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Topic: Ovation guitars closing |
Len Amaral
From:
Rehoboth,MA 02769
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Pete Nicholls
From:
Macon, Georgia, USA
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Posted 1 Sep 2014 4:16 am |
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What a shame! Guess if I want a hard case for mine, I better get one now.
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Barry Blackwood
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Posted 1 Sep 2014 7:33 am
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| I, for one, won't miss them. Their innovations came at too great a sacrifice to the tone. |
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Niels Andrews
From:
Salinas, California, USA
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Posted 1 Sep 2014 7:59 am
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They were trick when they first came out, but they never quite had the tone that made them desirable. I don't think they will ever be a collectible.
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Jerry Hayes
From:
Virginia Beach, Va.
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Posted 1 Sep 2014 8:17 am
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What's all the fuss about the tone? Ovations had/and have a very nice tone. Some of the thinner models might be a little "thin" in the tone dept. but the deep bowl guitars can hold their own. Also for acoustic/electric players their "plugged in" sound was very nice. If you want to hear good Ovation Tone just put on any Jim Croce recording and you'll hear it all over the place as that's what he and his lead guitarist (both now deceased) used exclusively... Check out the pretty work on "Time In A Bottle" for instance.
I have an old Ovation which is almost forty years old and is the Pride of the Fleet as far as my acoustic guitars go... The necks on these instruments are to die for as they play so easy and true. Martins suck for playability and they can't really be set up for low action playing without a neck reset. My Ovation also has a B-Bender made by Richard Bowden down in Texas... All you have to do to install it is take the strings off, hold the bender unit behind the bridge and put the strings back through the bender and the bridge. It works flawlessly (see pix)...JH in Va.
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Joachim Kettner
From:
Germany
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John De Maille
From:
On a Mountain in Upstate Halcottsville, N.Y.
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Posted 1 Sep 2014 9:09 am
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I have 2 Ovation acoustic/electrics, and they both play well and sound good to my ears. When plugged into an amp or PA system they both have a rich tone to them, which can be adjusted by the sound system or by the EQ on the guitar.
I do remember the first time I saw one, though. An Ovation salesman came into a music store, that, I liked to frequent with one. My first impression was, man, I like the top, but, that back has got to go. I played it for a while and was slightly impressed with it. Then, the salesman took it by the neck and smashed the back down on the countertop and said " I'd like to see you do that with a Martin or Gibson Hummingbird ". I was in shock to say the least. There was no damage at all. In fact, it was still in tune! He said that the back was made from the same material that jet canopies were made off, some sought of Kevlar or something like that. I still wasn't too convinced with the looks though. I bought one several years later and just bought another one 2 years ago. If you can get over the weird back, they're good guitars to play and sound pretty good too. It's a shame that Made in the USA is going down the tubes again by outsourcing. Another "American" company being lost. |
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chris ivey
From:
california (deceased)
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Posted 1 Sep 2014 9:14 am
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| as much as they may be organically incorrect, ovations brought acoustic guitars to the electrified stage. and as glen demonstrates, they were as playable as an electric guitar. great clip joachim. i didn't realize ovations were still being made. |
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Rick Campbell
From:
Sneedville, TN, USA
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Posted 1 Sep 2014 9:49 am
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Does this mean there is going to be a surplus of plastic on the market? 
RC |
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Andy Volk
From:
Boston, MA
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Posted 1 Sep 2014 11:17 am
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I'm not a fan of Ovations or their tone but they deserve their due in guitar history. Charles Kamen was a visionary in adapting aircraft industry technology to the guitar and for a good couple of years, they were the best solution for pro players who needed a plug-and-play amplified acoustic.
Larry Coryell was another highly visible early endorser.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XIPLwoiL71o
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Barry Blackwood
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Posted 1 Sep 2014 8:16 pm
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| Quote: |
I'm not a fan of Ovations or their tone but they deserve their due in guitar history. Charles Kamen was a visionary in adapting aircraft industry technology to the guitar and for a good couple of years, they were the best solution for pro players who needed a plug-and-play amplified acoustic.
