Part 1 of 3 from our 40th Anniversary DVD. Take a look at the history and technology behind Ovation guitars, featuring long time Ovation players such as Al DiMeola, Melissa Etheridge, Kaki King, Steve Lukather and Glen Campbell.
The 1st time I saw one was on "The Partridge Family" tv show then my uncle came home from the Air Force with a Balladeer, Loved it so I bought a 1984 Aniversary Edition and still have & play it often.
The 1st instrument brand that really captures my attention, & later led me into learning and playing music over a decade ago. My 1st experience seeing an Ovation was thru my fav band; German rock legends, Scorpions. Believe it or not. I was watching the Live in Chile 1994 Dvd, Matthias Jabs & Rudolf Schenker played Ovations during the acoustic segment of the show. They played When The Smoke is Going Down, Always Somewhere, Ave Maria & Holiday. They played Ovation from the 80s all the way into 2001(if I'm not mistaken) for all their acoustic performances, before the guys managed to build their own guitars with Borris Dommenget The tonality was different than any other acoustic I ever heard of, at that point of time. & It looked different too. Even without basic musical knowledge back then, I noticed there was something special about this guitar & this brand. I got a cheap copy-no brand -look alike when I started out in 2005, as my 2nd guitar that my mom boight for me. Fast forward 2020 now I own like 8 guitars altogether & I'm proud to say that I hv improved in terms of my playing. & more importantly, I can afford em now. Maybe its time to finish what I started & get myself an Ovation I truly desires when I was a teenager. 🤘😎
I first heard about Ovation acoustic guitars, interestingly enough, from reading the credits on Poison's 2nd album. Both Bret MIchaels and C.C. DeVille were credited with playing Ovation. I was a huge Poison fan at the time, and it sparked my curiosity into checking out one of their guitars. The way they project the sound is truly unique. The rounded backs and the fact that you didn't need bridge pins to secure the strings definitely piqued my interest. I could string them up by running the strings right through the bridge / tailpiece just like on an electric guitar, and I didn't have to worry about bridge pins breaking off inside the guitar, thus making them a royal pain to remove. The ease of maintenance and unique sound really hooked me on Ovation guitars. Then one day, I saw video footage of Richie Sambora of Bon Jovi playing a triple-neck Ovation (6-string, 12-string and mandolin necks) and thought how cool it was that Ovation does custom builds like that.
Ovations do a neat trick: In the eternal struggle of trying to get an acoustic-electric guitar to have an amplified sound that sounds like its acoustic tone, the Ovation has an acoustic tone that sounds more like its electric sound, but with a natural volume and projection. The player can get the same thing plugged or unplugged.
My thinking exactly. Perfect blend or "marriage" between acoustic and electric. I have several other acoustic guitars..Martin ..Taylor etc. and when pluged in they dont work that special magic like my Ovations.
I have owned & played Ovations since 1976. Other guitars have their good points, but Ovations are just, superior (IMHO)- like, it is HARD TO MAKE A MISTAKE on one! This is not to say that some of their lines (the cheaper, imported ones) can not be inferior, but by-and-large, you FEEL the resonance, and you FEEL the comfort, and you better feel "part of" the instrument with an Ovation (or Adamas). Frankly, I've come to see that square, wooden guitars are made more out of convenience (IMHO).
I have that turtle back guitar also but not ovation brand but same quality of electric acoustic' totally agreed that the unplugged version is good because my guitar is all very good unplugged by the wood itself, action, tone and etc but the downside is the electronics because it shortened loose already because almost 1 decade on age already but still i can use mic clip on mic'd up to the part of sound hole.
I've had an Ovation Legend (1117-1) for nearly 40 years and I've tried nearly every kind of string on it, trying to find one that would compliment the sound of the box (including, I think, ball-end nylons at some point) and a bunch of years ago, I settled on Martin Silk and Steel strings which are, to some extent, nylon-type windings on the low strings and regular steel strings for the 1st and 2nd. Those are the strings that make that guitar sound best. Plus, while similar, winding-wise, a lot cheaper than Elixirs. ;-) Hope that helps.
You had better know what you want in a guitar if want an ovation. It is not a standard sounding acoustic(electric) guitar as it has a lot of ringing/pinging from the sound of the strings resonating against that rounded polymer material back. I find it sounds best in classic rock style ballads and in some country music. Really, research and test out this instrument if you want to own it.
camlpg Its important to note that even the same model of ovation guitar sounds different than another. Certain time periods of construction also seem to make a noticeable difference in tone and feel...took me 2 decades but I found one that has a beautiful rich tone and resonance across the scale. I advise trying as many as you can get your hands on as well...perhaps you will find a rare gem...and when you do...never let it go.
When Leo Fender made the first Ovation he called his assistant, Les Paul and said: "Whatcha thank, dawg?". Les said, "Man, dawg, what it is?". The rest of course is history! Ovation is still produced by the Yamaha Guitar factory out of seconds that are left over from their main-line guitars, Martins. Also each Ovation has a Plutonium impregnated top which gives them the zing-pop-glow-in-the-dark feature! Play one today, tell em Chet Atkins sent ya - Polycarp too!
