel that newer O's don't get the respect they deserve. I apologize if I have offended anyone. |
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Location: Las Cruces, NM | Here we go again!!
If you look at any major catalog or magazine you see 100's of companies trying to make their guitar the new THING. What has changed? Mass marketing, the attempt to sell guitars to a market that has absolutely no idea of what makes a good guitar, but only what the latest hyped rock star is playing. If you really think about it, how does a 15 year old kid decide how he is going to attract babes other than buying the hottest guitar as per the videos, (not withstanding that the video guitars are more than likely props). It's a two tier world, those that know and play instruments and those that are joining the latest fad. Ovations are good guitars, but at the moment they are not the bees knees, just be happy that you can buy the best of them for $1500.
Bailey |
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Posts: 69
Location: UK | Interesting post. Are Ovation "quickly losing ground" to other manufacturers? I'll have to do some reasearch on the company especially as I'd got the impression that Ovation calims to be is the largest guitar manufacturer in the US, based on sales volume???? I'd assumed that this was because of the Korean angle upping their market share and revenues, which was a pretty good business decision if this is the case.
Looking at the passionate interest in this group, taken as a yardstick, I'd say Ovation are in a good position to compete alongside Gibson, Taylor and Martin in the acoustic/electro-acoustic space. The reason is value for money - a top end Adamas is still a helluva lot cheaper than a top end Gibson or Martin (not too sure about Taylor as I've never been too interested in them).
There's no doubt about the fact that Gibson and Martin have a longer musical heritage to trade on but Ovation has always been the imaginative "new kid on the block" and with an investment in marketing - and not necessarily new instruments - I don't see why they shouldn't maintain any commerical lead they may have. |
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Location: NJ | big louie
this thread is rather old. It has been discussed adnaseum that Ovation should have a high end guitar in their catalog as a show piece.
even if they only make 5 a year. How many PRS dragons are made a year? how many Martin d 45's are made a year?
This guitar will not only keep its value but be one that all may aspire to buy to have the Ovation/Adamas jewel. |
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Posts: 6
Location: Ontario, Canada | To gain a greater feel for their market, the Ovation company leaders miss out the important segment coming directly from this board. As a Rickenbacker enthusiast as well, I enjoy Rickenbacker CEO John Hall visiting the Ric board daily. He bears the inevitable criticisms well and is very in touch with his raving fans. While Rickenbacker products lag in R&D (perhaps like Ovation), the paying customers are complemented with support directly from the CEO. Try and get that out of Taylor / Martin / Gibson. |
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Posts: 1300
Location: Madison, Wisconsin | Gee, I wonder if the big guys of Kaman ever visit the board....
Say Hi Bill. |
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Posts: 4
Location: Borrington | Please, Bill is not there anymore, and I wish HE was. Send Vice President Frank Undermyer a letter@ kamanmusic, c/o Hamer Gutiars or Mr. Saunders President of Kaman Music. The shape of things to come depend on recovering from the stock market bullshit that has wiped out 1 trillion dollars from us Americans. If people had 1)more cash these days, 2)better quality musical entertainment instead of that rap crap exposing kids to the folk rock of the 60's that I grew up on could bring back intrest to acoustic instruments. |
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Location: puerto vallarta, mexico | this topic seems to come up allot.
to me the korean guitars shouldn't be lumped into the ovation name. the guys in conn should continue the tradition of inovation and build THE ONLY OVATIONS. mercedes would lose it's image if it built a 10,000 car and called it a mercedes. by making a cheaper copy of something good it drags down the good. celebrity and applause should be different and like hamer a different company. the celebrity and applause aren't bad value, they just aren't ovations. |
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Posts: 398
Location: So. Cal. | Oh, my favorite topic is back "again". I basically agree with most of the opinions expressed by other fellow members. My take on this subject is: Yes, Gibson and Martin have a long history, but Taylor is a relative new comer, and Takamine is just another decent (for an import) entry level guitar. Now it seems Taylor and Takamine have both come ahead of Ovation (company making EXPENSIVE high end guitars since the '60s). What's wrong with this picture? I used to see Ovation everywhere, major artists in Asia, Europe (don't even know their names), U.S. (Doobie Bros., P Simon, N Wilson, G Campbell to name just a few) since before I knew how to play the guitar. Whatever marketing approach you take, people look for hints from their musical idols. It's not just pure idol worship, it's also the style of music that people are trying follow. What's a better way than trying to make the same kind of sound as the original artist than using the same (or similar) equipment. How often do we see Ovation/Adamas guitars these on TV or in print (Ad's not counted)? |
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Location: 6 String Ranch | Hi Bill ( well he said to say it )
Ever notice that the best Ovation ads are the Dean Markley ones that have Ovations in them? |
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Location: Scotland | Yeah, but the best Dean Markley ads are the ones with semi-naked women in them |
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Location: Las Cruces, NM | Good points everyone
Russ
Did you or anybody you know buy any of those Caddilacs, Pontiacs, Oldsmobiles that were based on the GM economy model. or Chevy pickups that looked an awful lot like Japan, Luvs, I think they were called? Cheapening the brand does not improve it, if it did, Budweiser could cross the Bud horses with Shetland ponies and save thousands on shipping. I say give the cheap copies some other name, but what do I know, I'm driving a 2 ton Suburban and loving every part of it's rugged and tough qualities.
Bailey |
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Posts: 143
Location: High, in the Rocky Mountains of Colorado | Six years ago I bought a new 1868 Elite. It was in impeccable shape. Perfect! a 10 out of 10.
Last week, I received a new 1858 Elite drop shipped from the factory. It came with a nasty scratch on the back of the bowl, and glue on one of the epaulets.
If quality control says or means any thing, it does not look good for Ovation. It appears to me they are slipping. Of course, this is an isolated incident.
O' and not to mention cheapening of the product its self. My first Elite was made with a AAA top, and this last one with AA.
It looks like the way of things to come. I just hope they can stay in business.
Dale |
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the future of Ovation.....