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I agree, Andy, but the fact that they are closing speaks volumes to me.. |
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Peter Huggins
From:
Van Nuys, California, USA
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Posted 1 Sep 2014 10:01 pm
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| Quote: |
Posted: 1 Sep 2014 9:16pm Post subject:
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Quote:
I'm not a fan of Ovations or their tone but they deserve their due in guitar history. Charles Kamen was a visionary in adapting aircraft industry technology to the guitar and for a good couple of years, they were the best solution for pro players who needed a plug-and-play amplified acoustic.
I agree, Andy, but the fact that they are closing speaks volumes to me..
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They are closing because the parent company, Fender or rather FMIC, is closing them. Kaman was a dedicated guitarist who, before he started his own guitar company, tried without success to buy Martin and also Harmony (and was turned down by both). He spent a massive amount of his own money to keep Ovation in business. He was eventually rewarded, but it was a long sell. The first endorsee was Josh White and Glen Campbell was the second.
FMIC will continue to build Ovation product, in their overseas factories in China, Korea and Indonesia. But as to the New Haven, Conn. factory, well, it is no longer needed to build Guild guitars, as FMIC has sold that brand to Cordoba. Time will tell if the guitar buying public will accept their Guilds coming from Oxnard, CA; But Guild gets Ren Ferguson in the deal! They are far better off then the brands that Fender has acquired and quietly put to sleep. Goodbye US Ovation, RIP, along with SWR, Sunn, Hamer (another Kaman brand) and Tacoma. Thanks Fender! 
Oh, and the Bowden B-bender is very cool ! 
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A big THANKS to all my friends, here and everywhere ! |
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Joe Casey
From:
Weeki Wachee .Springs FL (population.9)
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Posted 2 Sep 2014 5:52 am
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I have had several Ovations. My first one I bought from Texas Steeler Jim Smith. It was a deep bowl. The next was a thin bowl Glen Campbell model that was given to me by Dick Curliss to which when I retired from playing I gave it to Richard bass. That was while he was still with Faron.. Then I had one stolen right off the stage of Springfield Mass's infamous Ranch house. They left the case.
Last edited by Joe Casey on 11 Sep 2014 5:59 am; edited 1 time in total |
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Mark Eaton
From:
Sonoma County in The Great State Of Northern California
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Posted 2 Sep 2014 7:48 am
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We had a discussion about this a few months ago on Reso-Nation. I've lifted some of what I wrote there, so that I don't have to start from scratch:
A buddy of mine still has a left-handed model that he bought back in the early '70s after he got out of the Navy. Great sounding guitar.
Fender had moved their "red headed foster child" Guild into the facility at Ovation several years ago and I have played some fantastic guitars from the Guild Orpheum Series that would go toe-to-toe with just about anything out there, and they also made some Fender Acoustic Custom Shop guitars in New Hartford. They had a few of those on display at Fender in Southern California when I was there to take the tour last September, really nice guitars.
It's too bad that an American company doesn't buy the Ovation line, as Cordoba did the Guild line and the upper level guitars will be built here in California. There will still be the Chinese-built Ovations, but with all the choices out there in higher end acoustic guitars these days I guess when it comes to the more expensive models, Ovation's time had come and gone.
Many people don't know that on the recording of what is perhaps his most famous instrumental piece, "Manzanita," Tony Rice did not play his legendary 1935 D-28 that had once belonged to Clarence White, but it was an Ovation.
When it comes to high end acoustic guitars, alternative materials in the minds of many still aren't cool. I don't believe this is another episode of sending an American company overseas because the labor is cheaper. The only brand of blue jeans I've worn since I was about 12 is Levi's. When they sent the maufacturing overseas so they could remain competitive, I wasn't suddenly getting 505s cheaper. They were the same retail price as before, they just didn't skyrocket to the price of the ridiculous "designer jeans" and still be produced in the U.S.A.
Ovation already had the Asian line for years. Sales had dropped off on the high end guitars built in Connecticut. When it came to acoustic/electrics for plugged-in stage work Ovation was way ahead of the curve in the '70s and '80s. The rest of the acoustic guitar industry, with the help of companies like Fishman and L.R. Baggs has caught up.
