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March 2004
Posts: 201
Location: Vernon, CT | What are your opinions on the pros and cons of both? After all, in the beginning there were Martins when all of a sudden Charlie Kaman Sr., the godfather of O's saws off the back of his Martin and comes up with the bowl concept by attaching one on the back. Lo and behold the Ovation Roundback is born! My Martin plays nice, sounds nice and hardly ever needs tuning. The O's sound, look and feel nice too but there is still something about a Martin that still intrigues me. I want both when it comes down to it but my O's still outnumber my Martins and always will. Play On!
John L.
Custom Legend 1779-USA
Legend 1777-LX
Balladeer 1771-LX
Std. Balladeer 1771
Tornado (1970)
Takamine 12 String
Martin D16GT
Fender P-Bass (1975)
Fender 50th Anniversary Strat-
Fender Nashville Telecaster |
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October 2004
Posts: 180
Location: Chicagoland | Can't say I ever played a Martin I liked, especially for the price. |
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June 2004
Posts: 365
Location: NC | Martins...........great guitar, more twangy sounding to me as if made mainly for country and bluegrass. Great reputation and value holds. Overpriced in my opinion.
Ovation...........innovative and beautiful, very versatile guitar and blends well with all types of music. Value also holds. For what you get not overpriced in my opinion.
To each his own however..........I like my "O" and who knows..........may someday get a Martin or not. Looking for a good electric next or maybe even a resonator.
Merry X-Mas all!
:o |
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June 2004
Posts: 580
Location: NW NJ | I've never owned a MArtin, but I've palyed a bunch of them. I've played a bunch in guitar stores (along with Taylors) which is not a great place to try one that is set up well. But I've also played a bunch of Martins (and Taylors) that were/are personal favorites of guitar playing buddies of mine. I have just never found a Martin (or Taylor for that matter) that I thought played as easy as my O's, or sounded any better (from the playing position as opposed to from an audience viewpoint). When you add the outrageous prices into consideration, U.S. built, mid to deep bowl O's win IMHO every time! |
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December 2001
Posts: 10583
Location: NJ | i have a d 35 and a d 35 12 s that I have owned for almost 30 years. soon I should have a d 41.
martins do what martins do very well. I used to jam a dearmond pickup inthe sound hole and hope for the best. it was a great guitar for sitting around the quad and attracting the bims in college. not a great guitar for playing amplified gigs or leads.
still have them still love them play my ovations out. |
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May 2003
Posts: 425
Location: SE Michigan | I have had three Martins and four Ovations. I currently have a D-28, an Adamas CVT, and a Legend 1717. I apologize to the members of this forum in advance, but the D-28 just shreds the Ovations in the category of unplugged tone. This guitar just rings when you play it, you can feel it in your rib cage, and it has a powerful thick woody tone. I am sorry but there is no comparison with the Ovations. Probably my best sounding unplugged Ovation is my Legend, but it still doesn’t come close to the D-28.
But I love my Adamas CVT also. I wouldn’t think of playing the D-28 amplified, which would be like pulling a trailer with a Porsche. That’s why I have the Adamas. It fits right in with drums and other guitars and is very easy to control plugged in, and also sounds very nice unplugged……….however………it does sound a bit synthetic next to the Martin. I also have to lament that strictly unplugged the Legend has a warmer sweeter tone than the Adamas.
But the Adamas is nearly bullet proof. The D-28 never leaves my house. I am not afraid to take the Adamas out and throw it in my trunk on a freezing cold night. I actually wanted a graphite guitar so that I wouldn’t have to worry about humidity and such. My Adamas hangs on my wall year round and is a available for a quick song, but my D-28 is carefully put back in a humidified case after each use. I also must concede that the Ovations are the easier playing guitars,the Martins do take a little more effort.
Regarding cost; the Adamas cost me $1370, the D28 was $1550. I think the Adamas is overpriced. When you look at all the detail and beautiful wood that goes into making the sides and back of a nice Martin, then look at the Tupperware container that makes up the back of Ovations, I think an Ovation should be 2/3rds the price of a comparable wood guitar. It must save the company a ton on material and labor to have a one piece pre-made back and sides.
Oh yes, the Martin also smells excellent. But I still love my Ovations and they will always have a place with me. |
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Joined:
June 2002
Posts: 6202
Location: Phoenix AZ | Martins and Ovations both have their place. There is no "better", just different. In general Ovation is a great value compared to Martin. Plus the Ovation service department alone is reason enough to own them. But for pure acoustic tone, not many people are going to criticize you for buying a Martin. It's more a question of if you can afford the darn thing or not. People drop huge money on Martins and it's not because they sound bad. Different flavors of ice-cream. |
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January 2004
Posts: 123
Location: Massachusetts | I just spent 2 months looking for a new acoustic. Had to be US made.
