Any opinions on ovation guitars?...
 

...I've seen them at the guitar stores but never played one nor do I know anyone who has one...they have always caught my eye and I think the next time I'm at the guitar store I will play one...till then I would like to know what you all think...I will be out of town the next couple of days but will check for any responses when I get back...thanks.

Some people think they are great. I don't like them very much. They sound shallow to me. But they are supposed to be very playable - the ones I have played had good action.

In my opinion - Good playability but consistently non-woody.

The Ovation I owned sounded great plugged in. Not so great unplugged. They are a well made guitar (in my opinion) and are excellent when performing on stage or in studio.

WARNING...
 

People will bad mouth Ovation, period.
Maybe it's because of the "Roundback" design, or its materials used to make the guitar(Lyrachord?), questionable brand parts on the guitar(Hint: Ping tuners!), or its overall "disposable" appearance: major guitar repair? you're better off buying another guitar instead...
But I happen to like the sound. When some would state that a certain guitar is a "canon", I would always think of Ovation. Ovations are consistently the loudest guitar I've ever played "unplugged". Besides, IMHO, they're the original travel guitar. I literally took my Applause 12-string EVERYWHERE I was needed for church youth services...

I have an Ovation and I like it all right. I love the headstock design - and with the round back look somewhat 'lute-like' and medieval. I also liked that fact that it had no pickguard. I think they sound pretty good plugged in too.

The playability is great. The only thing I don't like about it is the skinny neck and the deep round back (not very comfortable to me).

I was fine with my Ovation until one day a few years ago my pastor came over for a guitar lesson. He had a several hundred dollar Yamaha acoustic and I was surprised by how much louder it was than my Ovation. At that time I was using it at church, but it was this encounter that started me down the road to getting my first Taylor.

I will say, however, that until that time I really didn't play much steel string acoustic at all - it was some electric but mostly classical.

Now that I have the Taylor, I play 95% steel string.

I don't play the Ovation much anymore, but I'm not getting rid of it - it was my first acoustic and a birthday gift from my parents.:)

I'm not an accomplished musician by any means. However, I do know what I like. I grew up in the 60's and 70s when lots of performers (think Jethro Tull, Mother Goose) used Ovations. I grew to love their unique sound. I've owned nice Ovations for over 20 years and will continue to. Having said that, I also love Taylor tone, so I bought one. I don't see why some folks want to confine acceptable limits to others. BTW, I agree with the other comments about playability: I play mainly electrics of various types and the Ovation is a superior playing acoustic when compared to many others. The neck is a bit narrow for fingerpicking, but fast and easy. Bottom line is try it and buy it if you like it. Maybe you'll be like me and have the flexibility to love completely different instruments and the tones they produce.

I really like the neck on my ovation -- thin and fast, almost an electric neck. The guitar amplifies well too.

You should definately play one or two the next time you are in the candy store!

I grew up here in Virginia with everybody I know playing guitar (and an occasional bass hehehe) and what I have always heard about Ovation is that they are dependable and durable and sound good plugged in. What I never cared for was the unplugged sound and the roundness of the back made it uncomfortable to sit and play. There mandolins are kinda cool but sound more like little itty bitty guitars than a mandolin.

All in all though, I think if you like the sound you should buy it because thas what counts.

ovations feel so so good standing up. sitting down, sometimes they'll slide right out of your lap though. i think they're cool guitars.

The neck on an ovation is very playable, fast and narrow, so I can make a lot of 1 and 2 finger chords. I just recently bought a new 1976 Ovation Patriot model guitar (the dealer had it in his back room for all those years!). The sound is so sweet, I couldn't resist it. It is basically a Legend, which premiered that year. Big full body. Amazing sound. You can hear each string clearly. I do a lot of fingerstyle playing, but I strum some, too. This guitar is LOUD!! I never liked playing Ovation guitars, cause of my gut. It was so hard to keep it on my leg, kept slippingThe Ovation owners have a forum too. On it, I found out that to keep the guitar from slipping, just use a piece of the rubber matting your wife/gf/mom puts under her lamps and things to keep them from sliding. My musically inclined kids actually like to hear it better than my other guitars! HAHA Just wait til the walnut matures :)

I have always liked the sound of them but have never felt comfortable with them in my lap playing. I have always had a hard time holding them in place. Must be something I was doing or not doing as others have not had this problem.
Midnight Shadow

I really like my Ovations. One thing that is not mentioned in this thread is that there are, like Taylors, many models, sizes, shapes, deep bowls, shallow bowls, and different necks. Many seem to lump Ovations all into one. The older Balladeers have a deep booming acoustic sound where the newer models seem to have a little less volume acoustically. (My older Custom has a very thick neck and my newer Standard is very thin) The shallow bowl models are not the great acoustically but work great when plugged in (like the Elite model) and are great to play on stage IMHO. The slim design and neck on the Elite also makes it comfortable to play while sitting where the large bowl Balladeers tend to "roll" in your lap. One of the biggest advantage to the Ovations is that they are very stable due to thier technology and travel well.

I tend to stay away from "absolutes" and "always" and will just state for the right person these are great guitars and also can be aquired used at very good prices. (I think the best values are in the used market on most guitars)

I like the new model
 

The one with the flat bottom. Don't need a stand for it that's why they call it the standing ovation.!!

To my ear, Ovations excel when they're plugged in. Acoustically, not so much. I do kinda' like the sound of the Elite mid-depth models, though. Don't know that I'd ever buy one, but they sound pretty good.

There is one Ovation model that I do want:


http://www.ovationguitars.com/pics/m...225-BCB_lg.jpg


Steve