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New member - just bought an Ovation

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jgorse
Posted 2017-05-27 10:16 AM (#535307)
Subject: New member - just bought an Ovation


Joined:
May 2017
Posts: 11

Well hi folks,

I'm a new member from the UK who took up electric guitar around 2.5 years ago so I'm still very much learning. I play a lot on Rocksmith because I find that the most enjoyable way to learn and split my signal so I play exclusively through my Vox AC15C1 and the rest of the music/band comes through my home hi-fi/cinema system. I have of course had some lessons and learned a bit from books too. My goal is to hire a band for my 50th in a couple of years and to be able to play with the band for a couple of numbers.

I've loved music all my life, I love live gigs, I have a huge vinyl and CD collection and used to write for Hi-Fi News magazine and several other music/tech publications mostly on the subject of Hi-Fi and music. I realised in my mid forties that there was no point going to gigs and wishing I was able to play guitar - it swas time to do something about it so here I am!!

I wanted to buy an acoustic guitar and fell in love with the looks and sound of the Ovation range. I always remember being curious about them having seen them credited on my vinyl copy of ELO's 'Out of the blue'. I also loved the bright and articulate sound of the guitar on some of REO Speedwagon's hits although all those years ago I didn't realise that was a recognisable characteristic of Ovation guitars. When I started looking for an instrument I looked at the Celebrity Elite CE44 range and then decided to investigate both secondhasnd American made options and also the Elite Standard and plus models in pursuit of a solid top.

I would have preferred to buy an American made guitar but then again the only second hand Ovation guitars I could find were 200 miles away from private sellers and I was wary too of buying something that may have hidden issues. I looked into the differences between the 2778AX and 2078AX new and the similarly priced 1768 USA made secondhand. I researched them extensively and concluded the differences were:

USA 1768 elites have a bolt in neck, the 2778 is glued in (Like a Gibson Les Paul)
USA 1768 has a round back, 2778 has contour back (the latter generally regarded as more comfortable
USA 1768 has OP24 pre-amp, 2778 has OP Pro (OP Pro is regarded as better generally)
Otherwise the guitars seem to be the same although the question remains if the USA made models are more skilfully made than their Korean counterparts.

After researching whether the bolt in neck was indeed superior I eventually concluded any sonic difference would be minimal - some articles even pointed to it offering better energy transfer http://www.guitarplayer.com/miscellaneous/1139/all-about-bolt-on-an...

Given the attendant risks of purchasing secondhand from a stranger 200 miles away v the low risk of a new 2778AX from an official Ovation dealer I opted for the latter.

I intended my visit to the UK dealer to mostly be about seeing if I actually liked Ovation, how it felt, sounded and played. I was planning on them ordering a brand new boxed item instead of buying the shop demo guiitar
but I really bonded with the black beauty despite the action being set too high.

A quick trip to my luthier www.smbguitars.com for fine tuning, slight truss rod adjustment and string height. It's such a gorgeous guitar and now plays like a dream and sounds glorious acoustically. After trying the AC15 I have dragged a Laney 50 Watt keyboard amp into the room and I think it's got the edge.

Anyway that's my story - would love to hear what others think and would be extremely grateful if I ciould be upgraded to full posting status on here.

Kind regards,

Jonathan





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Old Man Arthur
Posted 2017-05-27 1:53 PM (#535308 - in reply to #535307)
Subject: Re: New member - just bought an Ovation



Joined:
September 2006
Posts: 10777

Location: Keepin' It Weird in Portland, OR
Hi Jonathan.

I am glad that you are pleased with your purchase.

If you look around the OFC you will find that many members prefer USA made Bolt-on necks because you can reset the neck at home in you bedroom.
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jgorse
Posted 2017-05-30 6:46 AM (#535340 - in reply to #535307)
Subject: Re: New member - just bought an Ovation


Joined:
May 2017
Posts: 11

Hi Arthur,

Good to hear from you - yes the USA models do seem popular around these parts and there seem to be less guys on here with the newer Korean stuff. Still lots to learn though here and I'm looking forward to learning more about the Ovation series from you guys!

Can anyone tell me how to get activated to post in the other forums?

Brg,

Jonathan
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Damon67
Posted 2017-05-30 11:35 AM (#535346 - in reply to #535307)
Subject: Re: New member - just bought an Ovation



Joined:
December 2006
Posts: 6992

Location: Jet City

Hi Jonathan, Post away. And yes, the Korean models are pretty nice. Good bang for the buck. Congrats on your new Elite!



Edited by Damon67 2017-05-30 11:36 AM
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jgorse
Posted 2017-05-30 8:09 PM (#535358 - in reply to #535307)
Subject: Re: New member - just bought an Ovation


Joined:
May 2017
Posts: 11

Damon, Many thanks for the kind words and the activation - I take it you're the Sheriff in this town? LOL

Just a thought and I know you want to keep the nutcases out of here but joining the forum was very tricky for me and you might find you're losing quite a few prospective members who are new to Ovation because there are so many hoops to jump through. As you know I had problems registering which was a big deterrent.

Anyway just my thoughts - every forum benefits from new members.

Kind regards,

Jonathan
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