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Joined:
August 2003
Posts: 888
Location: Louisville, OH 44641 | Can some of my fellow members help me out with a couple questions on Ovations product lines. What is the difference between Applause models, celebrity models and Ovation Models? I think the Adamas models and the high end Ovations are gorgeous. But why give the same beautiful design to the low end product line? I've never heard anything good about the Applause products and think it takes away from the high end Ovations to have them look identical to the bad sounding Applause. Comments? |
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Joined:
February 2002
Posts: 5750
Location: Scotland | Applause & Celebs don't sound bad, they just don't sound as good or play as well as a USA guitar, and it's unfair to compare them. If you compare an Applause or Celeb to any other imported guitar in the same price range you'll see how good they actually are. The fact that they are visually too smililar is another issue & while it sells a lot of guitars I aggree that it kinda dilutes the USA range & confuses buyers. |
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Joined:
July 2003
Posts: 181
Location: North Carolina | Good point Stellarjim. Obviously the marketeers at the Kaman think tank don't want the high-end Ovations to stand out. They want people to have the ability to parade a $200 guitar around like its a $2000 guitar. But other manufacturers are doing the same. Another case of caveat empteror. BTW, the easiest way to tell the difference between them is to listen to the owners play them! ;)
Franklin |
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Joined:
October 2002
Posts: 178
Location: New York, NY | What Kaman does with Ovation and Hamer is no different than what Gibson and Fender do. I think most large US guitar manufacturers have lower priced import models that look very much like the high end US models. |
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Joined:
March 2002
Posts: 15654
Location: SoCal | Tony, that's a good point. I defy anybody to tell, at first glance, the differnce between a USA Strat, and Mexican Strat, and a far eastern Strat. |
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Joined:
February 2002
Posts: 5750
Location: Scotland | The Fender line changes so often & has so many manufacturing bases it's impossible to keep up. It's easier with Gibson. Nothing that has "Gibson" as the primary name on the headstock is made offshore, and that's how it should be. Same with Martin. Regardless of what you may think of their instruments both companies have very strong brand identities & you never have to look at a Gibson or Martin and wonder in which continent it was manufactured. If it's a Martin it's US made, Sigma is Jap or Korean. Gibson is US, Epiphone is Korean or Jap for earlier models, (though there have been some recent USA-made Epi's) That's certainly not the case with Fender or for that matter Ovation & Hamer. I can spot an Ovation import from several lightyears away, but then I need a life. The majority of the guitar-buying public aren't as sad. |
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Joined:
June 2002
Posts: 6194
Location: Phoenix AZ | If Kaman would just go back to putting "Celebrity" logo on the peghead of the Celebrity line instead of "Ovation" (which is exactly what they used to do), all of this would clear itself up and the USA line would stand out and get the recognition that it duely deserves. Applause-Celebrity-Ovation-Adamas. That's the way it should be. Dave |
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Joined:
October 2002
Posts: 178
Location: New York, NY | The one problem I see with that logic is that all Celebrities are Korean made, but not all Korean made models are Celebrities. You are forgetting the Pinnacle, Trekker, Tangent and MOB models are also Korean made.
I think Kaman could do a better job of distinguishing US made Ovations from the Korean made Ovations. I think people (or at least Americans) respond favorably to "Made in USA", but Kaman doesn't emphasize it enough. Unless you pick up an Ovation and look at it closely, it's hard to tell.
I think something as simple as an "Ovation USA" sticker on all US made Ovations could make a big difference (similar to what Fender does with their American Series). Then you can tell at a glance a US made Ovation.
Adamas, Ovation USA, Ovation, Applause would be my vote. I might even go a little bit further and merge the Applause line into Ovation. I would discontinue the Applause models that overlap existing Ovation Celebrity models, and rebadge the remaining ones (e.g. Applause Voyager and Applause ukeleles) as Ovation.
I think the Applause Voyager is better than the Martin Backpacker, and I think Kaman would sell more of them if they were marketed as Ovations. The same with Applause ukes. I didn't even know Kaman made ukeleles until I saw that Chile's commercial, and then I later found out they were Applause not Ovation. |
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Differences in Ovation Product Lines
