Ovation 1751 Custom Balladeer 12 String

My Ovation Balladeer 12 string is a 2004 model, in Black, with a medium size bowl, which puts out exceptional sound projection, plugged, or unplugged. The preamp in this thing is great. When plugged into an acoustic amp, or straight into a house pa, this thing shines with exceptional sound and clarity. Really warm sound for a guitar that is half wood.

I play folf stuff, rock, jazz, funk, country, you name it. The neck plays really good, has a kind of a satiny feel to it, not sticky feeling. The sound is warm and rich, like I said before, to be half wood, and half composite material, the Ovation sounds great.

The guitar was set up great when it arrived. No problems, just great acoustic sound thru and thru.

Now, this is where I go off, and tell you all how much I really love the durability and the ease of care that an Ovation has. Dont get me wrong on what I am about to say here, but I have to say this. I love Martins, Taylors, Matons, Gibsons, Breedloves, Larrivees, Olsons, and all the other more traditional all wood acoustics, but as far a durability, easy to care for and just over all strength, you cant beat an Ovation guitar. I have owned Martins, Taylors, and Like I said, I love them, I love the tone, but try taking your beloved Martin or Taylor to the beach, or flying or camping, or any other extreme weather condition outing, and you will understand that an Ovation can take it, where as you have to baby any other all wood guitar. I have a 6 string Balladeer that I have put thru hell and back. Back and forth thru cold, hot, warm conditions, and it even has been stored in my closet for years and the neck or bridge never, ever moved. I took it to the local music store to have it checked out, and the guy said the neck is as straight as an arrow, has never moved. Now folks, thats awesome to me. And also changing strings on an Ovation is so much more simple, because you dont have to take those darn pins out. You just slip the end thru the back of the bridge, thru the tuners, tune and clip, easy. For the simpleness, the long lasting durabiltiy, and the easy string changing, you cant beat an Ovation. As much as I love the traditional all wood guitars, an Ovation is the most easiest to care for guitar that you will ever play.

No, I have never dealt with Ovation directly, just the dealer.

I have been playing for 25 years now. I own 2 Tyler Classic strats, a Matchless Phoenix 35 head, a Matchless Clubman35 head, and a 6 string custom Balladeer. If it was stolen, I would most def buy this guitar again.I love everything about the Balladeer 12 string. The warm, rich tone, the excellent playability, and most importantly, the durability, and the ease of care.

This is a USA made Balladeer with a solid spruce top, a great piezo pickup with a great preamp which has high, mid and low plus mid shift buttons etc. This being a medium bowl means that the sides and back are made of the plastic/fibreglass stuff that are featured on all Ovations. It has a natural colour and a very thick finish. A single cutaway and sealed tuning machines. Bought it with a SKB case.

This 12-string sounds lush! The first week I played it live I had a lot of people grinning and commenting on how beautiful it sounded even through a fairly ordinary PA. Through several acoustic amps in the store it sounded fantastic with little or no tweaking. No noise whatsoever. The extra strings give this guitar a fairly bright sound which I really like, but it has a nice tight low end which I also find useful. It is amazingly natural in sound considering the thing is only half wood. In the store I prefered it over all the other all wood guitars (6 and 12s) including Takamines, Martin, Taylor, Guilds and Yamahas. Though unplugged these others were nice, in general in the same price range they were no match once plugged in. The thing is loud too and doesn't take a very hard strum to get a loud sound. Each string seems to come to be clear and defined and the overall strumm is very well balanced to my ear.

I assume this thing is straight from the factory since it was bought at a guitar centre. Everything seemed fine. The feel of the neck was one of the selling features since it was easily the nicest 12 to play and produced the least fatigue in my hand. I can't find any finish, fret or hardware faults. Oh yeah the neck doesn't have a high gloss finish but more a satin finish which is much nice to the touch and doesn't get sticky when your hand warms up and sweats a bit.

I bought this thing in the US while at a conference and then transported it back to Europe by air. The thing survived this fine. A friend dropped his 20 year old balladeer the other day onto a wooden floor and it practivally bounced back into his hands without a scratch. The finish is super tough which hopefully will compensate for the lack of a scratchplate. Strap buttons are big and chucky but I use these little clips to ensure there is no slippage. It has withstood live playing so far, plus it got less jetlag than I did.

I emailed these guys about transporting tips and they got back to me with in 24 hours which is as good as you can hope for. The warranty is for a year with the guitar centre but I don't think I will be returning the thing unless I am in the US for some reason again.

I have been playing for 6 years or so and own a Epi LP '56 reissue, a takamine acoustic/electric (6string), Line 6 POD and a Fender princeton 65. So far I have no regrets and wouldn't have bought any other of the 12s that were at the store at the time, just didn't like them. My fav. is obviously the sound (don't know why you would favor any other aspect of a guitar you own, I mean why buy a guitar if you favorite feature is the tuning machines or the strap buttons). 12s just give this great folky aspect to anything you have played on a 6-string before, like playing a mandolin at the same time as your guitar, lots of fun just experimenting. I played thing thing for a whole set the other night instead of switching to my electic for some tunes. PLaying little hammering leads on this thing was actually possible and sounded so cool, like a rickenbacker. Shredded my figures though so watch out, remember "Speed kills". As mentioned, I tried other guitars of some well known brands and on the day this beat everything easily. This thing is loud, the top vibrates so much compared to other acoustics with the more restrictive bracing patterns, good one ovation. This particular model sounded much better than the celebrity series which usually has laminate (ply) wood as the top and really doesn't match up to a solid top, too much of the plastic back comes through in the sound when its ply-wood. I guess the plastic back is cheaper than a wooden one so the extra money can go to additional features like a good pickup/preamp and a nice neck oh and Kaman shareholders. So unless you want the full wooden experience or are a purist than I would take a serious look at any Ovation.

Made in USA. Solid top. Older model OP-24 preamp with volume, three band EQ. Piezo pickup. Lightly flamed Classic Burst top. Dreadnought w/o cutaway. I got it with the solid case. Contains a remarkable number of features for a less expensive model.

I play mostly folk and bluegrass, with some pop and country style stuff. It has a great clear sound both by itself and with an amp. I get frequent comments on its volume and clarity. I use it with either a Peavey Bandit or a Studio Chorus. It isn't muddy down low like a lot of other acoustic/electrics. No real complaints with the sound. I liked it when I first heard it, and haven't changed my mind in the * months I've owned it.

Ovation makes an incredibly beautiful instrument. Everything is tight and smooth. The action is nice and light. I have a small hand, but this 12 string is easier to play than many sixes. I can hit bar chords without too much pressure. Nothing is out of place or loose.

I am pretty gentle on my instruments, so I can't say too much. I was a little worried about the lack of a pick guard, but the finnish seems bulletproof. The hardware is pretty nice, although not as good as the kind put on more expensive Ovations. With new strings, I have no worries about needing a backup.

Since nothing has gone wrong, I have no idea.

I've been playing for about 7 years and have used several other acoustic electric models. I think ovation has the best sound and the least feedback. I would certainly buy this again, although maybe next time I'll go with the inlays and other fancy stuff for fun. No other twelve string had a light action and easy fingering.