Ovation 1778LX-4 Elite

Features are described well in other listings here.
Mine is an 07 model in natural finish.

Sound is excellent!!!!!
Very full sounding with good note seperation, this guitar will suit all styles of playing. Definitley a noticeable difference from the cheaper ovation line. Sounds great unplugged, but really shines through a good amp.

Here is where the guitar fell a little short. First off, this is a beautifull guitar, and the constuction is high quality. I bought mine used, but in basically brand new condition off ebay. When I received it the action seemed pretty darn high, so I took a shim out from under the bridge and restrung it. Now the action was perfect, but I found I was getting alot of buzz from the second fret. After some slight fret work and truss rod adjustment, the action was perfect with no buzz at all. Felt that a USA guitar with a $2500.00 list price should of had this taken care of at the factory before shipping, as someone with no repair experience would have had a problem with this.

I cannot forsee having any issues with this guitar.
It is high quality, And I see no need for a backup.

Havent had to contact tham.

Very good guitar, would recommend to anyone.

Most of this is covered in the other reviews here. I just want to point out that this guitar has EVERYTHING I want in an acoustic guitar. Great wood (AA Spruce) The new Lyrachord GS back is fabulous. The OP Pro preamp blows away the OP24 preamp that was on my other Ovations. I, for one, love having a gain knob rather than a slider. The built in tuner is very easy to use and see - and is accurate according to my Boss TU-2. The 5 piece neck, the ebony freatboard, bridge and TRC are great. The neck is slightly wider than my CS2000, for which I am deeply grateful. It even came with Duncan Straplock buttons installed (my straplock of choice).

I play a bunch of styles - now primarily in a contemporary Christian band. I play it through a Marshall AS100D and through a Boss AD8/Whirlwind Director2 combo direct into a PA. OK - enough of that.

The sound is why I bought this guitar.

Unplugged: The first time I played it I was shocked. I've owned two other Ovations and played 6 or 7 more from the mid 70's until now. I've also played Taylors, Martins, Gibsons, Takamines, Tacomas, Yairis, Seagulls, Yamahas, Washburns - you name it. This one just absolutely leaves them all in the shade. Nothing in its price range comes remotely close. And I would have a very, VERY hard time justifying anything more expensive. Full, rich, well-balanced, great projection - WHATEVER. It is just the most gorgeous sounding guitar I've played. I've always like Ovations, but not for their unplugged sound. That's all changed now.

Plugged: Here the guitar is not so shocking, but having said that, neither does it give any other guitar any room to brag. The plugged in sound is top-notch. The new OP Pro preamp is the goods and partnered with the Ovation pickup it gives everybody a run for their money. Now when I play with my friends that spent 2, 3, 4 even 5 grand on their Taylor (as far as I can tell, the most popular guitar among Christian guitarists), Martin, etc. I just give them my "You poor chump" smile and say nothing.

I have been unable to find any flaw. I have the honey-burst finish. It's gorgeous.

I bought the guitar at Guitar Center here in Austin. It was very well set up. I may lower the action at the next string change. Then again, I may not.

The slightly wider neck (compared to my CS2000) is a great blessing, given my playing style. It is very comfortable and playable. I love it.

I haven't owned it long enough to know about this particular model's durability. The fit and finsh would indicate that this darling will outlive me.

I've been playing for 34 years. I have a Carvin AE-185, Parker NiteFly M, '94 Amer. Strat, Ovation CS2000, Godin A12, and a 32-yr old Japanese Washburn dreadnought. Boss GT6 and AD8 effects. The Marshall and a Roland KC550 amp. If it were lost or stolen I would definitely replace it with the same model, unless Ovation has improved on it by then.

I have played every brand of acoustic guitar that I can get my hands on in Austin's extensive music retail community (see the list in Sound) with the exception of some of those hyper-expensive boutique guitars.

