http://articles.courant.com/2014-04-...ts-corp-fender
Well not really, but they will no longer be made in the US.
This makes me cherish my 1763 Classical even more.
http://articles.courant.com/2014-04-...ts-corp-fender
Well not really, but they will no longer be made in the US.
This makes me cherish my 1763 Classical even more.
Very sorry to hear this... more proof that a crumblng economy and the competition for CHEAP guitars is the way of the world. I own the last... two custom made, Adamas 1's from Ovation before fender bought them out. They were both on the bench and begun before Fender took over... I know some of the guy's who worked there, this was the flagship factory and they kept all the American Made and all the Custom orders there. There were some fantastic craftsmen and women working there. They'll be working in the food industry like everyone else because its about all thats left for talented trades people unless you go back to school. Skills like this are becoming extinct as there is no need for them anymore, in the USA.Originally Posted by tormato
I have owned many of this companies guitars. I had a nice Cedar top classical.... it had a booming bottom end...and clear mid range and bright top end. blew most any other traditional classicals out of the water... I still own a beatutiful 12 string adamas that is second to none in sound (acoustically and electrified). My Adamas Guitars never have any feedback problems on stage. and I think they look nicer than any acoustic guitar ever made.
Charlie Kaman was a genius.
Rickenbacker is the last company made in the USA exclusively... I'll buy a Ric if I buy new again.
Of course, not being of the daily persuasion in this opinion laden public prog bathhouse, my diatribe of recent lucubration is perhaps as welcome as a rats teat. One often is forced to weigh the desire to flash judgment within against the effort required as well as the value this knowledge will be to the greater good of all mankind or whatever inhabits the current spa. At best, its a slippery slope.
Well, the problem is that American made guitars are so expensive that a lot of people can't afford them. Personally, I've had it in mind for some years to go the DIY route, only I think gonna start with a Squier Strat and change out the parts I want to replace. Why start with a Squier? Because the model I'm looking at comes equipped with Seymour Duncan lipstick tube pickups, which by themselves cost almost as much as the whole of the guitar. So I reckon, I'm basically buying the pickups, and getting the pickguard, body and bridge assembly for free. I plan to replace the neck, machine heads, and most of the electronics besides the pickups, and possibly even refinish the instrument. In the words of Jeremy Clarkson, "How can it be?".
My 1st acoustic was a 1979 Ovation Applause and I love my 2003 cherry-burst 12 string Standard Balladeer...innovative design and a great sound and look...sad to see them go.
Check out my solo project prog band, Mutiny in Jonestown at https://mutinyinjonestown.bandcamp.com/
Check out my solo project progressive doom metal band, WytchCrypt at https://wytchcrypt.bandcamp.com/
Sad indeed.....and as stated, another example of the decline of America's abilty to compete in the global marketplace....more of the same to come in the coming years I'm afraid.
I've never owned an Ovation but have played several over the years....I always did want to get an Adamas 12-string but never did pull the trigger...might have to scrounge one up on Ebay before the prices go up.
Yeah, hyperbole much? These guitars are still being made.
Please no xenophobic B.S. on Asian-made guitars. Anyone who's ever played an Eastman can tell tell you that there are so many well-made, affordable guitars being made today. As musicians, we've never had it so good. People used to complain about Japanese made guitars, but guess what, Ibanez and Yamaha make top notch instruments.
Fender has been hit (not nearly as bad as others like Gibson/Martin) by the Guitar Center financial implosion in upcoming liquidation by Bain Capital, the current owner of GC. (the guy who made Fender what it was after CBS was my teacher's best friend, so I got to know a little bit of their history, particularly that unique period when D'Aquisto licensed his designs, they brought in Benedetto and bought Guild)
Still have my '71 Deluxe Balladeer, though I rarely play it. Was inspired to buy it because John McLaughlin played one on My Goal's Beyond.
Hell, they ain't even old-timey ! - Homer Stokes
For me, Ovation has always equalled the Red White and Blue. Till now.
Nope.
http://www.carvinguitars.com
I own a 1979 Augustino DR-11. It cost 560.00 new. The price today is $2400.00.
Of course, a lot of it has to do with current EPA rules and regulations for importing wood into this country.
I never really cared for the sound of Ovations or Adamas. Their acoustics tend to sound too much like rubber band/cigar box guitars.
I do like Adamas strings though. They sound great on a good all wood acoustic.
They'll have to pry my American Ovation from my cold, dead hands.
Just sold this guitar... it was well made and I liked the way it looked, but in a blindfold test I think quite a few el cheapo guitars made elsewhere would best it.Ovation.jpg
By coincidence, I stumbled onto this great half hour university TV program yesterday.
Yep, not really indeed ok...
Yep, not really indeed ok...
While they were one of the first (if not the first) to make stage/road-worthy acoustic guitars that could be played at live volumes LOUD without succumbing to the feedback that plagued most pickup-driven acoustics back in the day, as a guitarist I have to say I never liked them at all. They didn't feel comfortable/natural to hold, because of the rounded shape of the body's back, and I never particularly liked how they sounded either. Fiberglass just ain't a good (un)natural material, imo, and while I know they were popular with folks like McLaughlin, Di Meola, Metheny and others at the time, largely because options were limited, I think the fact that their popularity waned as soon as better solutions arose speaks volumes.
