Topic: Ovation Guitars...so many whys?

[Mr.OMuck]

http://wnpr.org/post/ovation-guitars-cease-production-connecticut#.U1ggtxpX5gY.facebook

[Slack]

As in Why did they last so long? 

[uncle bud]

Switching to the kayak business?

[dj]

I actually owned one for a few months back when they were first made.  They looked cool.  That's when I realized that you could make a guitar back out of carbon fiber or even papier mache, but wood sounds by far the best.

By the way, New Hartford is a really pretty little town, if you ever get a chance to drive through it.

[Pan]

 



Cheers

Pan

Edited to add: I'm sorry to read, that 46 workers will be losing their jobs! 

[Mr.OMuck]

I actually found one in the trash once. Why DID they last so long? They sounded like shit. The new carbon fibre guitars sound much better, and you can also paddle a canoe with them.

[blueshome]

They were also responsible for the dreaded under-saddle pickup that every "acoustic" player seems to use nowadays because they haven't learn to either project in a small room or use a mic successfully in a larger one.

[Mr.OMuck]

That's right! It was them. having a guitar that sounded like a pan of Lasagna with strings, they had to have a plan B.
Having said all this though my deepest regrets to the people who are losing their jobs over this closing. That's definitely NOT funny!
Since the issue of onboard electronics has been raised though, any progress? ANYTHING sound decent? They all seem to make otherwise fine guitars sound like they're strung with rubber bands.

[Norfolk Slim]

I agree about the undersaddle twang.  Lots of people these days seem to think that is normal and fine- and actually rather like it.  Takamine have a deal to answer for on that count too...

I've been pretty pleased with my K&K mini western pickup so far.  Sounds a lot cleaner and more natural than the undersaddle ones I have had.

[nobocaster]

Ahh, Ovation guitars.  My first "real" guitar was an Ovation.  My dad bought it for me used when I was 12, and at the time I thought it was the coolest thing in the world (even if it always did slide down my lap while playing it).  I played it for about 6 years before trading it in and learned my earliest chops trying to imitate Doc Watson and John Hurt on it.  So I have a real soft spot for these guitars.  As a repairman though, I've seen a bunch of these with nasty cracks on the top as the wood is trying to move and the plastic won't budge.  Sorry to hear about the lay off.

 

!
Since the issue of onboard electronics has been raised though, any progress? ANYTHING sound decent?

  I don't personally use anything other than a mic, but I have installed a couple of the K&K Trinity systems for clients with acceptable results.  My main complaint is the microphone gooseneck is not as stable as I'd like.. it has a bit of spring-back so is difficult to set it in the ideal spot.  Sound-wise it is definitely an improvement from the under-saddle slappy plastic sound.
http://www.kksound.com/products/trinity.php

[Norfolk Slim]

Had to look up the Trinity system.  I see its essentially the same 3 piezo disc thing that I have (the Mini Western), but with the added mic and pre amp attached.

So far Ive found that the mini western is fine without a pre-amp: plenty of signal for a passive system and sounds pretty good, though I'm obviously not playing stadiums with it!

[Johnm]

Hi all,
I remember when Ovations first came out that people used to say that they really liked the necks on them.  As it happens, it's a neck contour that sure doesn't work for me, narrow, low-profile and thin from the fingerboard straight through to the middle of the back of the neck--what folks used to call a "fast" neck.  I need a lot more mass in a neck, but I do remember seeing Glen Campbell play some pretty amazing stuff on an Ovation on his TV show.  I don't recall anybody bragging on their tone very much, but I suppose some sound people liked them because they had such a flat, even response with no peaks.  Sort of like an acoustic guitar for people who dislike and fear the unpredictability of the sound of acoustic guitars.
All best,
Johnm 

[Slack]

I've got an older k&k pickup that looks like the pre cursor to the western mini.. On an archtop - and agree they sound pretty good.

Besides sound the other thing I disliked about ovations, sitting down, you couldn't keep  them on your lap!

Hopefully fender can find a spot for most of these employees!

[Norfolk Slim]

Interesting John, about the necks. Are they also partly to blame for the ongoing trend for skinny low profile necks which make acoustics feel like electrics?  Most acoustics now feel like they were made as accessories for electric players...  Very hard to find a neck with a bit of substance.

[Parlor Picker]

I too despise piezo-electric pick-ups with their harsh, abrasive sound that is nothing like an acoustic guitar and pretty poor at sounding like a normal electric guitar as well.

The only two players I encountered who seemed to make some sense of the Ovation are Joan Armatrading and British slide player, Kevin Brown. Kevin found the Ovation a good workhorse for constant touring that would take some punishment and he somehow got a decent slide sound out of them. He's seen the light now and mostly plays a Gibson AJ.