Al Dimiola shure shreds on the acoustic. Why doesn’t he use an SG or a PRS? He prolly has 48 guitars. He’s seems to always be seen with a black ovation. He must have an endorsement agreement with Ovation where he is only to be seen playing an Ovation, not that he may just love that black Ovation that much
He plays them, because he loves them, and they're comfortable to play. And yes, Ovation made an Al di Meola Signature model, but long after he played other Ovations. How could you not know about those signature guitars? They made them also for Glen Campbell, Melissa Etheridge and many more. If they were not convinced, they wouldn't play them. I believe it's not for the money, because everyone of those stars is already a multi millionaire. But as a matter of fact, I always asked myself, why lots of Superstars, that played Ovations, later turned to Takamine or Taylor guitars. I think, many people don't like that fibre bowl. Ovation was a leader with their pick up system, but other brands copied a lot, or were simply getting better. For me, Ovation is an asian brand today. The produktion ist made in China and Korea. Only Adamas are made in the US. I don't like the new contoured bowls, although the guitars are better to handle. Only my opinium. Oh, by the way. I just read that Ovation now belongs to the German GEWA concern. Old German brand, known for the distribution of traditional instruments. If that fits with Ovation?🤔
Most of the Ovation I came across in the music store did not sound good according to my ears. I don't know why these people said they are so good. I haven't try those coming back in 2018, Korean made??
Coz American made Ovation customized their guitar’s for particular musicians... You can have a copy of that guitar, but you’ll never can have the same original one that, lets say, All De Miola has... Or let see it from the other side: Ibanez. Steve Vay has one. You can make exactly the same one; ... !!! but !!! do know, how many pedals this guy has?????? His sound goes so tricky throughout all this pedals...! To make it sound even close to Steve Vay, you need at least !! $25000 !! to make some of his sound effects!! And you can name one after another: same thing!! So: Ovation, requires at least good acoustic amp; not for electric guitar, no, no, no, but, the acoustic one! Maybe, problem is in the sound engineer.., he can not give you a good and perfect Ovation sound out of your speakers... Who knows?? (P. S. That guy, forgot about the brand of the strings that you have on your Ovation guitar)
lacks warmth for me , im use to a mahogany back n sides , and these seem to always sound like there plugged in, an artificial string pop to them, i dunno.. not for me.
When they first came out in the late 60s they were made by fender! Now they're made by a drum company. When they first came out the only guitar that you could take out of the box and it came with the electronics so you didn't have to mess with microphones and play on stage. Even the action was set good. I played old and the new I believe the old ones are better. Just my opinion
Everybody buying Martin takaminis Guild … Taylor’s .. but I still have my killer ovation that I had for years when I bring it out other guitar players tell me you play a old ovation 😂
If you think Ovation backs are plastic, you need to A) Go back to school and learn what plastic is; this is NOT plastic. L-Y-R-A-C-H-O-R-D. It is more like fiberglass. Do you think that Corvettes are made of PLASTIC?! Come on! Or, B) You are not a very good player; C) NOW, assuming you ARE a decent player, then you have just not played enough Ovations. D) Following "C)", let's be clear on something else: ANY guitar can be set up crappy. Those will sound crappy, always. Any guitar.
This is a solo instrument. Every awesome bass you hear, you're gonna have to chop it out in the mIx. To make it fit the mix. Especially in a rhythm section. I do love it though.
i dont like the round back because 1, its very difficult told hold 2 it dont sound as good.3 the sound hole is non geo symmetrical 4 its the box is plastic or fiberglass same thing junk.
funny I have met several professional musicians who only use these when they play live etc, yngwie malmsteen uses one, you telling us you know more about sound than professional musicians and one of the most famous shredders of all time? Sound is preference, that is all.
I agree that it can be slippery. Two things take care of that. 1. Always use a strap, even when sitting. 2. Glue something like a piece of rubber plave mat to the bottom of the bowl where it contacts your lap. The rest of your comment is unsupported personal opinion. That opinion is contradicted by thousands of other users of Ovations.
The back of the guitar has a nice texture, it sits fine on your knee. The slipping thing is BS. The sound holes are only on a few models. They sound great, look cool and they don’t get blocked by the player’s hand. Ovations are unique, you don’t have to read the headstock to know what kind of guitar it is. Meanwhile everyone else is making the same old dreadnaught over and over and over. Year after year after year. They all look the same. Also, plastic and fiberglass are not the same thing.
Ovation guitars - Unique pieces of shit is what the video should be called. After I made the mistake of buying an Ovation the first time I will never waiste money on a piece of plastic with some rope tied on it again. Terrible guitars.
Al and Melissa play Adamas guitars. They are carbon fiber and very expensive. But they are not affected by climate like a Spruce top Ovation. Adamas is top of the line for Ovation
