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Ovation 12 String Guitar

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SlickRick
Posted 2017-11-02 10:39 AM (#537979)
Subject: Ovation 12 String Guitar


Joined:
August 2017
Posts: 14

I am fairly new to playing Ovation guitars (within past year) but have found a passion for them as I am up to 3 of them already, 2001 collectors, 1861-5 Adamas, and a 1111 Balladeer.

I will admit that I am afflicted with GAS and can't seem to shake it or slow it down.

Well to the reason for this post, I have a couple of 12 string guitars including a Gibson B25 and a Taylor 150e. The nut width on the Gibson is 2" and the Taylor has a nut width of 1 7/8". I do prefer the 1 7/8" width for playing. I am not completely satisfied with the sound of these guitars and I'm considering an Ovation purchase and I want to ask a couple of questions for board members.

I prefer the deep bowl sound over the shallow or mid bowl sound of the Ovation guitars and I like the 1 7/8" nut width, with these things in mind which 12 string guitars do members think is best for sound? For playing action? I would like to get referrals on Ovation as well as Adamas.

I am not subject to buy a $3500 Adamas at this time but who knows down the road.

Just as a little side note, the Balladeer i just got this week, saw it on craig's list in a local pawn shop, listed for $175, I went to see it and it was dusty, extremely dirty, string had rust, and the 1st fret had been gouged some how and had metal spur sticking up but the overall structural condition of the guitar was good. I offered $125 and he took it, I wanted to see if I could do anything with it. I removed the old strings and found the guitar still had the original shims in the bridge so I removed them based on string height, cleaned the guitar and polished it, dressed the 1st fret to removed the spur and put new Martin light gauge strings on it. Now the action in very nice, there is no string buzz, and the sound of this deep bowl is nice especially in drop D or double drop D. This may have been the best $125 I have ever spent!
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Beal
Posted 2017-11-02 7:15 PM (#537980 - in reply to #537979)
Subject: Re: Ovation 12 String Guitar



Joined:
January 2002
Posts: 14127

Location: 6 String Ranch
good score. you'll find a 12 somewhere soon
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2wheeldrummer
Posted 2017-11-02 8:14 PM (#537981 - in reply to #537979)
Subject: Re: Ovation 12 String Guitar



Joined:
February 2014
Posts: 699

Location: moline,illinois
Nice find on the balladeer 1111

I think you may have typoed on the list of guitars you have 1861-5 adamas??,if its an adamas its probably a 1681 adamas II

On to the topic of ovation 12 strings,I own quite a few
if your looking for a deep bowl it will be a dreadnought they didn't make any production cutaway deep bowl 12 strings i'm aware of.
if you like a real jangley 12 string sound with lots of mids then the slothead pacemakers or glen campbell model are the way to go
if your on a budget the standard balladeer 1751 is probably the most affordable and available
if your looking for tone and sustain nothing beats the adamas deep bowl textured top 12 string,there is an adamas II 1685 and adamas I 1688,both are hard to find and pricey but worth every penny.
IMHO the best combination of value and features would be the legend 1756 12 string probably also a little hard to find.
if you like the multi-soundhole design there is an elite 1758 model very nice guitars prices vary on condition.
playability of 12 strings depends on setup and how well they were maintained over the years,many old 12 strings have high action due to bellying of the body or bridge lifting so its a case by case basis,when you see one you like ask the seller about the action,nice low action is achieveable and my adamas 1688-2 plays like a dream after being worked on by the mothership.
Ultimately the question is what tone do you desire and whats your budget,with a little patience there are many nice old ovation 12 strings out there looking for a new home,hope this helps





Edited by 2wheeldrummer 2017-11-02 8:18 PM
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SlickRick
Posted 2017-11-03 6:32 AM (#537982 - in reply to #537979)
Subject: Re: Ovation 12 String Guitar


