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I had a good time at a store I hadn't been to before, Minotti Music in North Haven, CT. They stocked a ton of different quot;middle of the linequot; guitars and acoustics. I was able to play a ton of Alvarez, Takamine, Guild and Ovation stuff.

There was a few things that shocked me about Ovation. 1) Their models aren't as similar as I thought they'd be. There are big feel and quality differences. I played some models that had reasonably sharp Vs, and some with chunky Cs. I got to experience the different types of bowls as well. The preamps really dig make a big difference and I didn't like the OP3O or OP24 near as much as the OP-Pro. 2) Their quality isn't as consistant as I thought they'd be. One guitar I picked up had sharp frets. I found there to be some fret buzz problems on a few guitars (even the 1771LX I played there - probably due to bad guitar techs touching them). 3) They don't play as quot;electricallyquot; as I thought. These are acoustics and I found playing them as difficult as any other acoustic out there. They definitely don't quot;play themselvesquot;.

With all that said, I played some other guitars and found out why some players prefer Ovations. I went back to those Alvarez guitars that I liked so much. They have a good high end and have good clarity, but the low end isn't very present. A lot of guitars seem to suffer from this. Even the AJ60SC, which sounded good unplugged, has a pretty bad preamp system that I would consider virtually unusable (feedback is a big problem). Guilds don't seem to be quite as balanced as I like either across the spectrum, but they did sound good, and they were warmer and not quite as bright, tinny as others.

I played a guitar that I was pretty impressed with, the Takamine EG523SC. I read good reviews and when I saw it in the store, I knew I had to give it a fair run. First off, it quot;feelsquot; like a high end guitar. The tone was typical jumbo, so it may be too bright for some folks although I found it to be fuller than the Alvarez AJ-60SC. I heard clarity that I didn't even hear in the Guild I played. Plugged in, I was very impressed. It had a great jumbo sound and it didn't feedback nearly as bad as other acoustic electrics. You really get great bang for the buck with this guitar, no doubt about it. The EQ worked very well as did the included tuner.

Finally, I played the 1771LX and I fell in love with it. I switched it off between other Ovations (trying to see if I could get away with a lower priced model), Guilds (hey, my idol Johnny plays one... maybe I'd like it), and the Takamine. The Takamine was definitely my second favorite. The Ovation felt amazing, looked great and the construction was absolutely flawless. The only things that turned me off was the fact that the action was set pretty high and whoever did the setup on it messed up because there was horrible fret buzz on the first fret. The tone must be what regular acoustic players shell out significantly more money for. Not only did I get a bright, punchy sound like the Tak and others, but there was a killer lowend, and it was warm and very full at the same time. I've never heard quite such a full tone. This especially was heard through an acoustic amp. A/Bing between the Tak and this really showed the differences. The Ovation is very versatile guitar and it's more organic than the other acoustic electrics I was trying. There was real warmth to the tone and the EQ shaping allowed me to get a dark Martin type tone or a more lively Taylor type tone. There wasn't that real quacky piezo effect to the tone either. All in all, I'm sold (but I do need to find a good acoustic amp for it )

I played all of these acoustics through a small acoustic Crate and the result wasn't too bad (although I'm sure the SWR California Blonde that was there would have slaughtered it if it was working right).

Awesome reviews man!!! good insight!

try the ovation through a genz-benz shenandoah amp...i've really been impressed with them as well as the rivera sedonas...of course a high end Taylor sounds good through anything...LOL!!!

Taylors are awesome. Norman is also worth looking at, especially their b-50 models.


Originally Posted by HossAwesome reviews man!!! good insight!

try the ovation through a genz-benz shenandoah amp...i've really been impressed with them as well as the rivera sedonas...of course a high end Taylor sounds good through anything...LOL!!!

Thanks a lot Hoss! The Shenandoah looks great! I automatically leaned towards an SWR California Blonde, but it looks like the Shenandoah is even better (I have to admit I'm intrigued by AER, but they're a good $200 more).

This will be my new baby: from : localhost/cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...e=STRK:MEWN:IT

Take a look at the seller's feedback rating, THAT'S what to look for when you're buying online; I have no doubt I'm going to get a great guitar, setup right, fast.

I haven't been this excited about a purchase in a while