|
|
Joined:
March 2002
Posts: 14842
Location: NJ | Budd Lake is part of Mt. Olive Township in Jersey.
My band partner lives there . . .
Our very first gig together was this little place there called the HighNoon. WhaddaDump. |
|
| |
|
Joined:
October 2004
Posts: 180
Location: Chicagoland | Well I learned on a Strat, so when I went shopping for an aucostic it makes sense that I fell in love with Ovations. The feel was familar, and I liked the fact that you could hear each individual string ring out.
Why I buy guitars in general? So far, becuase I need them. As my skills and ears have developed I have seen the need. As of right now I have 5 guitars and none of them are remotley like each other ( the closest thing is a balladeer lx and an old 80s 12 string balladeer). |
|
| |
|
Joined:
August 2005
Posts: 616
Location: cincinnati, ohio | My WIFE made me buy my newest Ovation. Yeah, you're not seeing things. The same wife who can't understand my look of horror when she suggests I lock my guitar in the trunk of my car instead of embarrassing her by bringing it into the restaurant when we eat out when I'm on the way to a gig. We were out mallwalking on a day off (we actually had some free time)and she (SHE!) suggested we go browse in Willis Music Store (ironically, I had bought my first two Ovations from two other Willis locations). She was even kind enough to spread a dropcloth on the floor when we got to the Ovation rack and I started drooling. Both of us were drawn to a really beautiful Celebrity Deluxe with a nutmeg quilted maple finish and an OP 30 preamp. The price was very right; I play out a lot, and I'm always on the lookout for a road guitar. I reluctantly started to put it back on the rack when Vicki said, "Why don't you buy it? It's gorgeous." Somehow I managed not to drop the guitar and put it back on the rack. I felt her forehead and asked, "You okay, hon? Do we need to take you to the emergency room?" She shook her head. "I'm fine. Why don't you get it? You deserve it." Now I'm thinking they were going to have to take ME to the emergency room. 'I'm in an alternate universe--that's GOT to be it!' I thought. But no, here was a salesman coming over. Turns out it was the same guy I had bought my first two Ovations from. Frank had been a kid just starting out at Willis's downtown store in 1971 when I bought my Balladeer, and was working at the Northgate Mall store when I got my Pacemaker in '74. Now he was manager of the TriCounty Mall store and also the district manager. I actually managed to walk away from it, but I had him pull it off the shelf so I could think about it a couple of days-- and make sure my wife didn't have second thoughts. I went back two days later and got it. i think I was destined to get it, since it was the same music store and the same salesman I'd been dealing with over a span of 35 years.
So I hadn't actually been looking for one. When I got my Balladeer in '71, it was my first really "top notch" guitar; I'd been playing a Yamaha FG 150, which was nice, but it wasn't an "O." My mom threw a fit when I brought the Ovation home-- I paid $365 for it, which was a chunk of change in 1971. Years later she admitted it was a good investment. You never know. She also admitted some 20 years after getting on my case about listening to "that hillbilly music" ("Sweet Baby James") that "...that James Taylor guy might be for real." It's a funny world. |
|
| |
|
Joined:
March 2005
Posts: 12761
Location: Boise, Idaho | Rick caused my Catholic guilt to resurface. My wife, the same one I complain about all the time, actually bought me my first Ovation, the Matrix. At $245 it was a chunk of money in 1977, but it was so I could have something nice at our wedding. Of course, I sold 2 other guitars for $200 to help pay for it and never bought her an engagement ring, but that's another story.
Recently, I've been lusting after a Ute, actually I've been lusting after one since before the Folklore, Country Artist, Classic, Balladeer and maybe even the 87 and 1537, and told my wife I would use a dividend check to buy one in August. She said she wanted new carpet, but then said we had a little extra money, so why don't I just buy it now? She got called in to work at the hospital last night. 12 hours at $45 an hour goes a long way toward that Ute.
