Ovation 1657 Anniversary

The prior review covered most of this, so I'll not wax poetically! I will add that the custom inlays are quite stunning; small conquistador-type crosses, and the fretboard ends at the sound hole with a special little customized carved script-like "curly thing" that is beautifully bound and gives an absolutely stunning appearance!

I picked this up used in 1983 as a naive 20-something year-old kid to realize my dream of becoming the new 1980's Bob Dylan. A guy I knew who was playing out at the time had an Ovation, and I was impressed by its ability to sound both sweet and acoustic as well as hard rocking when necessary. It was my first big boy guitar I bought with my tax return following a year of grueling factory work. My ear then was non-existent, so I really got lucky when I chose this one! Now, I can hear that unamplified, it tends to be a bit vacuous and muddy, but once its plugged in it just shines; a great balance of sound, real full and colorful. I've since played and owned many higher end guitars, that sound great acoustically, but are sometimes difficult to amplify. That's why these were made!

As I said, I picked this up used so I don't know how it arrived from the factory. It did seem to have some weak frets that wore down incredibly quickly.
What attracted me to Ovations was the ease of their playablity; nice, neat adjustable action, that makes more difficult jazzy chords far easier to fret! As far as looks and durability go, when I bought it at 5 or 6 years of age it still looked pristine. For 10 years I drug it through the trenches and it picked up some scars. It's no fault of the construction, but during a winter trip through the Vermont Mts.to Canada tradedy struck when its top cracked when our car broke down and it was left too long in the cold...sigh
It did repair well, however, and still sings today!!

I gigged with it forever, and it always delivered, even with the fore-mentioned damage. Neither of us gig any more, but I don't see why with a little care it wouldn't continue to perform today. I've had it refretted once, and set up from time to time to keep it fresh, but I used to play it A LOT. Wear and tear is to be expected, I guess...

N/A...

I've bought and sold beaucoup guitars over the last 20-25 years, but somehow always hung onto this one, perhaps partly for nostaglia, but also because it's a trooper. I'd never find a replacement for it, so I wouldn't try if it were to meet some sinister end. I have some other acoustics that I tend to favor, some vintage Gibsons, but still pull it out occasionally for fun. Even with its scars, it's still a looker, and has aged very gracefully...which is more than I can say for myself!!!

This is the tenth year anniversary model so that may be 1976. Hand picked solid sitka spruce top (antique brown) slightly arched by design. Piezoelectric pickup with combined volume/tone control, active with battery inside soundhole. Custom abalone inlays on ebony fretboard with carved walnut bridge and truss rod cover. Gold plated tuning machines and deep body. The fretboard and body binding is actually ivory. A beautiful looking and playing guitar, just like it says on the Ovation web site.

Fits my blues, jazz and folk styling. Bridge has flexible saddle so you can have the third, fourth, fifth, and sixth strings lower than the first two by using partial shim. Records well considering the vintage and state of the electronic art at the time. Acoustically a very fine instrument.

I am second or third owner. Appears to have been well constructed and still in excellent condition almost thirty years later. Appears to have had no work performed on it. Has only two of the typical Ovation varnish sags/cracks after all its use.

Dependable instrument. This one stays in my studio though. Too rare to risk damaging in a club. Holds its tune very well.

Ovation stands behind their high end instruments. They would probably repair the sagging varnish, but I don't want to risk damage to the carved top or bridge.

Playing forty years, lots of other guitars. This is a unique vintage instrument that needs to be in the collection of any serious Ovation enthusiast. If you can find one for under $1000, it is worth the investment. There can't be many left.