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Location: Location Location Location | http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20080702/sc_nm/stradivarius_dc
Ya think?? |
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Location: Phoenix AZ | That's just one of many factors. A shitty design built with the best woods available isn't going to yield a world class instrument. Ditto a great design, great materials but crappy construction. Taylor tried to downplay the significance of the wood quality a few years back and built a guitar out of wooden pallet scrap. They argued that do to their design and workmanship the result was not significantly different in sound than their regular guitars. I find that result not shocking at all, but for different reasons.
Ovations choice to use a plastic bowl has eliminated a huge variable and probably explains to a large extent why Ovations are so consistent in sound from one to another of the same model. Probably the most "clear" sounding guitars ever built. Unfortunately not being able to manipulate the bowl (back/sides) also eliminates a variable to be tuned to the designers and buyers personal choice. Imagine an Ovation that could be mated to koa, maple, mahogany, or rosewood backs to produce a huge array of tonal possibilities. Or an Ovation that could be built into a Jumbo, Dread, OM or 00 sized guitar depending the preference of the designer and buyer. Or cutaway/non-cutawy, lefthanded, etc.
Hats off to Ovation for building a wonderfully consistent product adn a great price. My only desire would be that they could do more variations on the construction and size.
Dave |
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Location: Carle Place, NY | Originally posted by Gallerinski:
My only desire would be that they could do more variations on the construction and size.
Dave I think Ovation has decided to leave that to Martin & Co. ;) :D |
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Location: Jet City | There's always the two '97 Collector's models. |
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Location: Phoenix AZ | Originally posted by Mitchrx:
I think Ovation has decided to leave that to Martin & Co. Yeah, but why give away that segment of the business to the competition? Not every guitar buyer wants an Ovation standard sized guitar, so tell them 'sorry go buy some other brand'? I would think in Ovations case they would actually have a leg up on the wooden guys because all Ovation has to do is stockpile different sizes of plastic bowls and select the top wood to match. I'm sure there's a good business reason why they don't do it. Dave |
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Location: East Tennessee | "Part of the reason may be that trees grow slightly differently today than in the past."
:confused:
I would agree with Dave. A few choices in body size would offer the consumer some choice.
What would a Dreadnought size deep bowl sound like? :cool: |
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Location: SoCal | Originally posted by Capo Guy:
What would a Dreadnought size deep bowl sound like? :cool: Huge. Al has one.
Ovation tried a different size bowl once. Remember the 97 Collectors? |
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Location: Campbell River, British Columbia | Originally posted by Gallerinski:
I'm sure there's a good business reason why they don't do it. Dave Rafe Mair axiom #1
You make a great error in judgement assuming the people in charge know what the hell they're doing.
(usually referring to pols/bureaucrats but.....)
Phil (still holding out for the Double O Bass) Hicks |
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Location: SoCal | Wasn't body size discussed once before and somebody commented that the different depth bowls are Ovation's different body sizes..... |
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Location: Phoenix AZ | Yes it was discussed. The different depth bowl does create a different cavity volume, so yes you are correct. But that is but ONE aspect of guitar shapes and sizes. On an ovation the deep, mid or shallow bowl the size of the soundboard is always the same. Same bracing, same everything. And of course the ergonomics of playing an ovation (other than the bowl depth) are always the same. You could argue why mess with perfection? Ok, I'll buy that. But variation and freedom of choice is another form of perfection. I really enjoy bouncing back and forth between for example a Small Jumbo and an OM. Wildly different guitars, different sound, different shape, even different playing technique to bring out the best in them (not that I would know). I love ovations don't get me wrong, but I get less of a charge bouncing back and forth between say, an Elite and a Legend. The flavors of ovation ice-cream are very good, but taste just a bit too similar - chocolate chip, chocolate crunch, chocolate fudge swirl, ... shit, throw me some strawberry or maple walnut !!! |
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Location: SoCal | Dave, I understand what you're saying and for the most part, I agree. But the differences I hear in my guitars are fairly pronounced, going from the OFC slothead (ding!), to the 87 Collectors, to the GCDB, to the GC RI, to the 1537 to the FD14. All are different and all have different sounds. They are sound differnet while still all managing to sound like Ovations. How much difference do you want? Remember the bracing patterns of the 70's, with Charlie wanting different sounds for different purposes (whatever the hell they were)? |
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Location: Keepin' It Weird in Portland, OR | Yeah... I'm gonna say it. If you want a Harley, you buy a Harley. If you want a BMW, you buy a BMW.