My S771 has the freakin greatest neck ever made, it plays like a dream but the unplugged sound of the O bugged me after 4 years of owning it. Then O changed the neck profile and on the higher LX models went gloss and if I wanted custom features..whew.
I tried Martins looking at the D16gtep on the low end and the D35 on the high end. The $1300 D16 had a plastic fretboard and bridge, satin sides and cheap tuners and when you strummed the treble strings sounded bright and tinny. Plugged in it sounded great because it had a piezo/mic blender.
The O's won on the treble end and that Martin won on the bass end...if it was between and LX and that one the Lx really is a superior guitar.
The D28/D35's had a neck profile almost as fat as an O and the same width but all wood and all gloss. Just increadable unplugged tone. BUT...they were starting at $1700 plus because I play plugged in a lot add another $300 easy for electronics and install.
Great guitar but very expensive but to my ears you would never need another guitar or buy another guitar more expensive than that. They sound that good. I don't get people spending what $4k+ on a Martin just cause it says Tom Petty. It can't be any better than that $1700 D28.
Ovations win for feel and ruggedness and consistancy of the build. Plugged in they have good but not great preamps..now that others are going soundboard transducing and internal mics..they are sounding better.
Oh, I had a chance to buy brand new a CVT with case for $700. Honestly any Lx beat that guitar in the tone and feel department. That's just me I guess.
Ultimately I bought a Gibson Songwriter Deluxe Cutaway with a preamp built into its side. A tad more than a regular Custom Legend but less than the Martins. All wood, all gloss, ebony, nitro and rosewood. Decent guitar but it does not feel like an Ovation and its much harder to play. Drives me nuts.
In case you think I'm a traitor people on other forums are always asking what electric/acoustic to get. I always say to play an LX and tout it's strenghts but sadly most people stick their noses up without giving it a chance.
But..these people only want to spend a couple hundred bucks and don't care if they are buying from China.
There ya go..my take on O's, Gibsons and Martins. |
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May 2002
Posts: 3005
Location: Las Cruces, NM | Back in the 70's when the Ovations were coming on the scene, I bought my Viper new and a Yamaki D41 copy that sounded better, and still does, than any Martin I had seen then or since, and I've seen a lot of Martins. The sound of a wood acoustic is an essential part of bluegrass and cant be replaced, my Yamaki fills that bill.
Bluegrass is not the only music that people play, and probably is not commercially viable, so I have always played other acoustic electrics in country bands and NEVER my Yamaki because it is irreplaceable. Ovations are a working musician's guitar, great sound amplified, and nice to play at home after the gig acoustic, clean, balanced nd sweet sounding.
Martins are for the filthy rich or the fearful poor, the rich can afford to waste their money, the poor has to protect their investment by various subterfuges, in other words the poor cannot play their Martin in public for fear they will lose a lifetime investment. |
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January 2004
Posts: 648
Location: Florida | Martin... oh yeah, those guitars with all the extra frets on them... like frets 6 on up. |
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May 2003
Posts: 425
Location: SE Michigan | Bailey commented "Martins are for the filthy rich or the fearful poor, the rich can afford to waste their money, the poor has to protect their investment by various subterfuges, in other words the poor cannot play their Martin in public for fear they will lose a lifetime investment."
This is really an uninformed opinion. You can buy some really nice Martins like a D-15, D-16, or DMX for around $700 or less, while Adamas's retail at 1500 and up, not to mention that Q thing which is like $5000. Legend and Elite LXs are now over $1000. Martin has even lower priced guitars and they are all made in the U.S. which is more than you can say for Ovation and others. Martin has worked very hard to provide decent entry-level instruments. Also I choose to protect my Martin because it is a more fragile instrument and I want to keep it pristine. But to say I am afraid of loosing my investment is plain ignorant. You see many professional and amateur artists playing Martins and other guitars out in public. As far as wasting my money, come and play my D-28 and tell me it is a waste.
