Ovation 1868 Elite

I'm not sure of the year. I bought the guitar about 10 years ago. It is American made . Cutaway neck, dark sunburst finish. There is a 3-band equalizer. The tuners are standard but work great. The case was not included so, I bought a SKB case.

I play praise & worship and I love the way the guitar sounds. The sound is very punchy and bright but I like that. I now play through a Yamaha AG stomp. This is a pre-amp and then straight into the sound system. These have been discontinued but it's a great pedal. With it, I'm able to add more bass or change any parameters you want. I catch a lot of flak for playing an Ovation in a world of Taylors, but it serves me well.

The action is great! It plays like an electric. The finish is beautiful.

Very tough guitar. After 10 years, the hardware is still holding up great. The guitar came with Dunlop Straplocks. Very dependable. I use it all the time without a backup.

never used it.

I have been playing for over 40 years. I bought this guitar partly for sentimental reasons. My first decent guitar was an Ovation. I was going through a AL DiMeola phase. So,when I had more money to spend ( 15 years later) I looked for an Ovation. I wish it had the new pre-amp that includes a tuner. I love the neck and how easily it plays. You will never get this guitar to sound like a big wood guitar. With that stated, it stills sounds awesome and can't be beat on stage.

Bought this new only it was 4 years old. (Thank you Ovation you saved me some money) AA solid spruce top. Beautiful black/cherryburst finish. Came with the OP 24 +C electronics. Tunner is a great feature.
This is a USA made Ovation. Under safddle piezo (I think) Neck is a satin smooth finish laminated with enony fretboard with nice inlays with two nice looking strips. Body is of course the Ovation super shallow bowl. Nice cutaway for fret access and pretty applet work (Im sure I spelled that wrong) around sound holes. Pinless ebony bridge. Nice gold tuners and strap locks. Neck is sort of C-shaped. A bit chunky for my taste. The store could not find the case (ha ha) so I got the top of the line Cort softshell bag with it. (about 69 bucks) (Of course Im gonna buy an Ovation case about 79.00) Just a real eye catching guitar. I am coming off an Alvarez Yairi so it is competing with a real nice guitar. (Again before you buy get the serial number and e-mail Ovation they are great. They will be honest with you about the guitar. Year and list for that year)

I play this through a Peavey Classic 50/410. (I know not a steller acoustic amp) The damn thing sounds very full and nice wood tone. The electronics help allot. Very versitile guitar and great playability. No feedback at all and I have had it to 4. This guitar is made to be played through an amp. As I said I'm coming off a Yairi so there is no comparison, in fact a disappointment unplugged. It is, to be fair, loud but doesnt have the rich tone unplugged like an all wood dreadnaught. Not bad but not great. Dont buy this guitar unless you are willing to sacrafice some unplugged sound. The 8 is for unplugged its a ten plugged in even in an amp desighned for blues. This guitar can play anything you want as far as styles, folk, 70's whatever.

This thing came setup flawless in both action and finish. Beatiful looks great playability. Action was very low with no string buzz. It came with 13's and I put 11's and I am sure it will take 10's fine if you want to go that way. The frets were perfect with no high or low spots. Smooth fret board smooth neck. The nut and saddle were perfect. Tuners are smooth and this thing stays in tune. Electronics work perfect. Very easy to leave the on board tuner on so be careful there or you will be buying many 9v's. They should use a warning light so you know you have the tuner off. I cant say enough about how this thing plays. Now I did notice the end of the neck has a slight gap as it lays on the spruce top. Dont know if that is normal or not. You can stick a piece of computer paper in there. I am a bit bugged about it but will contact Ovation.

This is a well built gig machine that should hold up fine. Damn it is a pretty piece of work. Finsih seems well done and the binding is very nicely done as well. Strap buttons are solid and placed well. I have not had it long enough to give it a ten.

As stated above Ovation was very helpful and saved me money by identifying the fact the guitar was four years old. Their responses to e-mails are prompt and curtious. The best people I have ever dealt with as far as customer and personal support on a guitar has been Zagar. I put Ovation right up there with Zagar, (Almost)

I cant think of any other features I would like to see on this guitar. I would like it to sound a bit better unplugged but all and all it seems to be a very well made beautiful guitar. This is my first Ovation so it will take some time to be real fair here but I'm pretty happy with this axe. I played several high end guitars and nothing in the store played as well and was setup as well as this guitar. I did see some of the other Ovations that were setup like crap. Not sure why but there were two balladeer's in there you could slide a body between the action. I can't say I hate anything about this guitar. Again if you play unplugged around the house you will not be happy with this guitar unless its the only one you have ever had or heard. I suspect it will get better with age and playong but only time will tell. The best feature is its looks, playability and electronics. The on board tuner is just to cool. Again the 8 is for the unplugged sound.

