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October 2005
Posts: 4025
Location: Utah | How do they sound?
I played one years ago at the Roadshow. Are the recent production the same? I don’t recall if those original wood topped models had the suspension ring or not. I do recall it sounding very much like the 2007BCS I owned at the time.
Al’s ad for a 1681WT is giving me gas! |
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June 2002
Posts: 6191
Location: Phoenix AZ | They do NOT sound like an Adamas. They sound like probably the best woodtop Ovation you're going to find. Mine were all new and still pretty "tight" sounding but I'm sure they have really opened up over time. At first I was disappoint with them, like WTF I paid Adamas money for these and they don't even sound like an Adamas. But then DUH, dummy if you wanted a guitar that that sounded like an Adamas you should have bought a carbon topped Adamas. Instead what I got was three of the best sounding woodtop Ovations known to man (which ain't too shabby).
I think from a marketing perspective Fender screwed this one up just like they screwed up everything else their hands touched. These should have simply been called Ovation, not Adamas. No Adamas (carbon topped) player is going to buy one. But to an Ovation player these could be the ultimate configuration of guitar without having to go through a custom build. I had the Cutaway Coutour, Cutaway 12-string Contour and Non Cutaway deepbowl.
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February 2016
Posts: 1769
Location: When?? | @Standingovation >>>what I got was three of the best sounding woodtop Ovations known to man<<<
So very nice. I'm guessing that non-cutaway deep could be a total thunder maker with some 1919s unplugged. |
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May 2006
Posts: 4221
Location: Steeler Nation, Hudson Valley Contingent | My 2001C was a family favorite for years, but a freak accident at church sent it flying off of its stand, demolishing the top. People around here know what I tended to do with damaged guitars back then, but this would be something different. We had heard about the new wood-topped Adamas line, but had not seen any yet, so I worked with John Budny to replace the bowl assembly with a suspension ring and redwood top. The results were spectacular! Absolute loads of sustain coupled with that mellow redwood tone is hard to beat tonewise. So funny enough, and with relation to Dave's post, I have a wood topped Adamas-style guitar that says Ovation on the headstock, but I also have a wood-topped Adamas from a different re-build without the suspension ring that actually says Adamas on the label. Until this thread and his post, I never thought about it before! 
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October 2005
Posts: 4025
Location: Utah | I can’t remember for sure but I think the roadshow guitars did not have the suspension ring nor the hand laid bowl. At the time I owned a 2007BCS and thought the wood topped Adamas was very similar in sound. Certainly nicer than other Os I’d played. Since then I traded away the ‘07 because it seemed redundant to the 2080. Ever since, I have regretted letting that one go.
So the big question, do I need another guitar, and is it this one?
And the associated questions like do I really need a new kitchen or an emergency fund?  |
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March 2005
Posts: 12750
Location: Boise, Idaho | I played one at the Roadshow, too, and I was very impressed. I am pretty sure it had the suspension ring and I was impressed with the response from bass to treble. I regret not buying the demo model on the spot, but still had a kid in college and other excuses. I don't remember the '07 Collectors enough to compare, but I thought it was more like a 1537, but lighter with a bit more of a crisp sound and more bass. I would imagine that with some playing and age they'd mellow out.
I won't be buying it, but yes, you need it. You're close enough I can come down and play it, then kick myself some more for not buying it. |
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May 2011
Posts: 751
Location: Muenster/Germany | I had one, the nutmeg coloured guitar in the middle of the pics above.
The guitar was different from any other Ovations, the tone appeared to develop right in front of the guitar, not inside. Very easy to play and great specs. I disliked the construction of the string holder. On this guitar the neck angle was so flat that I had to close all the holes first and drill them new a bit deeper so that I got a little more pressure on the saddle (just the same problem that I had with my 2008 Adamas..). I don´t understand why this guitar was built like that, such a loss of dynamics because of a bad neck angle and and otherwise such a wonderful and in all other aspects very precise and perfectly built guitar. Had a set neck, otherwise a careful neck reset would have solved all this. I don´t understand that, too. The bolt-on Ovation necks are so easy to handle and such a perfect construction, why are they not in use on the most expensive instruments? The old 1687 and 88 were better in this respect.
I traded the guitar for a rare handmade guitar.
I should have kept it, it was much better than I first thought, despite of the little issues. I even tried to buy it back but got no answer, no wonder.
