A Brief History of Ovation Acoustic Guitars

The history of Ovation Guitars is unique because itstranscended and improved upon that tradition. His die
founder, Charles Kaman, was actually an aeronauticalhard fans believe he succeeded. Starting in 1966,
engineer designing rotor blades for helicopters. It wasOvation released a line of guitars at a pretty standard
this experience that caused him to contemplaterate, starting with the Balladeer.
standard guitar structure and eventually lead to theNow, Ovation boasts a complete line of acoustic
development of the round-backed composite body.guitars, most of which include the Ovation standard
Traditional guitars have wooden backs and sides, soand unique design features. These include the LX
this feature differentiates Ovation Guitars from theSeries, the Celebrity, the Celebrity Deluxe, the Elite, the
competition. This revolutionary move came about in theLegend, the Custom Elite, and others. You can also find
1960s.vintage models through shops and on the internet.
Kaman was unique because he was both an engineerThere are plenty of artists who love the unique
and a guitar player. He not only understand thequalities of Ovation guitars. These include Nikki Sixx of
instrument from the perspective of a player, but alsoMotley Crue, Al DiMeola, an accomplished solo player,
his observations related to helicopter blades andGodsmack, Melissa Ethridge, Blasko from Rob Zombie,
materials and how they related to the guitar causedRex Brown, who performs with Pantera and others,
these innovations. So, he approached what heand Vince Neil with Motley Crue. There are actually a
perceived as standard guitar design problems from anlot more artist that use Ovation Guitars. If you want
engineers perspective- to define the problem and findmore information you should visit Ovations web site.
solutions. To him, guitars and helicopters were relatedHere is what one person has to say about their
because in helicopters, you want to remove vibrationsOvation guitar:
but with guitars, you want to keep the vibrations in toAbout the Ovation Magnum 3
generate the sound.This bass puts out a beautiful tone. When I mix the
Ovation has a long tradition of using modern materialstwo pickups just right it s either a low growl or a
in standard guitar design. For the most part, guitarcrunchy bite. Put together they sound just great. The
design has remained relatively unchanged since theoutput can be a bit lower than I am accustomed to, but
1800s. Kaman wanted to develop a guitar thateasily overcome with a decent amp.