When it comes to higher end acoustic guitars people for the most part still want wood. Particularly since acoustic guitar sales picked up in the '90s with the success of MTV Unplugged shows from the likes of Eric Clapton and Nirvana, and sales also escalated with the increased popularity of Roots, Americana and Bluegrass music, and spending a bunch of one's hard earned money for your dream acoustic, with all the great choices out there - apparently most folks don't opt for an Ovation.
There's no question that composite materials can make for great guitars. Tim Stafford of Blue Highway has been playing for years as his main road guitar a CA (Composite Acoustics). I have seen Blue Highway seven or eight times and the only guitar I've seen Tim play is the CA. You can leave those things out in the rain overnight and it might be still in tune when you retrieve it in the morning. But that company was having financial problems as well. Peavey purchased Composite Acoustics about four years ago and with his reputation as a sharp businessman, I have no doubt that Hartley Peavey got the company for a great price.
The benchmark of retail guitar stores in the Bay Area is Gryphon in Palo Alto at the northern end of Silicon Valley. The median housing price right now in Palo Alto is just over $2,000,000. The are guitar playing managers and executives in the region who are regular customers of Gryphon. There are no new high end Ovation guitars in that store and haven't been for as long as I can remember. They carry as new flattop guitars Martin, Taylor, Bourgeois, Collings, Huss & Dalton, Santa Cruz, and a small number of guitars from independent/one man or woman shops. They also have as imports what are probably the best of the best as far as Chinese-built guitars, the Eastman brand.
Acoustic guitar playing folks with a healthy wallet apparently are not opting for a high end Ovation, but as I wrote earlier, there must still be some value in the name Guild (think "wood"), since Cordoba purchased the brand from Fender and will continue to make the high end models in Southern California.
_________________
Mark |
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Tim Whitlock
From:
Colorado, USA
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Posted 2 Sep 2014 9:06 am
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| Andy Volk wrote: |
I'm not a fan of Ovations or their tone but they deserve their due in guitar history. Charles Kamen was a visionary in adapting aircraft industry technology to the guitar and for a good couple of years, they were the best solution for pro players who needed a plug-and-play amplified acoustic.
Larry Coryell was another highly visible early endorser.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XIPLwoiL71o |
This video confirms my dislike for Ovations. McLaughlin's Ovation sounds thin, quacky, toneless and buzzy compared to Paco's guitar. It's embarrassingly bad! |
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Earnest Bovine
From:
Los Angeles CA USA
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Posted 2 Sep 2014 9:15 am
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| Did they ever figure out how to build a flat side so they don't slide off your leg? |
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Mark Eaton
From:
Sonoma County in The Great State Of Northern California
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Posted 2 Sep 2014 9:25 am
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In the past decade they came out with some different shaped "bowls" on Ovations, I've played a few in stores and they were a big improvement over the original designs as far as trying to slide off your lap.
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Mark |
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Andy Volk
From:
Boston, MA
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Posted 2 Sep 2014 9:48 am
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Yep. Ovations usually sounded like crap, slid off your lap at the slightest provocation and had a real funky, granola 70's aesthetic in the headstock shape and sound hole design. Nevertheless, they were created by someone who had a vision for a new and high-quality product and tried to realize that vision and they influenced the on-board electronics that are now mainstream even on guitars from venerable makers like Martin. I wouldn't play one, don't like 'em etc. but they are historically important instruments. Telecasters are timeless but Ovations seem rooted in the 70s & 80s. As Rickenbacker proved with their Bakelite steels plastic doesn't have to sound bad.
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Chris Walke
From:
St Charles, IL
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Posted 2 Sep 2014 11:42 am
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My first acoustic (first one I bought for myself) was an Ovation. I was a teenager, it was AWESOME. Heck, Al DiMeola played one - they had to be great guitars, right?
...well, not when ya buy their economy line, "Celebrity," but hey, first guitars, like first amps, tend to be bad choices. |
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Alan Brookes
From:
Brummy living in Southern California
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Posted 2 Sep 2014 11:45 am
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| Jerry Hayes wrote: |
| ...My Ovation also has a B-Bender made by Richard Bowden down in Texas... All you have to do to install it is take the strings off, hold the bender unit behind the bridge and put the strings back through the bender and the bridge... |
It looks from the design of that B-bender that you could fit several of them to one guitar. It might be a better alternative to the Duesenberg Multibender.
