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Posts: 2120
Location: Chicago | OK, Ovations used to be everywhere in the hands of the BEST. Those days are gone.
Why? What happened? Is it just a matter of fashion and trends? HOW has the competition slain the mighty O? |
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Posts: 4903
Location: Phoenix AZ | Personal opinion - Ovation got into the hands of a huge number of performers due to the fact that it was the only game in town that was road worthy and had good electronics. That advantage has gone away. Other companies have closed the gap or pulled ahead. Now couple that with very well financed, and very aggressive artist endorsement activity by the likes of Taylor, Takamine and Martin ... and well, the result speaks for itself. Dave |
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December 2003
Posts: 1071
Location: Carle Place, NY | As far as artist endorsements, what Dave said is absolutely correct. As far as O's being "slain" by the competition, that is not correct. Ovation Guitars is alive and well and selling lots and lots of guitars irrespective of the lack of artist endorsements. I know that many here would like to see more O's in the hands of famous musicians, however it appears that the company's marketing is working well without the endoresements.
In general, Ovation guitars represent the best value for your dollar in acoustic/electric guitars. As long as that remains true the guitars will sell and the company will continue to produce and improve on what has become the best alternative to the wood box guitar design. |
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Posts: 3111
Location: Nashville TN. | Its just more viable practical chooses now.
There are pro players using them.
They are just not in everyones hand.
Originally posted by dobro:
OK, Ovations used to be everywhere in the hands of the BEST. Those days are gone.
Why? What happened? Is it just a matter of fashion and trends? HOW has the competition slain the mighty O? |
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May 2003
Posts: 4389
Location: Capital District, NY, USA Minor Outlying Islands | In the price range there's more competition for a gigging guitar. You can add Tacoma to the list. Which is also owned by Fender. |
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Posts: 972
Location: PDX | I agree with Tup -- the competitive advantage of a great plugged in sound that O's had in the 70's no longer exists. Couple that with the unplugged sound of O's is an acquired taste, and that the shape takes getting used to, and there are negative pre-conceptions about "plastic" guitars ....
Just don't find their way on stage as much anymore.
_____
gh1 |
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Posts: 5563
Location: Blue Ridge Mountains | BS...I am so tired of hearing all this...I will take an OP-24 equipped Ovation; and put it against ANYTHING ELSE...BY ANY MANUFACTUAR...I guarantee it will sound as good or better than anything else out there today...Fact: wood guitars cannot stand the strain of rigorous gigging and touring schedules: (Garth Brooks had at least a dozen Tak’s behind the scenes tuned and ready because he changed guitars from song to song many times...I ran sound for Charlie McCoy and the Hee Haw band and we shared the stage with him several times in the early 90's...I know what I am talking about). I used several Martins (six and twelve) before I started using my Ovations...I loved them but they could not take the abuse and strain of night to night 4 hr. to 5 hr. gigs): unless it’s night after night of indoor church gigs or theater/stage work where the temp and humidity are a constant that wood guitars will shine...but for the working musician, whose gigs may vary from an outdoor frat party/concert at 90+ Degrees to a club where the A/C will freeze your nads and knock a wood guitar out of tune in 15 seconds; to an outdoors evening gig where the temp and conditions again vary widely, nothing can take the place of an Ovation...period. I'm talking singer/songwriter, A/E guitar gigs. It is easy to EQ the O's at the board and from the stage; and have a sound that rivals the best acoustic sound...Believe me, I've been there and experienced it...that’s why I played them for nearly 20 years gigging before semi retirement...I really like the sound from my Taylor’s in church on Sundays (my Adamas or Ovation 12's sound great as well) but when it comes to a varied gigging schedule, even the Taylor cannot keep up.
