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New to OFC, but pretty old in dog years...

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Nubilee
Posted 2010-02-01 1:11 AM (#4271)
Subject: New to OFC, but pretty old in dog years...


Joined:
January 2010
Posts: 15

Hello, all!

I'm sure I'm not the only one who saw the epaulets and said, what is that? I tried a few, but none of them really felt right... until I walked into a local store and tried the new 1985 Collector's Edition. The super shallow bowl was comfortable beyond belief, and it had action which set the bar for all guitars which have followed it. (I remember the technician who was doing the set up under warranty saying that I had no idea how low it was, and that's probably true, as I had been playing electrics up to that point!)

That guitar was my first guitar for the pieces of Michael Hedges, and also the instrument I first attempted to tune to full fifths. There were quite a few guys involved in the folk scene in my area, and we had lots of cross pollination from the Irish and traditional music scene. We were trying bouzouki tunings and such on guitar, but there was no way to get a clean and full sound across the full set of six strings without either a floppy bottom F1 or popping the high string. Although I finally decided that I'd rather not do with yet another tuning with a discontinuity in the uniform intervals, another guy living in the area and with access to the same types of instruments (thanks to Bo!) decided to use full fifhs except for the top string, which was a minor third above the next string. We all chuckled when the guy claimed the tuning had just occurred to him out of the blue, especially given the plethora of fifths tuned instruments in the area and at Bo's Strings where he was hanging out, but what can you say? *laugh* He wound up ordering a bunch of Ovation guitars from Bo's for classes in this tuning, which just shows you how versatile the Ovation shallow bowls are.

Anyway, I kept that guitar for years, until I suffered hand problems which made it unlikely I would ever get back to guitar. I eventually sold all my guitars, with the Ovation going last.

In the last 5 years, I started to work on getting back the use of my fingers, and finally started playing guitar again. No more thinking about how I could make an autoharp do what 6 strings and 10 fingers could do effortlessly! Unfortunately, I now lived in an area where there's not many decent Ovation or Adamas on the walls of my local guitar stores. My first serious purchase was a Rainsong. However, there was a development in string technology from Garry Goodman, a string capable of reaching a high B4 at the standard 25.5" guitar scale length. I knew which instrument had be to used as a basis.

I wound up getting a 12-string Celebrity on eBay from Woody, if I recall correctly. (He was always highly spoken of here at the OFC, and so the decision was a no-brainer.) The action was already amazing, and after altering the nut for the new string gauges and for unison stringing instead of the normal octave stringing, the Ovation Mandophone was a reality! Bouzouki/octave mandolin, cittern, mandocello, and (capoed at the fifth fret) mandolin and mandola, all in one instrument! It had only taken 20 years to get there! *laugh* And, of course... epaulets!

Even though I'm a fan of Ovations, I have only one. Along with some Rainsongs, the other main acoustic guitar is one of those Hohner Eclipse bowlbacks. It's a 12-string with a woven birch laminate back and a deep bowl. I'm surprised at how good it sounds, but then I remember that Kaman had championed that shape years before for a reason.

I've been thinking about getting either a custom Adamas super shallow 12-string for full fifths, with set up and intonation for the tuning right from the start and straight from the Mothership, but it's more likely I'll get a stock carbon fiber topped 12-string Ovation or Adamas for conversion, especially given how the economy is currently. I don't play professionally anymore, and so the instrument would be for my own pleasure. My desire for the shallow bowl limits the instrument pool available to me, but I've waited more than two decades at this point, so a few more years is no big deal....
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Mr. Ovation
Posted 2010-02-01 2:53 AM (#4272 - in reply to #4271)
Subject: Re: New to OFC, but pretty old in dog years...


Joined:
December 2001
Posts: 7209

Location: The Great Pacific Northwest
Nubilee, is that "Bo's Strings" as in downtown Frederick, MD? I used to live there (Frederick, not Bo's) :) although I spent a few penny's over the years in Bo's. He brought a violin that was a family heirloom back to life for me. Great folks.
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Nubilee
Posted 2010-02-01 2:59 AM (#4273 - in reply to #4271)
Subject: Re: New to OFC, but pretty old in dog years...


Joined:
January 2010
Posts: 15

In fact it IS Bo's Strings I was referencing, just up the road from the hotbed of the DC music scene. Bo's a great guy.
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Mr. Ovation
Posted 2010-02-01 3:08 AM (#4274 - in reply to #4271)
Subject: Re: New to OFC, but pretty old in dog years...


Joined:
December 2001
Posts: 7209

Location: The Great Pacific Northwest
Well I guess genre of music is a factor, but for me, the "Music Scene" was essentially non-existent compared to other places I lived. It has gotten a little better from what I hear, but that's not saying much.

If you ever get a chance to see Bo Weevil or the John Zahn band perform, go see them.
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MWoody
Posted 2010-02-01 8:53 AM (#4275 - in reply to #4271)
Subject: Re: New to OFC, but pretty old in dog years...



Joined:
December 2003
Posts: 13983

Location: Upper Left USA
Welcome Nubilee!
I know I'm old when I can't remember selling a Celeb 12 string :rolleyes: but if the action was good and you liked it, that's what matters!

I am playing with a part-o-vation now that has a 26.3" scale and it has way more tuning options that most guitars would tolerate.
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