I have an early Ovation 12-string, with the slotted machine head, which I think looks better than the later design. I have eleven 12-string guitars, and, as 12-strings go, I wouldn't rank it as #1, but it has a distinctive sound, which the 6-string Ovations don't have. It will be a shame to see the Ovations go. I like to see innovation in design, and the bowl back owed a lot to the design of the lute, where the purpose of the back is to reflect back the sounds rather than be part of the sounding board. Yes, they slid off your lap, and I believe that that is the main reason that the lute gave way to the guitar over the years: it was difficult to hold: you certainly couldn't play it on horseback like some of the paintings of the old troubadours suggest.
Should we assume that the cheaper versions, such as the Applause range, will disappear, too? |
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Mark Eaton
From:
Sonoma County in The Great State Of Northern California
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Posted 2 Sep 2014 3:22 pm
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The plan is, for now, that the cheaper Asian-built guitars will still be produced.
I guess the big question was on the fairly expensive New Hartford built Ovations. If one is going to spend some fairly big dough on a new acoustic guitar these days with the plethora of choices including the big three American companies (Martin, Gibson, Taylor) and the seemingly endless choices from mid-sized to small builders, would you choose an Ovation?
Apparently most people were saying "no."
Which begs the question - why did Fender buy the company to begin with? If the brand was in a downward spiral, it doesn't seem like a very good business decision.
One thing I read from a guy in the guitar biz was that the Fender Sales & Marketing team wasn't very fired up about pushing the American-built Ovations what with all the competition on the higher end, and they were having more success pushing the cheaper Asian-built versions.
If that's true, and folks were passing over American-built Ovations while guitar shopping and going through the decision making process, then I guess it falls under the heading of "the people have spoken."
I have a Martin dreadnought from their Custom Shop on which I took delivery three years ago this month. When I was guitar shopping for a higher level instrument, I don't recall ever thinking, "Gee, maybe I ought to look into an Ovation."
_________________
Mark
Last edited by Mark Eaton on 2 Sep 2014 3:29 pm; edited 1 time in total |
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Alan Brookes
From:
Brummy living in Southern California
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Posted 2 Sep 2014 3:28 pm
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| Mark Eaton wrote: |
| ...I have a Martin dreadnought from their Custom Shop on which I took delivery three years ago this month. When I was guitar shopping for a higher level instrument, I don't recall ever thinking, "Gee, maybe I ought to look into an Ovation." |
If I wanted a new guitar I would go for a Martin. I wouldn't even consider buying a new Ovation, no matter what the price. |
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James Huey
From:
Wichita Falls, Texas, USA
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Posted 2 Sep 2014 4:13 pm
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Me, I like them and I like the tone, too. I am wondering how this will effect used Ovations for sale in guitar shops and at pawn shops or such places? Will they increase in value or decrease? May be some great buys out there to be had once they close the doors or it may work the opposite way and prices jump upward on a used one.
I also hate to see any shop in America close the doors, as that does not help our economy one little bit, let alone those who lose their jobs at closing. That is just sad for America in my humble opinion.
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Russ Wever
From:
Kansas City
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Posted 2 Sep 2014 10:08 pm
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The late ~>Jim Gurley, who with Bob Dekam
produced the Dekley steel guitars, was also
Sales & Marketing Director of Ovation.
~Rw
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Jack Hanson
From:
San Luis Valley, USA
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Posted 3 Sep 2014 7:39 am
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| Earnest Bovine wrote: |
| Did they ever figure out how to build a flat side so they don't slide off your leg? |
Exactly! I purchased a new Balladeer in the early '70s. Because my stomach goes out instead of in, it always ended up with the treble side angled out like T-Bone Walker. Even with that nice neck, it made playing difficult at that odd angle.
Many Ovations are decent sounding axes when new, but they don't seem to sound much better due to aging and usage compared to an all wood guitar.
Very innovative for their time, but then so was the ENIAC. |
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