Ovation 1117 Legend

Gold Schaller tuners, solid spruce sunburst top,walnut bridge, deep bowel, no electronics... great guitar. my is 1985!!!!!!

finger pick and chord; country, blues and folk, Full and rich.it is the best sounding guitar they have heard. I normally only mic it if I am playing in front of folks

ok!!!!!!

ok!!!!!!!!!!

i love this great!!!!!

A 1117-4 vintage 1975 legend! Gold tuners-Schaller, what appears as a walnut, maybe rosewood bridge and georgous top which color has turned deep and rich! The body is deep bowl and has a rubber application from Ovation on the bottom to help with slipping if not using a strap.No electric on this baby, all acoustic

Deep and rich sound, lows are exxcellent...highs are rich and vibrant...sweet

Can't find one thing wrong with it...nothing at all, a true studio workhorse of a guitar. I'll match it with any Guild or Taylor

Like I siad a workhorse true studio guitar. Ive banged it dropped it and not a damn thing happened to it.Thank god for the deep bowl and the material used for it.

I needed to contact Ovation once about something and sent the guitar in and they responded immediately , no questions asked!

i've been playing over 40 years, have had this since 1978 but research shows by the serial number it was made in 1975, bought it new. Incredible guitar!Not a thing i can say to make me part with it and would get another but a 12 string to round off my collection. I have a guild, martin as well and this is right up there as far as sound ( a tad deeper than an all wood guitar....due to the deep bowl)and even more durable!

This is a follow-up to my review below, regarding stopping an Ovation from slipping off your leg.

I found a cure for the Ovation slipping problem at Lowe's. It's Scotch 2228 Rubber Tape with Mastic Adhesive, in a 1" X 4' roll. I found it in the electrical department for $4.97. The tape is thick and flexible, so I put one piece on the bottom of the body, close to the back edge of the bowl, the length of the rough patch on the bowl. I butted a second piece up to the first one and bent it around the bowl edge and stretched it to fit (the tape is meant to be stretched). I then worked it over with a wallpaper roller to make sure it was stuck real well. It works like a charm, no more slipping. If it comes loose with time, I'll contact cement
it.

This tape is about the same thickness and surface friction as the
after-market oval patch I had on my original Ovation body, discussed in my prior review below.

Gold Schaller tuners, solid spruce sunburst top, 5 piece natural finish maple neck, ebony fretboard with diamond abalone makers, string-through walnut bridge, deep bowel, no electronics, hard shell case.

The sound of this guitar is very sensitive to the type of strings installed and the type of pick used. After much experimentation, I settled on light gauge phosphor bronze strings (Ernie Ball, Martin, Ovation Adamas or D'Addario) and Fender thin picks. Although I prefer brass wound strings like Ernie Ball Earthwoods on my wood body guitars, they sound too harsh on the Ovation. The sound of this guitar is well-balanced and crystal clear. It is great for finger picking. However, if you make a mistake, it is "out there" - there is no muddiness to cover up any minor errors like on a more bassy, wood bodied acoustic. If you use one of the old, red Martin thin picks that have a thick, textured, grip area, you can duplicate the guitar sound of Cat Stevens' classic albums. Because of the clarity of this guitar, you have to be careful while playing rhythm with a pick, as it can sound harsh if overplayed.

This is a beautiful instrument, with an easy-to-play thin neck and perfect fit, finish and detailing. The action is easily adjusted with the included bridge shims. The annoying thing about this instrument is that it slips off your leg. Although the bottom of the body has a rough finish, it isn't coarse enough to be effective. See more on this topic below.

This is a tough guitar, the lyrachord bowel is virtually indestructable. However, you have to be careful with the solid spruce top, like any other acoustic.

Through my own stupidity I broke the top of this guitar in 1990. I returned it to Ovation to get the top replaced, and to my chagrin they slapped my 1977 neck on a 1990 body and transferred my original label to the interior of the new body. My original sunburst top shaded from brown to black, while the new one has similar shading, but is lighter in color. My original bowel was black and came with a thin rubber strip on the bottom, which quickly came loose from friction against my leg. In the 1980's, I bought a large, self-adhesive backed, oval rubber patch from an ad in Guitar Player to replace it. The patch had two diagonal slits which allowed it to conform to the shape of the bottom of the body, and it worked great. The new bowel Ovation installed is brown, they didn't transfer my after-market rubber patch, you can easily tell they transferred the old label to the body interior, and they charged me $400. Damn! I haven't yet been able to find a new rubber patch, but I keep looking. However, the new body does produce a little more bass than the old one did.

I bought my Ove about 20 years ago, and I got it used from a pawn shop. Nothing fancy, no electronics or eq, but I loved the sound. The guitar has a brownish/burgundy fibreglass back, and a sunburst spruce(?) top. The tuners are gold in finish, and seem to be a high quality. It came with the Ovation hard fitted case that weighs about 40 pounds without a guitar but is an excellent case. Oh yeah, its made in the US!

The neck has a blonde wood insert, and it has a kind of a sunburst finish on the back. The dots are actually diamond shaped and mother of pearl. i have small hands, so the narrow neck of this guitar makes it easy to play.

I gave the finish a 9 because its so darn good looking - I really like the Ovation look for some reason. And no Bridge marks yet!

