I want to say first that I think Laura has written a wonderful article here. I've been playing for 30 years, and I definitely agree that acoustics and electrics each do different things very very well. I do not agree with everything Laura has to say about Ovations and other hybrids. I've been playing Ovations for 27 years, and I guess my take is a little different.
Every acousic guitar has something it does really well. Guilds, Martins, Ovations, etc. each have a characteristic sound. Which sound works for you is very personal. The Ovations are known for three things: consistency, resonance, and balance. In my experience, no other guitar does these three things as well as an Ovation. They also have some of the best built-in pickups in the world for acoustic players. How important these are to you is a matter of taste, so let me explain what I mean.
By consistency, I mean that if you pick out two ovations of any given model from two stores in two different countries on two sides of the globe, they will sound very very close to each other. This is because the back of the guitar is plastic, which can be manufactured in a predictable way. One of the really nice things about a Martin/Guild/etc. is that your guitar may be the only one in the world that sounds a certain way. On the other hand, if your guitar is crushed by an airplane door on the way to someplace where you need to perform (as happened to me), and you need to replace it in a hurry, this can be really frustrating. Honestly, most players won't (and shouldn't) care that much about this, because they aren't going to be in this situation. The point is mainly that you should listen carefully to whatever instrument you buy, and don't hesitate to ask for another of the same model if you hear something strange -- the next one may not do that.
By resonance, well, every guitar has resonance. On any acoustic guitar, you pluck the string, you get some initial noise, then sound, then the sound decays. The unusual thing about a roundback (any roundback, not just Ovations) is that because of the body shape the sound reinforces itself (amplifies) before it decays. A roundback can let you play to a room of 600 people *without* amplification, and without whacking the heck out of your strings. I've done it. More importantly, if you're buying a first or second guitar for your child, I've seen teenagers do it. Ovations in particular are known for being fairly loud guitars (relative to other acoustics). Not loud enough to qualify as an assault weapon -- if you want one of those, get a banjo. :-) Jokes aside, try plucking a banjo with a tone ring attached when you're in the store, just to hear the difference up close.
By balance, I mean that the Ovation is neither base heavy nor treble heavy. Pick up a Guild and you will here that the bass end of the spectrum comes across very strongly. Play the same chord on a Martin and you'll hear the treble part standing out. Play that chord on an Ovation and you'll get a pretty much equal response across all strings. None of these is better than the others. It's a matter of taste. Laura, obviously, loves the sound of her Guild. It works for her. If I were mainly a strummer, I think that I would probably like the Martin sound -- it's easier for me to heavy bass with a pick than a heavy treble. But I'm mainly a finger picker. What I want is an even sound where I get to choose what comes off the instrument. There are songs where I use a heavier touch on the bass strings (harder on a Martin, which has a strong treble), others on the treble (Harder on a Guild, which has a strong bass), and still others in the middle (which I couldn't do as easily on a Guild or a Martin). My personal opinion is that the Ovation is a great beginner instrument if you are playing in a summer camp or a song leader sort of role (because of the resonance), probably a tougher instrument for a beginning picker, but a really terrific instrument for someone who has greater skills at picking -- and especially at finger picking.
From a playing perspective, an Ovation (and most of the Hybrids out there) plays just like an acoustic, and its adaptable in amplified situations. In 30 years of listening to a bunch of great guitars and various pickups I've never heard a pickup that works as well as the built-in pickups on the Ovations.
Finally, stay away from the Celebrity line. 20 years later and they still don't tune right. Like anything else in life, you get what you pay for. The Elite or the Balladeer line can be had at very reasonable prices. By the time you grow out of either of them, you certainly won't need my advice on what guitar to buy.
wow thats a long post.
Hi, Im mike
"I dont know what world war III will be fought with, but world war IV will be fought with sticks and stones" -Albert Einstien
Thanks for all of the info! How do you feel about the durability of the Ovations? Someone always seems to chime in on discussions about Ovations and say that the back will come unglued from the top. Any validity to this claim?
"My ex-boyfriend can't tell me I've sold out, because he's in a cult, and he's not allowed to talk to me." --Dar Williams
Thanks for all of the info! How do you feel about the durability of the Ovations? Someone always seems to chime in on discussions about Ovations and say that the back will come unglued from the top. Any validity to this claim?
