Price Paid: lists at $2000+ USD
Description: acoustic with pick-up. Carbon-Graphite composite sound board with epilet soundhole design and fan bracing, OP24 electronics with onboard chromatic tuner, XLR and phone plug outputs, impregnated maple fingerboard.
Tone:
Comments: Somewhat bright but full in the bass as well; the electronics (with notch filter) are excellent for shaping the frequency balance through the transducer using a four step EQ. The onboard tuner proves that OVATION had thier thinking caps on with regards to live performance. The EQ allows you to shape a myriad of sounds from fully electric to "comping" background or jazz to country/folk (electrically). I find that the sound hole configuration at the upper bout of the guitar allows for great miking while giving the player loads of room for picking and helps to avoid a good deal of finger noise often found over conventional folk guitar sound holes
Quality:
Comments: I find the craftsmanship and personalized attention in repairs at OVATION to be very good to excellent. The frets wear about as well as any other full wood guitars on the market, but for durability, OVATION is still top of the line in my opinion - without sacrificing tonal quality, playablity (the roundback of OVATIONS does give some "larger-middle-folks" a tough time, granted. I have more of a "V" shape body and it fits to my body very well), looks and electronics.
Overall:
Pros: I have been an OVATION owner and semi-pro musician since the 70's. Frankly, I like a lot of other makers of guitars in the acoustic field - Martin and Guild (honorable mention to Yamaha for value) amongst them - but, from the moment an OVATION was placed in my lap in 1976, that clinched it. I chose the Adamas II over the Adamas I because the tonal qualities were equal without the "gaudy" add-ons of the Adamas I, which OVATION calls their top-of-the-line. I found the lower priced Adamas II more than adequate as a first-string guitar and have never been disappointed. It is important to note that the space-age workmanship and materials of the ADAMAS series make it remarkably impervious to extremes in temperature and humidity. In general, I would highly recommend the OVATION Customer Service folks for repairs whenever it becomes necessary - and I have the experience since 1976 to go by (of the 8 or 10 times I've HAD to call on them for work or defects; their product is great). Did I mention that ANYONE looks good playing one?
Cons: Try your best to buy an OVATION made in the USA. Aside from the much limited warranty (Adamas is a life-time warranty, by the way), I have found the workmanship merely passable in the lower priced OVATIONS. For some, this composite guitar is too far a departure from the purist ideal of the all wood guitar. As I mention, the player with broad shoulders and flatter stomach is the most comfortable owner of an OVATION; and in any case, it takes a little time to master the art of playing the instruments standing - without the "roll" that may become a problem for mastering strumming dexterity. As with all materials (wood guitars included), periodic maintainence is always essential; and remember that the extremes in humidity affect ALL guitars, and with the composite materials of OVATIONS this is always something to keep in mind.

Submitted by:
Ferraro (Drew622@aol.com)
Playing Experience:
over ten years
Musical Tastes:
blues country folk pop

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