I was not looking to buy a new guitar when I played this one and fell in love. I was just killing time in Guitar Center while a guy in pro-sound got the headphone amp I was buying for church. I played three $1000+ Ovations that day. The other two elicited no emotional response other than a nodding appreciation of a well-crafted guitar. When I played this one I lost track of time. The pro-sound guy thought I had left. I went home, made myself sleep on it, got up the next morning and put 2 guitars on eBay (the Strat and the CS2000. Excellent guitars. You'll like 'em. You should buy them.), went back to the store and bought it.

My recommendation doesn't come any higher.

2004 model....Well as far as features go the above posters describe this fine. The example I have I would say is underated as far as the spruce top goes, mine is definetly atleast a AAA grade and quite possibly a AAAA grade. It is natural and I would imagine Ovation purposely chose not to tint the natural beauty of this piece of Sitka Spruce. It is one of the nicest I've ever seen. Beautiful ebony fingerboard and bridge, sweet glossy 5 ply neck..with a bit more beef to it than some other Ovations in the past. Takes away some of the cramped feel of a 1 11/16" width neck.
Top notch features on this guitar for the price. The modern, yet somehow classic look of the Elite is well elite looking. Always draws positive remarks from folks. The electronics are as sweet as can be and it has one of the most accurate tuners I've ever run across, On par with my Boss TU12H. Quick and easy.

Ok...so the sound. It is typically Ovation but the new LX scalloped bracing adds a bit of acoustic vintage dreadnaught tone to this beast. It retains the Ovation signature of being focused, projective, and definitive note separation. What the new bracing has gained is louderness, richness, and a bit more dry resonance than previous patterns. I would summerize it by saying it seems to have gotten a bit more woody tone. Responsive for fingerstyle and works so good for lowered altered tuinings. However, it has not changed what I've come to love about the roundbacks tone. And as it opens up its only going to get better. Plugged in...nothing else compares that I know of. NEVER BORING!

Perfect in ever aspect...Ovation USA has great quality. I don't believe they let much through. I honestly can't find and flaws in this example.

One of the reasons Ovations have been around for 30 years is the are durable music tools. I can go weeks without tuning it...I wonder why it has such a great built in tuner? Built to take a beating.

There was an issue with the pickup output to certain recording devices. They sent me out a new pickup housing...Audio tech personally called me from an email I sent within two hours. Never even had to call them, WOW...great service!

Been playing for years....I would buy another but this ones special. I love everything about it..tone, feel, look. The new LX tone is just icing on the cake. I love the way it angles up when its on the strap! As far as some folks say they can't hold them...nada a problem for this guitarist. This guitar does things all wood guitars can't achieve. It's that good, its the unique. I do wish it had and will probably add an XLR connection which plugs right into the OP-Pro system.

New for 2004...features are listed above and on their site. My example has the untinted natural finish. When I compared it side by side the unstained top seemed to be a bit more complex in tone than the burst topped model the dealer had. The to on this example has a very tight straight grains and is filled with silk. I really really like the looks its dazzlingly smart. Anyway a great guitar for $1000 bucks.

I've had several Ovations over the years from the 70's on. I have always been a big fan of DeMeola since way back when and always liked the midrange bark Ovations have. This lighter braced model has much more going for it acoustically than ever before. It sounds real close to a big old Martin dred at times. A bit more woody than my previous Ovations. So for me it is very versatile and since I play everything from rock to Dawg it suits performing and recording well...I am not too sure so far about the pickup system. Seems to have a low output, but since I've only had it one day and only managed to lay down one track...I may need to use a preamp? Not sure at this point. As for through an amp its great and pure Ovation signature tone. I will give it a (9) because it isn't quite as responsive as some guitars I own.

Pretty much perfect...I will lower the bluegrass action a bit though.

USA built Ovations have always been built well, and by nature of design and materials one of the more durable guitars on the market. They resist humidity and their necks are stong and straight.

They are a great company and have always been supportive of their players.

My opinion is that this is a great guitar for the money...Their has always been a certain charisma and soul to Ovations. For over 30 years they remained a quality, professional music tool. There simply aren't allot of guitars built like them. There's some magic in them waiting to play out!