Oh, and Rick, the same thing happened when I saw my daughter's NMQ CS 247 at GC. That thing is a stunner. |
|
| |
|
Joined:
August 2005
Posts: 616
Location: cincinnati, ohio | So, Mark-- you're a mackerel snapper too, eh? Something else we have in common besides a love for Ovation guitars. You're of an age (I think) where if you went to a Catholic grade school, you were lucky to escape with your psyche intact. When I was in second grade, we had a nun who called one of the class troublemakers to the front of the room and made him hunt through a "junk drawer" for a pair of scissors so she could "cut his fingers off since he couldn't keep his hands to himself." This went on for about 15 minutes (with the kid literally screaming in terror and the rest of us watching bug-eyed with horror)until she told the kid to sit down and not do it again. We never saw him again after that day; I think his parents got wise and yanked him out into public school. And yet we still go to church on Sunday. Go figure.
You're right; that is a BEAUTIFUL guitar. The thing I can't figure, though, is that the CS 257 doesn't come in that finish according to the Ovation website; the CS 247 does. Yet the model number on the inside label IS CS 257. Maybe it's an older model, although it has an OP 30 preamp. Doesn't matter to me; it's gorgeous and I fell in love with it.
BTW, do you have a link to your gallery, Mark? I want to check out your photos, and I'm lazy!
Rick |
|
| |
|
Joined:
March 2005
Posts: 12761
Location: Boise, Idaho | I'm to lazy and too dumb to do a link. Just go into the Gallery. It's there. I never had a nun that was too bad, but I never was bad enough to experience whether all the stories of the paddles with holes in them so they could swing faster or the whips with knots in them were true. I really had a good experience. The only downside was we had huge classes where they couldn't give the kids much attention. I thought that when the level of discipline went down when I went to a public school, the quality of the education went down, too. Sent both girls to Catholic grade and high schools and it was well worth it. One graduated Summa Cum Laude from University of Idaho and the other still hasn't had anything less than an A in her life. Both were in the top 1% on the SATs or ACTs. I could go on and on, but it's time to get back to Ovations. |
|
| |
|
Joined:
March 2002
Posts: 14842
Location: NJ | ". . I never had a nun that was too bad . ."
Me neither.
(but they DO taste like chicken . . .) |
|
| |
|
Joined:
August 2005
Posts: 616
Location: cincinnati, ohio | I'll check it out, Mark.
I went through Catholic grade school and an all-boys Catholic High School (which is why I went nuts, became a musician and ran wild when I discovered all the WOMEN at the University of Cincinnati!). Got an excellent education which helped me breeze through college. The high school was run by the Franciscan Fathers. I was a good kid and never had any discipline problems, never went to detention. Occasionally I'd get whapped across the butt with a cincture (the immortal "knotted cords") when I'd screw up a declension in Latin class. It wasn't that hard, though, and it didn't hurt. It was just to get our attention. Worst thing to ever happen was I got bonked on the head with a science book by Father Ludwig when I corrected him in an astronomy class (which I now teach at Cincinnati State Community and Technical College). He said the 5th planet in the solar system was named "Juniper," and got upset when I said, "Uh, Father, don't you mean 'Jupiter?'" How dare I contradict him! That's as far as it went though--I didn't go to detention for my "crime." Interestingly enough, the next day he was saying "Jupiter," and I never got so much as an apology.
Anyway, as you said, back to the Ovations. |
|
| |
|
Joined:
March 2005
Posts: 12761
Location: Boise, Idaho | I knew you'd catch that when I wrote it, Cliff. |
|
| |
|
Joined:
April 2004
Posts: 13303
Location: Latitude 39.56819, Longitude -105.080066 | Paddles with holes in them were not an exclusive Catholic School thing. My public junior high school had them and while I was a pretty good kid, I still got to experience the extra speed and sting on a few occassions (the sadistic bastards!) |
|
| |
|
Joined:
March 2005
Posts: 12761
Location: Boise, Idaho | And then we went to the other extreme. Before my kids were in school, some parent here in conservative Boise sued the school district because they wouldn't let her daughter come to school with blue hair. The school district gave up. It was not the religion that caused me to send the kids to parochial school, it was the inability of the public schools to deal with parents who thought the schools were there to raise their children to do whatever the children wanted to do. |
|
| |
|
Joined:
August 2005
Posts: 616
Location: cincinnati, ohio | Well said. In these days of "political correctness" (I GAG on the term), I'd like to know what happened to plain old COMMON SENSE!!!! |
|
| |
|
Joined:
April 2004
Posts: 13303
Location: Latitude 39.56819, Longitude -105.080066 | and discipline! |
|
| |
|
Joined:
October 2005
Posts: 5332
Location: Bluffton, SC | Common sense? Discipline?