Honda makes something that looks like a Harley, so does Yamaha, Suzuki, and Victory... But they are not Harley's.
So...
[Gallerinski quote]- "Yeah, but why give away that segment of the business to the competition? Not every guitar buyer wants an Ovation standard sized guitar, so tell them 'sorry go buy some other brand'?"
.... The answer to that question is... YES!
Go get a Taylor, Martin, Takamine, Guild, Ibanez, Breedlove or whatever suits your fancy.
The problem with alot of companies... auto, computer, guitar, toilet paper or cat litter... is that they want to steal other peoples thunder.
Once upon a time, people and companies would make what they are good at, their customers were happy and that was that! Our customers like our product, and don't care that people think it's funny lookin'...
Now everybody wants "market share" and everything produced is a clone of someone else's stuff. |
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Location: Texas | what I would love to see and play are:
...the rosewood bowl model, the mahogany bowl model, the maple bowl model and the koa bowl model...
with spruce tops, with both round and multi sound holes.
or how about they build prototypes of all these different wooden bowls and tops and pick "the best one" and offer...for the first time "The all wood Ovation roundback", ...just one model available. it may be a great guitar and a great success, we will never know unless they do it.
no more excuses from the snobs that don't like the "plastic" bowl guitar to at least try it and consider buying the new "all wood Ovation guitar".
it might be nice, before Fender decides to make some drastic changes.
:cool: ;) |
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Location: Campbell River, British Columbia | "Any colour you like, as long as it's black."
Ford would be dead (oh, wait! check the pulse.) if they had stayed with THAT formula.
A good case can be made for each point of view. That's why humans invented semantics....it's a way for us all to be right and STILL disagree.
The Banj-O
The Double-O Doghouse Bass
The GuitarrOn
Even a true
Ovation Uke-O-lele
Have 7 - 700 sales each waiting out in weirdo-land.
(PM me for my address there....)
P(Still waiting for the UK-II reissue) Hixx |
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Location: Earth·SolarSystem·LocalInterstellarCloud·Local Bub | Manufacturing a wooden roundback would need either to be done by very knowledgeable hand builders or... some completely new machine...
in either case I'm guessing the street price would be $5000+ |
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Location: Florida Central Gulf Coast | ... and all this without tossing in the string size, composition, 12 vs. 14 fret-to-body, etc.
Reminds me of the firearms type/caliber and Chevy/Ford discussions' I've seen...
At least it isn't politics or religion... Just a different type of 'porn'! :D |
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Location: Earth·SolarSystem·LocalInterstellarCloud·Local Bub | Keven Clark\'s A-Wedge Roundbacks |
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Location: 6 String Ranch | you need to get the old ones with the brazilian fibreglass. |
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Location: Tuscany, Italy | Wooden Ovation.....?
http://www.ovationfanclub.com/photos/marenostrum_14719_P5230008.JPG
Yes please, No thanks.
R. |
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Location: south east Michigan | For the new guys here is JeffW's wooden roundback on the right. 
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Location: Sydney, Australia | Originally posted by Slipkid:
For the new guys here is JeffW's wooden roundback on the right.  |
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Location: NJ | SacrificialRitual. |
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Location: Blue Ridge Mountains | you need to get the old ones with the brazilian fibreglass :D :D :D |
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Location: Nashville TN. | Originally posted by Mauvais Beal:
you need to get the
old ones with the brazilian fibreglass. ROTFLMAO@@@ :)
again and again |
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Location: Nashville TN. | my storm series is all wood |
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Is This Why Ovations Sound So Good?
