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August 2012
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| The folks over at the Acoustic Guitar Forum sent me this way with a question.
I'll afflicted with the desire to get a 12 string guitar. I already have a 1975 Legend that I bought in about 1979, when I was in high school. I've been looking at various brands, but most often people give Ovation good marks for their 12 strings, so I am taking a serious look that their offerings.
I'm watching a Custom Balladeer ( Model 1755 . Serial number shows 1988 build date. ) which is starting at a decent price. And I have found some newer Standard Balladeers in the Guitar Center used section ( model 6751 ) for about the same price. The 6751s are Red Burst, which would not be my first choice, but if they play great, I would get used to it ! These a much newer models and have probably more going on in the electronics department.
Here is today's comparison question. Are the built in electronics that much better than ones that came in the late 80s ? Give the choice of a new Standard Balladeer vs an older Custom Balladeer which would you go for ? I think both are still USA made. |
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Location: Steeler Nation, Hudson Valley Contingent | Welcome John!
I told you what little I know about it on the AGF, but this is the best place to come looking for Ovation answers. You just have to wait for a moderator to clear your way to the rest of the forum, then copy-paste your question into a thread in the General section. (Not everyone can post in the Welcome section.)
Hang around a bit OK?
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Posts: 227
| So, this is the on deck circle ?
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Posts: 7211
Location: The Great Pacific Northwest | That's a good question. There was a period in time where they switch suppliers of parts for the pickup, and it's my understanding that had more of an effect on the sound than any change in the pre-amp over the years. Personally, I would go with which guitar plays better. The improvements in electronics have all been to add features or modeling and NOT change the sound. Frankly you can retrofit any pre-amp you want (although some require a routing the body a bit, but I don't think you can go wrong with either. |
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Location: The Great Pacific Northwest | FYI... based on Patch's previous knowledge that you are a person not a robot or driveby.. (at least not in the sense we care about) I upgraded your account to full access. |
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Posts: 227
| No secret handshake ? |
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Joined:
August 2012
Posts: 227
| The problem I have is none of these are going to be in arms reach. Some are eBay auctions some are Guitar Center used pages. I could return it, if I don't like it, with GC. I just hate to go to the trouble. It would be nice to have some clear lines in the sand. " Model X is so good, I would rather have it than anything but an Adamas XXX " or something. Of course, if pretty much all the Ovation 12 strings are really good, it will be more difficult.
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December 2001
Posts: 7211
Location: The Great Pacific Northwest | "if pretty much all the Ovation 12 strings are really good, it will be more difficult. "
That's going to be the issue. Ovation has always had a slightly different approach to their guitars. I don't want to sound like a fanboy, but their goal has always been to build an affordable, great sounding guitar. Within each price point you make your choice based on the "type" of sound and playability you want, not the quality of sound and playability.
The pricepoints of entry level, mid-range, and high-end are accomplished with materials, design, bling, features and how/where they are built. Within each range the differences are mostly bling and design.
If you ever wondered why so many Ovation players own so many guitars, maybe that was Charlie's big secret to success. Make so many great sounding guitars that nobody is satisfied with just one. We have seen the famous question so many times... what is the "one" guitar for that famous "alone on an island" scenario, and most of us either can't decide, or the answer changes depending on which guitar we played last.
Yeah.... I know... not much help... but welcome to the group anyway... |
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Location: Jet City | I would go with the 1755. Those 6751s you're looking at don't even use the original Ovation patented pickup, they have slims. |
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August 2012
Posts: 227
| Could someone characterize the tone of the 1755 ? My goal is good bass tones and nice bright highs. Something that yells " 12 string !" all the time. |
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Sort of an Old vs New question