My guitar teacher has an Ovation and says it's his favourite one in his rack of guitars. He's had it for a few years now and when I bought an Ovation copy, I mentioned to him about my worries about the plastic and wood separating. He said there is no sign of this on his Ovation and he has never heard of it actually happening - he thinks it's just one of those urban rumours that get around.
I am only a beginner but I love the sound of my Ovation copy (a Martinez).
I have heard that the Celebrity line on the low end has had face separation problems. I can't speak from any direct experience about the Celebrity line. Doesn't matter to me what the face does on the Celebrity, since they don't stay in tune worth a damn anyway.
I currently own a Custom Legend and a long-neck six-string Ovation, and I gave away a Custom Elite twelve string last month. I haven't had any problems with face separation. I bought the twelve string in 1984, the Custom Legend about the same time, and the long neck as a fallback instrument for performance purposes in 1994 or 1995 (it quickly became my primary). I've never had a problem with any of them. I always detune when traveling, and I always give the instruments time to settle in at local temperature before retuning -- this is important with ny guitar, but probably more so when the face and the back are different materials that adjust to ambient temperature at different rates.
Previous to these, I had a really low end Ovation -- it was just above the Celebrity line, but only just. Bought that around 1981. Never did tune properly, because it was cheaply manufactured, but I never had a separation problem.
But I should probably add one thing. I went into GuitarCenter recently before giving away my 12-string, because I wanted to know what an equivalent guitar would cost these days. Back when I bought it, it was something like $1500 or $1600. Looks like these days its down at $800 or $900. My sense is that if I were buying today I'ld buy a Custom Legend, I suspect the quality difference matters. But then, I'm well past the stage where I'm likely to give up playing. Heck, my six month old is already learning to play a midi drum set, and I gotta keep up with the tyke.
Shap,
I'm glad you enjoyed the Acoustic v.Electric article. I really appreciate your comments on the Ovation line! You've obviously had much more experience with them than I have and I'm glad you've shared that with everyone.
I'm wondering if the few Ovations I've tried are the low end models, I confess I did not pay attention to the line, as they have been handed to me by friends to play. I jammed with friends over this last weekend and I was quite pleasantly surprised by the Ovation Wes Inman handed me. The resonance was wonderful.
I stand corrected on the pickups; since I've rarely used an Ovation in a performance situation, I have not had the opportunity to truly compare the sounds. And I do appreciate that the consistency of the Ovation is fantastic in the door smashing example. I don't travel with the beloved Guild as I've heard tragic stories from one too many players.
Guitars are a personal choice; one of the beautiful things about them is you can own more than one, and use them as you see fit. I'll certainly give another look at the Ovation lines you've suggested and who knows? There could be another Lasley Guitar acquistion soon. :wink:
Finally, stay away from the Celebrity line. 20 years later and they still don't tune right. Like anything else in life, you get what you pay for. The Elite or the Balladeer line can be had at very reasonable prices. By the time you grow out of either of them, you certainly won't need my advice on what guitar to buy.
I purchased a Celebrity, and while I have had no problems with mine, I would say looking back I would have to agree. I was offered an Elite for only about $150 more dollars than what I paid for the Celebrity and had I read this post I probably would have gone for it. The Celebritys are pretty nice but I do have to tune mine a little more often than I would have expected. The craftsmanship is nice but not near as nice as the Elite.
I guess what I am saying is that for the price difference, you can get alot more guitar with the Elite over the Celebrity.
Geoo
“The hardest thing in life is to know which bridge to cross and which to burn” - David Russell (Scottish classical Guitarist. b.1942)
I'm a convert.
Great guitars. Great pickups. Great acoustic sound with a deep bowl. Also probably the best 12 string in the business.
Dunno Nick, I think the Ovation piezo pickup sound is one of those love/hate things. I find the amplified Ovation sound too edgy to enjoy. Granted, Ovation has pioneered that timbre and done a good job of creating a unique and identifiable amplified voice -- It just doesn't work for me. However, to be fair, it isn't really a purely Ovation issue. I find the same is true of Takamine.
As far as an Ovation's durability, one had to see Paul's old Ovation at RJ2005 to believe it. The most beat-up, cracked-top guitar I've ever seen in use. Second only to Willy Nelson's Trigger as a guitar subjected to S&M with no boundries, yet still going strong.
-=tension & release=-
No argument from me there. The preamp plays a big part in it too.
