Prices of Ovation Custom Balladeers and Legends

Gassage · February 2014

Ridiculously cheap considering these were 1200 + premium acoustics and are still amazing when plugged.

Can get a Balladeer for £200 ish!

Crazy- all US made and really lovely guitars.

richardhomer · February 2014

Ovations seem to have become the least 'cool' acoustic guitars it is possible to own - yet there was a period where it seemed everyone from Glen Campbell to Paul Weller was playing one. I seem to remember ICBM saying something on MR about having seen a few older ones which required neck resets, which are particularly difficult, given their construction - and therefore not really cost-effective.

The lower-end guitars were never particularly great sounding, though the high-end Adamas models were very loud, with excellent balance.

It £200 gets a Balladeer that's playable, that sounds ridiculously cheap.

Personally, I've always rather liked them.

ICBM · February 2014

There was a particularly good-sounding early non-electric one in the shop recently - I've found they do sound better acoustically than the ones with the pickup, I think the soft plastic saddle on the electric models affects the tone. For what it's worth I honestly think that the original preamp with just a single volume control is the best-sounding amplified too.

They are very much a non-conventional-sounding acoustic though - despite the company saying at the time they were developed that their goal was to emulate a Martin D-45 (and claiming that they had!), they really don't sound like a wooden guitar, which can be either a bad thing or a good thing if you like the sound. I do, quite - although I hate the way they slide off your leg when you're sitting down and try to capsize, even on a strap.

They can definitely suffer from neck joint problems too - and they are a bit trickier to fix than a traditional wooden guitar - although far from impossible and it shouldn't be uneconomical even at the relatively low values they are now. I'd be amazed if they're routinely selling for as little as £200, they're far better than that.

The ones to really avoid are the original Applause series with the aluminium fingerboard - easily identified because the fingerboard sits slightly proud of the neck along the sides, and the dot markers are recessed - these have cast-in frets which are part of the fingerboard, with nickel plating on the top, and once the plating wears through the aluminium is far too soft to hold up. Once they get to that point the only solution would be to grind the fingerboard down to flat, slot it and fit conventional frets… and that definitely would be uneconomical. If you're offered one with even one pit through the plating, pass.

Gassage · February 2014

Have a wisdom.

Re the falling off your lap thing, a strategically placed piece of gaffer tape will obviate this.

Al di Me used one for ages- they are very twangy I found - I had a Custom Balladeer for yrs.

I found 3 all around the 300 quid mark.

In other things, there's a Hiwatt 400 on ebay now! The bugger is selling it without the KT88's though.

Only 13 ever made, and 8 were for Glenn Hughes.

bertie · February 2014

Gassage said:

still amazing when plugged.

still ? not sure they ever were.........

they were kind of leading edge at their time .....but TBH plugged in sounds are a bit marmite even today I think

A (late) mate had one of the originals, one thing I remember (it was back in about 98) very small neck/narrow board even for my smallish hands, and a right royal pain to play sat down.

Still £300 is a good price, mrs bert picked up one of the cheapo MIK ones from a charity shop for under £30, and I was pretty impressed with the neck/playability of it, and for £30 it doesnt sound too bad, a great knock about/beater guitar

ESBlonde · March 2014

The ovations were a solution to a problem of their era. In the 70s as PAs and larger concerts became the norm it was hard/impossible to play acoustic guitar in a loud band setting. The ovation played with a slim neck and low action (like an electric guitar in many ways) and produced a strident even brash tone when plugged in that cut through the mix at higher volumes. If you wanted to replicate the sound of your favourite D45 or D28 you and your sound engineer had to spend some time with a decent graphic equaliser and accept the compromise.
Now many standard construction acoustic guitars have decent pickups available (several decade of development mind you) and so the ovation is consigned to a footnote in rocks history. One day a famous user will have a big hit and use one to start a trend and prices will sour for a few years I expect, but the technology has had it's day really.

I guess they are like the Dobro/resonator or Early Archtop guitars, designed to play louder (as indeed was the electric guitar).

crunchman · March 2014

I just hate the way they slide around - wouldn't want one if you gave it to me.

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Prices of Ovation Custom Balladeers and Legends

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