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Posts: 32
| Hello there, new member but long time ovation owner/player. I've had an ovation super shallow celebrity for years and its my main practice guitar. Finally decided to upgrade to a nicer guitar with a fuller acoustic unplugged sound. Unfortunately it seems that most of the models I wanted are now out of production! I was looking to pick up a 2078TX-PW but those were sold out everywhere and out of production. I then opted for the plain black one but that one ended up being sold out and backordered as well. Seems like all the nice black guitar versions at around 600+ dollars are sold out everywhere. I finally ended up purchasing the mick thomson edition (which ended being virtually sold out as well).I don't care for mick thomson but the guitar is basically the same model as the others except the neck which is slimmer. I'll be receiving the guitar tomorrow and i'll let you know what it sounds like or if I return it lol. I played the 1778TX in store and it sounded great for the 600+ price tag, especially when compared to comparably priced guitars. I'm hoping for similar tone and i'll be happy. I'm sure the amplified version will blow the competition away so no worries there. Wish I could get my hands on an american made one but the prices are a little too much for a casual player like myself. If I have the money one day i'm sure i'll buy the al dimeola signature model which looks amazing. Any advice for a new ovation guitar? I presume I will go to a guitar tech and have him adjust it for optimum tone and playability. |
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Posts: 686
Location: Route 66, just east of the Cadillac Ranch | jmuriel - 2012-02-16 12:57 PM Any advice for a new ovation guitar? The best advice I've seen around here is to get out and play what's available. I love deep bowls, but I've played a couple that I didn't care for. Some folks LOVE mid-depth, but I just can't warm up to them. jmuriel - 2012-02-16 12:57 PM I presume I will go to a guitar tech and have him adjust it for optimum tone and playability. Maybe you'll luck out and it will play like a dream right out of the case. Strings can really make or break a guitar, so experiment. You'll see lots of recommendations on these pages. Welcome to the group and make sure you post pictures when you get your guitar.
Edited by Nick B. 2012-02-16 1:23 PM
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February 2012
Posts: 32
| Thank you for the warm welcome nick. I did play the ovations that were available at the local guitar shops which included the celebrity models, standard balladeer, elite tx and not sure what else. Of course I compared it to martin, fender, taylor... that were in same price range and found it to have as nice or better a tone than the other brands. I've never played the deep contour bowl since they never seem to have that in the guitar shops that i've been in. I have played the normal deep bowls, and mid-depth bowls and enjoyed the fuller sound they provided. I play high quality heavy strings for a more jazzy tone, plus it makes the super shallow sound much fuller. With any luck I won't have to do much as far as adjustments are concerned. |
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Posts: 8307
Location: Tennessee | Welcome!
The Mick Thomson guitar is a nice axe ... I was very impressed with it when I checked it out at NAMM. A lot of guitar for the money.
There's quite a few members in the OC ... and they have some very nice O's and A's and LOVE to show them off. Certainly many more than you'll ever see in any guitar store. No reason you can't find a way to get together with them and see what you're missing!
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February 2012
Posts: 32
| Just received the guitar an hour ago and finally got to play it. It has a great tone, especially the heavy strings (real punch). The color scheme is beautiful, simple and effective. Wonder how you are supposed to maintain the finish? Got to get used to it for now, since the neck is very different from my other celebrity. I've included a couple a pics from my cellphone. |
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Posts: 32
| Ok, I don't know how you are supposed to upload a photo here. I selected 'attach a file after posting' but that did nothing. |
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December 2001
Posts: 7211
Location: The Great Pacific Northwest | It should work now... and you can post in the General Forums now too. |
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| couple of pics |
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| 'attach a file after posting' still does nothing. |
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| Added some d'addario heavy strings, played over the weekend and the guitar sounds fantastic. I will be taking into a guitar tech for basic setup just to be sure that everything is perfect. It looks and plays beautifully though so far. I haven't even plugged it in yet either been having too much fun just getting adjusted to the neck. |
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February 2012
Posts: 32
| Well the honeymoon ended rather quickly, unfortunately. I took the guitar to a tech who informed me that the neck had a half-warp which could not be fixed because the truss rod had already been turned too much (not me lol!). His suggestion was to return it because it was brand new and would take months if I was to try it through warranty. I got another one (from another dealer) but this one had the same exact issue so I returned that one as well. Looks like this is an issue with these guitars, so others be warned! Well I've decided to upgrade to an american ovation and will be purchasing a C2079LX. Costs a lot more but i'm sure will be a vast improvement in tone/quality. Anyone here have one of these? Is it a good purchase for 1700? |
