Ovation 1619 Custom Legend

I bought this guitar on eBay and it is my third Ovation. It was made in 1981 and at that time this was the top-of-the-line. This is a non-cutaway deep bowl model with the highest grade (hand selected) solid spruce top. It has abalone edging on the body, abalone oak leaves on the soundhole rosette and elaborate abalone fret markers. With the brown sunburst finish, it is one handsome guitar. The tuners are gold plated with pearloid buttons. The only feature that dates the guitar is the pre-amp, which only has volume and tone controls. Today's Ovations have equalizers and many have on-board tuners, but back in 1981 this was state of the art. Even so, by today's standards it's still a solid 9.

This is where this guitar shines. I have owned a Taylor 410 and a Guild G37. The responsiveness for fingerpicking is actually better than the Taylor, although overall the Taylor sound is superior, but not by much. It's hands down superior to the Guild. As with most Ovations, the bass and treble are great but the mid-range tones are not as strong. I have custom light (.011-.052) Elixir strings on it and perhaps it could sound even better with heavier strings. For my style of playing, rock and folk, it's perfect. The acoustic sound is fantastic and loud and it retains the same sound when it's plugged in. I don't miss the equalizer because my Crate 125D amp has one.

This is another area where Ovation guitars cannot be beat. The action on the guitar is the best that I have ever seen on an acoustic. I could not believe that the action could be so low, and there's still two shims left under the saddle. The fit and finish are excellent.

This is a 22 year old guitar which was not taken care of very well by it's previous owner(s). The guitar must have been kept in a low humidity environment without a humidifier and as a result a crack developed in the top from the bridge to the bottom. I have not yet had the crack repaired as I've heard differing opinions whether it is necessary. These cracks are very common with Ovation Legends, most likely because the high quality spruce tops are sensitive to extremes in temperature and humidity. In any event, the crack in no way effects the sound. Other than the crack, the guitar is rock solid and it lokks like it will last another 20+ years of normal playing.

I have no personal experience with Ovation customer support.

I've been playing guitar for 26 years. I sold the Taylor 410 because I agonized over every minor ding or mark caused by normal playing. I bought this Ovation because it was inexpensive and already had it's share of dings, so a few more won't make a difference. The sound of the guitar is so incredible that I don't miss the Taylor. I also own a Custom Balladeer shallow cutaway and a mid-depth Custom Balladeer 12 string, both built in the 1980's. The higher quality spruce in the Custom Legend is very apparent in the unplugged sound even though the Balladeers sound very nice also. This is one acoustic/electric that can be used solely as an acoustic. The volume, tone and clarity with fingerstyle are nothing short of amazing. It is also great for rock and roll played with a pick. If something happend to it, I would search eBay for as long as it would take to find another deep bowl, non-cutaway Custom Legend from the 80's at a fair price.