Posted 2015-07-22 1:34 PM (#513677 - in reply to #513676) Subject: Re: Happy 4th of July from Ovation !!!!
Joined: December 2014 Posts: 1713
Location: Frozen Tundra of Minnesota
Mark in Boise - 2015-07-22 12:49 PM
The OFCs and LAV Koas weren't quite the same as a custom order. They were limited editions of 12 or so guitars. I didn't agree to buy either of mine until they were actually built or being built. I think Al sold most of them right away, except for the 14 fret LAV Koa.
The build up to the first OFC took a couple of years on this board and is worth a perusal in the archives.
Thank You for that clarification, Mark! I will go spend some time out in the archives, it would be an interesting read on how the specs for the LE came about, and how they narrowed all the different suggestions down to one guitar!
Posted 2015-07-22 2:34 PM (#513678 - in reply to #513090) Subject: Re: Happy 4th of July from Ovation !!!!
Joined: March 2005 Posts: 12750
Location: Boise, Idaho
Al included a lot of extra goodies with the original OFC, like a carbon fiber case, case cover and a gig bag full of cool stuff. It qualifies as my dream guitar, but I would never have dreamed it up myself. That was in 2007, shortly after Ovation did the Ute, #47 RI, and a couple other cool reissues and were pushing the Adamas Custom Shop. The development of the #47 RI in particular made the OFC guitar possible. I have an ad somewhere for the Adamas Custom Shop, with some descriptions of the types of customizing you could do. For someone like me who lacked imagination, it gave me possible recipes. Someone with imagination could come up with most any possibility. They had also come out with the contour bowl and LX neck. Ovation was really coming up with some great ideas then at the same time they were producing reissues of the old ideas.
Posted 2015-07-22 3:07 PM (#513679 - in reply to #513678) Subject: Re: Happy 4th of July from Ovation !!!!
Joined: December 2014 Posts: 1713
Location: Frozen Tundra of Minnesota
It is interesting that you say that Mark! That some really cool guitars came out of the ReIssues!
That is basically my Dream Guitar, a ReIssue of a '76-1119 Custom Legend, but with Claro Walnut Top, (Dang you Patch!!!) with custom pretties and custom fretboard symbols that mean something to me. I don't even want it Electric - Acoustic Only!
I know that there are allot fancier guitars, and ones with better numbers, but to me, the 1976 Balladeer, Custom Balladeer and Custom Legend are what "Ovation" will always sound like to me. So that is what I want re-created, or re-issued. Might be stupid, but it is my 'Dream Ovation', and I went through over 2000 pieces of Claro Walnut before the right one scalded my eyes! Everything else from that fell into place.
Another nice thing about having a Custom Shop, is that someone, is going to request something unique that may just change the entire guitar! People have some really wild ideas that turn into tiny computer watches, micro-thing-a-ma-bobs, and all sort of neat stuff! (That is the extent of my Tech-Talk!) Having a Custom Shop lets DW have that knowledge/idea first, and if it can be used or incorporated into something new or existing, it is a win-win!!! Look how Linda McCartney's gift for Paul got us the Custom Legend!
Posted 2015-07-22 3:50 PM (#513680 - in reply to #513090) Subject: Re: Happy 4th of July from Ovation !!!!
Joined: January 2002 Posts: 14127
Location: 6 String Ranch
You don't wNt a walnut top, it's a panelmaster and straight acoustic too? No, that will be real pretty but is just a plywood top guitar. The ply kinda works on an elite configuration with pickup. Sorry, you don't want to hear that, but it's the truth.
Posted 2015-07-22 3:56 PM (#513681 - in reply to #513680) Subject: Re: Happy 4th of July from Ovation !!!!
Joined: December 2014 Posts: 1713
Location: Frozen Tundra of Minnesota
On the contrary, I welcome all input!!! Thank you for taking the time to share your experience! Friends tell you the truth, I appreciate that if nicely done, and that was nicely put!
What does "panel master" mean??? These are bookend pieces of solid Claro Walnut, cut from a thicker piece of the wood.
Posted 2015-07-22 4:03 PM (#513682 - in reply to #513681) Subject: Re: Happy 4th of July from Ovation !!!!
Joined: January 2009 Posts: 4535
Location: Flahdaw
Panel master just means a non solid top, ala plywood. Many "exotic wood" tops are plywood, especially the Ovation Collector's Series. I think the Koa's were solid tho???
Posted 2015-07-22 4:40 PM (#513684 - in reply to #513090) Subject: Re: Happy 4th of July from Ovation !!!!
Joined: January 2002 Posts: 14127
Location: 6 String Ranch
usually three equal layers, the top being figured the other two whatever although some have figured top and bottom and spoo in the middle. Panel master was a not so kind term we insiders used for the collectors series that all had these exotic tops, Panelmaster, like you go buy this spoo at Home depot. its about the time I lost interest i the series.
