Ovation 1868 Elite T

The previous posts have covered all the features. My 1868T is an all-black model. What immidiately drew me to the guitar was the enamel finish and sturdy construction of the body. I have NEVER EVER been a fan of Ovation's round-back bodies (when you have a bit of a belly, keeping those things from sliding away while playing is a chore and a half). But the finish on the guitar, the super shallow bowl, and peg-less saddle allowed me to comfortably hold the guitar while playing - even without a strap and sitting down. The OP30 preamp has a built-in tuner, which by far if my favorite feature because I do A LOT of live playing. The body's material will do great in South Florida where humidity affects (and ruins) traditional guitars in shorter tiem than other places. If the tuner didn't time out automatically after a minute, I would rate it a "10".

The soundhole placed on the bass side of the top creates an incredible punch on the bass notes. This guitar booms, which surprised, impressed, and endeared me to this model immidiately after playing it in the store. I have already used it live, through a PA, and the plugged in sound is astronomical - every note, every slide, every strum comes through vividly with crisp highs, the aforementioned booming lows, and just an overall quality of sound that has made my Martin 000XE my backup guitar.

The unplugged sound is just as good as my Martin - the 000XE model, which is also an alternative material guitar. By "just as good", I mean to say that it is phenomenal. The punchy bass and bright highs puts this model Ovation at the top of its class and price ($500- $1000).

The set-up was perfect for me. Like sound, this is a very subjective rating, but I have had multiple guitarists of different sizes (and genders) play it - and we are unanimous. The low action, thinner (than usual) neck, and peg less saddle makes this the best acoustic guitar for an electric player.

As far as wood - no comment. This guitar is an alternative material guitar. There are no discernible flaws in the workmanship -which makes this guitar look more like a machine than an instrument. Play it live and people will ask you if its an electric simulating a acoustic.

The alternative material makes this a reasonably strong guitar. No worries about scrathing the wood - since it's basically an high strength plastic. The strap buttons are the best I have in any of my guitars, which I almost always replace. This guitar, inthe short time I have had it has become my favorite gigging instrument.

Haven't had to deal with them. Probably never will.

I have been playing for nine years, and have owned a Taylor (sold it,) a Seagull Artist Series (love it), a Martin, an Ibanez (gave it away as soon as I got this guitar), and a Samick TMJ (suprisingly great little guitar)- but this Ovation has really become my favorite. I love the shape, size, and look. If it were stolen, I would replace it immidiately - even at the the regular price of $749 w/o a case. Mine was marked half off the $1070 list, which made getting this guitar a no-brainer. Go to a store and play this guitar, and you'll agree with me.

The previous entry covered features rather well. I really appreciated the loudness of this guitar - quite loud for being a super shallow body. Louder than my classical acoustic guitar that is not a cutaway, louder than other acoustics I have played. the electronics give you 2 options, kinda nice.

My style is coffee shop and rock stuff like A Perfect Circle or Alice in Chains unplugged. This guitar has a really solid sound, the bass is incredible. Notes are articulated very well. I have played the low end ovations, and they just do not sound as good. The electronics can possibly be upgraded, as they just insert into this guitar like a videogame into your nintendo. I have the OP30, the better models OP40 and OP50 have a noisegate function that mutes out all that feedback that acoustical guitars are known for. I already have a noisegate, so I am not really interested in any upgrades. I really like the new artistic look of this pewter guitar, if they do not continue this line later on, those that like the industrial look will miss out. It has a pewter non-skid body. The maple neck will take extra care with oil because it is not laminated wood. I would guess that this guitar will not hold it's value over the long run, as it is not a taylor 314ce... I got this guitar as a player, to get nicks and scuffs over time though. Rich full sound, I am amazed!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

nice action, great for les paul lovers like myself. Fast runs = no problem. I have yet to find out how great the tuners are...no flaws at all (this guitar is new, and plays wonderfully). I got this axe on ebay. I play it through a PA - JBL Eon G2 15s. I have effects. This thing can sound like a monster of acoustical tone. It plays just like an electric. High notes have decent sustain. This is a quality instrument. I would only look at higher end models than this guitar if I was one to play live (I am). this thing is made in the USA.

ditto to the guy below; this thing is built to keep on truckin'. warranty? I won't be needing that...

have not dealt with customer service, it would suck to send this beauty away via mail to strangers...

I have been playing for 7 years, all on the electric. This guitar is perfect for me, definitely not your father's acoustic...

I bought mine for $475 with case. I could see paying more for it. But do not buy this because you think it holds it's value, buy because you want to play period. This guitar blows me away, and I have been a shredder (think joe satch)/distortion freak (think pantera) for the longest time...

This guitar was made in 2003 in the USA. It has 22 frets on a fretboard that arcs nicely down onto the body. It has a solid spruce top covered with black textured enamel. (It also comes in "pewter" -- but I preferred black.) It has an unusual 11-hole soundhole configuration -- all on the upper side. No decoration or epaulets.

It has an OP30 preamp with volume, bass, middle and treble eq controls. There's also a Pre-Shape circuit that not only lifts the bass and treble, but also reduces "rumble" from frequencies below 40Hz. (It's an on/off button that essentially cleans up your sound.) And there's an on-board chromatic tuner that works very well. It has an Ovation thinline pickup at the bridge.