When I saw Alpep´s WT here in this forum I remembered my WT quite sadly. |
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March 2002
Posts: 15652
Location: SoCal | I always thought of these guitars as a modern 1537. They were not Adamii. Those had carbon fiber tops. I played several and thought they were very compressed in sound. Not open. But I suspect that they did open up as they were played. I believe that the mounting ring was the same one used on the 47 RI's and the OFC I's. And I agree with the comment above, the Adamas bridge was not good for these guitars. They needed more break angle over the saddle. Using the Adamas bridge was a marketing idea, and not a good one. |
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March 2005
Posts: 12750
Location: Boise, Idaho | Moody's comment reminded me that a friend of mine who is an Adamas fan and former Ovation "Key Man" back in the day, much prefers the standard Ovation bridge, even on an Adamas, to the original Adamas bridge. I could never tell the difference. Moody's word "compressed" is probably a better word for what I had described as "crisp". I'd like to hear one after it has opened up, although the one I played at the Roadshow probably had some time on it. |
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March 2002
Posts: 15652
Location: SoCal | Mark, I played the roadshow one and thought that it needed some time.... |
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December 2001
Posts: 10581
Location: NJ | Great sounding guitars
Not an adamas
Different |
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December 2017
Posts: 96
Location: Gardnerville, NV | What would the difference between these and an Elite be? Very confused. |
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June 2002
Posts: 6191
Location: Phoenix AZ | dba - 2018-07-30 7:13 PM
What would the difference between these and an Elite be? Very confused.
o neck attachment to bowl
o bowl attachment to top
o bowl material
o bridge
o rarity
o price |
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September 2006
Posts: 10777
Location: Keepin' It Weird in Portland, OR | I played one at the Roadshow also.
First thing is asked was; "How is this different from a 1537?"
Next thing that I noticed was; "No manhole cover? How do you get inside?"
I could not afford it, but I really wanted it. 
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August 2011
Posts: 887
Location: Always beautiful canyon country of Utah | Myself I wouldn't know whether or not a guitar needed some "time". They all sound fabulous to me. I guess I am not a connoisseur but just a living room hack who likes to sit around and sing the old songs. But I do envy those who have better ears and more sophistication than I!! I would guess that my Martin that I obtained in 1968 and have played faithfully over the years might have some "time" on it?? |
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Posts: 1609
Location: Colorado | I currently own the 12er on the right. Thanks Dave. I purchased it for one main reason...I had and have never seen another of this model guitar- LIKELY it is the only one. Never had issues with the break angle, but then I am used to playing an old rag Adamas I have lying around. Holds tune remarkably well - never had it at anything other than A440 pitch. It is not thunderous in sound, but I am fine with that, I am not sitting in a pickin parlor playing Flatt and Scruggs. I like the comment about the sound being out in front - rather than in the bowl...recently I had to lay down a couple tracks - and ran it direct and mic'd up. As we moved a KSM44 and an SM81 around, the sweet spot was a foot out from the strings - dead center between the end of the fret board and the bridge - angled in at about 45 degrees so my hand was not blocking the direct to diaphragm pathway.
As for the timbre of the tones, rather than the sound of a sharp harp glissando, it compares better to a brushed swath across high pitch wind chimes. The electronics sound nice to, just not needed in the studio setting, because the acoustic only instrument sound alone holds up. It is well balanced up and down the neck. OP Pro Studio Electronics. My one complaint - the texture of the hand laid bowl grabs clothing - but it'll never slide off your lap - though I never had an issue with that anyway.
It'll be out on tour next summer in an orchestra pit near you. It (me) unexpectedly had to take this summer off from playing. Road engineers love the high level - yet stone silent (free of hum and hiss) from the instrument. The construction is solid and precise - very rugged instrument - needed for lots of pro live playing. Does it have the jangle of a 1970s Jumbo Guild 12er (the gold standard 12 sound IMHO), no - but it is so much less fussy, easier to play, and monumentally better when plugged in.
All guitars take time to open up...TTs help, but that is another thread. If what Al has compares to this - then he is offering a great guitar - yes it is expensive - and it should be. All in all - a stunningly precise pro instrument. It is pictured in one of the calendars from a few years ago up at Damon's House. |
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Wood topped Adamas. Who’s played one?
