Ovation 1869 Custom Legend

1996. Paid $1,700 new. i give it a 10 because it has the built in tuner and the onboard pickups that ovation uses are legendary (and used to be the standard). finish on the front is great, the back- well you know it's an ovation.

for playing live it sounds excellent. for playing unplugged it is awful. dead sound, no resonance.

i dont remember how it came. i believe it was set up okay. no fret buzz. i've never tweaked it since. however, the action on this guitar makes it almost impossible to play pleasurably. if i'm not playing out i never touch it because it is no fun. also the silly round back makes sitting and strumming impossible. the slight effort that it takes to constantly hold it from slipping makes my arm tired after a few minutes.

it is made for live playing. its sturdy because its got hardly any wood on it, so dings dont really happen. the tuner seems to be fritzing out on me the last year or so. one good thing about the guitar is that in live situations it doesn't feed back as much as other electric acoustics (it has a built in "notch" filter which is quick to access in a live situation)

never dealt

after the novelty of the guitar wears off you will wish you bought another axe. you will feel twice as bad because the resale value on these guitars sucks. once ovation put out the celebrity line everyone assumes that the custom legend is one of those. and to be honest, i can't tell a difference between a $300 applause and my custom legend. in ANY way. so i am stuck with a guitar that i hate and never play. but that is probably because i no longer play out

Ovation's web site has the complete list of features. I won't note them all here. This instrument is, I believe, a 2003 model with the OP-50 preamp.

I'll note a few things. One is the finish. My model has the black finish and it's as fine (or finer) than the multi-laquer/clearcoat finish I had on an old Aria Pro LP copy in the 70's. Beautiful, deep and rich looking. The Abalone is also striking and well done. No filler is visible. Very well done indeed. No photo can do this guitar justice. It's just knock down gorgeous. If your trying to decide on ordering one mail order believe me it will be beautiful.

The preamp is a great improvement over the OP-3 preamp I have on my mid 90's Ovation Custom Balladeer. It's shape circuit produces an EQ curve that's about perfect. I find that I don't really need to apply any additional EQ when used with my Peavey Acoustic/Keyboard amp. In a PA system some additional shaping may be necessary to reduce the jangle of the piezo pickup. Without the shape filter the pickup sounds very much like a piezo, with the filter it sounds like a nicely mic'd acoustic guitar.

The tuner is nice as well. It has a 3 LED system (two red, one green) of lights with distance from tune indicated by how fast the red LED's flash. Quite nice. The only issue with it is the note letters are small and nearly invisible in low light (washed out by the LED). I think Ovations new pro preamp solves this by indicating the note letter in an LED display. So if your trying to retune to strange keys in low light don't rely on the built-in.

The preamp also has an XLR out that accepts phantom power so no need to worry about the battery if you can go straight into a phantom powered board.

It came with an SKB case with Ovation logo embossed. I don't know why after 20 years SKB can't make a case that has enough room in the accessory compartment for a strap and a set of strings! Two sets of strings and a capo fills the compartment.

I bought this guitar for a couple purposes and it fills them nicely. I needed a guitar for acoustic Irish music with fiddles, hammer dulcimer, recorder and an accordion player. When I've used a rosewood dreadnought in the past the booming bass has muddied up the mix. The best instrument I've used in this environment previously is a 1921 Sears Bradley Kincaid guitar passed down to me but it's age and delicacy make me leary of playing out.

Unplugged, this ovation has a balanced tone very different from any other wooden acoustic body guitar. Take for instance a tune like the Beatles "Blackbird". That tune alternates the open B string as the fretted parts go up the neck. On every other instrument I've played the open string note sounds far louder than the fretted notes as they go up the neck. On this Ovation the sound of the open string is in balance with the fretted notes. Quite amazing.

However this guitar sounds somewhat thin and lacking overtones when played alone, but complements other acoustic instruments nicely and blends well with the mix without oversaturating.

Plugged in this is a dream guitar. The convenience of the preamp and it's true acoustic sound when plugged make it ideal for amplified worship/praise music. I was using an Ovation 1755 12-string Balladeer for this in the past but it tends to have a bass bloom that's hard to control in front of a monitor and I'm over 40 and my hands just can't handle hours of bar chord playing on the 12 any longer.

Plugged in, the Op-50 preamp gives this guitar a lot of different voices. It really is a performance instrument. It's showy looking and great sounding. IMO it's not a good choice for a solo acoustic guitar player, just not enough going on acoustically. Even my old deep bowl Balladeer beats it soundly in terms of the complexity and variety of tone coming out of the sound hole.

I played about 15 different Ovations on the day I purchased this instrument. This was the most expensive MSRP Ovation in the store but acoustically it didn't sound much better than the $300 Celebrity models. I actually liked the cedar topped Celebrity best for acoustic tone, but Plugged in it blew them away and fit and finish was far better than the Korean models. It also has a lot more room for action adjustment than the Celebrity guitars there. The only Ovation I wanted to play but was unavailable was an Adamas. I played an Adamas many years in the distant past and I recall the acoustic sound being incredible but it's a $600 premium over this guitar and honestly I have other good sounding acoustic guitars so this does enough for me.

Action was slightly high from the factory but very playable. My hand strength is decreasing as the years go by so I'm getting to where I like lower and lower actions. The nut is slightly higher than I'm used to but Ovation is sending me another to cut down to my liking.

