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Posts: 1380
Location: Central Oregon | I had a short time to stop by Central Oregon Music this evening before the jam. (I went over a little early so I could pick up two more sets of Elixirs. I have to take off from work early to get there before 6:00 when they close.)
I haven't been over there early enough to get to the store before they closed in a few months & they had quite a bunch of new Ovations in stock, including another Elite T, a Celeb 12 & Celeb 6 & at least one Elite LX. There were quite a few more but once I saw the LX I quit looking at the others & glommed onto it.
I only had about ten minutes to check it out, but I was very impressed with it. I didn't plug it in but it sounded great unplugged. Steven offered to plug it in for me but I didn't want to waste any time. It was really great looking, I really liked the inlaid epaulets & it played VERY well. The wood in the epaulets looked to be brighter colored than the overlayed ones. That may have been due to the gloss finish over them rather than the wood itself. I dunno. It had a very slightly thicker neck than my 2002 Collectors, slightly slimmer than my 1612.
I like the wider, more contrasting "skunk stripe" on my older Ovation 5 piece necks better than the thinner, lighter colored stripe on the LX, but that's just my personal preference.
The tuner in the Op Pro was excellent. Very easy to read & use. Less buttons & lights than my OP 40's but I suppose it still does all the same stuff + some. If it's still there next time I go over I'll plug it in & try it.
The only thing I saw that wasn't perfect was the joint at the heel of the neck/body.
I'm *really* splitting hairs here, in fact, you'd probably have to split a hair to measure the gap, but it wasn't as tight a fit as my three Ovations. I think it is probably because of the new way the neck is joined to the body. I don't know exactly how mine are installed on my "old" 2002 Collectors, 2003 1858 & 1612, but there is zero gap as opposed to a "finely split hair might fit in there a little" thickness joint (I shouldn't really even call it a gap) on the LX. I'm sure I would never have noticed it at all except that was the very first place I took a real close look at it cuz I wanted to check out the neck attachment. It is a very tight fit, the body just doesn't appear to be glued or bonded or whatever to the neck like my older O's. No place to stick a split hair on the old ones, I guess that's what I'm trying to say.
I liked the guitar a lot. If I didn't have my 2002 I would buy it. It was marked at about $900 & I'm sure I could buy it for around $800.
Oh yeah, come to think of it they had a 2003 Collectors there too. I don't know if it was the one they said they were going to have to send back or different one, but it had a $900 tag on it too.
I like that store. It's nice to go into a music store in a relatively small place like Bend Oregon & see 6 or 8 Ovations, at least half of them USA Ovations, hanging in the same little glass room with the Breedloves. They're proud of their Ovations too, you can tell.
Saayyy, I wonder if they would be interested in "hosting" a NW Ovation get together if we got one somewhat organized? It's a 6 hour drive from northern Washington but it's a hell of a lot closer than Hartford Connecticut!
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April 2003
Posts: 65
Location: Connecticut | Nils, The neck joints look like that on all of the LX's because of the new neck system which allows you to fit and install the neck without any type of adhesive. |
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August 2003
Posts: 396
| At $800-900 was it an elite lx or the standard elite lx? |
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March 2002
Posts: 1380
Location: Central Oregon | Originally posted by DaveO:
Nils, The neck joints look like that on all of the LX's because of the new neck system which allows you to fit and install the neck without any type of adhesive.
That's what I thought. It was an excellent fit, it just didn't appear to be bonded together.
I don't know which model Elite it was, I'll look next time I'm over there. Whatever it was it looked, played & sounded great.
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Posts: 13984
Location: Upper Left USA | Nils,
You have the right idea! I would drive 6 hours to play guitar! Truck tent, CD collection, Starbuck's card, ROAD TRIP!!! I might even set a goal of making one of the Mall events sometime this summer. Your State Parks have "Yurts" in a lot of places. For those that don't know a "Yurt" is the "Roundback" of camping structures.
If the neck was really glossy and the bridge and fretboard was ebony it was not a special/standard Elite. I think the inlaid epaulets glow under the finish as well. |
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November 2002
Posts: 1196
Location: Lafayette, Louisiana | Nils, the neck joint on my Legend LX is perfect. It has no gaps at all, and almost looks like it blends into the bowl. Did I tell you I like this guitar alot? (lol) |
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Joined:
December 2003
Posts: 1889
Location: Central Massachusetts | This page from the Ovation LX photo tour shows a great shot of the neck being mounted to the body.
I expect this approach helps to avoid the "14-th fret hump" issue.
Perhaps the part that floats allows just that much more of the body to vibrate freely. It also cleanly hides the actual joint.
On my 1771LX, I can tell that the fingerboard is floating, but there is no "gap", per se. Still love the LX 7+ weeks later. No germination here! |
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February 2004
Posts: 50
Location: Boise Idaho | Hey Nils... Could you post the address and hours for Central Oregon Music if you have time? It would be worth the 6 hour drive just to see a different music store for a change...
Thanks |
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December 2003
Posts: 13984
Location: Upper Left USA | About that page - The guy that does all of the "Test Driving" at the factory - What's his favorite guitar? Probably the only guy in America to A/B/C/D all of the LX's. |
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Joined:
March 2002
Posts: 1380
Location: Central Oregon | Originally posted by Ovation4me:
Hey Nils... Could you post the address and hours for Central Oregon Music if you have time? It would be worth the 6 hour drive just to see a different music store for a change...
Thanks
They're at 104 Bend River Mall Ave. in the Bend River Mall. Turn in at the red & white Shopko sign. I'm not sure what time they open, either 9:00 or 10:00 but they close at 6:00PM, at least during the week. Give 'em a call at 541-389-2278. Ask for Steven if you have any questions. Tell him Nils sent you. If they get some calls from around the NW about Ovations they might be a little more inclined to host an Ovation get-together if we ask at some point.
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I tried out an Elite LX tonight