Posted 2015-07-22 5:11 PM (#513687 - in reply to #513684) Subject: Re: Happy 4th of July from Ovation !!!!
Joined: December 2014 Posts: 1713
Location: Frozen Tundra of Minnesota
Thank You Beal!
Okay, now this wood was cross cut to 1/4" thick (both panels) and was thick enough to give me 2 matching sets of the bookmatch sets (4 pieces total), so I am thinking that this will be solid top? Is that correct?
John B told me how thick, and how to have it cut, and said that they would sand it down to the correct thickness for the top (like they do their Sitka and other tops) I ended up with enough for 2 Guitars tops from the piece I bought that was almost an inch thick. So would that be a better front, if they are solid Walnut for the top???
Posted 2015-07-22 6:29 PM (#513688 - in reply to #513090) Subject: Re: Happy 4th of July from Ovation !!!!
Joined: March 2008 Posts: 2683
Location: Hot Springs, S.D.
Pardon me for jumping in here, but walnut is a dense and heavy wood. That means it wouldn't vibrate much. That is why spruce and cedar make great sounding guitars - they are light. Heavy woods (like bubinga for example) make pretty guitars, but if you DON'T do a laminate and go with solid wood, you'll get very little tone and volume. Maybe save the walnut for another purpose and go with spruce?
Posted 2015-07-22 7:04 PM (#513689 - in reply to #513688) Subject: Re: Happy 4th of July from Ovation !!!!
Joined: December 2014 Posts: 1713
Location: Frozen Tundra of Minnesota
Thank You Allison!!! I am glad that you explained that to me!
I might have to re-think what I am wishing for! I want pretty, but pretty sounding too!!! (Actually more than *pretty sounding*, it has to be an "Ovation"!) Thank you Allison!! This is the Honesty I appreciate from friends!
Posted 2015-07-22 9:33 PM (#513695 - in reply to #513090) Subject: Re: Happy 4th of July from Ovation !!!!
Joined: July 2005 Posts: 1609
Location: Colorado
Al knows what I asked for a quote on...frankly one iteration of it could be a great players guitar....guessing the cost on the simpler model will not approach what some are saying....but rather the cost of a great quality solid performer's guitar..
Posted 2015-07-22 10:24 PM (#513696 - in reply to #513090) Subject: Re: Happy 4th of July from Ovation !!!!
Joined: January 2002 Posts: 14127
Location: 6 String Ranch
That's a beautiful piece of wood. I'd have a guitar made from it. But a dreadnought. That would be a beautiful back. One of the nicest guitars I ever let go was a walnut back and sides sinker redwood 12 fret dread Santa Cruz. For back and sides walnut works. Back needs to be around .100 and the sides around .080. The top is .130 to .100
Posted 2015-07-22 10:46 PM (#513697 - in reply to #513090) Subject: Re: Happy 4th of July from Ovation !!!!
Joined: March 2005 Posts: 12750
Location: Boise, Idaho
I had a Bubinga 99 Collector. I initially thought it didn't sound as good as the Celebrity Deluxe I traded for it. Figured it was the strings, but no. Pretty guitar, but it just always sounded small. Sold it to someone else who also listened with his eyes.
I''ve never been too keen on the Koa. I didn't warm up to it because it doesn't really warm up, like a spruce or cedar. A hard wood always has a brighter, harder sound than a soft wood. It's not a bad thing, just different. An Adamas doesn't sound like a 1537 either, even though the 1537 was the original wood topped Adamas. I love the sound of both of those. Then there's the sound of the K1111 RI. Beautiful. And the 97 Collector is a fantastic guitar. I love the sound that comes out of that little parlor. I guess I know why I can't figure out my dream guitar. I like the variety.
Posted 2015-07-22 11:46 PM (#513699 - in reply to #513090) Subject: Re: Happy 4th of July from Ovation !!!!
Joined: January 2006 Posts: 5881
Location: Colorado Rocky Mountains
That piece of walnut posted by Nancy would look terrific on a VXT or maybe a chambered EA Viper where top acoustics don't mean as much. I ordered Koa for my custom VXT and flame maple for my custom EA Viper 12, but I would consider something in that gorgeous walnut, just not an acoustic.
Posted 2015-07-23 9:22 AM (#513709 - in reply to #513090) Subject: RE: Happy 4th of July from Ovation !!!!
Joined: May 2006 Posts: 4221
Location: Steeler Nation, Hudson Valley Contingent
Hi Nancy,
Sorry I got you into such a convoluted discussion. I'm sure it was partly based on my walnut Pacemaker that Dan linked to. Everything people have been saying about walnut, both positive and negative, is true. It IS dense and heavy and can certainly mute the volume and tone when used as a top.