Joined:
August 2017
Posts: 14

Thanks for the suggestions "2wd" , just one more question, what is the nut width on these, I have been told that some Ovations have 2" nut widths and some have 1 7/8", is there a way to know which ones? I was thinking that the slotheads would probably have the wider nuts but not sure.
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SlickRick
Posted 2017-11-03 6:34 AM (#537983 - in reply to #537981)
Subject: Re: Ovation 12 String Guitar


Joined:
August 2017
Posts: 14

Thanks for the suggestions "2wd" , just one more question, what is the nut width on these, I have been told that some Ovations have 2" nut widths and some have 1 7/8", is there a way to know which ones? I was thinking that the slotheads would probably have the wider nuts but not sure
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DetlefMichel
Posted 2017-11-03 6:49 AM (#537984 - in reply to #537981)
Subject: Re: Ovation 12 String Guitar



Joined:
May 2011
Posts: 751

Location: Muenster/Germany
If you are looking for a used guitar is is always good to look for the best of the best. And be glad that you are in th U.S, this is the Ovation guitar heaven where you can buy top-of-the line guitars at a fractional (!) amount of money that you had to pay in Europe...
I had and have quite a lot of 12string guitars, but the best Ovation 12strings are the 1758Elite (or, if you can find one the 1538) and the Adamas 1688. These are very versatile guitars, very loud and present and both have bolt-on necks which makes a neck-reset very easy, if neccessary. The offset soundholes allow a fan bracing that makes the guitar top very tough and at the same time more resonant than on center-soundhole guitars.
If you play fingerstyle you should try to find one of the old 12fret custom legend (1158/1658). They have the same construction as the Clen Campbell model but better tone woods. These guitars have a wonderful, bell-like tone, but often suffer from warped fretboards behind the 12th fret, you should watch that very close.
The "newer" 1759 custom legend and the 1756 legend 12strings are not so loud, but have a good sustain and you play them just like a 6string guitar. Because of their stiff bracing they have no such bright tonality, but you can play these guitars with incredibly low action.
I have no experience with the recent 12strings (LX or similar..), sorry for that.
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2wheeldrummer
Posted 2017-11-03 6:20 PM (#537990 - in reply to #537982)
Subject: Re: Ovation 12 String Guitar



Joined:
February 2014
Posts: 699

Location: moline,illinois
SlickRick - 2017-11-03 6:32 AM

Thanks for the suggestions "2wd" , just one more question, what is the nut width on these, I have been told that some Ovations have 2" nut widths and some have 1 7/8", is there a way to know which ones? I was thinking that the slotheads would probably have the wider nuts but not sure.


Based on the information from the Ovation Gallery specs both the slothead pacemakers and GC's have 1 7/8 nutwidth,all my adamas 12 strings have 1 7/8 nutwidth so i suspect the standard nutwidth for 12 strings is 1 7/8


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SlickRick
Posted 2017-11-05 4:03 AM (#538000 - in reply to #537984)
Subject: Re: Ovation 12 String Guitar


Joined:
August 2017
Posts: 14

Thank you very much for the input, it's nice to get feedback from someone with a lot of experience on these Ovation guitars. I'm sure I will be able to make a much more informed decision!
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SlickRick
Posted 2017-11-05 4:08 AM (#538001 - in reply to #537990)
Subject: Re: Ovation 12 String Guitar


Joined:
August 2017
Posts: 14

2wheeldrummer - 2017-11-03 6:20 PM

SlickRick - 2017-11-03 6:32 AM

Thanks for the suggestions "2wd" , just one more question, what is the nut width on these, I have been told that some Ovations have 2" nut widths and some have 1 7/8", is there a way to know which ones? I was thinking that the slotheads would probably have the wider nuts but not sure.


