Ovation 1769 Al Di Meola II

Covered above in previous reviews.
What more could you want, SELECT Solid top, hand done purfing, inlays, proprietary pickup, EQ, SHAPE EQ, TUNER and BOOST/solo switch.

Clear with great projection. In fact, this guitar is so clear that when your strings start to fall off, you will notice immediately and want to change them to hear all the harmonics that you will notice that are dulled/missing. A GREAT soloists/fingerstyle guitar. Changing your string combos should give you the sound you want in terms of clarity and especially BASS richness. If you are not open minded and are a Martin / Taylor fanboy, you may not spend enough time with it to get to understand this instrument.

Good. This guitar is quite solid feeling and heavier than one might expect. Countoured bowl is VEY comfortable to hold and the textured finish helps keep the guitar from sliding on your thigh. Those complaining of action need not apply if you don't understand that typically people who spend this much money or care about having an instrument of this level will have the guitar set up for themselves to account for their own playing style. Finish was great from inlays to polished frets to finish. My only issues was fret number one needing to be polished down a fraction since I could feel it "catch" my index finger slightly.

One note is that the fingerboard binding has a tiny bevel bevel on it so some may prefer to have this "rounded" a bit to enhance comfort.

It's an ovation. While I usually prefer all wood guitars, this one seems like will be exceptionally durable. It is, after all, an Ovation...

No experience with support yet.

Considering features, price for an Artist level guitar and sound, this is a great value for the WORKING PROFESSIONAL musician. Whether a studio, live or stage guitar, you can't go wrong with this guitar. In terms of acoustic guitars, you will absolutely not find a more VERSATILE guitar out there. What other guitar will cover jazz, folk, fingerstyle, rock etc... better and with more live credibility? If you find one, let me know. Absolutely the BEST acoustic out there if you use a pick.

Very well made,and one of the best sitka spruces i have ever seen(i have the one with the natural finish so it is easy to see the quality of the soundboard).

Loud enough and with quite strong progection(There is a difference between loudness and progection-it is not the same thing).The instrument is very well ballanced with deep basses and distinctive trebles especially if you keep the action not very close to the frets.The notes are "round" and the overall sound is a combination of power and sweetness.One other thing i notice is that there is o lot of diferrence between a deep and a mid-depth Ovation.The ADII has a deep dish and the sound(not only unplugged) is simply richer than a mid depth Custom Legend.If you feel comfort with a deep bowl then go with it.The electronics are very good with a more natural sound if you compare it with older Ovation guitars...However i do not expect to get a high end mic sound from a pickup but beleive me:Plug it in and you will enjoy it!Be careful when you use the boost.Useful for solos but i notice some booming!

The action was not very good(some buzzes etc) but this was not a problem.I make it myself.The important thing after all is that the instrument is-as i said before-very well made with top quality of materials.I do not have to mention that the shape of the neck is perfect(Meola knows better than anyone else).It is the best guitar for single note runs.

The guitar has a very good construction,with proffessional finish.

I am a proffesional guitar player with plenty of study both in classical and jazz repertoire.I am also very intersting in guitar construction.The ADII is simply one of most "complete" guitars i have ever played!O.k. maybe a very high end Martin has a deeper or more "bell tone" bass or a Breedlove a better projection(maybe)but i don't think that it is very-very difficult to find another guitar with so many plus and nothing negative to mention.If you are a singer an you play some chords on the guitar(in other words if you are not serius player) do not buy this guitar.If your style is blues,country etc. go with a Guild or Martin...But if you are a soloist this guitar is for you.

It is a superb machine, but for certain styles it may not suit. As would be expected. See the section on Sound.

What year was it made? Where was is made? (Japan, Mexico, USA, etc...)
Made in USA.
How many frets?
Goes up to top top C. The action up here demands precision. Im growing to like the way it doesnt have huge numbers of tiny frets that I seldom ever used.
Solid-Top? Laminated top?
Solid top
Which controls are given (volume, tone, 5-way selector, 3-way, tap, etc...)?
Vol, 3 band EQ, has a XLR jack to power preamp if you play plugged a lot.
Pickup configuration? (S/S/H, H/H, S/H, Piezo, etc...) Piezo
Make and model of pickups? Ovation

Body and neck woods? (Maple, Mahogany, Alder, Ash, Basswood, Koa, Plywood, etc...) Ebony neck
Finish (Satin, transparent, quilted top, flamed top, etc...) Black, gold hardware, inlays
Body style (strat, tele, dreadnought, cutaway, thinline, etc...) Roundback

Tuners (Locking? Non-locking? brand of tuners - Sperzel, Gotoh, Grover, Schaller, etc...) Ovations own. They seem to work perfectly, but don't look like the kind of quality that I would expect. I like Sperzels, Schaller etc. On a #2k guitar. But appearances can be deceptive. They tune very smooth and well.