I finger pick and chord; country, blues and folk. While it doesn't have the mystique that a Martin might have in a folksy setting, it always does the job.

The guitar always impresses me with its balance and tone. I have had many comments from people about how it is the best sounding guitar they have heard. I normally only mic it if I am playing in front of folks. It can get loud when you really hit it, but I should get a pickup for it.

Depending on how it is strung, it can be a bit bright. I like the light gauge strings, so I guess this is a consequence. Overall, I think it is an excellent well balanced sound.

The overall construction of the guitar was sound, but the action was terrible! I don't know if the previous owner had no clue about getting it set up, but it was awful.

I went through a lot of frustration trying to get it set up just the way I liked it. I don't know if it came from the factory like this.

Built like a tank! I have used this guitar from churches to halls and campfires, and as long as I take (just) a little care with it, it performs.

Very well constructed, but thats because it is an American made version. I have played a friends Korean version of the Balladeer, but it didn't seem like it was nearly as well built. (probably just snobbery on my part)

I gave the guitar a 9 because one of the tuning keys broke about three years after I bought it. Otherwise, it would be a 10.

I gotta admit, I don't like the company. When I go to their website (its been a while) I find that it is all about marketting and very little about what I am interested in. As a contrast, I received a Baby Taylor a couple of years ago, and the Taylor name is ever present in my mind.

It doesn't get as much play time as it should since my wife got me a Baby Taylor (the little guitar is so easy to pick up and play), but it is a wonderful rig. Whenever I get to thinking that the Baby is really good, I'll pick up the Ove and get a really balanced sound.

I've gone through some guitar stores and sat down and played other Taylors, Fenders, Taks, Larrivees, and I can't find one that plays or sounds as nice except for a Martin (D35 I think - it was priced at about $5 000). However this is only an opinion, and acoustic memory is incredibly short.

If this guitar were lost or stolen I'd be crushed. I would definitely buy another one if this were the case, but I hope I will never need to. The only way this would happen would be if some scummy low life were to rip it off.

Solid spruce top, deep 'lyracord' body (similar to a salad bowl but it sounds better), Made in USA, no electronics on mine - pure acoustic magic, ebony fretboard, gold tuners.

Full and rich. This guitar has a perfectly balanced tone. I have mic'd it, frapped it, and just let it fill a moderate sized room. It sounds great. Since mine is about 25 years old and I have had it all that time. I can say it has improved with age. The only way to get better sound out of a guitar than this is to go to the near top-of-the-line Taylors.

It took some doing but I got the action real close. From the factory it was pretty high heavy. I got an education getting it adjusted. I wound up removing all but 1 and 1/2 shims from the saddle which keeps the bass strings a little higher off the fretboard, and tweaking the truss rod got it right there.

I have used mine on everything from bars, recording studios, auditoriums, campouts, and serenades. It is absolutely rock solid. Keeping it in the hard case helps - it is a mule.

Never had to call anyone.

I have been playing for 30 years. I also play a Taylor Baby, and a Cort Curbow bass. Since it was the first 'pro' grade instrument I bought it has some sentimental value, but that doesn't detract from the fact that it is a great guitar. This guitar was stolen once, shortly after I bought it. I got it back about a week later and it was tuned high enough that it pulled the action even higher than the factory had it (without any adjustment at that point). It survived that.
Sadly, since I bought the Baby, and since I stopped gigging, it is easier to pull out the Taylor Baby, and the Ovation gets very little play time.

+ Spruce top + Deep Body 6-String Acoustic + Sunburst Finish + OP-X, HexFX & OptiMax Electronics + Mahogany & Maple 5-pc. Neck + Bound Ebony Fingerboard

I actually found this guitar IN THE GARBAGE, sitting in a dumpster among rocks and lumber. I wasn't even sure what it was besides an Ovation, a brand I love as my fave electric is the Deacon (I have 2 of 'em). I took it home, strung it, putzed with the saddle (which was broken), plugged it in, and the thing sounded fantastic. Well balanced lows, mids, and highs, great action, a nice full woody kind of sound which is perfect for the bizarro futuristic retro-pop that I play.

Considering that I found this guitar IN THE GARBAGE , the finish was great, a couple of finish dings on the front but I could tell that, when this was new, they did a great job on it. Nice sunburst, gold-plated hardware, nicely cut bridge. A class act.

Well, it withstood being tossed out in the middle of a demolition site (did I mention that I found it IN THE GARBAGE?) so I'll bet that it can handle anything. Construction seems very solid. Strap buttons and electronics are perfect even after all the abuse it endured. I have a feeling that this will be my main guitar for a long time.

As it is, I found this guitar IN THE GARBAGE, so I haven't had an opportunity to ask for any support except to say thank you to the powers that be for giving me a free guitar.

I've been playing since 1973 (god, I'm old). Currently, I have an Ovation Deacon, an Ovation Breadwinner, a '66 Hofner 500/1, a Rickenbacker 360/12 Azureglo, a '75 Gibson 335, an Ovation 1117 which I found IN THE GARBAGE, a Yamaha Classical, a Roland Jazz Chorus 120, a Vox Pathfinder, and a bunch of little stuff.If I didn't have this guitar I would have to actually buy one now that I've tried it. The tone is so woody, it's kinda like a vintage wine. I do wish that it had an eq and volume control but you can't be that picky when you find your guitar IN THE GARBAGE.