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July 2010
Posts: 23
Location: Sandy Ut. | Hello all,
I've aquired my 1st Ovation over the weekend.. A CC-68 model.. After lowering the action on it, it plays great & sounds great... My only concern is that it's hard to keep in one place.. Whether sitting or standing the top goes down back towards me and the bottom goes up & out.. I believe it has the full depth back Hope this makes sense... Has anyone had this problem & solved this problem?.. Is there a special type of strap that might help this?.. Please let me know if you have any advice... |
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Joined:
December 2010
Posts: 1
Location: Northwest | Hi. I think I know what you are talking about. The guitar tends to roll out and away from you. Kind of the nature of deep bowl roundbacks.You can buy on Ebay and item called Slip-Grip antislip pad for round back style guitars. I installed one on my Ovation Celebrity CC-11 and it works great while sitting. Standing it has no effect as the pad installs on the area of the guitar that would rest on your thigh while sitting. Hope this helps. |
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February 2005
Posts: 11840
Location: closely held secret | The solution is as simple as holding the guitar properly. |
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Joined:
July 2010
Posts: 23
Location: Sandy Ut. | Originally posted by Waskel:
The solution is as simple as holding the guitar properly. I'm not sure what you mean as far as holding the guitar properly?.. With all my instruments Guitar, banjo & mandolin, I set them so I don't have to hold them up with either hand... A strap will typically do this.. |
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Joined:
November 2006
Posts: 3969
| There are literally dozens of threads on this topic throughout the years. You can use the search link at the top of the page to find many discussions. The consensus is, indeed, to hold the guitar properly, i.e., not tip it upward to look at the fretboard while you're playing. The other major problem is putting too much pressure on the upper bout with the elbow of your picking/strumming arm. This applies to any guitar, although the round back of Ovations/Adamas guitars may make the issue more pronounced.
A couple of tips if you can't break bad technique - use a strap, even while seated; attach a small strip of adhesive-backed non-skid patch (such as used for stair steps, available at most hardware/home improvement stores) to the waist side of the guitar that rests against your leg when seated. There's also a commercial product called the Standing Ovation that attaches to the bowl and creates a flat surface to rest against your leg and belly. I've seen it on eBay, and a few people here over the years have tried it. But again, the easiest (and cheapest) solution is proper technique. |
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Joined:
July 2010
Posts: 23
Location: Sandy Ut. | OK thanks folks... I'll try these suggestions & check out the prior threads... |
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Joined:
February 2005
Posts: 11840
Location: closely held secret | As G8r said, the two main things people do are 1) hold the guitar so they can see the fretboard and 2) apply pressure with their forearm to the upper bout. Both of these will cause any guitar to tend to roll, but with an Ovation it will roll.
Using proper technique, the fretboard should be facing away from you and your forearm should not be pressing on the face of the guitar.
I've also found wearing a strap while seated helps, but I preferred to improve my technique rather than put a non-skip surface on all my Ovations. |
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Joined:
March 2005
Posts: 12750
Location: Boise, Idaho | As I've said many times, I don't have the problem, but I have a couple theories of why other people have it. With a deep bowl, you'll find that there is just as much flat surface sitting on your leg than there is on any squareback guitar. So if you are sitting, make sure your leg is flat, so the guitar sits flat. I have no problem on a short stool or low chair, but if I sit on a higher stool or chair, my leg slopes away and the guitar slides away. I think this would happen on any guitar, except the edge of a flatback guitar can be used to dig in.
The second theory is mentioned above. Some people squeeze guitars with their armpits, which causes an Ovation to roll. If you are short, you might not be able to use "proper technique" with a full sized guitar. I never experienced this until I built up a bit of a pot belly and then noticed a similar problem. As I leaned over, I pushed the guitar away. Pulling it back with my elbow would cause it to roll or slide. I believe Ovation developed the contour bowl because of this latter problem. I find the deep bowls more comfortable after I lose some weight. |
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Joined:
December 2006
Posts: 6992
Location: Jet City | The "Standing Ovation" G8r mentions will solve the issue, I had one.
Eventually I just didn't care.
Belly or not, the thing will roll if you are heavy with your arm on the top of the lower bout. I was watching some of the earliest Dave Matthews videos on youtube the other day and saw that Dave had the same thing going on with his.
One caviat, the early non-cutaway electrified acoustics, early 80's and prior, had the strap button located on the bottom side beyond the neck (where a cutaway would usually be). The placement of the older preamps was the reason for the relocation of the strap button. I've found these models to roll a bit less due to this placement. This only applies when you're wearing a strap. |
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Roundback Guitar balance
