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November 2008
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Location: Vega Baja, Puerto Rico | Owner of two O's, one is an Elite Standard 6768 (deep bowl) and an S868 Elite Special (super shallow). I need info about the latter.
Viewing the specs, it says the S868 came in natural finish with an OP24 preamp. Mine does not. It's a transparent red with an OP30 preamp. Looking at the serial number, I think it's a 2004 model, but I've never found any picture of information confirming that fact. This is the guitar:
 (14951433129_0145cae0df_o (1).jpg)
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 14951433129_0145cae0df_o (1).jpg (86KB - 1 downloads)
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Posts: 5331
Location: Cicero, NY | I might start with the Search button. There's typically a fair amount of info to be found there on most Ovation guitars. |
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November 2008
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Location: Vega Baja, Puerto Rico | I've done that, but none of the posts answer my question. Is it a real S868? |
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March 2008
Posts: 2683
Location: Hot Springs, S.D. | Maybe it was one that had gotten damaged so the original owner sent it back to the factory for a new top. They might have chosen to have THIS top instead of a natural, and to "upgrade" the electronics. Stuff like that has happened before. |
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March 2005
Posts: 12759
Location: Boise, Idaho | It looks like a Bubinga top, but it's not a 99 Collector, which is the only Ovation Elite that came in Bubinga. The 99 Collector had Bubinga on the headstock, an ebony fretboard, a different preamp and a mid-depth bowl. Yours looks like a newer model with the OP30 that came mostly on Celebrities. The neck looks like what they put on the newer Elites made in Asia. It could have been a special model made for one of the guitar stores. Obviously, I'm totally confused. |
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December 2003
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Location: Canada | What does the label say and is there a serial number on the headstock? |
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October 2005
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Location: Utah | Thinline pickup and Op30? |
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December 2004
Posts: 575
Location: Denmark | http://web.archive.org/web/20040623122713/http://www.ovationguitars...
from 2004 says Thinline and OP30. The top/finish, fretboard inlays and maybe bridge material seem off-spec.
Edited by tpa 2014-12-23 6:47 PM
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November 2008
Posts: 22
Location: Vega Baja, Puerto Rico | Label says:
Ovation
Model #: S868
Elite Special
Kaman Music Product
Made in New Hartford, CT, USA
Serial Number (back of headstock): 568062 USA |
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November 2008
Posts: 22
Location: Vega Baja, Puerto Rico | Yes |
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November 2008
Posts: 22
Location: Vega Baja, Puerto Rico | More info: I bought it to a fellow here in Puerto Rico. Since almost all of the Ovations that can be bought here are Celebrities, I'm guessing the seller bought it via the internet or at a US store, because I doubt someone in Puerto Rico can alter an Ovation in such a way. |
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Posts: 22
Location: Vega Baja, Puerto Rico | Mark in Boise - 2014-12-23 4:28 PM
It looks like a Bubinga top, but it's not a 99 Collector, which is the only Ovation Elite that came in Bubinga. The 99 Collector had Bubinga on the headstock, an ebony fretboard, a different preamp and a mid-depth bowl. Yours looks like a newer model with the OP30 that came mostly on Celebrities. The neck looks like what they put on the newer Elites made in Asia. It could have been a special model made for one of the guitar stores. Obviously, I'm totally confused.
I'm thinking it had to be a special model from a store, probably Guitar Center. Certainly it doesn't sound like a Celebrity would, and I think you're right on being a Bubinga (Bubinga Waterfall to be more precise) top. It has an awesome projection for a super shallow guitar and I think it's my best guitar for fingerpicking because of its clarity and string definition.
A demo:
https://www.facebook.com/video.php?v=10154977794540387&set=vb.843450...
Edited by guitarplayer_pr 2014-12-24 7:31 AM
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March 2005
Posts: 12759
Location: Boise, Idaho | Very nice, although you and the guitar were shadowed. Most of the Guitar Center specials had GC after the model number, but they also made specials for Sam Ash, Musician's Friend and others. I saw an ad for a S868 built in 99. I haven't seen any other S868s with the Bubinga top, but the factory might have had some left from the 99 Collectors and used it on your special. They were known to do such things.
Bubinga is hard and, like a lot of the ornate tops, it was a veneer. My 99 sounded very crisp and clear, not mellow like spruce. The guy that bought it was a fingerstyle player and loved the way the Optima preamp sounded, especially on recordings. It was a much better fit for him than it was for me. |
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Location: Vega Baja, Puerto Rico | Mark in Boise - 2014-12-24 12:03 PM
Very nice, although you and the guitar were shadowed. Most of the Guitar Center specials had GC after the model number, but they also made specials for Sam Ash, Musician's Friend and others. I saw an ad for a S868 built in 99. I haven't seen any other S868s with the Bubinga top, but the factory might have had some left from the 99 Collectors and used it on your special. They were known to do such things.
Bubinga is hard and, like a lot of the ornate tops, it was a veneer. My 99 sounded very crisp and clear, not mellow like spruce. The guy that bought it was a fingerstyle player and loved the way the Optima preamp sounded, especially on recordings. It was a much better fit for him than it was for me.
Blame it on the time for the shadows, hahah!
The same way you describe your '99 is the way I describe my O's sound. Versatility is its game and it projects a lot. |
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I NEED INFO ASAP
