So glad to see Ovation getting some love here! I bought mine in Abilene,Tx. In 1981. It went back to the factory in 85 for a repair and wound up getting a custom shop rebuild, all under warranty! I still own it. It could pass for new, and I still love it. Glad to hear the factory is back up and running again.!!🎸🎸
I just have one Ovation guitar - it's an Artist Electric Model that I bought from Maytan Music in Reno Nevada in 1970. Great guitar. I'll never get rid of it. Had to have it repaired once because the bridge started to pull away from the body. It was repaired in Reno by Jim Anderson at the Notorious Guitar Hospital. Jim had to replace the bowl on the guitar. [I had filled out the lifetime warranty and mailed it in. One of the smartest things I have ever done.) Basically it came back to me as a brand new guitar. Thanks Jim for all the work you did on my guitars and basses. I hope you're still alive and doing well. Also thanks to Ovation Guitars for a great product.
Thanks Doyle; great history! I had a Red 12 String that I gave to my son and currently have An Adamas that I bought about 20 yrs ago. I’m looking at a used 1970s Nylon 6 String that a gal is selling and it’s mint……So sad to learn Ovation is no longer manufacturing in the USA….guess that brings our USA models up in value….😎👍🏼
I have the 12 string version, 1976 model, well looked after with just the odd 'ding' on the spruce top. Very easy to play for a twelve string and super low action with zero buzz 😊
I still have the Ovation (like yours) I purchased used, back in 1981, as well as an Adamas SMT I purchased new back in the late 1990s. It was sad to see the company taken apart by Fender back in 2014, and I hope they can recover in the long-term...
I have the dark brown GC signature burst ! Love it. My only gripe I have with it is I accidentally slide the volume knob down while playing it plugged in! My 2 favorite nylons are my 80's Ovation, and 80's Takamini. Both sound awesome! Loved Glenn's picking with the Wrecking Crew, and especially with the Beach Boys !
Wow! Born in 1953, so that should tell you the music I grew up to. Huge Glenn Campbell fan, although I bought my Ovation (Balladeer) back in 1984 because of Cat Stevens. Still have it, and it still sounds great . . . at least in my hands; I'm sure it would sound awesome in yours! All the best to you.
If I had half of your talent I would be so fortunate. God bless and thank you for your videos. I share the same hero’s as you. I keep on pickin. God bless for sharing with your videos. You are my guitar Hero.
I have had my Ovation Model 1612, like the one pictured above, since 1974. I have played it on stage and in the studio with no regrets. It is consistent and versatile for whatever I ask of it. When I'm playing live, I plug into an amp, and mike the amp through my sound system, which gives me the ability to play in even some of the loudest clubs around. I recently played in a large concert hall, and the result was awesome. Did some finger picking, and did not have to hit the strings hard. This is a very versatile instrument. A few years ago, I did a short nightclub tour, and in different climates, which did not seem to affect the tuning or playability. Very satisfied!
I purchased the Glen Campbell 12 string in 1979. I still have that guitar & with all my guitars it has a special place on the wall. Glen Campbell was my guitar hero in the mid 1970's gotta say I felt really sad when I heard he could no longer play & his subsequent passing due to alzheimer's disease. I really enjoy your playing & it was great to hear a story of my very first guitar hero. Thank you.
Hi Doyle....Ovation Guitars were a Real Big Deal back on 1982! Made in Connecticut, 50 miles from where I live. My buddy broke his leg, at that time, and bought himself New Ovation guitar, since he couldn't walk for 6 months. I had my 1975 Ventura V6 and we had some great sessions together.... love to hear Your Narrative. What ya play and whatya say are Always Great!!🎵🎶🎵
Great video! I miss Glen Campbell....Glen and Jimmy Webb made so much magic. Great playing Doyle. Thanks! I have an Ovation like the one you're playing that I bought in 1973...still plays like the day I bought it. Merle Travis was guitar god!
So great to see this video. I am 60 years old, I haven't played guitar since I was about 14 years old, sold that guitar (a Fender with Champ Amp) for my first car. I haven't played since then. I did pick up a used Ovation Matrix (140456) back in the '80s, that sat gathering dust in the basement. Well, I've pulled it out, cleaned it up and have begun playing again, starting all over from the beginning. Great to see your love for Ovation. Now I gotta decide on an electric to get. I also want to add that I got the chance to meet Glen Campbell back in the early '90s, I saw his show, interviewed him and stood at the 50-yard line at Lambeau Field with him and videotaped him as he sang the national anthem. Great weekend. Great guy. Sadly missed.
I just came across this video and the playing of Wichita Lineman got me all teared up, watching my favorite guitar player playing my other favorite musician's song. Doyle, have you ever seen the video of Glen Campbell playing Gentle on My Mind for Chet Atkins, Roy Clark, etc? That video made me realize what an outstanding musician Glen Campbell was. Unfortunately, he had already passed on then.