I bought this new in 2003, but don't know if it's a 2003 model.

Here are the specs:
6-String Acoustic/Electric
Body Type: S/Shallow Cutaway
Top: AA Grade Solid Sitka Spruce Top
Bracing: Quintad
Scale Length: 25 1/4
Fretboard: Ebony
Fret Inlay: Mother of Pearl
Bridge: Ebony
Rosette: Multi soundhole laser-cut 5-piece epaulet
Pickup: TruBalance
Preamp: OP-40
Nutwidth: 1 11/16
Machines: Gold Ovation


Came with a nice hardshell case (a REAL hardshell...for "fake" hardshell, buy an LTD by ESP). This has pretty much anything you could want from an acoustic/electric, and the OP-40 preamp adds alot of versatility.

I play lead in a metal band, and am mainly influenced by the whole 80's shred movement. What self-respecting 80's shred-head doesn't have an Ovation A/E in his arsenal? Don't answer that. Truth is, most people either love or hate Ovation, but it's hard to argue with an Ovation that's plugged in.

I tried a bunch of different guitars, some cheaper, some more costly, but what finally made me decide on this one, was the unplugged sound. That sound, by the way, is quite loud for a super-shallow bowl guitar, and it's quite full.

Plugged in...well, it's an Ovation, and in my opinion, you can't beat an Ovation on stage, plugged in.

The OP-40 preamp with it's built-in tuner (good thing to have), offers quite a few controls for shaping your sound, and eliminating feedback. You can check Ovation's website for the specs on that.

What I didn't like from the factory, were the 13 gauge D'Addario's. I switched them with 10 gauge Elixirs for ease of playability. Mind you, 13's are find for chordwork, but are a little too stiff for fast runs or string bends. Elixir's, well, those are a matter of personal choice...I like the way they sound and reduce finger-squeak.

The guitar arrived perfectly adjusted, which surprised me. I expected fairly high action, which was not the case at all. The action was a bit higher than on my various electrics, but not to the point where it required lowering. Set up perfectly for fast runs and chording, as well.

What did piss me off, was how dead the fretboard looked upon arrival. You know a lifeless fretboard when you see one, and this one was six feet under. Ebony, especially, can look very dead. No biggie...oiled it when I changed strings and now it looks as IT SHOULD HAVE FROM THE FACTORY! Again, no huge deal, but for a thousand bucks, don't send me a dead looking fretboard!

I also polished the guitar up a bit, and now it just looks like a million bucks.

IT'S A BOSS! Oh wait...this isn't a pedal review. Okay, well, if it were a pedal review, then: IT'S A BOSS!

Seriously, Ovations were made for the stage, and I know from experience that they withstand live playing. I don't know if the "gold" hardware will last or not, but the finish, which is quite thick, will last. The strap buttons are of no consequence, as I use a stand live and in the studio.

This is still an acoustic guitar, and the plastic bowl aside, is fragile simply because of what it is. Don't treat it like a red-headed stepchild, and it'll be fine. It gets an 8 because 10 is "rock solid", and there's no such thing as a rock solid acoustic.

Haven't dealt with Ovation.

I've been playing for 16 years. I own four other guitars, all electric (Charvel Model 4, Jackson Dinky, ESP/LTD M-1000, and a Fender Malmsteen Model, if you care). I simply needed a good acoustic/electric, and found it.

The other guitars I considered and tried before buying this, were the Martin 00CX (which is really nice, by the way, and under $600), the Ovation Viper (US version), the Gibson Chet Atkins Nylon String (not really an option at over $2000), and a Takamine thinline (which sounded like shit...odd, because Takamine makes a nice guitar).

Ultimately, the combined sound, playability, and price made the 1868 my choice.

The Viper is also very nice, but almost dead silent when unplugged. The Chet Atkins, well...if you've played one, you know how nice those are, and how easily you can play shreddy stuff on them. They're just not affordable.

If you have a thousand bucks to spend on an acoustic/electric, give this one a try. You may like it.

It gets an 8 because a grand is a little steep for a guitar with a plastic bowl.