They were practical for their time, but as (again un)natural acoustic instruments, they were brittle sounding with, as I recall, very little natural sustain or warmth. Sorry to disagree with those who own and love 'em, but I was much happier with, for example, my '90s-era Guild Songbird which, while lacking in natural projection as it was a rather thin acoustic guitar in the body, it sounded good enough to be worth both taking a direct line and close miking it in the studio, resulting in a very lovely, warm and woody acoustic sound, both onstage and in the studio.
This is about how I felt about Ovations thru the years.
They also all sounded the same to my ears.
no tunes, no dynamics, no nosebone
God you are so close to being right... and Yes Carvin is about 98% USA... I love their Basses... ! Had one... sold it.. Miss it... but they have started a Korean Factory now... and are building some of the "cobalt" line acoustic guitars to USA standards... But this is how it starts..
Rickenbaker is 100% USA... Rick Hall is still able to buy his parts here as well. Point is... no overseas fatory that will continue to take more and more jobs away from the American Luthiers.
Point is not a debate about the quaility of overseas guitar factories... I owned a MIJ Fender and it played better than any American strat I have owned since... The point is these overseas factories take jobs away. If we had a tarrif on imports... this would protect the American craftsmen and women and make it less of an incentive for American companies to go overseas, to begin with.
But then this is getting to be a political comment and that is not where we should go... So take it for what little its worth. I know some of the OVation craftsmen... only reason for my comments... Good people, sad to see Fender shut down this flagship custom factory.
Just sayin......
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rR5-gUYwKi8
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gNhlLhvYuoM
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HsvXSKOCUfs
Kick back and Enjoy...
Last edited by Classic Progressive; 04-27-2014 at 11:10 PM.
Of course, not being of the daily persuasion in this opinion laden public prog bathhouse, my diatribe of recent lucubration is perhaps as welcome as a rats teat. One often is forced to weigh the desire to flash judgment within against the effort required as well as the value this knowledge will be to the greater good of all mankind or whatever inhabits the current spa. At best, its a slippery slope.
Its actually two-sided: the quality of American Instruments is going down but the pricetags are going up. All anyone needs to do is look at 90s Rickenbacker basses or modern new Gibson guitars to see the quality/value dilemma is shooting ourselves in the foot......This is compounded with the issue that N-Singh points out is that the quality on many non-American guitars has gone up on various lines while maintaining decent consumer price-points.....Eastman's are great "retro" guitars and they arent the only ones out there putting out decent affordable instruments
Yeah, I don't know anyone who owns or plays thee guitars. I always thought of it as the REO Speedwagon guitar.
For steel string dreadnoughts, I thought that Martin and Taylor (but not Martin Taylor, he plays arch tops) were the standard bearers.
The Gibson Custom Shop in Memphis/Montana still makes excellent guitars (L5s, Citations, replicas of old 1930s L5s, L7s; apparently the new replica of the 1959 ES-175 is very good). But they cost an arm and a leg.
I found a Carvin newsletter from 2012 that said the Cobalt line was being discontinued. These guitars don't currently appear on the website. So maybe they closed the Korea factory?
A number of years ago, I went out and bought a new '62 reissue Tele. Beautiful instrument. Played like crap. I sold it but still wanted a tele. A few weeks later, I went into the MARS store in Raleigh where they had a bunch of Squier's on sale. I bought one for $99. Plain, black with a white pick guard. It looked like the one Bob Dylan played on the '66 tour with the band. That guitar ran circles around the '62 reissue. I still have it. Cheap hardware, but it plays great.
Bill
She'll be standing on the bar soon
With a fish head and a harpoon
and a fake beard plastered on her brow.
Are you talking about Eastman or Eastwood? Eastman appears to offer some rather ordinary, but I'm sure very good quality, Gibson style guitars. Eastwood makes all the quasi-retro "pawnshop prize" reissues, though I've heard they've done a better job of replicating the look of the guitars than the actual sound.
One of these days, I'm gonna take my first couple guitars my parents bought me and fix them up. I have a no name SG copy they bought for me at JC Penney, that was my first electric, which I think I can retrofit good quality parts to, and then my third guitar was a Hondo 335 copy. I think if I change out the electronics on the Hondo, put in some good quality pots and Seymour Duncan pickups, it'll be a nice guitar.
I'd like to restore my Hagstrom Impala (electric guitar numero dos), as well, but that's gonna take more detective work and money, as I'd prefer to get the correct parts that fit the instrument, rather than trying to install something like a tune-o-matic style bridge or Schaller tuners on it. I know the bits I need turn up on E-bay every once in awhile, but so far, I haven't been able to take action.
A number of years ago, I went out and bought a new '62 reissue Tele. Beautiful instrument. Played like crap. I sold it but still wanted a tele. A few weeks later, I went into the MARS store in Raleigh where they had a bunch of Squier's on sale. I bought one for $99. Plain, black with a white pick guard. It looked like the one Bob Dylan played on the '66 tour with the band. That guitar ran circles around the '62 reissue. I still have it. Cheap hardware, but it plays great.
Bill
She'll be standing on the bar soon
With a fish head and a harpoon
and a fake beard plastered on her brow.
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