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Ovation: Acoustic Becomes Electric and the Rest is History!

It has been over 45 years since Ovation guitars first came on the scene. From the onset, Ovation was a different kind of acoustic guitar with its rounded back and unique sound; and as such captured the attention of musicians as diverse as Glen Campbell to Jimmy Page to Shania Twain to members of Pink Floyd. The tonal quality of the Ovation guitar quickly set it apart from other acoustic guitars available.

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As the story goes, Glen Campbell, who was hosting a popular TV show, asked for an Ovation guitar with a built-in pickup, so that he would not have to stand in front of a microphone when he played. He wanted to walk around as he performed. His friend and fellow entertainer Jerry Reed had a classical guitar with an under-saddle pickup that he wanted to replicate. The problem was: Jerry Reed’s guitar had nylon strings.

Even though the concept of the pickup was right – piezo crystals under the bridge saddle – it was made for a nylon string guitar and, as such suffered from tonal and string imbalance problems when used on a guitar with steel strings. Up to this point, playing an acoustic guitar on stage required standing in front of a microphone, using a magnetic pickup mounted in the sound-hole, or using a stick-on “bug” on the soundboard. Unfortunately, none of these options worked to keep the acoustic sound pure when amplified. It became even more of a problem with other instruments that were amplified, such as drums or electric guitars, due to the volume discrepancy.

The engineers at Ovation began looking into the concept of a pickup for their steel string Ovation guitar and thus began the journey of designing a new pickup of their own that would meet the demand that electric guitars had already captured, while retaining the acoustic sound that set the Ovation acoustic guitars apart. One thing they realized right away was the necessity of creating the right balance of sensing both top vibration and string vibration. By attaining the right balance between the two would result in capturing the Ovation’s renown acoustic tone and also allow for volume control to match the volume of the other instruments.

The result of that research has since become known as the first successful integration of playing an acoustic guitar that also allowed for its amplification when desired. The replication of the unique acoustic sound into an electrically amplified option began a new era in professional performances by musicians. Those who saw themselves as ‘purists’ when desiring the acoustic sound could successfully blend with the other instruments in a performance and thus accomplish both the pure sound emanating from an acoustic guitar with the amplification necessary to complete the musical sound coming from all other instruments in a group setting. Then enters: The Ovation Electric Guitar!

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At the time of this writing, the pickup first designed by the engineers at Ovation is still in use today on their acoustic/electric Ovations. The sound is well balanced, the output is very high and the saddle is properly shaped for accurate intonation. The piezo pickups possess a very high impedance, which can result in the sound changing if there is a need for long cable runs. In order to prevent this, the engineers at Ovation designed a “buffered” preamp that effectively lowered the impedance, while preserving the tone and controlling the output at the same time.

Even though the Ovation pickup has remained basically the same, the electronics have been modified over the years to accommodate sound reinforcement technology. Throughout the years, Ovation has maintained its leadership as the dominant acoustic electric guitar all over the world.

Founder Bill Kaman recalls, “Our first preamp was a very clean design. It had two contour filters to enhance the “acousticness” of the sound, and combined with bringing the impedance into the right range, the guitar sounded very rich and full. The first preamps were volume only. Later we added a tone control to the circuit as well as offering a stereo preamp. In the beginning, only about 15% of the guitars we built had pickups. Within ten years, 90% of our guitars were acoustic/electric. The truly amazing thing is that it also took about that same amount of time before any of our competition began to offer acoustic/electric models as standard in their line.”

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Ovation Guitar Model cc255-12 string

Anyone own this guitar?? How does it play? What can you say about it?

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I am completely new to guitar and I plan on getting either an acoustic or an acoustic electric. If I went for the acoustic I would probably get a Fender. If I get the electric acoustic then I will probably go for an Ovation celebrity cc28-HBY.

Can someone please tell me which path to take along with which guitar to get?

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Jon gives an extended in depth and very informative review on the Ovation Deacon lefty. In fact this is the only lefthand deacon ever made! Check out this stunning guitar for it’s looks and sounds and find out where you can get the reissue, the closest thing to the original. Produced, shot & edited by Brian Way.

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Live at Cafe Luna, Vashon Island, Washington on May 11,2007. Playing my Ovation Balladeer. (Original Music Video) free mp3’s: www.marywinmusic.com ________________________ “Irie (Lessons & Lies)” Words & music by Mary Win. Copyright © 2007 Mary Win. All rights reserved. You should…

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