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Joined:
March 2008
Posts: 354
Location: nashville | What is the difference in these models? I noticed the 1538 was only made in 84 list price 1295. The legend elite 1736 in 1985 for 1195 the in 86 the 1758 came out at 1100.00 list price/ |
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Joined:
November 2006
Posts: 3969
| 1538 - part of the original Elite series which included the 1537 (6-string) and 1547 (6-str cutaway). These were the first wood-top multi-hole Ovation guitars and were patterned and built after the Adamas guitars with some modifications, such as no suspension ring. These also have an additional thin ply of birch(?) on part of the underside of the sound board to help stiffen a critical area. Some think this helps with their generally superior tone. These also have multi-ply wood binding rather than the white plastic, gold tuning machines, and the Adamas 2-knob stereo FET pre-amps.
1736 Legend Elite - from what I can gather, these were a transitional model with un-graded spruce tops (as opposed to the AA and AAA used for the 1537/1538/1547 series), no extra ply under the sound board, rosewood fret board instead of resin-impregnated walnut (like the Adamas and 1538), chrome tuners, and a return to the usual white plastic binding. I think they came with the OP24 pre-amp. Named "Legend Elite" more for marketing indecision than for any specific reason. Remember that top grade doesn't necessarily correlate with tap tone, although that's part of it. A lot of times a piece is down-graded because of some cosmetic flaw even though it sounds better than another cosmetically perfect piece, so don't get hung up on the AAA-grade is "better" than A-grade mentality.
1758 - Essentially, marketing pukes finally settled on the "Elite" name as the sole model name for the multi-hole design. Not a whole lot different from the 1736 in design, except they used AA-grade tops, resin-impregnated walnut fret boards and gold tuning machines, like the 1538. For all I know, they changed the types of woods used in the epaulets, but that's probably been true throughout the company's history, and more a function of availability of the exotics than anything else. |
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Joined:
March 2008
Posts: 354
Location: nashville | G8r,
Thanks for the info, saw an Legend elite and it got me to looking and wondering. |
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Joined:
November 2006
Posts: 3969
| You're quite welcome. I've never played a 1736, but I can't imagine it would sound that much different from a 1758. If you've found one in good shape and you're looking for a 12-er, you could certainly do much worse.
Given a choice, though, I'd prefer a 1758, if only for the tuners and fret board, but that's just a personal preference, more cosmetic than anything. Plus, 1758's are much more common, so you can probably find a good one at a fair price more easily.
Of course the 1538 has that special mojo in spades, like all of those original Elites. My 1537 and 1538 are true tone monsters, and will be in my estate.
Godd luck on your quest, that's half the fun. |
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1538 vs 1736 legend elite vs1758 elite 12 string
