[patchmcg]

Originally Posted by ewalling

I wonder if one of the reasons for possible poor sales (if they were poor) was appearance. Ovation still seems to be afloat despite the derision that they're not 'proper' guitars; they have always made very distinctive-looking instruments, which may have served them well.

Strangely enough, right before I read this post, I was remembering a little known bit of Ovation Lore. Many years back (mid 90's I think), Adamas took it's best shot at a true Carbon fiber guitar called the "Q" (not to be confused with one called the Q597 which isn't even remotely the same guitar). I don't know all of the reasons, but they could not make it fly at an affordable price. (I read somewhere that if they sold them for 5K they would be taking a loss.) There was something about the production that simply made distribution too pricey.

In the end, something like 5 prototypes were made. I'm given to understand that their tone is impeccable, though I've never heard one. I think Bill Kaman has two of them, but have no idea where the others are. Maybe someday I'll lay my hands on one for a few minutes, who knows?

Though the aesthetics of CA guitars never clicked my gears, I was tempted more than once to pull the trigger just because they were innovative, and I wondered how they could make these things at a reasonable price when a large company like Kaman (pre-Fender) couldn't.

I hate to hear that a truly innovative company has been forced to pack it in. I wish the best of luck to their employees. And I seriously doubt we've seen the end of carbon fiber instruments.