Ovation 1271 Viper Solid Body

The Finish on this Ovation Viper Solid Body guitar is natural, has a single cutaway, original Ovation tuners they may be Schaller's. The neck is thin and it's a 25 1/4 inch scale, the frets are thin and there's 24 of them. I'm not sure of the exact date of manufacture but I think it was made between 1978-1980 in the USA. I bought it used off E-Bay it included the original hard shell case. It has 1 volume and 1 tone control with a switch to switch between pick-ups. The body and neck aremade out of maple with an ebony fingerboard.

It suits my style of music fine, I play all kinds of music from heavy metal to country. It has a full rich sound, almost like a Les Paul but not quite and almost like a Telecaster but not quite, somewhere in between, with plenty of tones available with different settings of the tone control and pickup selector.With the bridge pick-up selected you can produce a lot of Telecaster sound and with the neck pick-up a lot of the Les Paul sound.

When I first got the guitar it wasn't set up quite right for my style but with a little tweaking with the bridge height I was able to set it up very well for my playing style. The neck is just fabulous very straight and just feels right in your hand. There is a little fret wear but not too severe for a 30 plus year old guitar.The lower neck pick-up height adjusting screw was stripped out bit I was able to install a slightly larger screw and it's fine now.

This guitar will definitely hold up for live playing, the hard ware is quality and should last a long time. The finish is great and will last a long time. Strap Buttons are solid and I can depend on it at a gig with out a backup.

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I've been playing for over 30 years and I own several other guitars; an Ovation Breadwinner, Peavey T-60, Samick ( Ray Benson Telecaster Copy) and a Kona Acoustic Electric. If this guitar was stolen I'd try to find the thief and wring his neck and yes I would try to find another one but they are getting scarcer everyday. I love the sounds and ease of playing on this guitar, I wish now that I'd bought a new one years ago. I decided to try to find me one of these guitars after watching a video of the lead guitar player of "Dr. Hook and the Medicine Show" playing one back in the 70's.I loved the sound, so smooth and with treble that is candy to the ears and full bass.That's it you hear in the song "When You're In Love With A Beautiful Woman".

I bought this solid - body Viper new in about 1974. Added a phase switch, which quiets the system a bit when both pups are engaged. Single coils on this guitar are still superior (to me) to anything that I test in the music stores. It needs a fret job, but still plays pretty well. One volume and one tone control located in fairly convenient location. Easy to pinky the volume while playing. I like the large size of the knobs. Tuners are still quite smooth. Neck and body joint with cutaway makes reach for the high notes, up to the 24th fret, easy.

The sound is versatile. Outstanding for clean tones. On the Musicman 110 HD, which has a solid state preamp, the clean tones are sharp, deep, and big - bell like, and can be very loud. On the Traynor, with tubes front to back, the clean has a more complexity and the overdrive has much better character than with the Musicman. Cut some trebble and it gets pretty jazzy, but more of a muted, rather than woody body. All in all, it sounds generic, in the sense that it does everything well with the right amp. It does not sound like a Tele, Strat, G&L, etc. But with the right combination of amp and tone/volume settings you could fool most folks. Basically, it has an individuality that sets it up to be acceptable for any type of picking.

Everything was set up right when I got it, but I had to mess with it nevertheless. The high E saddle had a tendency to cause string breakage, so I polished it up a bit after putting up with it for only about twenty years. Now the high E lasts quite a while longer... As far as the finish, including the hardware, I cannot find anything else to complain about, even though Harmony wants complaints... Well, Ovation made really really good guitars in the 70's.

Yup, it's durable, too. I did break the jack out when I stood up while stepping on the chord once. I got a factory replacement pickguard and it's good as new. That was in 1979.

No experience, but I did buy Kaman stock because I thought they made cool guitars and helicopters. Did O.K., too.

Bang for the buck this could be one of the best "secrets" in the guitar inventory. If you find one that is in good shape, it will do what you want for as long as you want. It's already been around longer than most of you reading this review. I play alot of guitars while "shopping" for mey next guitar. There are few that I have encountered that leave me wishing I had them instead of the old Viper. It it was stolen or lost, I would look for another.

The Ovation viper features a two octave 24 fret finger board. 25-1/2" scale, 1-5/8" nut width, two high-output single coil pickups, schaller hardware. Neck is bolted on to an ash or alder body (have read mohagony too but haven't seen it). High quality American made guitar from the mid 70's to about 1980 I believe.

The vipers single coils are overwound and high-output, more like a P90 in terms of output - but they sound more like a beefy tele to me. Like all single coils they are susceptible to noise - turn off the neon beer signs in your practice room if you want it to be quiet. They do sound very good though, the higher output sends your tube amp into overdrive quicker than a strat or tele would at the same volume. They also have a nice amount of sustain. The neck pickup is round and punchy sounding - not super fat or warm like some neck pickups it is very tonal. The bridge sounds like my tele only hotter. the split position is really cool sounding too - particularly for country pickin' or funky upbeat strumming (Jah mon!). Really cool vibe. One other thing to note is that when you roll off the volume you don't really affect the tone - the high's are still there. Nice attention to detail.

