| ||
The Ovation Fan Club | ||
| ||
Random quote: "I've always felt that blues, rock 'n' roll and country are just about a beat apart."-Waylon Jennings |
![]()
| View previous thread :: View next thread | |
Forums Archive -> The Vault: 2006 | Message format |
Old Applause Owner![]() |
| ||
Joined: July 2003 Posts: 1922 Location: Canton (Detroit), MI | Something to ruin your weekend (it did mine)..... http://www.musicgearreview.com/article-display/1897.html She plays Ovations for over 15 years on stage....Martins part-time for 5(switching off with her Takamine)....oh-kay...... Roger | ||
| |||
Beal![]() |
| ||
Joined: January 2002 Posts: 14127 Location: 6 String Ranch | Just wait for the CWK2 signature Martin. Then you'll know that they've lost it down in Pa. | ||
| |||
alpep![]() |
| ||
Joined: December 2001 Posts: 10583 Location: NJ | martin will even make a sig model for me..... | ||
| |||
Tupperware![]() |
| ||
Joined: January 2005 Posts: 4903 Location: Phoenix AZ | Nancy has played Martins behind the scenes since way back. Much of the early recordings were done using a Martin. On stage she used Ovation for obvious reason. The HD-35 looks like a nice one. Why do people get pissed off at Martin for having obviously good marketing schemes and advertising. I say good for them. Kaman chooses to do it differently. If you want to be pissed off at them, fine. But it looks to me like they sell every Ovation that they could possibly make. Dave | ||
| |||
Brian T![]() |
| ||
Joined: May 2003 Posts: 425 Location: SE Michigan | So what's stopping Ovation from making artist signature series guitars? Seems like Martin is doing something right. | ||
| |||
cliff![]() |
| ||
Joined: March 2002 Posts: 14842 Location: NJ | T'do that, you'd need . . . . . . . oh, I dunno . . . . . . "artists"?? | ||
| |||
Beal![]() |
| ||
Joined: January 2002 Posts: 14127 Location: 6 String Ranch | lots of 'em... and not be afraid to pay royalties... | ||
| |||
fillhixx![]() |
| ||
Joined: November 2005 Posts: 4832 Location: Campbell River, British Columbia | Y'mean that clip I saw of a former Backstreet Boy stumming an O in his promotional vidio for the solo career....doesn't count? | ||
| |||
Tupperware![]() |
| ||
Joined: January 2005 Posts: 4903 Location: Phoenix AZ | Originally posted by cwk2: Did I hear correct at the tour Q&A that Rick said that Ovation has NEVER had a paid endorsee and NOBODY is under any kind of a contract? They give guitars to artits to play in public, but these artits are not actually obligated to do so. This sounds insane to me. For christs sake pick SOMEBODY and lock them up in a contract. Can you IMAGINE if Paul Simon, Dave Matthews and Paul McCartney still played Ovation and had signature models? and not be afraid to pay royalties... Dave | ||
| |||
rick endres![]() |
| ||
Joined: August 2005 Posts: 616 Location: cincinnati, ohio | Ironically, I came across an Ovation catalog circa 1973 the other day. The title on the cover was "The Guitar of the Stars." The front and back covers (and the inside front and back covers) were festooned with snapshot sized pictures of numerous artists, some very famous and some not-so-famous (incidentally, Heart was NOT among them). What's the deal with the lack of Ovation endorsees? Is it Ovation's fault-- lack of pursuit? Or does the music community as a whole suffer from wooden guitar snobbery? Kaki King is nice, but Ovation needs someone the caliber of an Eric Clapton. Or a Nancy Wilson..... | ||
| |||
moody, p.i.![]() |
| ||
Joined: March 2002 Posts: 15678 Location: SoCal | I've been in this discussion too many times....... | ||
| |||
Old Applause Owner![]() |
| ||
Joined: July 2003 Posts: 1922 Location: Canton (Detroit), MI | Heart wasn't famous in 1973....."Crazy On You" hit big the summer of 1976....that is why they aren't in the '73 catalog. My gripe with the Nancy Wilson signature is that she isn't known for playing Martin....even now, most of the time onstage, she plays her trusty Takamine. I'll see her in concert July 17th, and see if that continues to be true. cwk2 is right....Ovations (and Takamines) would probably be considerably more expensive if KMC paid royalties for signature models. HOWEVER....I saw Rory Block in concert a couple of weeks ago. She stated that the royalties from her signature Martin guitars (all 47 of them) went to charity.....and it sounded like a standard deal (the artists gain for tax purposes?). Roger | ||