Based on the information from the Ovation Gallery specs both the slothead pacemakers and GC's have 1 7/8 nutwidth,all my adamas 12 strings have 1 7/8 nutwidth so i suspect the standard nutwidth for 12 strings is 1 7/8


Thanks for all the input, this information sure helps in choosing a guitar!
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SlickRick
Posted 2017-11-23 6:03 AM (#538133 - in reply to #537979)
Subject: Re: Ovation 12 String Guitar


Joined:
August 2017
Posts: 14

Well after much research with input from 2wheeldrummer and DetleMichel I have made a choice of an Ovation 1758 12 string, I ordered it yesterday and it will probably take several days to arrive. Thanks very much for helping me to make an informed decision, I will try to post a photo of the guitar once it comes. (It looks like photos are a little complicated to post on this site but I will give it a try.)
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2wheeldrummer
Posted 2017-11-23 9:51 AM (#538136 - in reply to #537979)
Subject: Re: Ovation 12 String Guitar



Joined:
February 2014
Posts: 699

Location: moline,illinois
Congratulations on a great choice and a new addition you should be very happy.

For me the easiest way to add a pic is to use the add/remove attachments link at the bottom of the page when you edit your post,like this.

Edited by 2wheeldrummer 2017-11-23 9:56 AM




(IMG_1119.jpg)



Attachments
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Attachments IMG_1119.jpg (51KB - 0 downloads)
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DetlefMichel
Posted 2017-11-24 5:19 AM (#538143 - in reply to #537979)
Subject: Re: Ovation 12 String Guitar



Joined:
May 2011
Posts: 751

Location: Muenster/Germany
Congratulations, and welcome to the great 12 string owner´s club. What colour?
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SlickRick
Posted 2017-11-26 7:02 AM (#538154 - in reply to #538143)
Subject: Re: Ovation 12 String Guitar


Joined:
August 2017
Posts: 14

The color is black, I thought it would go well with my Adamas 1681-5.
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SlickRick
Posted 2017-11-30 9:29 PM (#538187 - in reply to #538143)
Subject: Re: Ovation 12 String Guitar


Joined:
August 2017
Posts: 14

Well here it is if I get the photo to post, I cleaned it up when it arrived, removed the existing strings, tighten the tuners, I thought the action was a little high so I checked and sure enough the original shims were under the bridge, removed 2 shims, conditioned the fret board and installed a new set of Elixir light gauge coated strings; The action is now nice and low. I love the sound of this guitar, it really chimes and with the low action it plays better than any I've had before. Thanks again for the input that helped me pick this old girl out. I love her!



(Ovation 1758-5.jpg)



Attachments
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Attachments Ovation 1758-5.jpg (18KB - 1 downloads)
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SlickRick
Posted 2017-11-30 9:32 PM (#538188 - in reply to #537979)
Subject: Re: Ovation 12 String Guitar


Joined:
August 2017
Posts: 14

Thought the 1758-5 looks good with the 1681-5.
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SlickRick
Posted 2017-11-30 9:34 PM (#538189 - in reply to #538187)
Subject: Re: Ovation 12 String Guitar


Joined:
August 2017
Posts: 14

OK, I messed adding the photo that time, here is the 1758-5 with the 1681-5. love this set!



(Ovation 1758-5 and Adamas 1681-5.jpg)



Attachments
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Attachments Ovation 1758-5 and Adamas 1681-5.jpg (20KB - 0 downloads)
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Love O Fair
Posted 2017-11-30 11:44 PM (#538190 - in reply to #537979)
Subject: Re: Ovation 12 String Guitar



Joined:
February 2016
Posts: 1768

Location: When??
One word... "jealous".
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DetlefMichel
Posted 2017-12-01 4:27 AM (#538191 - in reply to #537979)
Subject: Re: Ovation 12 String Guitar



Joined:
May 2011
Posts: 751

Location: Muenster/Germany
A nice pair. These black guitars always look fine, but I they need a lot of cleaning. Would probably look even better with black tuner knobs.
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DetlefMichel
Posted 2017-12-01 4:31 AM (#538192 - in reply to #537979)
Subject: Re: Ovation 12 String Guitar



Joined:
May 2011
Posts: 751

Location: Muenster/Germany
...the 1658 12 string 12 fret custom legend was also available in black. This should be your next;-)
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