I picked my piece in person from the stash of a local luthier who uses it mostly as backs for archtop guitars. (MAN would I love to be able to afford one of those! They are gorgeous!) With his assistance, I worked our way through one set after another. I was looking at the figuring of course, but just as important to me was the tap tone of each set. And most of them sounded...well...dense and heavy, with a decided kind of "THUNK" when tapped. But wood is astoundingly variable and occasionally a set would have a pleasant kind of "DING" sound to it. We set these to the side to compare them later.
We never got around to comparing them though. Eventually, we tapped a set that had a crystal clear, very obvious "RING" tap tone that sustained for quite a bit. It was night-and-day different from every set up to that point in a very good way! The luthier said if we had tapped that one first we would have stopped right then. It really was a remarkable difference from every other set we had picked up. Add to that that the figuring was gorgeous, and it only took a moment to decide that set was going to New Hartford.
However, it is worth mentioning that even that set sounds nothing like spruce, which is what most people are used to. My guitar is not loud for a 12-string. My 80's Custom Balladeer 12'er not only sounds different (more robust I would say), but is noticeably louder no doubt. The walnut's tone is lovely, very chime-like, and works perfectly well acoustically for small groups and solo playing at home, but for playing out (even in my small church choir for example), amplification is definitley necessary.
One last thing, because I knew how stiff walnut would be and how much more tension would be required to get that top vibrating, I only ever considered using it as a top for a twelve-string guitar; hoping that the extra strings would give it that much more oomph! Personally, I don't think I would use it for a 6-string, but you never know if you find the right piece of wood.
In the end, it obviously worked out as well as it possibly could for me. The point of all of this is that you have to be very careful when picking non-traditional woods for a top. Spruce has been the go-to top for generations for a reason. And Cedar has a similar reputation.
If you haven't had a pro check the tone of that wood, move ahead cautiously. Maybe even find a local luthier with a good rep and mine him for advice. And I might suggest, if the walnut does not work out, you might consider a nice piece of sinker redwood. Several members here have sourced some excellent tops from a website whose name currently escapes me, including the piece that now tops my FD-14-X. None of us have been disappointed, with the sound or the looks!
Posted 2015-07-23 9:36 AM (#513712 - in reply to #513090) Subject: Re: Happy 4th of July from Ovation !!!!
Joined: December 2003 Posts: 846
Location: Canada
Back to the original purpose of the thread, I found this encouraging piece posted on the AGF:
(source: The Music Trades Online)
Ovation To Restart U.S. Production
DRUM WORKSHOP has signaled its commitment to the Ovation brand with a decision to restart U.S. production of the distinctive Roundback guitar. Machinery, finishing equipment, and assembly lines are currently being reactivated at the New Hartford, Connecticut plant, the home of Ovation production for almost four decades. Shipments of guitars are set to resume later in the year. Drum Workshop CEO Chris Lombardi, who acquired Ovation along with Gibraltar Hardware, LP, and Toca Percussion, and distribution rights for Gretsch drums from Fender Musical Instruments last January, said, "A U.S. production site is critical for maintaining the integrity of the Ovation brand, and it contributes to the sale of the imported Ovation product as well."
Closed last year, the Ovation guitar plant in New Hartford, CT is gearing up to resume production.
Ovation's New Hartford plant was shuttered in April 2014, after Fender management made a strategic decision to focus resources on Fender-branded products and divest its KMC Music subsidiary and other non-core brands. When Drum Workshop completed the acquisition on the eve of the 2015 NAMM show, Lombardi confessed that he was unsure of how exactly to proceed with the Ovation line. "With our experience in the percussion market, we had definite plans for Gretsch, Gibraltar, Toca, and all the other KMC percussion brands. But guitars were new for us." As he visited customers around the world, a strategy began to take shape.
From a marketing standpoint, there was unquestionably a strong global demand for U.S.-made Ovation guitars. Distributors in Europe and Japan were particularly interested in seeing production restored and promised large orders. Questions about the viability of reopening the factory were quickly resolved when Lombardi made his first visit to New Hartford. He had expected to find the Ovation tooling and production equipment packed up in railroad cars, but was startled to see it carefully set up on the factory floor. A core team of four dedicated Ovation staffers had kept the equipment in place in hopes that someone would restart production. In addition, other factory staff had signaled their interest in returning to work. Lombardi explains, "With an experienced staff, the equipment in place, and a strong order book, the decision was easy. Getting production back was just a question of setting up the dust collection system, hooking up electricity, and renegotiating the lease."
Bill Xavier, the newly hired Ovation product manager, says that the first production models will most likely be a continuation of the long-running "Collectors Series" limited editions, designed to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Roundback. "We're planning some very special products that will appeal to both the committed Ovation fan and any other player who appreciates a fine instrument."
Happy 4th of July from Ovation !!!!
with custom pretties and custom fretboard symbols that mean something to me. I don't even want it Electric - Acoustic Only! 
Claro Walnut Northwest Timber.jpg (77KB - 0 downloads)
