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Location: New York State | So tell me...what was your first Ovation?
Mine was a new, early 80's Custom Balladeer in black. Loved that guitar, and put a lot of miles on it gigging 2 or 3 nights a week. I played with a lot of folks who loved flatbacks, and they sometimes ribbed me about my plastic guitar. I told them I played the Ovation because any time a drunk got too close for comfort, i could just swing that roundback from the stage, and THWACK them in the head with it without hurting the guitar :) ...... I went through a couple of Martins that way before i got smart, and got the Balladeer.
So... what was your first Ovation?
Susan :D |
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Location: Omaha, NE | My Matrix. Purchased in 1977 (more or less...I really don't remember when exactly).
I still have it. It still plays reasonably well. My kids beat the crap out of it, and it just keeps coming back for more.
Cheers!
Jeff |
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Location: SoCal | 1972 Artist. |
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Location: south east Michigan | Just for you Susan I get to tell the story yet again. :rolleyes:
About 35 years ago I shopped for my first acoustic guitar. The science and engineering behind the Ovation design is what sold me at the time. For 33 years it was my only acoustic. Last year I did send it to the factory to have the neck reset. I can handle that once every 33 years.
I just love that guitar. We got a lot of history.
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Location: Avondale, AZ | We had a thread like this before. My first O is my Viper. I bought it new in 1979. It is the longest relationship I ever had. |
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Location: Earth·SolarSystem·LocalInterstellarCloud·Local Bub | Funny, I *vaguely* recall being THWACKED by a women wielding a Martin on a couple of ocassions...
My first "O" was an "A"....Ruby SMT 1897. Sexy thing. |
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Location: SoCal | There's a long thread on this in the archives.... but I didn't want to be accused of not being friendly to newcomers.
Besides, it's a fun topic. And interesting to see if people tell the same story they second time around ("I voted for the $80 billion before I voted against it") |
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| 1975 Custom Legend #1119-4 |
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Location: New York State | "And interesting to see if people tell the same story they second time around "
Like guitars... good stories usually grow better over time :)
Susan |
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Location: Phoenix AZ |  |
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Location: 6 String Ranch | #6 |
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Location: East Tennessee | Mine was a 1115 Pacemaker 12 string.
I still have it and it still plays great. :cool: |
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Location: Capital District, NY, USA Minor Outlying Islands | Celebrity cc057. Recently sold. Good bye old friend! |
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Location: Cicero, NY | I bought my 1616 around '77 (I needed something to do as I was dodging my National Guard duties...oops). :rolleyes: |
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| I bought an Old Classical O from a musician friend in the late 70's. I missed it when I sold it back in 1982 or so? I Have one that is close now.
Dave that bridge on that O is very strange? Not sure if I have ever seen one like that. I love these older Ovations it is fun to see how the thinking process changed from year to year at the factory!
It was Just a look at an Adamas 1 just like the 1688-7 I have now that made me do a triple take. And after I got over the initial puzzled shock I was drawn like the proverbial moth to the flame to these guitars for ever! And that was just the looks. Then I heard one and played one and finally bought one!
Randy |
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| Weaser, Your Tak EAN10C is one sweet machine. I played around with one and was amazed. |
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Location: Boise, Idaho | Hey, Omaha! Me, too. Matrix, bought in July 1977 for our wedding in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. $245 was a ton of money. My wife got that instead of an engagement ring. I sold 2 other guitars to pay for most of it. Both are still here in spite of me. |
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Location: SoCal | A 1158 Custom Legend 12-fret slothead acoustic, dark sunburst with abalone that blinded you...was a NAMM guitar (1980). |
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Location: Omaha, NE | Mark:
I recall mine was in the $250 range as well. That was a big hit to me at the time. I think I must have been 15 years old, because I distinctly remember my mom driving me home from Hospe's music here in town in our Oldsmobile station wagon (oops...I meant "Custom Cruiser").
I was operating on paper route/part time Burger King money at the time. $250 was huge.
In my high school, most of the guitar players were playing Ovations. Most had higher end units, but I decided if all I could afford was a Matrix, that would be fine. I played that thing like crazy. The first position frets are pretty shot by now.
All things considered, it really sounds pretty good.
Cheers!
Jeff |
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Location: SE Michigan | Mine was a 1974 (or so) Balladeer model 1111. I bought it from Grinnell Brothers Music in Harper Woods Michigan. I think it was around $300. I begged my mom to put it on her charge card and I paid her back over time.
It was light as a feather and rang like a bell, had great action and a neck like a violin, no electronics. I sold it many years ago, sometime in the 1980's. |
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Location: Hicksville, NY | I purchased my balladeer in the spring of 2003, at a local shop in Flushing, Queens. At that time, I just dropped off my niece's flute for repairs, when I discovered it -- or should I say, it discovered me! It took me ten years (no kidding!) to own one, and I finally did it. While some OFC brothers and sisters may have mixed feelings about super shallow bowl O's, I happen to love mine very much. So far, it's the one and only U.S. made Ovation that I own ... its picture is on the OFC map :) .
A few months later, I got an Applause ... it sounds nice, but I must admit that it's not an Ovation. Right now, I'm trying to save up some money for a custom balladeer or that Al DiMeola model, but Mrs. Ignimbyte's not being supportive lately ... she prefer that I save up for an HD-28! *hide* :eek: |
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Location: Central Florida | A Standard Balladeer, model K1111-4, bought in 1971. |
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Location: New York State | " she prefer that I save up for an HD-28! *hide* "
heh heh heh.... she has good taste in guitars ::::ducking and running :::::
susan |
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Location: SoCal | Susan, nobody here would dispute that a D-28 is a good guitar. Have you ever played a 1537 Elite, or an 87 Collectors, or a FD14, or a textured top Adamas? I own the first 2 and have played them next to Martins. Never felt a need to change.
But all that means is that there are different flavors of ice cream, enough to keep us all happy. Enjoy your Martins & Gibsons. But try different flavors and different brands. You'd be surprised.
By the way, looking back now, my first 2 Ovations were both pretty marginal, sound wise. I learned about good Ovation sound back in 1993 when I got my 1537. Everything I've purchased since then has stayed up to that level of quality. |
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Location: Idaho | Launched into acoustic electric world in 1984 with a 1547 new for just over $800. That seemed like a fortune at the time. Told my wife I would never have to buy another guitar after playing it. I no longer buy guitars, just invest in one now and then. |
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What was your first Ovation?
