Ovation 1863 Legend Classic

At first I was taken by the neck and its fast action !! It is smaller in width compared to the tradional classical guitar.After 5 years of playing it I find it to be rather dissapionting.
The shallow bowl delivers a very weak sound unplugged and a twangy sound when amplified. Also , it is uncomfortable to sit with inwhich I find it a must to play with a strap on.
This giutar seems to know the change of the seasons for I have to adjust the neck at least 4 times a year.
Nice in looks !! Very ordinary in playing!!

None !! I bought it used !!

A minor (?) correction to the above: The top is AAA solid CEDAR, not AA sitka spruce as I had been led to believe (by Ovation's own web site, no less... Surprisingly, the sound still projects well and seems to be moderately bright, unlike most cedar tops which have an overall dark tonality.

This guitar was first introduced as the Classic and has been reissued in a new cutaway version for Y2k. The neck is the classic five-piece mahagony/maple, thin and complemented by gold Schaller tuners and Pearloid buttons. The fretboard is ebony, nineteen nickel silver frets, with the nineteenth jutting into the soundhole. The soundhole is different for Y2k. The older Ovation pearloid soundhole was raised above the soundboard. This year, the pearloid rosette is inlaid. The top is different, too. Originally of AAA cedar, the soundboard is a very resonant and strikingly beautiful AA solid sitka spruce with gloss finish. The bridge is walnut, and it and the neck are finished in satin polyurethane (a nice feature so sweaty thunbs won't stick on position shifts...).
Several other new features round out the Y2k package. The bridge saddle and nut are now made of tusque (faux bone) rather than the old Ovation celcon, which apparently aids in the sound production. The electronics package is also new. Without wishing to sound negative, it looks like a compromise between the Optima (four-band, chromatic tuner added package) and the OP 24+. This version is called the OP 24+ C. It's an updated OP 24+ electronics package (which, Ovation assures us is studio quiet) coupled with an onboard chromatic tuner (which is nice because you can leave the tuner you usually use with your other guitar in your other guitar's case! This package is billed as the "three and a half band wonder," with slide controls for Volume, Bass, Mid, and Treble, buttons for EQ, Mid-Shift, Pre-Shape, and the chromatic tuner. The tuner has red LED indicators for the notes (can be used for alternate tuning), one green LED for when you're on the mark, and two red LEDs on either side of the green one to tell you you are sharp or flat. The guitar does not have to be plugged in to use the tuner--a very nice feature, though the instruction manual advises pushing the Tuner button to turn the thing off so you don't run down the included Duracell battery.
The 1863 is the super shallow body depth style. If, however, you are willing to wait several months, Ovation can still make you a deep dish 1763.
The neck, which is two inches at the nut, joins the body at the 12th fret, using the trusty Kaman Bar with truss rod adjustment. There's an access cover on the pegboard to get at that sucker if you need to true it. Unlike some of Ovation's 22 fret nylon strung Country Artist guitars necks which can suffer some bowing at the soundboard, this Legend 1863 was straight and true right out of the box. The neck scale is long for a classical guitar (665 mm), but the cutaway solves some high note reach problems. The case is sold separately, but my dealer put together a nice package that included the 9117 deluxe molded case.
Some people complain that the roundbacked Ovation guitars are difficult to hold in their respective laps. The super shallow bowl of the 1863 makes holding this guitar fairly easy, and using a classical guitar footstool helps a lot, too. If you want to use a strap, go right ahead. The strap pins are gold metal, an appointment that is both attractive and practical. Had these been the standard black carbonite plastic, I'd've switched them.
Ovation's pickup has also been improved upon. Still a piezo-type pickup, it has been tweaked for the new tusque bridge saddle and the new OP24 + C electronics package. I plugged into my Fender Acoustasonic amp and found the sound -- well, read on...

For amplifying classical, Latin and jazz, this guitar sounds great. Like most nylon stringed guitars, the strings need to be played in, stretched occasionally to help them settle. Be patient. They will settle over time.
I use a Fender Acoustasonic Jr. amp with this guitar, and I haven't found it noisy--yet. The sound is rich in the bass and mid-section, and bright in the trebles. Of course, string preferences may come into play here, and I haven't a clue what the folks at Ovation put on this guitar. I have a set of LaBella 413 strings in the wings. I am a novice at this classical guitar stuff, but the 1863 provides a rich tableau of sounds.

The 1863 was set up very well.The neck is flat, as a classical style guitar neck should be, and the intonation is top notch. The pick-ups did not need any adjusting, and the top was properly matched. It is a gorgeous natural sitka spruce top. I like it for how well it projects. It's not dark in tone as cedar tops normally are, but the tone is still very warm.
The bridge was properly strung and the string ties were neat as were the windings. Everything looked as it should. Having played a steel-stringed Ovation for a while now, this was heaven.

If this was the only guitar I ever owned, it would outlive me. It looks and plays beautifully. I would use it in a gig without a backup. If anything happened to it, I would definitely replace it with another 1863.

I own an Ovation Balladeer Special (mid-depth steel-string), another lovely sounding guitar. I would definitely buy it again. While I originally had concerns over the electronics package change, so far I have been completely satisfied with this guitar's performance.