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Location: Lake Forest, CA | Beal - 2018-04-18 8:31 AM
California isn't any better than Connecticut for producing. Connecticut has got that Democratic governor that is driving the state
Into the ground. California has the environmentalists that are strangling industry their own way.
100% correct. California is a terrible place for a manufacturing company of any type. |
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Posts: 13983
Location: Upper Left USA | All Y'all got it figured out yet?
thoughts:
- Tacoma would be a great place for a guitar factory.
- I would like to hear what the next plan is from DW/Ovation. |
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Posts: 1609
Location: Colorado | EJ 16s or 17s, or those hybrid sets Beal talks about now? |
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Location: When?? | If we only had tomorrow's new today we'd know. But then what would we do tomorrow? |
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Posts: 887
Location: Always beautiful canyon country of Utah | Play our vintage Ovations!! |
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Posts: 2791
Location: Atlanta, GA. | Connecticut has got that Democratic governor that is driving the state Into the ground.
Damn liberals are well on their way to ruining this country.
Edited by cholloway 2018-04-19 10:45 AM
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Location: Texas | moody, p.i. - 2018-04-18 1:01 PM
I think they should move to Texas, maybe Austin. Good environment, low taxes, and a gas station guy who can come by and kibitz......
plus guitar-friendly humidity levels most of the year!
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Location: Flahdaw | This thread has really kinda turned into a past-days type of thread... |
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Location: When?? | @Darkbar - >>>This thread has really kinda turned into a past-days type of thread<<<
Yeah.. three pages worth for the past days, and we still don't know squat about the outcome. Or did you mean past days as in a group of guitar codgers sitting around dwelling the historical glory? It's that, too. But like NerdyDave said.. there's a huge supply of those still out there to enjoy, many still in great shape, and many owned by the aforesaid codgers, including myself, so I'm good with it. Have to be. |
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Posts: 75
Location: San Antonio, TX | May have to look in AK when I am there next month to see if they have any A's left in my dream section. They had a WT A 12er last time.. Was a good run.. We who know the special breed of the brand and own some are lucky. My sons will get mine at dirt time. In the end, Olds and Pontiac were cancelled due to low sales and higher profit of core brands. Live the dream and carry on. |
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Posts: 563
Location: Ottawa, Ontario, CANADA | Hello, Everyone,
Thanks, Jonmark Stone, for the information. It was/is just our wonky Canadian weather that was not letting me find the Ovation website. It snowed again this week, after we had an ice storm here on the weekend? Yikes! I played one of the original Larrivee, "boutique", guitars, a custom-made L-9 at the time, when I was studying classical guitar in Toronto in 1977. Jean Larrivee taught many young luthiers their craft, ( and yes, you all know who they are, because people now buy their, "boutique", guitars), and other companies like Godin came into being, but these are now USA-based as well. We are definitely losing the middle class here in CANADA, too, because the world has changed so much, since OVATION was introduced to the guitar world in the 1960's. If you have a GO-PRO camera now, YOU-TOO can have your own YOU-TUBE channel, w/ subscribers galore. But will an OVATION guitar be featured in these? Should we loyal OVATION guitar players/ fans continue to subscribe there just to find out, or will we always be looking at videos of our favorite guitar from the point of view the past?
Mike S.
Ottawa, ON.,
CANADA
Edited by Mike S. 2018-04-19 10:23 PM
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Posts: 10777
Location: Keepin' It Weird in Portland, OR | Spring has sprung in Portland, Oregon.
It was 70° and partly Sunny.
I will have sunburn on my arms after it matures overnight.
Why am I telling you this?
In Winter weather I use my Adamii and Composite Acoustics guitars.
Since the weather has warmed, I can take my wood-topped guitars out.
Earlier today I took my (made in 1997) Ovation Parlor 5741 guitar out for an hour or so.
It got compliments.
After a Lunch-break, I took out the Sweetwater 1778T (made in 2007).
Some guy told me that it was an Awesome looking guitar.
Old USA Ovations are Still great guitars.
There are 308 used Ovations on eBay right now.
There are 572 used Ovation on Reverb right now.
If the corporate folks don't ever make another Ovation, there will still be a bunch around.
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Posts: 10581
Location: NJ | please keep politics off the OFC
I know we all need someone to blame but that is no constructive and has no purpose here.
All indications are not good for the USA brand....with 5 people in the shop the discontinuing of Adamas guitars, the lay off of the service department...well what exactly can anyone think.....
guess we need a knight on a white horse to ride in....anyone have a few million to spare??? |
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Posts: 12750
Location: Boise, Idaho | I thought of the same thing, Al, but I just reinvested my retirement plan. My horse was a bit too small, I'm afraid. Maybe Shetland pony. I can't afford to turn a small fortune into an even smaller fortune. |
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Location: moline,illinois | This is sad news indeed.
I had not heard they were discontinuing the Adamas model ...that SUCKS!!!!!