| |||
rick endres![]() |
| ||
Joined: August 2005 Posts: 616 Location: cincinnati, ohio | "Heart wasn't famous in 1973....."Crazy On You" hit big the summer of 1976....that is why they aren't in the '73 catalog." Quote from Old Applause Owner Duh! I should know that. That's what happens when you get old..... | ||
| |||
Mark in Boise![]() |
| ||
Joined: March 2005 Posts: 12759 Location: Boise, Idaho | Originally posted by Tupperware: I have to agree with Dave again. If you sell to your capacity, you don't tend to try to advertise to sell more. Marketing people tell us that you should be selling even when you have more work than you need, but most don't do that.Nancy has played Martins behind the scenes since way back. Much of the early recordings were done using a Martin. On stage she used Ovation for obvious reason. The HD-35 looks like a nice one. Why do people get pissed off at Martin for having obviously good marketing schemes and advertising. I say good for them. Kaman chooses to do it differently. If you want to be pissed off at them, fine. But it looks to me like they sell every Ovation that they could possibly make. Dave | ||
| |||
Tommy M.![]() |
| ||
Joined: January 2004 Posts: 627 Location: Cherry Hill, NJ | Have you ever thought that at this point in her career, she may be too old to play above the 5th fret. | ||
| |||
bvince![]() |
| ||
Joined: September 2005 Posts: 3619 Location: GATLINBURG TENNESSEE :) | Personally, I could care less for what Nancy or any other "star" is playing. When people play guitars because they're receiving royalties for it, that tells me the guitar doesn't stand on it's own merits. A wise person should be purchasing a perticular instrument because it sounds and plays great, and it offers the best value for the money. That's why I'll choose Ovations every time! | ||
| |||
Old Applause Owner![]() |
| ||
Joined: July 2003 Posts: 1922 Location: Canton (Detroit), MI | I personally like "signature" guitars if the artist actually USES the model, plus they sign the label. I have an Adamas Melissa Etheridge 12-string, and both points apply to that model. Yes, it should SOUND good....otherwise, you're just collecting guitars to sit in the case or hang on the wall. Nancy too old to play above the 5th fret????? I DON'T THINK SO......she plays solid-body electric a good bit of the time in concert, going between a Fender Tele and a Gibby Les Paul Studio. She isn't the lead player, though, she usually plays rhythm guitar, and they hire a lead player. She worked with Gibson on the new Epiphone Les Paul Ultra model....slim neck for small hands, and lightweight chambered body....a super package. THAT guitar would make far more sense as a signature model than the Martin, IMHO. Unfortunately, that would put the price of the guitar out of the $500 price point Gibson sells it at. Roger | ||
| |||
Jeff![]() |
| ||
Joined: June 2002 Posts: 863 Location: Central Florida | Originally posted by rick endres: Rick, I think your second suggestion is probably closest to the truth. What's the deal with the lack of Ovation endorsees? Is it Ovation's fault-- lack of pursuit? Or does the music community as a whole suffer from wooden guitar snobbery? The problem, as I see it, is most players today just consider Ovations passe, plain and simple. I'm not agreeing with them or saying they're right; nor am I trying to over simplify the matter, but I believe that's really it in a nutshell. A lot of the musicians I talk to consider Ovations the "leisure suit" of the guitar world. You know, fashionable at one time and everybody had to have (at least) one, but now wouldn't be caught dead with it. Again, not my opinion by a long shot, but that seems to be the general perception of Ovations these days in the view of a lot of players. Is that Ovation's fault? I dunno. Maybe to a degree. Beginning in the early 70s, Ovation shifted their focus away from using modern