Neck/Scale (Fat, Thin, Jumbo Frets, Rosewood, Maple, etc...)
Any included accessories? (Case, gig bag, strap, cable, tools, humidifier, etc...) Its a fat'ish full sized backbowl which actually I find I like. I have had nice bruises on my ribs forever it seems. I cant remember when they arrived. The nice curve of the bowl doesnt do this.

Comes in Ovation case - more on which shortly.

How does it suit your music style (and what is that style)? Well, I tend to wander through styles!
What amps and effects are you using it with? Straight into my mixing desk. It can deliver tight focussed plugged sounds, but the EQ can also produce big warm spread sounds.
Rich/Full sound? Bright sound? Has 2 sounds sounds settings. EQ'd and bypassed. And a little button located near the strap button. Can be set up to give the guitar a boost for leads. Very handy. You can read all about the preamp on the Ovation site.
What kind of sounds can the guitar make? How much variety?
Likes and dislikes? Hmm... its a tighter compressed sound. Not as open as some guitars. Not nasal, but focussed. More about this in action. Volume wise, it cant compete with a large dreadnought, or Gypsy style guitar for unplugged volume. It has a louder sound than my archtop, but not as loud as some I have tried.

Set up was to the mm. perfect. As per the manual. The neck is as would be expected on such a guitar. Similar to other instruments I've had/played at this price. The neck is not "tight" but does encourage clean articulated playing. Its not setup "mushy" in the middle - it insists on clean fretting. But I expect lowering the string guage, and changing the relief and action could change this. it comes strung with 12-52 D'addario bronze. Which are a happy medium.

I mentioned the tuners, which I was a little unsure about. It comes with Jim Dunlop Strap-lok buttons which is a god-send. If you are tall and grew up playing classical style, you may wish to have the guitar held classical style. I often use a strap here. As Im long in the torso, and bending to the instrument hurts my back. As it does many of my students. Please be aware the bowl pushes the guitar forwards, which some might find disconcerting.

The first case was not quite carved out. Creating pressure on the guitar face plate. I spoke to JHS direct, they were excellent and professional. New case was sent. Which fits well. Also I even spoke the guy who set up the guitar at JHS so could ask which strings he'd fitted etc.

I phoned again to ask about the Phantom power jack, and whether it would be ok to go in on a 48v supply. For those wishing to know. Evidently the Pre-amp adjusts itself to the supply, so no problems.

I'm a guitar teacher based in Kent, UK. Been teaching for about 15 years.

Its a wonderful guitar. I wanted an instrument that I can play Plectrum guitar pieces on - I like to play violin and certain classical pieces pick style. Having a wire hanging out here seems kind of ridiculous somehow to me. It suits well this. I can go anywhere now with just the guitar. I also play jazz, it works well for this, but remember it will sound like a piezo powered guitar, not an archtop. Depends what you are after as a said right as the start of this!

Happy to answer any questions, feel free to email me. Hope my bumbled words on this might have helped. All the small details are taken account of on this guitar. I'm sure you'll be very happy with it.

I'll also add it came with a signed card, signed by Al Di Meola himself. Which I was really delighted with.

like the custom legend. select sitka sprice top. abalone binding, ebany fretboard and carved bridge. everything looks fine.

great acoustic sound, one of the best ovation sound ever. a lot of body and risoance. good for fingerpicking and strumming. really impressive acoustic guitar. electric sound top class with that special ovation sound, not too woody electric sound but really versatile.

really impressive action, low as an acoustic may be. I think this is the acoustic guitar for electric player too. I have owned some other ovation but I think this is the best action ever.

all is solid and hard for live situation

?

I was looking for a good acoustic (martin, gibson?) but I have discovered this guitar that I like as no ather acoustic. the action is perfect, low as I want. The sound is really good acoustic and, of course, electric. the tuner is easy and the preamp good for every situation. I can play acoustic music or jazz things as well. the finish is top class.