Will they continue to do repairs on our existing guitars I have a couple i've been meaning to send in,guess I better get off my butt
I think Ovation was competing with itself by offering both Korean and American versions of Custom Legends And Elites,if you weren't a die hard fan like us and had a choice between a Custom Legend AX or an American made custom Legend for twice the price which would you buy,the cheaper one most of the time I bet,I hope DW finds a way to keep Ovation alive in the meantime I have a collection of some of there finest to appreciate.
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Posts: 10581
Location: NJ | I am not sure if they are currently taking repairs....my best guess is no. |
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Posts: 10581
Location: NJ | 2wheel drummer
pm me with the model numbers and what is wrong and I will see what I can find out for you |
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Posts: 287
Location: Katmandu | It's an oversaturated, tough market for any guitar maker these days. Even the big, long-established fish like Gibson and Fender are struggling. Rejuvenating a guitar brand under these conditions is no easy feat. Here is hope DW has more coin and ideas to spare. What seems like the Omega of the bygone could very well become the Alpha of a new age.
Edited by leonardmccoy 2018-04-22 5:30 PM
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Location: Keepin' It Weird in Portland, OR | Not to rub salt in anyone's wounds...
But C. F. Martin & Company seems to be doing just fine.
Just sayin'.... 
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Location: Phoenix AZ | Old Man Arthur - 2018-04-22 7:30 PM
Not to rub salt in anyone's wounds...
But C. F. Martin & Company seems to be doing just fine.
Um, not so sure that is true. If "doing fine" means that you see players everywhere using Martin guitars then yes, I would agree with you. Same for Taylor, they seem to be "doing fine". But as far as the balance sheet goes, I understand that both of them are sitting on huge inventories of built guitars that the dealers just aren't buying.
The whole business model is in the crapper, no matter what the name is on the headstock. Bigger builders like Martin and Taylor surely have more buffer to weather the storms. And high end boutique builders will always be in demand. But Ovation is in the worst possible spot because they only build a very non-traditional guitar, have no US economy of scale, and the days of being at the top of the wish list for every aspiring player have long since passed. Ovation is the Garrard turntable of the guitar world.
Could it be saved? ... maybe. But it would take a major commitment and rebirthing of not just the instruments themselves, but the entire soul of the company behind it. In my opinion Fender tried to improve the margins by just whittling down the costs (FAIL) and DW tried to window dress the corpse by slapping on some exotic wood drum shells (FAIL).
Yes we all long for the "good old days" and thankfully this forum provides us great access to the vibe-that-once-was. But I am afraid that the reality of the situation (guitar sales and distribution/dealer network) is far worse than our rose colored glasses allow us to perceive. |
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Location: SoCal | It's sad, yes, but isn't it wonderful that 11-15 years ago we got to have a last bit of glory with the advent of the OFC and the factory gatherings?
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Location: Canada | Standingovation - 2018-04-23 7:48 AM If "doing fine" means that you see players everywhere using Martin guitars then yes, I would agree with you. Same for Taylor, they seem to be "doing fine". But as far as the balance sheet goes, I understand that both of them are sitting on huge inventories of built guitars that the dealers just aren't buying. Has DW Drums done enough to get the new guitars into the stores? We have a few guitar stores in town and they are all full of Martins, Taylors, Larrivees, Seagulls, and even Guilds. There used to be the odd Celebrity that hung around with the others, but I have not seen any bowls in Canadian stores for quite some time now. Sure the bruick & mortar stores have their own struggles competing with cheaper online warehouses, but still it's the main point of contact for potential buyers to touch and feel instruments they want to buy. |
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Location: Lake Forest, CA | I'll have to check again, but I believe I saw new DW-era Ovations in my local (Lake Forest) GC. |
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Location: SoCal | There are Dan, but I think they are imports.
As much as I dislike what's happening, the reality is that in the 70's and 80's, Ovations were cool and different. Plus, they had the best pick up system. Everybody wanted to play them. But as other companies caught up with pickups, Ovation lost ground. There was a hardcore group of loyal players (us), but I think Ovation really struggled in the 90's and 00's with being innovative. Combining that with a shrinking total market, and life gets real tough real fast.
I would guess that what DW discovered is that there is not a demand for $2000-$3500 Ovations. And the people who can pay that kind of money tend to go higher still and get the boutique guitars. Why spend $2500 on a new Ovation when you can buy a used one for $1000-1200?
I think the imports will always be around and my hope is that DW (or whoever the next owner is) puts money into getting that quality lever up as high as possible. $800-$1200 seems to be a good price range for Ovations. Heck, I couldn't even get $1500 for my pristine 30th Custom Legend. How can Ovation get $2500 for a new one? |
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Location: NJ | I disagree moody
There is a market for high end adamas guitars and custom order wood top guitars
Unfortunately the focus was on shallow bowl and making an affordable USA built guitAr
But with limited crew and resources you just can’t crank them out in any numbers to be profitable
I put in my opinion to whom ever would listen....
They did not
Instead focus was on redesigned headstocks and new preamp systems that are available in many other companies
If they housed this new system in the ovation modular can and you could swap them it would have been more advantageous
But what the hell do I know....
I only sell this guitars and use them for a living ....
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A new chapter???
