Ovation encounter and question

[carfish7]

I stumbled upon a sweet looking Ovation that seemed to be realistically priced, but wanted to know if there was a premium for the finish or not. It was a 1778T in a red flame finish, and came with a hsc. Do these amplify well? It had a sleek feel and played pretty slick. The paint job over-the-top, but that is sometimes the strongest appeal. Said "made in USA"?

Looks like you can get a "textured" black one for $350-$450 readily, but how about the Hot-Rod version? also said it was 179/200 so a limited run?

Thanks!

[JohnnyB]

I stumbled upon a sweet looking Ovation that seemed to be realistically priced, but wanted to know if there was a premium for the finish or not. It was a 1778T in a red flame finish, and came with a hsc. Do these amplify well? It had a sleek feel and played pretty slick. The paint job over-the-top, but that is sometimes the strongest appeal. Said "made in USA"?

Looks like you can get a "textured" black one for $350-$450 readily, but how about the Hot-Rod version? also said it was 179/200 so a limited run?

Thanks!

The USA Elite T 1778T is a great combination of tone, build quality, slick playability, and low price, whether black or with flamejob. Several accomplished and regularly gigging HFC-ers have and swear by them, including Pesocaster, Hardheartedbill, and JeffR. I don't know if the flame job commands a higher price (sure, there are only 200 out there, but is there any collectible demand?), but whether black, silver, or flamed they were a steal at $700-800 when new and they'll certainly give you your money's worth used. How much is he asking?

[carfish7]

How much is he asking?

Hanging in the store tagged @$449 w/ohsc.

Does this have their primo preamp setup or somewhere nears?

[tomteriffic]

Add me to the regularly gigging "swear by them" camp. And in general I'm not that goony about Ovations. This one is different.

I'm not totally up on the preamp heirarchy, but it's very good, with tuner, pre-shape EQ button, 3 band EQ with useful frequency centers, etc. But none of the "mp3 recorder/coffemaker/one button upload to Facebook" stuff.

If it's all straight, that's a good deal on that one. The USA made 1778's command a bit of a premium these days. For good reason.

[silentman]

Yep - I scored a textured 1778 a few years back. Kicks ass. I liked it way more than some higher priced fancy pants USA ovations.

[JohnnyB]

Add me to the regularly gigging "swear by them" camp. And in general I'm not that goony about Ovations. This one is different.

Oops, I forgot you had one too. Pesocaster was not an "Ovation guy" either. In fact, he went on a several-day, multi-store junket trying out every acoustic he could come close to affording. He came north (with Kull) to visit me and try out a 1778T Elite T at an independent store in my neighborhood. Several times during this process he said, "I did not want to like this guitar" because of a general aversion to Ovations. He also found that something appreciably better would have cost $2500. The real proof of concept came a year later when his wife gave him a 12-string version for his birthday.

The crazy thing about the 1778T is that it is the most synthetic-looking guitar (even for Ovation) while sounding the woodiest out of all the Ovations I've tried. With all this talk about polyester vs. nitocellulose finish to let the wood vibrate, how does Ovation get so much wood in the sound with a crackle black finish?

If it's all straight, that's a good deal on that one. The USA made 1778's command a bit of a premium these days. For good reason.

Yes. $450 (or a bit less if you can haggle) is an excellent price for the USA guitar with OHSC. The only recent confirmed completed auction I could find on eBay was for $439 for a black one, but with $59 shipping. Your local one is the better deal. And enjoy the flames!

[Hamer Time]

With all this talk about polyester vs. nitocellulose finish to let the wood vibrate, how does Ovation get so much wood in the sound with a crackle black finish?

I read somewhere that the finish is actually thinner than a traditional finish??

I have a black one, ebony board and bridge, OP pro electronics. Nice low action. Good low end tone because of the 'holes', and with the ebony it still sounds nice and bright. I paid 6 for mine a couple of years ago and it was worth every penny, so for $4 how could you not jump on it? Hand crafted in the US. They're not made anymore, get 'em while you can lol.

Check the price on this one...

http://www.specialtyguitarsplus.com/index....n&Itemid=29

?

[LostArt]

great guitar great price

yes the textured finish is actually thinner.

great sound

great value

if you get an LX model you done good

[Jimbilly]

I've got an Elite T, Korean, I was just a/b/c -ing it last night. Those are great guitars for the money. That sound like a very-very good price, if you like it at all, you should buy it.

[hardheartedbill]

Just got mine back from numerous one son. A vintage Gibson unseated it. Using it tonight at the the NC writers convention

[duncans]

Based on all the conversations here, I pulled the trigger on a 1778LX for a decent price. Should be here Monday. I can hardly wait.

[belgian]

Just did a small tour with John Pointer (TX) - at the last gig his preamp died - so he went for the backup - a 1778T (US) - it's even has the original strings on it.

Just plugged it in a Ibanez Promethean and without even re-redialing it sounded great.

[hardheartedbill]

Guaranteed to garner lots of comments too. You could have a prewar martin sitting there and people will ask about the 1778

[tomteriffic]

Guaranteed to garner lots of comments too. You could have a prewar martin sitting there and people will ask about the 1778

So true.

[JohnnyB]

great guitar great price

yes the textured finish is actually thinner.

great sound

great value

That would explain why it looks so synthetic yet sounds so organic; the thinner finish lets the spruce top vibrate more freely.