Ovation makes quality guitars no doubt. The American made viper is no exception. My Viper is now nearly 30 years old and still plays and sounds fine. The neck is perfectly straight, no warping at all - it's also really comfortable. The 1 5/8th nut width is smaller, like a vintage Fender really easy on the hands. The electronics are perfect, and all the hardware is still in good condition. The chrome bridge has some pitting but that's to be expected. The finish has some weather checking - in my younger days I would've though was a bad thing, now I realize it just adds character - heck people are paying for "Relic" guitars these days just to get that effect. This one is all natural.

The Viper is near 30 years old and if cared for well enough will probably last another couple hundred years. No need for anything but minor adjustments and new strings. Ovation made guitars to last, they used German made schaller hardware as well. Quality build through-out.

The folks at Ovation or Kaman music are very helpful and quick to answer calls or email. There is also a great website - www.ovationfanclub.com where folks who love and collect all kinds of Ovations share their knowledge. There are also several members who work or have worked for Ovation at one time - they can be very helpful with tips and tricks as well as history of these fine guitars.

I've been playing for over 20 years, on and off professionally. Worked in a few recording studios and I own all kinds of nice guitars (strat, tele, paul, ES-175, 335 etc. etc.) The viper is definately the oddball of my guitar collection. I get asked about it a lot. Never had a negative comment after someone checked it out. For under $500 you're not going to find a better vintage American made guitar, especially not one with all the nice features the Viper has. They most likely will become collectible, but for now grab one cheap and play the crap out of it!

I bought my Viper in 1981, it was an in-store demo model. Cream finish with maple neck and fretboard (heavily varnished), white pickguard and tone/volume controls.

Two single-coil pickups which I soon realized were too noisy to use (see below).

The bridge/tailpiece was like no other I'd ever seen, totally singular.

When I bought my Viper I took it right to my band's rehearsal space and hooked it up to my Orange amp. The hum from the pickups, even on a clean setting, was louder than the signal.

I brought it into the shop, had the pickups replaced with DiMarzio Super Distortion Humbuckers (yeah, I know), had a brass nut, Schaller tuners, and Strap-Lok installed.

The sound of this guitar was thin (even with humbucking pickups), it was never a good hard rock guitar. However it did produce a distinctive tone which is why I used it for some time in an original band during the mid-80's. I was often told that the sound of The Viper through my Orange Overdrive amp was excellent - sorta like early Who or Kinks, reminiscent of a Rick through a Vox AC30.

The guitar is made entirely of plastic, not wood. This might explain its tonal character, which is extremely bright and without a lot of character.

Also, I'll admit that I used this guitar with the stock pickups only two or three times before I had those lousy DiMarzio SDHs installed. This might indeed have colored my experience.

The action on this guitar was the best I've ever experienced. I perfer a thin neck, with a shallow back - for me, this was perfect. I could chord all night on this guitar. The action was fast and easy.

The Viper was a solidly-made guitar. Bolt-on neck, but the fit was perfect and I never had intonation or tuning problems (even with that weird bridge/tailpiece).

Very solid, no complaints. I used this as my main guitar for a few years, played many gigs with it. Never had a problem.

I wrote to Ovation in 1983 or so regarding an idea I had for an improvement in their bridge / tailpiece design. They wrote back to me promptly, said this guitar is no longer in production but thanks for my input. Obviously the Ovation folks are serious about their work. Hats off.

Re: my gear and experience, please see my review of Gibson "The Paul." I've been playing for 37 years, have had loads of guitars, basses, amps etc.

I gave this guitar to my son 10 years ago, I no longer have/use it.

For a time I liked The Viper's distinctive sound. But it produced one sound only, and that was not one I could use frequently.

If you're looking for a hard rock guitar, this is definitely NOT the way to go. Maybe this is a good guitar if you play mostly clean, low-volume music. It's a breeze to play; too bad it doesn't sound very good.

Unknown vintage USA made.
24 narrow frets on maple capped maple neck; plastic bodied mini-Schallers with large chromed buttons.
Two piece tri-color sunburst alder body shaped sort of like a Les Paul, with a belly contour.
Three way toggle and one each BIG vol & tone knobs.
Black rear load bridge w six yellow metal saddles.
Two single coils: the bridge has a slant to the polepieces emulating Fender, though the pu itself is straight; the neck pos is straight across the front portion, as if it thinks it wants to be a mini humbucker, but I don't think it is though the guitar is fairly quiet.

Good sounds and versatile. Wide range tone control.
Can do Jazz to Country.
It's long scale (Fender length vs Gibson short scale) so can twang some in the middle pu position with the tone opened up. Decent Tele sounding bridge pu.
I use it with a Fender HRDeville 4 X 10, or a Crate DBX-112, not much distortion.
It has a "sweet" sound and moderate sustain. Buzzes a bit at high gain settings typical for single coils.