An upgrade to my previous review from january - Ori Ventura.

Still amazing. :) But I would not give it a 10. Sometimes I feel it's too thin, but one thing I really like about it is that it's VERY accurate. The balance is AMAZING. Everything is so clean and clear.
I'll give it an 8 because I believe expensive martins or taylors would sound better. For finger picking acoustically it's pretty wick, I guess because of the shallow bowl body.

Yet i'm very satisfied. The sound is good.

The finish is awesome. The natural finish is really beautiful.
One thing that keeps me amazed again and again is the neck. Just look at it - the 5 pieces of different woods are so beautiful. Gives it a look of a vintage guitar.

As many people said it happened to them, it happened to me too - a terrible buzz accured. I tried to fix it but didn't really success. I opened the guitar and tried different things, and in the end it disappeared, I don't know how. Maybe it's because of the low action, thought I'm really not sure. Just hope it won't get back (it didn't for the last 3 months, so I guess it's ok). Sometimes there is also a buzz on the 11th fret, first string.

Except of that I know the guitar is one you can trust. It will last
forever, and it's very solid. I would use it without a backup.

Great. Emailed them many times and they always answered and tried to help.

I just love it. It's really different than other acoustics. Really comfortable. The sound is awesome, and so does the playability.
I use it for jazz, mostly and it's great, plugged or unplugged.
But for the matter of fact if it were stolen I think I would buy CUSTOM ELITE with DEEP BOWL body, and not shallow.

Bought new Feb 2001. Ovation 1868 6 String w/ Shallow bowl. Gold tuners and strap buttons. 22 fret "cutaway stye" board (ebony). Onboard pickup with OP24+C equalizer/confroler with chromatic tuner (sooo coool). Control volumen, eq low-mid-hi with builtin octave boosters. Sitka Spruce top. Black Laquered finish with 5 piece V-neck. Single cutaway body stye with epaulets and multiple sound holes up front.

One word....Brillant! Every note rings bright and clear. Which is exactly what I was looking for. I play some light classical with a lot of "Acoustic Versions" of 80's Rock tunes. In particular I play a lot of Triumph Acoustical pieces and this guitar fits that bill perfectly. Not a lot of bass until you plug in the Amp and set the built in pre-amp EQ for low. I've run it through my DigiTech 2 Second delay and Stereo Chorus and chills ran down my spine. Just an unbelievably awsome sound. With this guitar, I don't need my Sustainer pedal...It'll ring a note for 20 seconds....unamped!

I used the factory setup until last week. I've read the previous posts on Buzzing problems....and yup...I got a terrible buzz in mine just 3 months after purchase. But not to worry. Since I bought it in Feburary the Humidity was very low. Come May the humidity skyrockets here in the MD area (and no I don't have a humidity controled case) I've never had an acoustic with an action this low so I never experienced this on any of my other acoustics (Fender and Yamaha). My buzzing problem was on frets 1-3 only. I loosened the truss rod a 1/4 turn and that took care of it. The action was only raised slightly so I'm happy with this adjustment. The finish on the top board is glassy and flawless, the finish on the neck is more of a natural satin. Only time will tell how it holds up.

This guitar was BUILT for live playing. The lychrachod backing is plenty durable and the case is custom molded for the body stye of the guitar and will take "normal" use and abuse. I would NOT recommend droping anything directly on it since it is not an Anvil Case.


The tuners are of high quality and very smooth. The frets may be a little soft. I tend to be very hard on frets and boards when I play...I never learned a "soft touch" very well.

I haven't seen a scratch on the top board in the last 4 months, although I seldom use a pick. You can depend on it, however, I suggest that you invest in a coupld of Rechargable 9V batteries and a charger. Its very easy to leave the pre-amp on and forget about it. Since I use 9V's for all my effects too, a charger and batteries is a must.

I have used it without a backup, however, I prefer to have a back up no matter what my primary instrument is. Chalk that up to the school of "you never know".

Never had to call, did the adjustment myself, although with the shallow bowl it is a pain in the a** to tweak the truss rod.

I've been playing for 18 years. I own a 1985 Fender Stratocaster (yes Japanese) and it is the best blues guitar I have ever owned. I also play a Fender Concord Acoustic and Yamaha 12-string acoustic.

If this guitar were stolen, I'd hunt the person down. But in the mean time, I'd run back and buy another in a heart beat. My favorite feature is the onboard chromatic tuner, in a minute I can tune sharp or flat for the next song.