Comments like these resemble those from the Acoustic Guitar Web Forum where the snobbish all-wood guitar coalition dismiss Ovations, without ever trying out a decent US made one. I think both Martins and Ovations are fine products with their own strengths and weaknesses. |
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June 2002
Posts: 6202
Location: Phoenix AZ | Lots of good points here, but this is a loaded topic that will never satisfy everyone. We all belong to the OFC because we have some passion (or at least interest) in Ovations. That does not mean we have to be bigots. I challange anyone to just play a guitar (ANY brand) and close your eyes and let your senses be the judge, not your emotions. I would bet a lot of us/you dislike Martins just because they are not Ovations! Some Martins suck, and so do some Ovations. There is no one "winner".
I also think there is an element of "penis envy" going on here. I bet some of us say we "hate" Martins, but in fact the truth is that we "hate" the fact that we can't afford them. If the Martin prices lined up 1 to 1 with Ovation prices, would that change your opinion? Believe me I'm not bashing Ovation (have you looked at my website ???), but the price difference tends to cloud objective comparison. The best sounding acoustic guitar I own right now is a 12 fret Martin Slothead D18-VS. It's in the lower third of the Martin price range. In Ovation terms it maybe lines up with a Std. Balladeer. Do you want to compare sound? I think not.
I also am a firm believer (isn't capitalism wonderful) that "water will find it's own level", and I gaurentee you that people don't go into a guitar shop and pay thousands of dollars for a Martin because it sounds like shit and plays like shit compared to Ovation. They have their specific reasons and justification and it does not mean that 1) they are stupid consumers or 2) the product they choose to invest in sucks.
Martin and Ovation are different animals. BOTH companies are EXCEPTIONAL at what they do and I think the quality and value of their products speaks for itself. But the values and qualities are DIFFERENT. And when we try to impose one set of values (our OFC values) on Martin, we run into all kinds of broad sweeping bigoted opinions. We start to sound just like our counterparts on the Martin board.
There are dozens and dozens of reasons to play and love Ovation guitars and when it's time for the Ovation parade I'll be the one at the front carrying the flag. But I won't be so closed minded to say that Ovation is the perfect and only choice for every application, every price-point, always sounds better than all Martins, plays better than all Martins, etc. Because it simply is NOT true. |
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November 2004
Posts: 100
Location: Asheville, North Carolina | Well this will always be a deep subject....I have had several Martins, Taylors and a host of other all wooden guitars over the years. Martins have their signature sound, just as all other higher end factory guitars do. They are like "standingovation" said what they are. If I had to analyze the differences...Martins are bass heavy, strong low overtones, highly resonant(especially the A, mortice and tenon braced-16 series. They are also less projective and way less balanced than Ovations. I always had trouble recording or gigging with Martins due to feedback problem, especially years ago before pickups and recorders became better developed. Each guitar has its magic for sure...I must admit though the new LX series with scalloped x bracing has some of the good qualities of a Martin D and even some of the balance of 000 size as well. One of the desirable factors for me is the toughness and stability of the Ovation. I was forever putting up with the pain of damaging a wooden guitar, scratching the back with rivets on my jeans or belt, tuning every other song etc; I often wonder why the put a tuner in them, it stays in tune for days! Ovations avoid all those pitfalls and when it comes to playing the roundback I like the way it faces up a bit...For slack, altered and open tunings they are tops in my book. I'm as you can tell really enjoying mine. |
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March 2002
Posts: 15682
Location: SoCal | I think Dave hit the nail with his head (he often does!) with his response. I agree with him (and I often do!). There's lots of different flavors and there are lots of different reasons for buying a specific guitar. Ice cream.
My 1537 doesn't sound like a D-28. But I've played it next to people playing D-28s and never felt that the quality of the sound wasn't there. It's just different. And it's different in a way that satisfies me. Ice cream.
I drive, as my toy, a 1983 Mazda Rx-7, with a rotary engine. Is it better than a new Corvette? No, but it satisfies me in a way that's hard to explain. Again, ice cream.
If I won the lottery, there would be a number of non O guitars in my collection. Except for the 1914 0018 Martin that I have now, I doubt that any of them would be a Martin. Do I think Martins are bad guitars? Hell no! They're just not my flavor. But I'm not going to tell somebody that they are wrong because they like that flavor. And lots of people like a number of flavors. Talk to Al or Dave or Micheal or Bill. Or me.
But I will say that to buy a guitar and then say that it will never leave the house is definitely not my flavor. Guitars are meant to be played. And ultimately, they are just "things". I don't ever want to be so attached to "things" that I'm afraid to have anything happen to them. I'm willing to risk my wife and kids to the world. To place a premium on a "thing" that's higher than the one on my family is silly. IMHO. |
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December 2003
Posts: 13997
Location: Upper Left USA | "I'm as you can tell really enjoying mine."
