OMA suggested I cross post this from the Welcome Center to the General boards to see if anyone can help me find this info. Apologies if you've read it before.

I recently bought my first Ovation 6-string through a charity fund-raiser. The sticker inside the body is missing so the charity is not sure what model it is or anything more about it as it was donated. The serial number is 446059 and the closest information I can find through tracing it online via ovationtribute.com is that it was possibly built in 1992 but that's as far as I was able to do any definitive research and I'm not sure just how accurate that is. Other than that, all that I know about it is that it's a cutaway, round-back, acoustic-electric that has a glossy black top with multi-port sound holes/epaulets in both upper bouts and the EQ just has treble/bass/gain adjustments without a volume knob that I've seen on some other O pre-amps. I think it may be a deep-bowl (it measures about 5-3/4"). The only manuals that came with it are one for "Service Centers, USA and Canada" that has a part number of OV130/93 and the owner's manual with a part number of 990004-H 5/93, but I don't know if they are the original ones. (The owner's manual says the pre-amp is an OP-24 but I'm not sure if that is accurate.)

From doing an image search, I originally thought this may be a CC257 but then I found in the ovationtribute.com archives an international catalog from November 1992 (see link below) that lists specs for the various models. What I can glean from there is that this may be a CC268 instead because that model is supposed to have a deep bowl whereas the CC257 is listed as super-shallow bowl. (One of the photos provided by the charity is from the back so maybe someone can confirm if it is indeed a deep bowl for me). Adding to the confusion is the fret inlay pattern. Mine has the 9 diamond-dot pattern (without inlays on the first and 17th frets) while the 1992 catalog states the inlays on both the CC268 and CC257 are the 15 diamond-dot pattern. (Page 7 of the catalog shows the CC257-AB with the same 9 diamond-dot pattern I have, while the other colorways on that same page have 15.) Also, the catalog states that the machine heads are supposed to be chrome for the CC268 while the ones on this guitar are gold tone like the CC257 (may not be original). 

I'm hoping someone can help me find out the model number and what features it came with such as the type of wood in the neck/fretboard/top/saddle, the model of electronics, the country of manufacture, if it truly is a deep-bowl and anything else noteworthy. I've uploaded the photos the charity provided onto my instagram account here:
https://www.instagram.com/graematterz/

Here's the info I found on ovationtribute.com: 
http://www.ovationtribute.com/Catalogues/1992_Ovation_Jp_Vol_1_Catalog/1992_Ovation_Jp_Vol_1_Catalog.html

I would really appreciate it if someone could help me out on this. Let me know if you need any info I haven't provided here. 

Thanks in advance, 

~Grae 

Hi GraeMatterz, hope you don't mind my chimming in! Beautiful Celebrity by the way. I'm pretty sure your call is correct. That's a CC268-5. Several things give your conclusion strong support. The first is the bowl depth of 5.75". That's the depth of a deep bowl. I think the CC268 was introduced (in Japan anyway) in 1992 together with the SSB, CC257. The mid-depth Celebrity, CC247, was introduced in 1995. The other supporting evidence is the pre-amp called the "thinline" or the FET-C with the simple volume, bass, and treble sliders. By the time the CC247s were introduced, the pre-amps for the CC series were upgraded to the OP24+ although they were always mixing stuff during model phase-outs and ramp-ups. These guitars sound much better than their laminated spruce tops would suggest, and I'd guess the deep bowl would add some extra depth to the voice of the instrument. CC268s are pretty hard to come by where I live, and they fetch fairly high auction prices. The specs read something like this; laminated spruce top with K-3 bracing, Nato neck w/ Rosewood fret board and 1 11/16th nut, walnut bridge. Scale length is 251/4"

Hope your enjoying your new acquisition, and hope this info is at least some of what you were looking for. Take it easy!

Thanks for chiming in arumako. You're input is most welcome!

I believe you are right on all counts. From the searches I've done, I haven't been able to find many CC268s (and a couple sites I visited that list the various model numbers and features show the CC257/CS257 and CC247 but don't mention the CC268 at all).

I suspect that your observation about phase-ins/outs are coming into play with this one as it is the first year of the model (if the SN cross-reference is correct). I found photos of another confirmed CC268 that had the gold tone machine heads as well and the fretboard also had the 9 diamond-dot inlays. I also found one that looks like mine with the deep bowl that they had mislabeled as a CC257, when the photo of the model sticker for it says it's actually a CC268. On that one the pre-amp bezel is about an inch from the binding just like mine, whereas confirmed CC257s have the pre-amp about 1/4" away from the binding (about the same distance as the thickness of the binding). Is the FET-C/thinline also called the OP-24 (without the +)? That's what it says the pre-amp is in the owner's manual I have and it has a chart listing various positions of the 3 sliders for preset tones that matches this one.

Some other supporting evidence is that this one appears to have the mid-size frets v. the CC257, which is supposed to have jumbo frets per the 1992 catalog I referenced earlier. When I compare photos of confirmed CC257s (with visible model stickers) to mine, the CC257's fretwires look beefier. So, I'm pretty confident that this is a CC268, which is pretty cool considering how rare they appear to be. It seems to be in really good shape and I think I got a good deal for it. They were asking $270+shipping (and I bought the warranty with it, just in case). I found a CC268 sunburst listed on ebay and they want for over $1300. Could you tell me the auction prices you've seen for this model?

I just dropped it off at my favorite guitar shop (which has a certified luthier) to have it checked out, setup (action is a little high and it needs a little fretwork) and some lighter gauge strings to start (until I get my callouses built up as I'm a novice/beginner and haven't played for over 15 years). They did a quick check of the pre-amp (I replaced the battery but the LED won't come on when the button is pressed) and it sounded good given the strings are pretty flat. (I don't have a practice amp yet.)

Thanks again for your input. It's really helped me to lock down just what it is that I have.  I'm really looking forward to picking up learning again (now that I'm retired and actually have time to practice instead of working like a rented mule) and I'm excited to have found such a nice Celebrity cutaway at such a good value to learn with as I've been covetous of one for decades. 

~Grae

Hi GraeMatterz, Great to hear your CC268 is in good hands with your favorite Luthier. I must say $270 + shipping is a really good deal. It's really interesting, but if I'm not mistaken, throughout the "CC" line the deep bowls had poor reception when compared to the mid-depth and SSBs. I guess the Acoustic/Electric craze put less emphasis on acoustic voicing. Here in Japan, CC268 are selling anywhere between $400 to $1,000, but they don't come up too often.

WRT the pre-amp, the OP24 is not the same as the FET-C/thinline. Your "manual vs. actual" pre-amp discrepancy is probably a phase-in/out issue. Click the link below at Ovation Tribute and they have an exhibit of pre-amp faces/names...the FET-C is what the Ovation International catalog calls your pre-amp, but at Ovation Tribute there are several different name/faceplate combinations.

http://www.ovationtribute.com/Pr%E9-amplis/Ovation%20Preamps.html

Used to own an MIUSA 1861-4 that needed a new "Thinline" faceplate. At the time, the MotherShip at New Hartford didn't have the original faceplates; so they sent me both the "K-Graphic (Ultra Series)" and "DJ-4 Celebrity" faceplates. They couldn't tell me if the electronics were significantly different though...

Anyway, when your CC268 comes back from the Luthier, please post a pic or video! Enjoy!