So, why don't today’s musicians know this? Because when they open their copy of Guitar whatever Magazine or Gibson friends Catalog, the ONLY OVATIONS they are going to see are cheap overseas cr@p...Not one really great Ovation and certainly never an Adamas...Why? Ask Ovation! Ask Kaman...Far better to market cheap overseas junk than quality made in the USA instruments...the markup is tremendous and money talks...and unfortunately it drowns out the voice of many, many former and current Ovation and Adamas Owners and performers...And the greed for the almighty dollar might have sunk the ship this time...I you agree; boycott the cheap junk. Play and Buy Ovation: because the world isn't flat! Guitar players: performers who slog it out in the trenches night after night have already discovered the fact: Are they art...well, yes some are; are they dependable...you bet!; Collecting? Go for the wood...Performing? Grab an O or an A... |
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Location: Phoenix AZ | Mike, I completely understand your points. But the fact remains that in 1972 there was NO competition for a gigging guitar. Ovation was IT. Today there is TONS of competition. Maybe better, maybe not it's all personal opinion and I respect yours. But the fact remains that there are dozens and dozens of choices and Ovation is not at all aggressive in building a stable of top name endorsees. Taylor/Tak/Martin etc. PRIDE themselves on who's playing their gear. Ovation seems content to not play that game. I don't think it's an accident, I think it's a calculated decision. |
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Location: Keepin' It Weird in Portland, OR | Go Get 'em Mike!! |
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Location: ms | Tupp said something good about a Taylor! Well almost, Mike back away from the pain meds.... |
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January 2005
Posts: 4903
Location: Phoenix AZ | I only said they pride themselves on who's playing their gear ... don't go reading too much into it. |
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Posts: 10777
Location: Keepin' It Weird in Portland, OR | I was watching a piece of the "Unique Voices" DVD... Where Melissa Etheridge said that she sought-out her Ovation. And the other artists seemed to have the same feeling. (I haven't watched the whole thing.)
Maybe Ovation is content to have people seek-out their guitars...
Rather than Ovation seeking-out spokespeople. :confused:
Just a thought.... (and not a very-well-worded one at that)
[So, are they gonna say "Adamas by Ovation by Fender" on the tags now?] :rolleyes: |
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March 2005
Posts: 5563
Location: Blue Ridge Mountains | Mike, I completely understand your points. But the fact remains that in 1972 there was NO competition for a gigging guitar. Ovation was IT. Today there is TONS of competition. Maybe better, maybe not it's all personal opinion and I respect yours. But the fact remains that there are dozens and dozens of choices and Ovation is not at all aggressive in building a stable of top name endorsees. Taylor/Tak/Martin etc. PRIDE themselves on who's playing their gear. Ovation seems content to not play that game. I don't think it's an accident, I think it's a calculated decision.
Tuppy (this wasn’t aimed at you); I completely agree with you (and I think I said as much in the bottom part of my post): sorry if it was strong but it makes no sense to me that the recent/current management at Kaman has let this happen (and I have a really good theory about that fiasco too but I'll save it for a later post or time); instead we have just a token few Artist endorsees and many of those Artists are far from the mainstream of popular music...My point is that those of us whose livelihood depended on gigging seven nights a week were so grateful to have guitars that sounded great and rarely broke strings; did not need constant tuning, and were good looking but workhorses at the same time...I don't think that much has changed; what I think has changed is that mainstream music has gotten away from the songwriter style songs and has gone more electronic w/ heavy bass, keyboard and some electric guitar. The headliner acts of my generation are still gigging but lass frequently and are not charting hits. So if Pop is not the arena for Ovation, what about Country and Gospel/Christian? A company that needs to gain Artist Recognition should be looking into those genre's and doing whatever it takes to secure visibility: and my point is that all it would take is to get an Adamas or one of the new Ovations or VXT's in to the hands of the artists as a promotional item or at a reduced cost (like free IF the Artist agrees to aggressively use and represent the product: the products are good enough for any guitarist to see that for themselves. Instead money continues to be poured into cheap junk from overseas while the next generation of guitarists and songwriters is left to the other Manufacturers products... As things turn full circle, perhaps Rock and Pop will become more songwriter friendly again. But for now, the "beat" goes on... |
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Posts: 4903
Location: Phoenix AZ | Takamine seems to pretty much own the country/folk/rock market right now as far as high visibility artist endorsements. My conspiracy theory is that Taks distribution agreement with Kaman prohibits Kaman from poaching on Tak artists. Just a guess.
Dave |
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Location: Scotland | So if Pop is not the arena for Ovation, what about Country and Gospel/Christian? A company that needs to gain Artist Recognition should be looking into those genre's and doing whatever it takes to secure visibility: and my point is that all it would take is to get an Adamas or one of the new Ovations or VXT's in to the hands of the artists as a promotional item or at a reduced cost (like free IF the Artist agrees to aggressively use and represent the product: the products are good enough for any guitarist to see that for themselves. [/QB] Mike, Ovation does this, it's called the Keyman endorsement program. Something with which I believe you are familiar. I was given a Keyman endorsment though Ovation's UK distributor a couple of years ago, because I, to quote your post "agressively use and represent the product" I can't think of another guitar company who actively support the non-famous.
I perform at least a dozen times a month, and apart from my lap guitars use Ovation exclusively. I know that I have sold a bunch of guitars because of that. It's kinda different to some kid seeing Nikki Six playing an Elite-T bass on MTV, but every little helps. |
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Posts: 12750
Location: Boise, Idaho | What's different? You're better looking? |
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Why? What happened?
