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  #1  
Old 01-03-2010, 07:12 AM
chrisguitar chrisguitar is offline
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Exclamation Ovation Acoustic Electrics- Are They Any Good?

I have seen many ovations in many diffrent shops, but the ovation acoustic electrics with the fiberglass back and sides really stood out to me. If anyone has any info on this particular type of guitars please write, because I am seriously considering purchasing one.
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Old 01-03-2010, 07:17 AM
jsmarshall jsmarshall is offline
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Depends on what you're looking for or plan on doing with the guitar. This has been discussed thoroughly on the forum. A quick search of the keyword "ovation" returned the results below. You can weed through them and get more than you ever wanted to know probably. Welcome to the forum!

Ovation
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Old 01-03-2010, 07:20 AM
chrisguitar chrisguitar is offline
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Thanks its a guitar i really want and its really interesting to me
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Old 01-03-2010, 07:49 AM
ewalling ewalling is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by jsmarshall View Post
This has been discussed thoroughly on the forum.
What? Compared to Martin and Taylor discussions? I don't think so! The thing is, Chris, there's little love for Ovations on this forum and you'll probably get a better response on the Ovation Fan Club site. I'm of the same mind, by the way; the higher end Ovations, such as the Adamas, Custom Legend, and Elite, have some fascination for me. I love the design and only recently I played a superb 10 year old super shallow bodied Elite in a store near Liverpool.
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Old 01-03-2010, 08:24 AM
JohnZ JohnZ is offline
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For the most part I think the major makes (Martin, Gibson, Taylor) a caught and possibly surpassed Ovation with steel stringed guitars in amplified tone with the added benifit of sounding really good unplugged. So, the attraction to Ovation today would be price point, reliability under difficult conditions, and unique appearance.

I agress with the other poster that this forum is probably not the best place to look for an objective discussion on Ovation guitars.
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Old 01-03-2010, 08:39 AM
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I bought an Ovation and generally liked its tone and playability, but the found the neck too narrow.
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Old 01-03-2010, 08:46 AM
cadam5150 cadam5150 is offline
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Ovation guitars is an icon to "breaking outside the boundary" of guitar building. It s radical departure from traditional materials has blaze the trail for the modern non-wood guitars in 1975.

To a purist, only wood matters. However, tonal quality is subjective and hard to ascertain any absolute reference. If Ovation sings to your ears, that's your goal. Good luck.
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Old 01-03-2010, 08:59 AM
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A session guitarist here in Nashville was going to accompany me on a gig in L.A. last year and Ovation gave him one of the new acoustic/electrics to showcase. I'm sorry I don't know the model but it was thin and not what I usually think of when I think Ovation. He plugged straight into a direct box into the PA and it sounded fantastic. I was surprised and impressed. It had a very natural acoustic sound and on some tunes he adjusted it a bit and got a cool electric sound.
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Old 01-03-2010, 09:41 AM
jsmarshall jsmarshall is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by ewalling View Post
What? Compared to Martin and Taylor discussions? I don't think so! The thing is, Chris, there's little love for Ovations on this forum and you'll probably get a better response on the Ovation Fan Club site. I'm of the same mind, by the way; the higher end Ovations, such as the Adamas, Custom Legend, and Elite, have some fascination for me. I love the design and only recently I played a superb 10 year old super shallow bodied Elite in a store near Liverpool.
No where in my post did I say Ovations were discussed as much as Martins or Taylors. I was just letting him know that Ovations have been discussed on this forum (whether good or bad, I did not say either way) and that he could simply "search" to get background knowledge. Oh, and I'd hope you'd get a "better response at the Ovation Fan Club" or else it's not a very good Fan Club is it?
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Old 01-03-2010, 09:46 AM
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Well, I'll swim against the current and say, plugged in, I have found that my Ovations (a Std Balladeer and a Custom Balladeer) have a better sound than my three Taylors (K20, K22, 550). Acoustically they sound great too but I do prefer my Taylors. On the playability side I would put my Standard Balladeer up against most any guitar I have played and no I don't have issues with the round back. It has a thin neck and the action has been adjusted as good as I have been able to get on a guitar.
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Old 01-03-2010, 10:48 AM
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I think the American made (Standard Balladeer and higher) are great if you don't care about fashion
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Old 01-03-2010, 10:48 AM
choffman41 choffman41 is offline
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I bought an Ovation 12 string about 30 years ago and in my opinion it was a very nice instrument. Cost about $700 in the mid '70's. There always was and always will be a certain snobbery about the fact that they are not all wood and therefore can not be any good. I still like them though, but I don't know nothin'.
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Old 01-03-2010, 11:19 AM
Tahitijack Tahitijack is offline
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I added one to the collection for travel and playing places where I was concerned about taking my Taylors. It works better plugged-in, and I enjoy playing it. In my view if you have the financial situation for a collection, at some point you'll own an Ovation, Rainsong or similar...just for fun and something different.
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Old 01-03-2010, 12:21 PM
ewalling ewalling is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by jsmarshall View Post
No where in my post did I say Ovations were discussed as much as Martins or Taylors.
I know. Sorry, but it just seemed funny to refer someone to the relatively few past threads on Ovations considering the endless repetitive blether that goes on for Taylors and Martins!

Mmm, this thread is giving me gas pains for that slim bodied Elite I saw last week! I'm in the market for a good plugged in acoustic and so far Ovation and Godin are at the top of my list. I especially like the slimmer bodied Ovations; they're comfortable to play and often have a surprisingly powerful acoustic sound.
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  #15  
Old 01-03-2010, 12:35 PM
kydave kydave is offline
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Quote:
Ovation Acoustic Electrics- Are They Any Good?
Not for an acoustic. Depending on the model, they can work fine or less so as an electric.
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