That's what really matters! |
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July 2004
Posts: 338
Location: Omaha | Some great - and honest - comments here. I'll add mine (and try to be brief):
I love the sound of all wood guitars...my two "nice" ones are both Larrivees. They just "speak" to me, tonally, cosmetically and physically.
I bought an Ovation for that "something different" and for a stage guitar...so far I'm happy with it (I'll confess the mod I made in a separate post - that's another story!) I'm not passionate about the O yet, but I'm giving it time (and a few different sets of strings) to grow on me.
Just trying to keep an open mind - I find that the more I do that (whether with acoustics or electrics) the broader my tone horizons become...
;) |
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August 2002
Posts: 398
Location: So. Cal. | I really don't think comparing just the brand is a fair exercise. I would compare individual models, or more appropriately individual guitars. For instance, serveral members know of my Adamas II being great sounding as well as a Martin M-42 custom. I have played some Adamas that are not so inspiring but there are many $3k or more Martins that I am not so impressed either. Bottom line is generalization can only go so far. Open mind and actual hands-on are necessary before voicing ones opinion on such subjective matters. |
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December 2004
Posts: 26
Location: Detroit, MI | County Artist, a friend with whom I have discussed and swapped instruments for many years, encouraged me to join the fan club after purchasing a 20 year old Country Artist.
I was so pleased with the quality of the CA that I am pursuing a Folklore to gig with, as I am primarilly a steel-string player. I currently use a Breedlove Focus with a Fishman Blender and a Martin OM18V with a Fishman Rare Earth Pickup.
CA shared some of the recent discussion of Taylor guitars that took place on the site, which I found interesting and, generally, agreed with.
He said there is a curent thread about Martins... after a long history with this company (using and then dropping Martin for other manufacturers who copied their prototypes) I'm convinced they are on track with their Vintage resissues. I own several.
I saw one comment about Martin's being good primarilly for bluegrass. I might agree that their D's are especially good for this genre, but the OM is really quite versatile.
Look forward to participating in the club. |
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March 2002
Posts: 15682
Location: SoCal | Folklore,
Welcome the the club. It's a good place with some of the best discussion of any board I've ever seen. You'll like it here and please always just jump right in.
I think what sets this board apart is that there's a real recgonition that there are a lot of good guitars out there. People here just have an affinity for Ovations. But if I won the lottery (or was a rich musician like Serge -- ha!) there would be a lot of non O's in my collection. But with a wife, two kids, two dogs, and a mortgage I can't afford, I buy the guitars that appeal to me the most. |
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April 2004
Posts: 795
Location: Texas | LEO,
Let me be the first one to welcome you to the club.
You will like it here and will learn to love Ovations and will get plenty of GAS.
BIENVENIDO!
Serge
www.sergiolara.com ;) |
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June 2002
Posts: 1614
Location: Converse, Texas | Leo, welcome to the club. STeel string player, huh? Well, at least you don't play on of those banjo things... :D |
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September 2003
Posts: 9301
Location: south east Michigan | Loyalty and passion are powerful entities.
This thread has made me examine some of my motives.
One strong reason why I lean to Ovations is that they have been one of the few consistant "things" in my life over the past 33 years. People come & go. New trucks come & go. Houses change. I still have my original guitar on the stand in my living room. For me, that is as much of a factor as wood, tone, or value.
The next closest "consistant" is my 25 year marrage. |
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Joined:
March 2002
Posts: 15682
Location: SoCal | My wife likes the fact that I'm not fickle when it comes to guitars, cars and other passions in my life. Like her! |
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August 2003
Posts: 2246
Location: Yucaipa, California | Well, at least you don't play on of those banjo things...
...oh YEAH?.. Ok pardner, I'll meet you behind the Cottonwood tree at High Noon!....dang! It's already past noon...oh well, nevermind ;) |
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December 2003
Posts: 1071
Location: Carle Place, NY | Brand to brand comparisons have value only as generalities. Even model to model comparisons have limited value. Acoustic guitars, even of the same brand and model, vary in sound a lot more than most of us are willing to admit, particularly after years of being played. Many of the comments here prove that a lot of OFC members have one, or if they are lucky (or rich) more than one, guitar that they will swear sounds better than any other guitar they have ever played. Those guitars are deservedly special regardless of the brand or model. What makes Ovations extra special is that when you find one that has that unexplainable extra something that makes it sound so much better than most, you have a guitar that you can take almost anywhere and not have to worry about babying it to keep it in great shape as you would with any all wood guitar. |
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Martin vs. Ovation