Did I somehow wander into the Martin Board??? |
|
| |
|
Joined:
May 2003
Posts: 425
Location: SE Michigan | What's so terrible about blue hair? Let the kid humiliate herself for awhile and she'll revert back to semi-normal on her own. And even if she doesnt, what's so terrible about blue hair? |
|
| |
|
Joined:
October 2005
Posts: 5332
Location: Bluffton, SC | Agreed, Brian. I believe you have to give kids some room (albeit somewhat structured) to stretch and grow. If the worst thing my daughter does is dye her hair blue for a little while? I'm thanking God. |
|
| |
|
Joined:
November 2003
Posts: 11039
Location: Earth·SolarSystem·LocalInterstellarCloud·Local Bub | Weaser,
I dyed my hair blue.
..... shaved the rest |
|
| |
|
Joined:
March 2005
Posts: 12761
Location: Boise, Idaho | Nothing wrong with blue hair. Everything wrong with your parents suing so you could wear it. What's wrong with a dress code? |
|
| |
|
Joined:
April 2004
Posts: 13303
Location: Latitude 39.56819, Longitude -105.080066 | Originally posted by Weaser P:
If the worst thing my daughter does is dye her hair blue for a little while? I'm thanking God. Spoken like someone who I bet hasn't had to deal with that yet. :D
How old is your daughter, Weeze? |
|
| |
|
Joined:
September 2003
Posts: 9301
Location: south east Michigan | It's kids jobs to test boundries. It's the parents job to hold the line at some point. I let my three boys experiment with their hair style... up to a point. They did get it out of their system. Besides...they probably will end up with my hairline someday. I figured I'd let them have a choice of hairstyles while thay can.
Now on the other side...a good friend let his son have his hair any way he wanted. And boy did he get wild with it. Where is that boy now??? Working at a high profile hair salon in Vegas. When Wayne Gretzkey and Robin Williams come to town, they request him to cut their hair. |
|
| |
|
Joined:
January 2005
Posts: 4903
Location: Phoenix AZ | Originally posted by Slipkid:
When Wayne Gretzkey and Robin Williams come to town, they request him to cut their hair. Two celebs well known for their hairstyles !!! |
|
| |
|
Joined:
October 2005
Posts: 5332
Location: Bluffton, SC | Originally posted by stephent28:
Originally posted by Weaser P:
If the worst thing my daughter does is dye her hair blue for a little while? I'm thanking God. Spoken like someone who I bet hasn't had to deal with that yet. :D
How old is your daughter, Weeze? |
|
| |
|
Joined:
October 2005
Posts: 5332
Location: Bluffton, SC | Originally posted by Jeff W.:
Weaser,
I dyed my hair blue.
..... shaved the rest Bet that made you popular in school, Jeff, (and specifically, I'm guessing, the locker room). |
|
| |
|
Joined:
September 2003
Posts: 9301
Location: south east Michigan | I am now claiming victory in the "tatoo wars". When any of my kids would test that boundry I'd say, "Sure...you can get 5 tatoos. As long as the first one says, I Love My Daddy. |
|
| |
|
Joined:
March 2002
Posts: 14842
Location: NJ | ". . What's so terrible about blue hair? . ."
I agree.
Haven't any of you guys ever been to Branson, Missouri?? |
|
| |
What makes you buy a guitar?