I had a couple of guitars on my list of wants, this one ranked number one as far as price, features, looks and the sound I wanted.

It was made during the last months, year 2001, in the USA. It has 17 frets on the highest string and 22 on the lowest (who needs more than that on an acoustic guitar anyway). It has an awesome EQ with Bass/Mid/Treble and also a chromatic tuner (which is VERY helpful). The famous Ovation roundback body style with those beautiful leaves.
Gold tuners. Big & HEAVY original Ovation Case.

I bought it for folk & jazz, and it suits my style just perfect. I really disagree with the saying of 'plastic cold sound' which many says of ovation. it has a warm, beautiful tone, and this instrument can really go far even when playing Jazz (Bossanova, Joe Pass).
I play it through my Fender Princeton 65 or unplugged. Sounds AWESOME both ways. When plugged, the EQ gives many options for sound - from the brightest to the warmest.

All seems fine..

I bought it for being my main guitar, pretty sure forever. I know it can stand live playing, recording and everything else. This is a really long time investment.

Been playing for 3 years. I own a Les Paul Studio and a Fender Princeton 65 amplifier. I love the looks (it's SO beautiful), the sound, the comfort. Everything. That's exactly what I've been searching for in acoustic guitar (though there are great others) and I except this one to be my main acoustic guitar for long years to come.

Bought in 1998, this Ovation Elite was made in the U.S. and has a solid spruce top (sunburst) with Ovation's A bracing and a 5-piece neck made of maple, mahogany, which is very stable. The quality gold plated schaller tuners are smooth. I bought my guitar with the case designed for super shallow Ovation guitars. Looking inside the guitar, one sees how the top is joined to the lyracord back: thick, oozing glue. This is probably a traditionalist's nightmare. Yet everything is solid and holds up well.

The guitar has a deep cutaway which is great for playing unique chord shapes up the neck. The guitar then has a harp like sound.

Some people rant about the Ovation sound that is tinny and is only good amplified. Believe it or not, I bought the guitar because I liked its acoustic sound. It certainly does not sound like a conventional guitar but it is loud, separation of notes is excellent and the thing sustains for about 10 seconds! This guitar has a unique "chimey" and compressed sound with a very cristaline bass.
Playing this guitar brings out sounds, ideas and compositions that would not be possible with another guitar.

The action is a bit jangly, but I play fingerstyle with a light touch, so this is ok. The neck is as easy to play as an electric.

The neck dips in two places, where the the neck joins the body, creating some light buzzing. This is the guitar's greatest flaw, in my opinion. Does this result from the fretboard being glued on to the neck after it is joined to the body?

Workmanship is very good, apart from this

This guitar keeps its tuning very well. Hardware is solid and first rate. It is stable, sturdy and would withstand gigs very well.

I have never dealt with the company regarding this guitar, but I did send them a question concerning the strings they put on their guitars: they never responded.

I've been playing guitar for over thirty years and own an ecclectic bunch of instruments including a 1898 Martin 0-21, a La Patrie Motif classical guitar and a steel string guitar made by a Quebec luthier.

As far as i'm aware it's a 2000/2001 USA model. Features pretty much as everyone else has stated, except mine came with gold strap buttons.
I opted for the natural finish, which gives it a lovely light honey colour, which brings out the 4 wood veneers that surround the multi-soundhole design. One feature that helped sway me to this model over others i was looking at was the built-in tuner. Acuurate and highly sensitive, it beats most other tuners i've tried to use on this guitar.

Very rich and very rounded, good response across the range. The EQ allows a great contol of the sound while plugged in, allowing deep woody bass all the way through to very crisp high notes. Sounds like an acoustic should.

The guitar made it direct from the factory, via new jersey to my home in the north of England still in perfect tune. The action is unsurpassed. Fast, without being over sensitive. The closest i've found to playing an electric, with the real acoustic sound.

I bought this guiar while i was still pretty in-experienced at playing and treated it like a punch bag. I've never had what you'd call a delicate touch with guitars and this one seems to be able to withstand anything i throw at it. Hardly ever, even after nights of drunken hammering at partys, needing anything but the slightest of re-tuning. One probelm i had with this guitar was a strange defect in the veneers around the largest sounhole, the joint where two different veneers meet sligtly lifted off the body of the guitar. This sort of thing i would usually put down to expansion, but the guitar has suffered no other effects (loosing tune etc..). I had it swiftly repaired by my local authorised dealer at a cost of approx #10 (about $14).