For its age it plays remarkably well. The neck is straight and the frets must be pretty hard because there's very little fret wear though the guitar itself has some signs of use, though it's still in excellent condition.
Everything lines up perfectly. It is a bolt-neck design but is stable.

Apparently it is.
Though it is not new and has some dings the finish is durable and the materials good. The pots are smooth and noise free.

I have no idea.
Always do my own work, but this guitar needs nothing so far.

Play guitar since 1960.
Also have a G&L Legacy Special, and a MIM Fender Fat Strat, but they sit mostly. This is my number one grab for anything but Strat "quack" and it twangs enough when needed.
I play everything from Jazz to Country. This guitar excells at most of it, and especially Blues. I have never tried it with more than mild distortion, I use the G&L for that: it has even more sustain than this Ovation, which is no slouch itself.
It has everything I need, and nothing I don't use, like vibrato bar.
The frets are a bit smaller than I usually like. It may have been built when Gibson low frets ruled. It bends OK on the frets without fretting out, not real slick, but passable.

This is an early 80's solid body Viper made in New Hartford, CT. This one was made late in the run, just before they retired the solid body line. 24 fret, 25.5" scale length neck. Ebony fretboard with simple pearl dots (they also made these with maple fretboards). Big, easy to use tone and volume controls with 3-way swithing for the two single coil pickups, unique to these guitars. The body on mine is one solid piece of mahogany with a clear finish (more on this later)which is very rare for this guitar, most came with an ash or alder body in a variety of finish colors. The neck is also mahogany, with Shaller tuners. The Shaller fixed bridge is all chrome, although earlier in the run there was another bridge design made from a black composite material with a brass bridge. The body style is something of a cross between a Les Paul Special and a Telecaster with a nice shaped waist making it very comfortable to play this relatively heavy axe. Came with an excellent quality hardshell case made specifically for this guitar.

I play a variety of music, but not much heavy metal or shredding. The Viper has many of the tonal characteristics of a Tele, so it is very versatile. I play it mostly through a Line6 Flextone II, and get the best results with the AC30 modeling, but it does very well with the Marshalls and Fenders, too. Not well suited for Rectified or super High Gain amps, although that could more of a personal taste thing. It does clean very well, and is very good with slight crunch and a bit of reverb ro delay. I have a small Fender Champ 110 practice amp and it is great both throught the clean channel and with a bit of gain dialed in. Wish this amp was strong enough to gig with because it is a great match sonically for the Viper.

This guitar is a very high quality American-made guitar. I bought the guitar about ten years ago, and it was still in excellent condition. Everything worked when I bought it, and still continues to work perfectly. The action is amazing, and very consistent all the way up the long 24 fret neck. The body of the guitar itself is gorgeous, but the finish started hazing as it neared its 20th birthday (more on this under customer service). The bridge and tuners look like they are fresh from the factory.

Like all USA-made Ovations, this is one solid, durable guitar. It's as good today as it must have come from the factory. After 20+ years of life, and 10 years of personally owning it, there has not been a single problem. I'd definitely gig this without a backup, but due to my style, I always have several guitars with different tonal characteristics. This thing is built like a tank.

The Ovation guitar factory in Connecticut is a relatively small, highly skilled group of luthiers. The Customer Service is fantastic, but since they are a small department, it sometimes might take a day or two for them to get back to you. They are seasoned professionals, all longtime employees of the company and some have been touring musicians. These folks love their guitars and it shows.

As mentioned earlier, the finish on this guitar started hazing and over time detracted from the beauty of this particular guitar. I was told that the finish they used during the time this guitar was made was affected by the environmentally-friendly formula that they employed at the time. So I sent it back to the factory for a complete refinish (nowadays, chemistry has improved and the new finishes they can use are much better). Although Ovation no longer makes solid bodies, they still have the facilities and know-how to work on the old line of solid bodies. Also important to note that Hamer Guitars, a sister company to Ovation, shares the factory facility with Ovation.

The finished product that came back from the factory was nothing less than stunning. The guitar is like new again. In addition to the completely refinished body and neck, the guitar was set up perfectly and seemed to be played in. Everything in on the setup is spot on.

IMO, this is the most underrated guitar ever made. It is my favorite guitar to play by a long way (other electrics I have include an American Strat, Ric 360V64-12, USA Hamer Mirage II, Charvel Surfcaster, Epiphone FlameKat). If it were stolen, I would hunt down the sorry SOB and extract my pound of flesh. If lost, it would get replaced in a heartbeat, although I would look long and hard to find one with the mahogany body (I've only ever heard of one other like this), and if I couldn't find one, I would buy one with the ash or alder body. Those are available on eBay regularly for very reasonable prices ($300-400). Some day these are going to become very collectable.