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January 2004
Posts: 123
Location: Massachusetts | I have an S771 and want to get another acoustic. Part of me wants a Taylor but even used they are like $1100.
Seems like I could get my dream Ovation...a Custom Legend for less used???
I played a brand new Adamas CVT I could have bought for $700 with case and turned it down. It had more bass than my S771 and brighter highs but not as much mids.
I plugged in a shallow body Custom Legend and it was bright and tinny sounding, could barely eq it out. My S771 sounded better and the Adamas even better still plugged in.
If I found a used MID DEPTH Custom Legend would it sound fuller unplugged AND plugged in or would I be disapointed like I was with the shallow body.
A preamp difference?? |
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Joined:
February 2002
Posts: 1817
Location: Minden, Nebraska | One of my two main stage guitars these days is an #1869 Custom Legend with supershallow bowl. I don't have a problem with getting the sound I want -- and
'bright and tinny' ain't it. :eek:
My preamp setting of choice has the bass up highest, the treble a bit less, and the mids flat. I seem to remember that being a recommendation from an old O' owner's manual, and it works for me. I tweak it a bit from guitar to guitar, though; so it seems not every guitar sounds the same with the same settings. |
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Joined:
August 2003
Posts: 4619
Location: SoCal | I have a number of Custom Legends - deep and mid bowl 6&12-strings.
No experience with the shallow.
No "bright and tinny" |
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September 2003
Posts: 9301
Location: south east Michigan | I like to describe my Custom Legend as a guitar with "THUMP & JUMP"! |
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May 2004
Posts: 338
Location: Toronto | I love the fullness of my custome legend- it's got 'body'. Plugged in - 'killer body'. |
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Joined:
November 2002
Posts: 1196
Location: Lafayette, Louisiana | The deep bowl Custom Legend is one of Ovations best sounding guitars. If you can find and older model 1619, or 1719 you give them a try. They are nice full sounding guitars. |
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Joined:
January 2004
Posts: 123
Location: Massachusetts | Have you seen used mid bowls out there in CCB?
Tons of shallow bowls in this color on Ebay and one mid depth on Elderly but at $985 + shipping it seems high for a 4 year old guitar. Black does nothing for me on this guitar though I've seen 3 shallow bodies in black but only plugged one of them in. |
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Joined:
November 2002
Posts: 1300
Location: Madison, Wisconsin | It seems like there always lots of black ones for sale on ebay. I don't know it Ovation just makes more black guitars or if people find out how hard it is to keep them looking nice and want to get rid of them. |
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Joined:
February 2002
Posts: 5750
Location: Scotland | side by side, plugged-in, with a flat EQ setting a supershallow guitar will sound a little less full than a deep or mid bowl of the same model. It's possible the guitar you tried had a faulty pickup or preamp. The whole point of the supershallows is that (in theory) they sound thinner unplugged but can be made to sound huge amplified with less feedback. |
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Joined:
January 2004
Posts: 627
Location: Cherry Hill, NJ | Paul is right. The deep bowl Custom Legend is the better sounding. The 1619 still is the standard of Ovation guitars.
Tommy |
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Joined:
March 2002
Posts: 15680
Location: SoCal | http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=47064&item=3751453386&rd=1 |
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February 2002
Posts: 83
Location: Columbus, OH | Ok guys, why doesn't my deep bowl custom legend have a deep full sound? It's great plugged in, but pretty weak acoustically. The Adamas SMT blew it away as do my Martins and Taylors. Even a Korean Alvarez.
The Ovation is great plugged in, but unplugged? Not so much. |
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Joined:
February 2002
Posts: 1817
Location: Minden, Nebraska | That is a fair question.... I have said this before at the risk of blasphemy, but I don't really expect an Ovation to sound as good naturally as a well built full body guitar with rosewood back and sides.
My preference for Ovations is based on liking the necks much better than Taylor, electronics that are as good if not better, and the fact that I can usually buy two or three Ovations for the cost of one of the better made Taylors or Martins. O's appeal to me on the basis of their practical superiority AND that they sound good enough naturally, even if not great.
Having an Ovation that sounds GREAT is a bonus! :D |
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Joined:
August 2003
Posts: 4619
Location: SoCal | First of all, I never believed that a shallow bowl was designed to compete with an acoustic box. Plugged in, another story. Better playing position may create a better sound merely because of player position.
The Custom Legend - shares the word Legend but uniquely different - although the 1617, and possibly some other Legends, had AAA, IMHO AAA spruce and now the bear claw spruce does make a difference. I have played mid-bowl and deep bowl Legends, including the 1777LX - sorry, will take a Custom Legend deep bowl over the Legend.
As to Martins and Taylors - I have a Koa Martin, had a spruce top Martin 12-str. As the Koa is different than the spruce, spend a long time Saturday playing a number of used and new Martins and Taylors (6 & 12-str) unplugged Saturday at local GC in a quiet room. (Good setup and strings.) Compared them with the 30th Anniv CL they also had. Martins and Taylors sounded great but will take the 30th Anniv over what I played. And, I like the CL neck and playing position over what I played.
Each player makes his or her own decision but from the 1619, 1669, and the 30th Anniv CL, each with its own different voice - I'll take a deep bowl CL over the competition. Even the 6759 and 2001 Collector's (redwood) mid-bowl do very well.
Yes, I appreciate rare woods and the unique voice created - that's why I have a Martin Koa but I will take the CL, 2001 Collector's, FD-14, Adamas I, and Adamas II. And, several of the guitars I listed aren't centerhole guitars. |
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Joined:
July 2004
Posts: 10
| I have a Custom Legend, model 1119-4 that I have had since it was new in the late 70's. I was looking for something amplified, and picked up a Custom Balladeer. Though it was nice, I tried the Takemine EF 341FC (they call it the Bruce Springstein). It is amped and the neck is close to the Ovation. Hit the website and learn a little about it. While I love my Ovations, this guitar is worth looking at and playing. Takemine is also a company under the parent company of Ovation. Good luck, I know how hard it is to pick a decent guitar. Tom |
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Will a Custom Legend sound tinny?
