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Location: south east Michigan | I stopped in to our local, independent music store to just kick some tires.
This is where I have played and purchased a couple ovations.
They have stocked AD-II, milleniun, 30th anniversary, and some adamii.
The four ovations they have left have been banished from the acoustic room and now hang on the wall accompanied by the lowest of the low imports.
****sigh****
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Location: Latitude 39.56819, Longitude -105.080066 | You should buy them and restore them to their former glory.
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Location: SoCal | Local Guitar Center is the same. Ovations are grouped with the crappy guitars..... |
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Location: Flahdaw | The Ovations at my GC ARE "crappy guitars".... just "low imports" and certainly not worthy of hanging with the Martins, Taylors, Gibsons, Breedloves, and Larrivees...
I like them even less than the Ibanez's and Yamahas. |
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Location: Fort Worth, TX | darkbarguitar - 2013-09-08 6:55 AM
The Ovations at my GC ARE "crappy guitars".... just "low imports" and certainly not worthy of hanging with the Martins, Taylors, Gibsons, Breedloves, and Larrivees...
I like them even less than the Ibanez's and Yamahas.
Truer words were never spoken. Last "Ovation" I picked up in GC I had in my hands less than ten seconds before returning it to the rack before anybody else came in and heard it.
Edited by DaveKell 2013-09-08 7:22 AM
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Location: south east Michigan | What they have left are 2 of those MOB type things with the zig-zag sound hole, one of those HEROIN signature guitars, and just one New Hartford made Custom Legend.
You're right..... except for the Custom Legend they were all displayed properly.
Edited by Slipkid 2013-09-08 8:13 AM
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| Stopped in at Sam A.h yesterday, and the best Ovation they had was a used balladeer with a giant ding in it, for $550.00 (strings were rusty lol) My Folklore blew away all the guitars that were not behind the counter (top of the line Martins and Taylors etc.) We need an Ovation only store LOL |
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Location: sitting at my computer | Try CityMusic, they seem to have a pretty good in-store O selection... in SINGAPORE!!!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bjLAngHW8-w&feature=player_embedded http://www.citymusic.com.sg/index.asp |
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Location: south east Michigan | That clip was from 2011.
I wonder if they are still pumping out USA made inventory to Asia. |
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Location: Flahdaw | USA drinks African wines. Africans LOVE California wines.
Everyone wants USA goods (except Americans) |
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Location: Phoenix AZ | This is the store I wrote about last year. I made a visit there and was blown away. They have every single USA model including every, and I mean EVERY single Adamas model. If you do a search you will find the post. |
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Location: 6 String Ranch | Something about respect...........? |
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Location: Campbell River, British Columbia | If we/they got it a whole routine (and the intro to this website) would die! ;-) |
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Location: south east Michigan | The new Sweetwater flyer is pushing Celebritys for $299. $299.00 !!!
And even at that crazy price point you have to figure both Fender and Sweetwater are making a few bucks. We just can't pretend anymore that the imports are anything other than just that.... $299 instruments. |
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Location: Flahdaw | Bear in mind, that only leaves $197 in profit. (made from recycled medical waste, Chinese drywall, and lead paint...by 12 year olds in a sweat shop) |
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Location: Da Windy City | Right now, Ovations suffer from a perception problem.
A rule in marketing is that any product line will always be defined by its lowest and least desirable offering. This is why manufacturers with BASIC brand savvy know to segregate their higher end offerings from their lower end offerings with a totally different brand name, so as not to dilute the perception of their main line.
Rolex does it with Tudor
Gibson did it with Epiphone
Fender does it with Squier
Jackson did it with Charvel
In many instances, the sub-branded instruments themselves are great, sometimes they are built to one hundred percent spec of the eponymous 'higher brand' model but usually made in an overseas labor market and thusly, liable to ignorant narratives and flat out dumb superstitions that "only junk comes from there..." and that instruments made in (Country X) have magical powers.
Lets not bullshit ourselves; Ovations haven't exactly been at the forefront of the acoustic guitar market for quite some time, in the way that they were int the 80s. They are most definitely not en-vogue right now, which means that they don't have much of a presence in popular music, which in turn means not a big following and not a lot of people ordering those brand new four figure models from the US factory...Ahh, but the cheaper ones. Those still sell pretty-kinda-sorta OK. Not great, but OK enough to have a few on hand, over there by the Squires and Epiphones.
Ovation did their level best to segregate "Celebrity" from their core US brand but ultimately their aesthetic is just too distinct and eventually, in the eyes of the consuming public, an Ovation became an Ovation became an Ovation whether be it a US made Balladeer or $139 import special. They cannot be faulted for preserving their existence via lower priced offerings, but it does impact perception of the core brand. Breedlove, once 'special', is now the same thing.
Forum denizens and aficionados will always exist but we're just not enough to keep the smokestack blowing at the Ovation plant. Guitars aren't like toilet paper. Even the worst and least discriminate hoarders hit a point where enough's enough.
Speaking only for myself, I will always be a die-hard Ovation guy. This is probably reflective of my era, the time I grew up in and just absolutely falling in love with that lush 'Ovation Tone'. Unfortunately, Ovations are subject to the same phenomenon Jerry Garcia noted about the 'Dead : They're like black licorice. You either love them or you hate them. Right now, with the acoustic guitar buying public mired deep in various gear superstitions that disincline them from Ovations, the number of black licorice lovers these days is very small... and those who want it tend to buy the cheapest generic version, not the expensive stuff. |
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Location: Da Windy City | Brad Durasa - 2013-09-11 4:52 PM
The new Sweetwater flyer is pushing Celebritys for $299. $299.00 !!!
