Why no love for Ovation? 12 String ?

[gmel555]

I owned a '79 Adamas/Ovation 6-string deep bowl from 1982 til 2018. I purchased it for playing live in a cover rock band. IMHO, very nice tone acoustically and I loved the neck profile and it was plug and play amplified. In the 80's you'd see lots of Ovations with touring bands as they "traveled well" and held up to the rigors of travel, while also providing a reliable (albeit "bright" IMO) amplified acoustic sound. I think eventually better amplification technology allowed for use of traditional acoustic guitars and Ovations "fell out of favor". Plus, no one ever posted a photo of the back of an Ovation and said, "what beautiful figuring" (LOL)...though I thought the fronts were quite
cool. I sold mine after realizing I never played it anymore at home because -without a strap- the bowl shape caused it to slide off my lap.

[Teherie]

In 1978 I bought a new Ovation 12 String Pacemaker with a sunburst finish and a deep bowl that came in a brown fiberglass case.

I kept that guitar for about 12 years and sold it for $50 more than I paid for it. I found the neck profile to be uncomfortable after playing it for more than 30 minutes. It’s actually the only guitar I ever sold.

I went without a 12 string until 2005 when I ordered a custom Larrivee all mahogany 12 string (LV03) and it’s been a great guitar.

[A Scot in Otley]

Originally Posted by LAPlayer

People have just moved on. The American made, top of the line "Ovation" guitars were superb. Most major acoustic guitar players had them. As stated above they were really the first plug-and-play stage-ready guitar. The shallow bowls weren't as great acoustically but the deep bowls sounded fine acoustically and I used one for several years as my studio, stage and recording guitar. Many people including Melissa Etheridge and others still use theirs in concert.

And Joan Armatrading ....

[SpruceTop]

Ovation Guitars - Dare To Be Different®. The newer Deep Contoured and Medium Contoured Bowl Ovations are as comfortable to play as any guitar out there and stay put whether standing or sitting. Being a long-time Ovation player since 1978, I've had over a dozen high-end Ovation and Adamas axes, and with the newer ones having either a VIP-5 Preamp (5 Aura Images) or OP Pro Studio preamp, they amplify deep, clear, and even with great feedback resistance.

[EZYPIKINS]

Ovation was the first dedicated acoustic electric most of us used on stage. Because they were the first to really address this "new" market.

Next widely accepted acoustic electric was Takamine. Played one of those for a bit as well.

I don't play a 12 string allot. So, I was not going to buy an expensive one. Found a used Guild 2512 Acoustic electric. For $500.

I replaced the tuners with a new set of Gotoh 510's . After everything I still didnt reach the $1,000 mark.

[Pickcity]

I always thought they sounded either very good or very bad. Not much in between. That goes for plugged in or unplugged. I’ve never owned one but played quite a few. None in the past 20 years. I always thought they played good, though. Every one I ever played was comfortable and fast.

I wouldn’t mind owning one. This thread has intrigued me for some reason. I don’t think they look that bad. Just different. It may be cool to mess around with.

[jim1960]

Originally Posted by kmckenna45

Why don’t Ovations get more love?

An Ovation was my first steel string purchase and I happen to be one that loves the sound of an Ovation. I have one now that I keep in Nashville tuning because I think it works very well on an Ovation.

But two things would seem to get in the way of Ovations finding the love of a larger audience:
1. The composite bowl back is not only unconventional, it makes it difficult, when sitting, to keep the guitar in place without it slipping around.
2. Ovation nuts have traditionally been very narrow. I don't know if they've moved off of that in recent years but that's been their history. A narrow nut worked fine for me when I was a teenager, but we don't typically get smaller as we grow older. These days, 1 11/13" is my sweet spot whereas when I was half my current 63, even 1 5/8" was playable.