[Permanent Waves]

I bought one of the cheaper line Celebrity models back in 1990 for about $300. It had a single cutaway and a natural spruce top. The electronics were nothing fancy, there was just a tone and a volume and a jack in the back of the bowl. I think the bowl was the regular one, not shallow, and not particularly comfortable. I was planning to use it on a walk-up stand at some point but the types of stands I could find at the time did not work with the bowl, I needed a custom one. The guitar sounded OK acoustically but a little shrill when plugged into an amp. It had a comfortable neck but not a comfortable body. I got rid of it around 1997 and had a hard time selling it. I've since replaced it with Takamines and Normans and was happier with the more traditional design. I never got to try one of the older, better-made models that seem to go for big bucks these days but I don't think I would ever recommend one.

 

[Wardo]

In about 78 I rolled into Edmagoon with just this and a backpack.
Stayed till the Northers come rollin down the line.
And headed south when summer turned to fall… lol

 

[Hammerhands]

My first guitar teacher had one, a 60s or 70s version with the deep bowl. I remember it had one knob, but it was never plugged in. It sounded great to my ears, I recall it was loud enough to keep all the dozen or so kids on-beat. We all got a chance to play it one day.

I desired one like that for a very long time but never bought one.

The less expensive of the original Yamaha APX guitars had backs of similar material but were too shallow to sound good acoustically.

Wasn't it Glen Campbell who encouraged Ovation to build the shallow bowls? There were shallow bowls and even shallower bowls.

 

[Wardo]

My first guitar teacher had one, a 60s or 70s version with the deep bowl. I remember it had one knob, but it was never plugged in. It sounded great to my ears, I recall it was loud enough to keep all the dozen or so kids on-beat. We all got a chance to play it one day.

I desired one like that for a very long time but never bought one.

The less expensive of the original Yamaha APX guitars had backs of similar material but were too shallow to sound good acoustically.

Wasn't it Glen Campbell who encouraged Ovation to build the shallow bowls? There were shallow bowls and even shallower bowls.

Mine has one knob for volume and it’s the shallow bowl for that time which means that there’s less than 3/4” difference from the deep bowl. Playing some songs and singing with it tonight unplugged and thinking it’s got a lot of good mid range but I probably should’ve got the deep bowl be more useful unplugged and a bit better tone - Although it’s a pretty loud guitar even with a shallow bowl.

 

[DesolationAngel]

Stumbled upon this cornucopia of Ovation-y stuff... best viewed in Netscape Navigator 3 on a monitor with at least 640 x 480 pixels (all snark aside, I do appreciate people who curate and collate this kinda data).

 

[elburnando]

I thought they looked cool when I was a kid. When a friend of mine, the most absolute broke stoner in town, who couldn't even manage to keep a job at Subway for a second day, ended up with one I knew it had to be shit.
It sounds okay, but it's pretty much impossible to play sitting down without some sort of MacGyver'n.

 

[Okay Player]

It sounds okay, but pretty much impossible to play sitting down without some sort of MacGyver'n.

So it's a Gibson?

 

[Jim Soloway]

They pretty much single handedly made the acoustic guitar a practical instrument in a loud band setting. They also made guitars that were much more durable and roadworthy than traditional acoustics. It was the ultimate and single minded focus on "the guitar as a tool" without compromise.

 

[mhammer]

Understand that, if one intends to produce anything in larger quantities, it is imperative that raw materials be obtainable in large and sustainable quantities. All well and good to be picky about wood if you're a luthier who makes maybe 50-100 guitars a year for custom orders. But if you plan on making and selling several thousand, quantity and consistency of wood will be a challenge. The fibreglass "bowl" solved that problem for Ovation/Kaman to a large extent. When Danelectro attempted to produce inexpensive guitars for the mass market, they solved the issue of quantity/consistency by using cheap poplar for the core, and masonite for the tops and back. Gibson, at various points used varieties of MDF for the bodies of Kalamazoo solid-bodies and other models later in the '70s. I might add that, having no parallel sides, any standing waves also became less of an issue for Ovation roundbacks; a part of why they are less susceptible to acoustic feedback.

 

[Doug Gifford]

It comes from a time when high tech was considered sexy all round. Remember when you could buy "Astronaut Food" at the supermarket? Someday we'll be similarly puzzled by cigar box guitars.