And even at that crazy price point you have to figure both Fender and Sweetwater are making a few bucks. We just can't pretend anymore that the imports are anything other than just that.... $299 instruments.
In the year 2013, a $299 instrument often has no appreciable, practical difference from it's $3000 counterpart, save for people who just love the internally smug idea that a family of Austrian artisans spent three days crafting the hinges on their door and they are the finest quality available at $499 a set.
Everyone else goes to Home Depot and buys the brass ones for $15.
We all know the corksniffer narratives- about how they have blessed ears that can hear Hosanna or anyone who thinks otherwise is just too poor to afford the good stuff- but none of it's true. They will say that, but none will ever rise to wager actual cash on it in a blind test across a range of sound samples that precludes successful guesswork. Even Stradivarius can't beat a .99 cent blindfold.
I'm not one to stand in the way of people with financial and emotional investments in 'fine instruments' from circling the wagons and confirming their biases, but I will stand on the sideline and chuckle a bit.
If you're going to knock inexpensive guitars, have a credible reason. Cost alone isn't a reason and even more importantly, these days, with the weird labor market conditions we operate under, cost doesn't even necessarily indicate quality, either.
Edited by Guitar 2013-09-11 9:16 PM
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Location: Keepin' It Weird in Portland, OR | 
Guitar - 2013-09-11 7:09 PM
Cost alone isn't a reason and even more importantly, these days, with the weird labor market conditions we operate under, cost doesn't even necessarily indicate quality, either.
Amen.
Once again... I always thought that's what was Great about Ovations.
Affordable, workingman's guitar.
I don't care if they make a profit selling a Celebrity for under $300.
Not too long ago Sam Ash was selling new CC54i's for $175.
We were commenting that the iDea module cost more than that.
If you believe that Celebrity's are starter guitars,
let's make them affordable for the young'uns and poor folks.
Edited by Old Man Arthur 2013-09-11 10:05 PM
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Location: Da Windy City | I remember when Ovations were somewhat pricey, new. A lot of the 1980's era instruments that sell for $300-$500 today are, factoring in for inflation, profoundly cheaper now than they were back then.
Ovation made a tactical decision regarding marketing their brand; whether it worked or not depends on who you ask. If you ask them, yes, it worked. They're still here. If you ask old-timers who have an emotional investment in their instrument being 'premier' how they feel by seeing the brand cheapened by less expensive instruments, they probably won't like that much. They won't objectively admit why but if all of a sudden Wal Mart started selling a variety of Rolexes for $899, you'd see a lot of pissed off Rolex owners.
The fact that right now, a kid with a couple hundred bucks can buy a decent used- or in some cases, new- import Ovation is great for playing musicians, perhaps a bit annoying to 'collectors' who are more concerned with the perception of other people than they are about making sounds.
Edited by Guitar 2013-09-11 10:15 PM
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Location: south east Michigan | "In the year 2013, a $299 instrument often has no appreciable, practical difference from it's $3000 counterpart" Well... let's just agree to disagree on that one. Tho I will say that $300 today can buy a better guitar than it could 15 years ago. ******** save for people who just love the internally smug idea that a family of Austrian artisans spent three days crafting the hinges on their door and they are the finest quality available at $499 a set. If you ask old-timers who have an emotional investment in their instrument being 'premier' how they feel by seeing the brand cheapened by less expensive instruments, they probably won't like that much. Maybe after you've spent some time here you'll find we are not the corksniffing type. We have no illusions of where Ovation stands among it's peers. Many guitarists won't look past the bowl where we've taken the time to learn and appreciate what the different models can offer. I'd say that "we", much more than other forum-ists, appreciate a well made, good sounding guitar no matter what name is on the headstock. ************** I remember when Ovations were somewhat pricey, new. The general feeling here is that Ovations have offered great value for the dollar from the top of the line on down. When I purchased my AD-II, a equally apointed Martin/Taylor/Gibson could have been a thousand dollars more. . Like I said... after you're here a bit you'll see my point. It's just that it feels very, odd to have some of us characterized as "smug". . Usually a poster's perspective is learned over time. You've put forth a lot of "perspective" in just 5 posts. If I may ask, what's your background? Hobbyist? Paid to play professional? Open mic guy? Industy insider?
Edited by Slipkid 2013-09-12 11:19 AM
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Location: closely held secret |
Politician? Lawyer? Marketing Puke? Troll?
Oops. Did I type that out loud?
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Location: Keepin' It Weird in Portland, OR | I remember when Ovations were somewhat pricey, new.
Well, those days are here again as far as USA Models are concerned.
Also, prices are relative to the economy of the time.
Look at some old prices... http://www.ovationfanclub.com/files/prices.asp
Then remember that in 1971 you could rent a House for $150/mo, minimum wage was $1.60/hr.
When you look at it that way, $300 ain't that cheap.
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Location: Boise, Idaho | Waskel reappears for a quick jab. I would never have guessed lawyer. |
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Location: 6 String Ranch | Ovation made a tactical decision on the marketing... If you ask them it worked.....
Who the hell is them? Is there even a them, or a he that can make these decisions? I suspect not. The only people that care about Ovation are us and those like us.
Don't lose sight of reality. Ovation was not a company( 30 years ago it was but not 15 years ago) it was just a brand. Fender did not buy Ovation. They bought Kaman music for all the percussion and distribution, Ovation and Hamer and other stuff like that was just a tagalong bonus. |
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Location: closely held secret | Mark in Boise - 2013-09-12 10:32 AM
Waskel reappears for a quick jab. I would never have guessed lawyer.
Nothing personal, Mark. But you know that...
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so sad
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