These things are legendary, super stars have used them like glen etc.. but where these shine was in tony rices albums where they go unmistakably for his martin d28. It just shows that tone is in the hands
It finally hit me, watching this video: Ovations are celebrated as acoustic-electrics, because they sound the same acoustically or plugged in - that is, their acoustic tonality sounds just like a piezo pickup signal! That’s now they achieve a consistency for the sound.
Love your stories, playing and presentation's as always. It's surprising to find that Ovation guitar pricing is nearing CFM custom shop prices. Who would have thought? 🙏🏼🔈
Doyle thanks for the information. I am also an owner of a Glen Campbell Signature Model. It has a crack going from the bridge. I put a little glue and it plays great. I discovered the sound projected really loud tuned to D. Best of luck. No pick up on this one, signature on neck cover.
Love it, love the Glen Campbell tunes and your background with Ovation. I bought my Ovation in 1976, looked just like that one, I don’t remember its model number. Best guitar acoustic guitar I’ve ever played and I still regret that I sold it. God bless you and thanks for your music.
Yep you will see a re-occuring theme with previous Ovation guitar owners goes something like this. I bought an Ovation guitar years ago. I sold it, and regreted it. I currently have 3 guitars that ive kept over the years, but still once in a while think of that old Ovation I used to have. Well have been doing alot of research and have the money saved, going down to special order/and painfully have to wait, but picking up a TX-1776. Some people love em, others dislike em but hey, to each his own and what makes you happy. -Cheers
Awesome as always. I got chewed out one time when I showed up at my weekly classical guitar lesson (U.N.M.) with my friend's country artist. It was so worth it...I loved that guitar lol.
You mentioned Hewgley's Music. I worked for them at the downtown Nashville store for a short time in the mid-nineties. Such great folks, and a cool little music shop. A crying shame those type stores are all but gone.
I worked two summers and saved my money . In the month of august mother and my aunt took me to Nashville back in the day. We went to the old show bud music,where there were acres of guitars . Of course i chose the glenn Campbell ovation 12 string.
I am looking forward to seeing the Guitar Poor post. Every guitar has a story. Can’t wait to hear about yours. Wichita Lineman was the first song I ever learned to play in 1968 I think,,,,even though I didn’t know how to tune a guitar yet. Got my first ovation in 1977.
So sorry to hear about your Ovation getting stolen. I had a Glen Campbell model that was stolen from me when I lived outside of Knoxville in the early 80s. Broke my heart and left me guitarless. I saved my money and found a used electric 72 Les Paul Custom for 150 dollars. God was taking care of me and I really liked the Les Paul and made some good music with it. Thanks for sharing your stories with us Brother.
Ovation guitars have a beautiful sound to them still have my old one too Dixie (Mo). I love your excellence in playing your guitar. You are some guitarist
In 1972 I walked into a guitar store on Hollywood Blvd. and there on the wall were about 20 Ovation six string balladeers marked $169... I ask the guy behind the counter if he had one of those Ovation's that Jerry Reed and Glen Campbell were playing on the T.V. show...Oh that is called the Country Artist, a nylon string guitar with 14 frets off the body. He did not have one but said he would get me one in a week, $220 without pickup $300 with one. So I have had that guitar for 50 years now still waiting for someone to play something worth while on it...
I had a deep bowl Ovation Celebrity that I sold after putting on weight. I realise now that using a capo on the 2nd fret would have resolved the problem, but it was the best sounding guitar I have owned.
Great video. Hey, you don't happen to have a transcript or sheet music for the version of Wichita Lineman that you played, do you? I could MAYBe figure it out from the video but it always helps to have the sheet in front of one. Thanks for all the great music and that is JUST for this one video, man!
Amazing as always DD!! Perhaps a tutorial of the Bubbgad tune? My all time favorite. Possibly one for “Battle in the Valley of Elah”? I drove down to see you play the Opry several years ago and sent a note backstage requesting it. Not sure if you ever got it. I’m well aware that that song likely requires a certain setup for the low tuning and you probably didn’t have it with you though. Didn’t figure it hurt to ask. Been a fan for years. Thanks so much.
I used to have an Ovation guitar back in the 70’s. I hated that round back and that tinny artificial sound because of the fiberglass body, so i sold it and bought a Martin D28.
You are a great guitarist and you make it sound better, but like all Ovations, that guitar sounds terrible. Awful rattle when you strum down the strings. Never understood why anyone would play an Ovation, if other options were available.
Of all the many US models that I own,and others I have played, each one has its unique different sound. Some bad, mostly great! Especially the 12 stringers! (US Legend models)