That said, the fact that Glen Campbell used them on TV made them seem like a desirable instrument. Until I tried one years later and… yuck.

 

[mhammer]

It comes from a time when high tech was considered sexy all round. Remember when you could buy "Astronaut Food" at the supermarket? Someday we'll be similarly puzzled by cigar box guitars.

That said, the fact that Glen Campbell used them on TV made them seem like a desirable instrument. Until I tried one years later and… yuck.

I actually HAVE that album on vinyl. Great album from a great band. British-sounding name, but California roots. I also have their single "Postcard From Jamaica".

 

[Milkman]

I don't have an Ovation guitar, but I've played a few. Some were great, some so so.

This little mandolin is a really nice player, and has a good sounding pickup.

 

[bgreenhouse]

My Dad has always wanted one because he was an investor in Kaman helicopter stock. Thought it would be a neat tie in, but never did it. I've played one a few times and agree - in the 80s and 90s they were a way to get "the sound", Takamine being the other way. But I agree, playing with one standing up or sitting down, the rounded back would roll the guitar on you, it was very offputting.

 

[Jim Soloway]

I remember playing an Ovation Adamas at the Hollywood Guitar Center (that probably means around 1991) and being really stunned with how good it sounded. Nothing cheap sounding about this.

 

[Greg Ellis]

It was Nancy Wilson that got me interested in these, way back when.

I remember test driving a few in the early-to-mid 80s (and a few times more recently).

I had a lot of trouble with the slippery round back - it just did not work well for me if I was playing while sitting down, which is how I play most of the time.

They did some pretty colors, and it's a neat idea, but I'll choose a traditional dreadnought any day of the week - it's just more comfortable and familiar to me.

 

[Sketchy Jeff]

i was on the edge of buying an Ovation in the late '80s but then Takamine had an upgraded version of their piezo and pre-amp system and i went with that instead. I paid just under $2K for the guitar and later that summer bought a car to haul it around in for $1K. Same basic principle as Ovation except without the plastic back - durable, reliable, flexible and you could plug it in to pretty much any type of amplification and it would work or straight into a DI box and off to the board dry as a bone. I still have it and Tak still uses essentially the same pickup and pre-amp system in their new stuff. Loud venue use it ike it is. Quiet stage with more attention to detail mix it 40/60 with a mic at the soundhole and there's nothing wrong with that as an amplified acoustic guitar sound.
j

 

[Doug Gifford]

I actually HAVE that album on vinyl. Great album from a great band. British-sounding name, but California roots. I also have their single "Postcard From Jamaica".

I had it, too, at one point. A lovely, sweet record.

 

[alphasports]

I bought a Hartford-built 1778 T Elite cutaway several years ago, at a pawnshop for $400. It'll be the last guitar I sell (mostly because I'd probably have a hard time getting $250!!!), it sounds fantastic and plays even better. Been thru a ton of Martins, Collings, etc but this one stays. Quite remarkable since all my other guitars are hi-enders. Everyone who's never played one loves to bash 'em. I will confess they are horrific to play standing up, with the damned round back, but I play sitting anyway with no issues.

 

[gtrguy]

i was on the edge of buying an Ovation in the late '80s but then Takamine had an upgraded version of their piezo and pre-amp system and i went with that instead. I paid just under $2K for the guitar and later that summer bought a car to haul it around in for $1K. Same basic principle as Ovation except without the plastic back - durable, reliable, flexible and you could plug it in to pretty much any type of amplification and it would work or straight into a DI box and off to the board dry as a bone. I still have it and Tak still uses essentially the same pickup and pre-amp system in their new stuff. Loud venue use it ike it is. Quiet stage with more attention to detail mix it 40/60 with a mic at the soundhole and there's nothing wrong with that as an amplified acoustic guitar sound.
j

Like the Ovation pickup, the Takamine Palathetic pickup used on the Japanese made guitars is outstanding compared to most other piezo designs. Both used much larger piezo elements than your typical UST.

 

[gtrguy]

I remember playing an Ovation Adamas at the Hollywood Guitar Center (that probably means around 1991) and being really stunned with how good it sounded. Nothing cheap sounding about this.

I've played a few Adamas guitars and they are definitely a notch above any other Ovations I've played. I always liked the non-traditional look of the graphite tops. That one is gorgeous.