2004,22 frets,fretboard tapers off on the bass side at the 18th fret, mine has a beautiful Honey Burst finish on the AA spruce top. The epaulets are inlaid with teak, walnut, and paduak. The finish on the back of the neck and headstock is high gloss and beautiful. Unique inlaid MOP fret markers. Mahogany neck. Gold tuners. Mid-depth bowl. OP-Pro active pickup system with built in tuner. Excellent case. I would have given the features a "10" except that Ovation offers an additonal XLR jack that can phantom power the preamp system and would be better for recording, as an option. They should have just made it "standard" and adjusted the list price accordingly. I'm sure it wouldn't have cost much more, and I'm pretty sure most people wouldn't mind paying for it. I suppose it can still be added later by an Ovation authorized service center.

Should be suitable for all styles of music. The sound is bright and full. Plenty of bass and very good projection. Plugged in sounds awsome as well. The new pickup system has and 2 excellent pre-shaped eq. settings which were develped by Al DiMeola and Mellissa Etherage. There's a 3 band graphic eq. which you can tweak even the pre-shaped sound.

The action on mine is 6/64 bass, 4.5/64 treble at the 12th fret with 12 guage strings. I'll probably lower the action slightly and use 11 guage strings insead. Absolutely no buzzing anywhere. The finish is excellent and I looked really hard and there are no cosmetic flaws to be found anywhere.

It's too early to tell but it seems to be built extremely well. I have a Korean made '89 Custom Balladeer that I bought new and has been all over the country with me and it's stil in excellent shape. I don't doubt this will last longer than I will.

I emailed Ovation a few times with a couple of questions and they got right back to me.

I've been playing for 26 years. I'm mostly an electric player. I've alway liked the looks of Ovations and the neck and action are always nice and comfortable and fast. If it's good enough for Al DiMeola...
I went in to buy the 1777LX Legend in maroon and this was sitting right next to it. I was so much better looking in my opinion and the sound was a little bassier and slightly louder. It was only $50 more so after careful consideration and listening to the sounds of both acousically and plugged in, I decided on the Elite. When I'm not playing it I love to just look at it sitting on the stand. Beautiful! I would definitely buy another.

I just got my new Ovation Elite LX in natural finish. It has an ebony fretboard and bridge, AA Spruce top with inlaid epaulets, gold hardware and gloss finish. It has the "LX" upgraded Lyrachord body and scalloped bracing. The electronics are the OP Pro - the state of the art best available for an A/E.

Very playable, very even on the tone - down low it has a real growl and the high end is defined but not brassy. More often I finger pick with hammer-ons and pulls - THERE IS REAL DEPTH COMING OUT OF THIS GUITAR! My other guitar/comparison is a Guild D50 built in 1967. The LX (brand new out of the box) has the low end of the dreadnaught. It has a darn good start on the 36 years of tone as well.
It has the projection that only a Roundback can give!
It is an outstanding acoustic instrument with extreme potential when plugged in.

It came to me with the action set perfectly. The fretboard feels fast and smooth all the way up.

Finish - again, what they did with the inlaid epaulets is amazing! It is beautiful.

The level of Craftsmanship is apparent.

I knew I needed an Ovation when I went looking. I am not dissapointed in any way. The lighter Lyrachord back is bullet proof. The advanced neck system is an upgrade to the already sturdy Ovation neck.

This is not a Toy! I can use this on stage and on the backyard swing!

I have not dealt with Customer support but I hear through the Ovation Fan Club that it is very dependable!

I have been playing along with friends and family since 1975. I am now in a progressive band at my church. I have a 1967 Guild D50 to compare it to - it has just as much depth and projects better. I have owned and played several acoustics in the past.
After I did my homework the only choice was Elite LX or Legend LX! I am glad I chose the Elite - the epaulets are beautiful!
This is a guitar I can use and cherish for a lifetime. I would replace it if lost.
In the future it would be nice to see the Elite get the custom treatment (MOP inlay in the binding and fretboard) that some of the Custom Legends have.
The LX treatment is an awesome upgrade!