The body is fiberglass (Ovation calls it "Lyrachord"); the neck is rock maple. It has a flat black textured enamel finish -- like non-skid stair covering - that wraps around the entire back and top. The body style is Ovation's super shallow cutaway. It has an ebony bridge with pinless string anchoring -- a nice touch for anyone who doesn't like to fool with bridge pins. It has black die-cast machines that look good with the black body.

According to Ovation, the neck profile has been slimmed down to give it a look and feel more appealing to electric players. I like it because it's thicker than an electric neck. The fretboard is Ebony, scale length is 25-1/4. The neck is natural colored with provides a nice contrast to the rest of the guitar.

It comes with one of those wonderful Ovation hard cases, suitable for airline travel.

I play rhythm in a band that does rock, blues and country and all combinations of the three. I was looking for a good all-around axe to play it all, essentially an acoustic guitar that could pose as an electric on occasion. Currently, I use an old Yamaha G50-112II amp, but I may switch to a newer Fender Deluxe 90 DSP. I have a Boss heavy metal pedal, but I use it very sparingly. I also play it through a Kustom Profile PA system.

The guitar feeds back nastily on the "More Drive" setting on the Fender amp. Otherwise, it's pretty clean and quiet.

The sound is the reason I bought this guitar. Most Ovations tend to be very bright, verging on "tinny," especially the super shallow ones. As someone who usually plays a Martin, I didn't much care for it. I picked this one up because of its strange looks and was completely surprised by its rich, full sound. The engineers at Ovation got it right with this one. Strangely enough, I had planned to look more seriously at the 1778 Elite T model (reviewed elsewhere on this site) because I thought its mid-depth body would have a better sound. It doesn't. It has a good sound, but the supershallow model is much cleaner.

We live in an electronic age. With the right effects box, amp or PA, it can make any sound you want from mellow acoustic to screamin' electric. It also sounds great unplugged. I play at a lunchtime jam session at work and it holds its own among the dreadnoughts.

I like just about everything about this guitar (so much so that I risked incurring some domestic ire to buy it without trading in one of my other guitars). It's major drawback is one I've found on all Ovations. The round back is a great feat of engineering, but it won't stay put on your lap. This is definitely a stand-up-and-play guitar -- but that's why I bought it. The strap buttons are well-placed and the supershallow body fits mine (which isn't). The onboard tuner is a nice feature. When plugged in to an amp, it mutes the amp and lets you tune quietly. The drawback is you have to wait for the tuner to finish it's cycle (30-40 seconds) before your amp will come back on again. There's no off switch for the tuner (unless I missed something in the manual).

This guitar was on the wall of a music store for about 9 months. I don't think they did anything except tighten the strings. The action's great. It stays in tune. It was dusty. The finish is very strange, but very cool. Not the sort of thing a first-timer would buy. No problems with the bridge. Fit and finish were good all the way around.

The volume switch doesn't seem to offer much range. If you set the midpoint to your amp volume, much below that is inaudible and much above that is too loud. I need to fool with it some more to figure it out. Nothing you can't live with.

Live playing is the reason I bought this guitar. I've admired Ovations since the mid-70s when one that belonged to a friend survived being hit by a falling PA column. And this one has a much better sound. It seems like a very solid machine. I expect it to last a long time. The finish is strange enough that I thought it might scratch off, like a textured ceiling. It has no pickguard. But I've been playing it pretty enthusiastically, and there's no sign of wear.

The strap buttons are solid and well-placed.

I would use it at a gig without a backup. That's why I bought it.

This guitar came with a Limited Lifetime Warranty. I probably should read that to see what it means. I have never dealt with the company and hope I never have to.

Although I'm now in my (very) late 40s, I've only played for about five years. (What can I say, I'm a late bloomer.) I own a Martin D-1832 Shenandoah (the more recent ones are called DMs), a Schecter TSH (Tempest Semi-hollow) electric, and a Martin Backpacker. I have owned (and traded in) a Washburn D-10 and a Takamine EGS-430SC. I'm no expert on guitars, but I know what I like and what works for me.

I admired this guitar in various shops for about a year while I shopped around. If it were stolen or lost, I would get another one if I could, but that may be a problem. It seems to have been discontinued. That's one of the reasons I bought it.

My favorite feature is the sound. It's just plain good. My second favorite feature is how it looks. It's very dramatic. It could be Darth Vader's guitar. Or something you could play wearing a tuxedo. It also looks cool with a t-shirt and jeans. Johnny Cash probably wouldn't have played one of these because his Martin was such a big part of his image, but he would have liked it. It has a very high head-turning factor.

I was looking for a "reasonably priced" thin acoustic electric. I looked at a lot of makes and models -- especially the thinlines offered by Martin (00CXAE), Ovation, Takamine, and Ibanez. (There's a Guitar Center near my house.) I was looking for an Ovation T-357 Tangent model, but I couldn't find one to play. The Martins were nice, but this one had a better overall sound -- and the looks are pretty exceptional. (The thinline Martins that sound better than this guitar start at $1400.)

Is there anything that I wish it had? How about a non-skid surface on the lower waist to keep it in one place on your knee so you could play it easily while sitting?

If you can find one of these before they disappear completely, buy it. If it's on sale, buy two and give one to a friend. I got mine on sale. Ovation says it should retail at $1100. Most I saw previously went for about $700 with the case. That's reasonable.