I've never needed to contact them.

This guitar put me off playing electrics for a while cos they "just don't sound right" and was a godsend as i was learning. Being able to trust in a guitar so completely that when something sounds bad you know its your technique and not a shoddy instrument makes you get good, quick.

Follow-up to my past review...

Still brilliant - better with age!

Still rock-solid/durable after 12 years!

I attempted to travel with my 1868, and despite that the baggage handlers dropped my case which made a huge crack on the bottom, the guitar was un-damaged!

Looking for Ovation string suggestions?
I've tried other string brands, but for my fingers/ears, the Adamas Extra-Light string play better and the sound is well balanced. Moshay picks have never left any fascia damage, even after 11 years of consistent playing. Surprisingly, the thin soundboard of my pearl-white 1868 has survived much abuse and has no damage to show for it! While I wouldn't pull any Pete Townsend stunts with this axe, this guitar seems indestructible despite the low weight and appropriately-light construction. This is another reason why I'll never buy another guitar brand. If this constitutes an endorsement, so be it.

Never has needed repair!

If considering this guitar used, GET IT NOW. Recent eBay price was about $700, a bargain for this gem.

As I said in my original review, I have soundbytes available, but the website has changed to www.mp3.com/akiba - the guitar heard on these mp3's are all from my trusty 1868 with a Zoom 2020 efx pedal (I now use a DOD GS-30 with equally excellent results). I've received MANY requests for the photo of my Ovation Case implanted humidifier installation - please send/re-send them as I now have a photo available.

As far as I can tell it's a 99-2000 model, it has USA stamped in the headstock.

17 full frets with partial frets up to 22 on the high E. The top is solid AA spruce top with a Black Cherry Burst and the traditional Ovation supper shallow bowl back.

The onboard pre amp has a full auto chromatic tuner built in with the 3 band eq withcontrols for mid shift, pre-shape, eq bypass and a volume control. The under saddle piezo pickup has 6 individual pickups.

The neck is 5 pieces of mahogany and maple with a very smooth raw oiled finish. The subtle V profile makes it very easy to play.

The body sztyle is identical to the celebrity deluxe but it a full scale size. The cutaway combined with the shallow body allow easy access to the top frets.

The bridge is compensated at each string and although not adjustabe the intonation is almost perfect all the way up the neck. The gold plated tuners a ovations cast tuners, very smooth and stable.

Due to a price beating war the case was included in the price.

For an ovation accousticaly it sounds great but most supper shallow bowl backed accoustics sound like the top is made from wet cardboard but that's not why I bought it. I shines with it's intended use, on a stage or in a studio.

Plugged into a PA th ovation has an instant presence the tone, while being mouldable is distinct and has almost no noticable piezo rasp that so many lower priced pickup and preamps produce.

With the eq and pre-shape controls the sound can be changed from a shimmering bright sound to a rich full sound.

In the studio the pickup is great, you can record a perfectly ballanced sound with the eq bypassed and edit the tone in post production or dial in your perfect sound almost without looking. In comparison to the sound of the celebrity Deluxe this is what a guir should sound like, if you can't get a sound you like out of this guitar you should go back to playing bass.

I tried 2 of these guitars in the store and while teh action was a little low and buzzy on the one I didn't buy the frets were perfectly seated on both, the nut work was very clean and the fret ends almost feel like they aren't there. The finish on the top is like glass, it's thin enough to feel the grain in the wood. The headstock is so smooth you can see your face in it. There was a lot of great attention paid to the finishing and setup on this model, shame you can't say the same for their lower priced models, but you get what you pay for.

What can I say, it's almost bomb proof, the bracing is funky but very strong, it handles humidity changes with ease, the neck is like a rock, guess that Kaman bar works. I gig with it regulalry on a hot stage then the next day in a air conditioned studio and it rarley need to be re-tuned, I don't have a backup and I don't need one, it's a workhorse. Being that it's not a Lowden I don't care if I turn it to match wood but it has taked everyting I have thrown at it so far.

Never had to call them

If you want a great studio / live guitar that is expendable and not to expensive get an ovation, if you have the cash get this one.

I went from a Celebrity Deluxe to a Elite Standard to this one. Looks like I got to the top of the tree, the Adamas model has nothing to offer over this model.. Go buy one!!!