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Location: The Great Pacific Northwest | While I'm sure the LX will be a better overall guitar, I just feel I must question your tech as well. Two guitars with over-turned truss rods, from two dealers when you "played over the weekend and the guitar sounds fantastic. " I just find that all very odd. Just too many elements don't add up. I would recommend doing a quick search on guitar setup, and check the neck yourself. It's not rocket science and takes just a few moments. Also, I would absolutely take the guitar back if it is bad. |
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February 2012
Posts: 32
| Yes I was rather shocked myself. The guitar tech was highly recommended and had great reviews. He pointed out the problem and showed me how to sight down the neck to see the bow or warp on the neck. Looking down the top (heavy E) of the neck there was just the slightest bow visible. Looking down the bottom (high E) of the neck you could see that there was a much more drastic bow. I'm no guitar tech, but I could see plainly what he was seeing. Now is this not really true/indicative of a bad neck? I am taking his word as a guitar tech since I know bare minimal when it comes to guitar setup. The other model I received a week later looked exactly the same (different dealer so not the same guitar lol). I pointed out the issue to a coworker who knows nothing about guitars and he said he could see the same thing with the bow. Very disappointing! It was at that point that I decided to return the second guitar and opt for a better model. |
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Location: The Great Pacific Northwest | jmuriel - 2012-03-08 10:56 AM
Now is this not really true/indicative of a bad neck?
It's one indicator..
Try this as a guide.
http://www.ovationtribute.com/Catalogues/2007_Use_and_Care_Referenc...
Another method is a straight edge long enough to go the full length of the neck, but the technique in the guide is probably the best.
I also find it interesting that two guitars had jammed truss rods? A little bow is fine, and somewhat expected and easily adjusted to taste.. Again, back the the "it played and sounded great" comment.
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Posts: 32
| Yes it did play and sound great, but maybe its because I really didn't play much above the 12th fret. Hell, I didn't even plug it in to see if the pickups worked or how it sounded through an amp. I didn't hear any buzzes or dead notes while playing, the action was nice and the tone with heavy jazz strings was great. A great guitar for the price. Maybe the second guitar could have been saved but at that point I didn't have any faith in the product (and I wasn't going to wait another week for a setup) so I promptly returned it.
Thank you for providing the guide though, now I can learn a little bit more on guitar setup basics. The mt37 had a straight neck on the heavy E side compared to page 18 fig 10 of the guide. The tiniest bow was visible. The high E string side had a pronounced bow/break beginning at about the 12th fret roughly. You could even see the breaks in the reflection in the bottom half of the neck where the changes occurred.
Are you suggesting I try another tech? I'm not committed to this tech, I simply looked around and took the highest recommended guitar tech in a 10-15 mile radius. |
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Posts: 7211
Location: The Great Pacific Northwest | jmuriel - 2012-03-08 11:54 AM
Are you suggesting I try another tech? I'm not committed to this tech, I simply looked around and took the highest recommended guitar tech in a 10-15 mile radius.
I would. He may be spot on, but at the same time, having not heard any significant complaints of this sort before, knowing that no one, let alone Ovation, sets out to send a crappy guitar to market, there just seems to be a lot of coincidence. At the very least, any new guitar should be playable and the pretty close to being set up as one would expect, and based on your review of playing it... it seems it was. But then to have a 2nd one with the same problems? just seems odd to me.
I guess the final thought is... does it matter. If you can run up'n down the neck with no buzz and good action and good intonation... along with good tone... does anything else really even matter?
-mkb
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February 2012
Posts: 32
| Yeah the thought of keeping it anyways definitely crossed my mind. But he assured me it would only get worse over time and then have to be repaired. His logic was sound, why pay to repair when its brand new? Maybe he is a bit of a perfectionist or has seen this in older ovations (he said he was certified ovation tech or something)? He didn't even charge me for the evaluation, since he spotted it immediately. I'll go check out another guy who is more local when I order my new guitar. Seems like it would be extremely unfair to compare the two models since the C2079LX cost almost three times as much. Wish I could have found an american made 2078T elite for sale, but no luck searching the net so far. |
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New member from OC, CA
