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Location: Louisville, OH 44641 | The Ovation web site says the Country Artists are built with a solid Spruce Top. However, here's one that obviously appears to have a top that is seamed up the center. Is this type of construction called "Book Matched"? My intuition says that a top made from a single pc of wood would be better.
So for the people that know more about this than me, my question is "does it make any difference?"
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=33029&item=3749978593&rd=1
Thanks
Jim |
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Location: SoCal | Almost all guitar tops are bookmatched. At least all Ovations are. The term "solid" refers to the top not being a piece of plywood (pieces stacked up on each other), not how many pieces are lined up together (side by side) to make the top. I have an old Ovation from early 1968 which used three pieces of wood to up the top. But all three are solid spruce.
If I'm not being clear on this, maybe somebody else would like to jump in? |
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Location: Scotland | it would be difficult, if not impossible to find spruce wide enough to make a guitar top from a single piece, and any sonic enhancement would be negligible, if at all. Early Ovations had 3 piece tops and they sound just fine. Bookmatching has been standard practice for centuries of instrument makers |
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Location: Louisville, OH 44641 | Thanks Paul and Paul. I understand now. It's an interesting subject. How does Ovation get something like the 2001 Collectors edition top to match up so nicely? I believe this is the African Cherry top. If I remember right, it has kind of a burly look to it. Seems like book matching would difficult to do for something like that.
On a different subject, this guitar is surprisingly beautiful. Do you have a feel if the $600 price is a fair price for the CA? What do they normally go for new?
Thanks.
Jim |
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Location: SoCal | The Country Artist listed for about $1600. The retail price was probably about 2/3's of that. $600 is a fair price for a very good guitar. Just keep in mind that it's not a classical. It won't have as deep a sound as a classical. But if you are looking for a nylon string, with 14 frets to the body, a slightly narrower neck than a classical, and one something that can be plugged in, then it's a terrific guitar.
I've got a Country Artist from 1983 and love it. |
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Location: Ottawa, Ontario, Canada | If my understanding is correct, bookmatching means splitting the wood and using the two pieces; the grain matches because the two pieces are originally from the same piece of wood. |
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Location: SoCal | Duncan, one of the cool things about bookmatched tops is the the grain on one side of the guitar is usually the mirror image of the other side. |
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Location: Scotland | This is an over-simplification but the term "bookmatched" comes from the practice of using a piece of timber half as wide and twice as thick as actually needed. The wood is then split and opened up like a book, which produces the required width and approximate thickness, with the grain lines and any figuring matched symetrically.
PRS are now using a technique they call "slip matching" where there take non-bookmached flamed maple and find pieces that "look right" beside each other. And they charge top dollar for them. You won't find Hamer doing that. |
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Location: 6 String Ranch | book matching means that it is 2 pieces of solid wood, pieces that were right next to each other in the tree. As far as all the the other fancy wood tops that look like one piece, can you say Panelmaster? |
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Location: Phoenix AZ | Jim, $600. is a good price for this gutar. Read my other post on this. I've got this same guitar and like it very much. More so than the older ones. About the African Cherry top - that's a plywood with one piece vernier. |
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Location: Louisville, OH 44641 | Standing Ovation:
I wasn't able to find your other post on this. Can you leave some bread crumbs?
Jim |
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Location: Phoenix AZ | I own this same guitar and it si VERY nice. Just got it back from the factory Monday after some modification work. I've also owned the 1624 and I like the sound of the newer one better. Plus the cutaway is nice and the newer electronics (OP-X) are quite an improvement over the originals. Cliff says the rosette looks like an Indian blanket being flushed down a toilet, but I rather like it. At $600. this guitar is a great bargin. |
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Location: Central Oregon | Originally posted by Standingovation:
Cliff says the rosette looks like an Indian blanket being flushed down a toilet, but I rather like it.
"Now *that* is funny! I don't care who you are!" - Larry the Cable Guy
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Location: Louisville, OH 44641 | I know I'm probably being too picky. We had quite a good discussion about Bookmatching wood and how it's supposed to look symmetrical. I asked the seller to post more pics of his country artist. The original pic shows a nice deep brown wood. I can see a mismatch in the wood but it didn't look too bad. His later pics show a much lighter wood that really shows a distinct mismatch between the two wood halves and I find it's not nearly as attractive. I want to buy a nice CA but it looks like I'll have to be patient. |
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Location: Tennessee | For what it's worth, it's not unusual for a top to look color mismatched when photographed. It's a phenomenon from the photography. In person, you can generally never tell any color differences between the two halfs. I think it has something to do with the way the light reflects off the grain. I took a picture of my Natural 6759 that surprised me when it came back ... in person it's difficult to see that it's two pieces of wood yet in the photo it looked like it was half spruce, half cedar. |
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Solid Top on Country Artists?
