Joined:
October 2005
Posts: 4067
Location: Utah | Timolin - 2012-10-28 10:31 AM
In guitar stores and among people who have tried all kinds of guitars, it is not the fact that Ovations mysteriously "slip off people's laps" (never did off mine!) that many people seem not to like them. It's the sound. That's what people say: "I don't like the sound." In part, I know what they mean. I have played some Ovations that have sounded really good to me, but too many that really haven't, and I think if they could consistently produce a guitar that, when taken it from the wall, simply blew its neighbors away, then they would sell. However, I think there is something about the lyrachord bowl and the sound it produces with the past and maybe present generation of tops that doesn't hit the spot for a very large number of players.
Ovation is an Ovation. Not to be snobby about it, it just isn't a Martin or a Taylor. So to some extent the Ovation sound is part of what it is. And part of it may be people's preconceptions about what a guitar "should" sound like. Plus the marketing and image people have of what a brand represents. Taylor seems to be the most popular brand amongst church players for example, while Martin may be the presumed ideal of bluegrass. So the Ovation may not sound "correct" when they first hear it because of their preconceptions.
But having said that, I think what you say about people not liking the sound at the store is frequently an unfortunate situation. Many stores which did carry Ovations tended to carry lower priced models. We have lamented on this forum a lot about people trying a Celeb laminate top guitar with old worn out strings who then say they hate the sound of Ovations. Well, they haven't played one yet!
In a typical plugged in performance situation, nothing ever beats the sound of an O or an A that I have heard live. Nothing even comes close. Now a good sound guy in a well designed venue can get any decent guitar to sound good. But I have never heard a wood box that sounds close to as good as an O when only a quick sound check is possible. In the plug-and-play venues around here the O's and A's always at least sound good.
Of course nobody is testing out guitars in the store while plugged into a good sound system in a performance venue!
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