technology to build better acoustic guitars, to putting all their energies and resources into making great stage guitars. The result was increased sales and near saturation level visibility. Suddenly, Ovations were everywhere! But, within a decade or so, as other guitar makers caught up with the technology and began offering pick up systems in their instruments, Ovation's predominance and visibility immediately began to wane. I think it's also important to note that many of the artists that were never seen on stage without their O's in the 70s and 80s, still opted to take their beloved Martins, Gibsons and other wood box acoustics into the studio when it came time to record. In hindsight, it's almost as if Ovation's were merely used as a stop gap measure until artists could get what they really wanted--all wood guitars that would perform like an Ovation on stage, but still give them the "traditional" acoustic tone they were used to. We all know that Ovation is building some of finest guitars they've ever made these days. And, if they're really selling all that they're manufacturing, that's awesome! But, as far as their visibility and viability in the general marketplace is concerned, unless they can figure out a way to reinvent the leisure suit and make it fashionable once again, I'm afraid their best days may already be behind them. Again, not my opinion... just an observation. | ||
| |||
Old Applause Owner![]() |
| ||
Joined: July 2003 Posts: 1922 Location: Canton (Detroit), MI | I agree with Rick's and Jeff's observation that the music community as a whole suffers from wood guitar snobbery. However, what is equally interesting to me is that when I myself indulged in that, buying a Larrivee Parlor and a Martin 000-16RGT, both instruments ended up neglected, and were eventually sold. I just didn't like playing them as much as my Ovations. Roger | ||
| |||
Brian T![]() |
| ||
Joined: May 2003 Posts: 425 Location: SE Michigan | I think that Ovation's tide is rising lately. I'm actually starting to find more positive things than negative things on the other boards. I don't really buy the whole leisure suit metaphor. My guess about artist endorsements is that Ovation doesn’t view their "typical" customer so much as a middle-age beer-belly baby-boomer, hence they have little interest in stars from the 60's and 70's. Rather I think they view their average customer as a 17-year-old grunge rocker type who will appreciate such things as Nicki Stix sitting on an American flag. Now Martin on the other hand, has come to understand which side their toast is buttered on.....Martin realizes it is older hobbyist players that buy the bulk of their guitars, especially the higher end and signature models. | ||
| |||
Slipkid![]() |
| ||
Joined: September 2003 Posts: 9301 Location: south east Michigan | If only.. ![]() If only.. If only.. If only.. If only.. If only.. If only.. If only.. If only.. | ||
| |||
Old Applause Owner![]() |
| ||
Joined: July 2003 Posts: 1922 Location: Canton (Detroit), MI | Yeah....instead, there's a Peter Townshend signature Gibson SJ-200......and, in case you didn't know, Nancy Wilson states in an interview in Acoustic Guitar several years ago that the reason she dropped Ovation and went to Takamine was being inspired by seeing Pete Townshend playing one..... Roger | ||
| |||
stephent28![]() |
| ||
![]() Joined: April 2004 Posts: 13303 Location: Latitude 39.56819, Longitude -105.080066 | So Brad, is that a real Ovation flyer or did you cleverly make that up.....if made up, it is very very good. | ||
| |||
moody, p.i.![]() |
| ||
Joined: March 2002 Posts: 15678 Location: SoCal | Real flyer.... | ||
| |||
Designzilla![]() |
| ||
Joined: December 2004 Posts: 2150 Location: Orlando, FL | Wow Brad! That one brings back some memories of my youth! I remember those ads in Guitar Player Magazine around '73 or '74. Thanks for posting it. | ||
| |||
Jump to page : 1 2 Now viewing page 1 [25 messages per page] |
Search this forum Printer friendly version E-mail a link to this thread |
This message board and website is not sponsored or affiliated with Ovation® Guitars in any way. | |
(Delete all cookies set by this site) | |