Fit and finish is +++. I've not seen better on any acoustic. Ovation knows how to make a beautiful guitar.

Haven't had it long enough to rate this. Initial quality looks great but my other Ovation developed a fretboard problem over the body that was repaired under warranty.

Ovation has the best customer support of any musical instrument company I've ever dealt with. They answer emails within a day and when you call you get to talk to a live, friendly person. I called and asked a few questions and asked for a replacement nut and they were very courteous and offered to send the part out right away.

One plus in the custom legend's favor over the Adamas is good looks. The Adamas has an arguably ugly top and is very plain. I get positive comments on the looks of this guitar from everyone who sees it.

2000 Ovation Custom Legend, Super Shallow Body, Color Black, AAA Wood, Optima Electronics & Tuner, 20 frets, has all the fancy trimmings you need, looks and sounds great.

I bought this guitar with case, new for $999.00 from an Ebay auction held by a New Jersy music stote. The guitar was a factory second.

Ebay if a great place to buy a guitar, if your careful......

For such a small guitar it has a very CLEAN, LOUD sound, especially for playing live. It doesn't have the muddy sound of the it's older Brothers, the full bowl models. It's not quite as warm a sound, but it has SUPERIOR DEFINITION to the older models.THE INDIVIDUAL STRINGS ARE VERY DISTINCT AND RING CLEAR.

I do all original material so I make it sound the way I want it to.

I took it to the best luthier in WV and we could find nothing physically wrong with the instrument. Looks and plays great. We raised the action a bit and replaced the factory strings and set it up for 9-42 set of strings. By trade, I was a lead player for several years and prefer a light gauge and a high action. For small hands, this is a great guitar for chording.

I always carry a backup guitar. Great live instrument. Very solid build.

The only flaw I found, and this was in my mind, more of a design problem (pointed out by Ovation's people) not a quality or construction issue, would be with how the Optima electronics is arranged. The quarter inch phone jack is physically attached soldered/mounted to the Optima electronics module itself. And on my guitar, the jack somehow got loose making intermittent or no contact with the circut board, thus the guitar would cut out by it's self, unannonced and while I was playing. This got progressively worse. But the superb Ovation customer service and technical people resloved this in no time flat. Within a week, they sent me a new Optima module, free of charge and I installed it myself in about ten minutes. And that was that. End of problem.

If I can be real picky, I would have installed a little better quality tuners. In my mind the factory jobs are not up to the quality of the rest of the instrument. I would use Grover.

Of course there may be a weight/balance issue with the instrument and that may be why they use lighter tuners.

Excellent Customer Support, right up there with Bob Taylor's staff.

It is my main guitar, been playing it around three years. I'm putting a lot of wear on the frets, so I switched to my Taylor Grand Concert for a while. The Grand Concert (the Grand Auditorium is to big)is a great guitar, but it is a totally different guitar than the Ovation, different as night and day.

I prefer Ovation, so I would buy another if lost or stolen.

A good, solid, clean guitar, especially for what I paid.

My guitar is a 1995 model in Cherry cherry burst red made in the USA. It has a solid grade AAA Sitka spruce top on a SSC body, 5 piece laminated neck of mahoganey, maple, mahoganey with a walnut veneer to the headstock and a walnut, handcarved bridge.The 20 fret ebony fingerboard is bound and the schaller M/C heads are 24c gold plated. The binding, rosette and fret board inlays are decorated with abalone shell and the whole effect is just exquisite. The guitar is supplied with a 9117 fitted hard case. The preamp is the Optima with tuner which works a treat. It has a 4 band EQ plus a notch filter to selectively remove feedback.

I got my first Ovation (93 Custom Balladeer) because I wanted an acoustic that would play like an electric. The 1869 does this so well as the neck is nice and narrow and the action is aas low as my Strat. This guitar is amazingly mellow for such a thin body but I guess that has something to do with the AAA grade top and the fact that it has had a few years to mature. I guess it is not as loud as some deeper guitars but you just plug it in to get louder. It has good separation right across the neck and is very easy to play. I plug mine in direct to the PA and this gives plenty of punch to the sound. I like to play some blues and the sound is great for this

I got the guitar S/H so can't comment on the factory setup. I have set the action to just undera 1/16 at the 12th fret on the low e string and have no buzzes at all. The bookmatched top is quite obvious in that you can clearly see the join but the finish is excellent with no ridge at the join.

I don't gig now but I would have no hesitation using this guitar live. It is a great stage guitar beacause it catches the light so effectively. It takes more knocks than most as the bowl is so strong.

I have dealt with the MD of Kaman Music, John Shand, when I bought a 95 Legend 12 that cracked across the laquer. He was very helpful and resolved the problem finally by suplying a replacement guitar. I have also found the sales team very helpful, unlike the importers in the UK who have been the complete opposite, seeming to know very little about Ovation products and being even less keen to bring in anything even slightly out of the ordinary or what they consider the UK users should buy.
In fairness John Hornby Skewes can be very helpful but only if you talk to the man at the top everytime.

I have been playing now for about 30 years and really ought to be a better player. This guitar is one of 5 Ovations I own 2 of which are Adamas fibre tops. I have had a 1980 USA Strat from new and recently added the new Line 6 variax to the collection.
I love the colour, tone and decoration of this guitar and I bought it because I always wanted one. I would certainly replace it but probably S/H again. The new ones have a smaller rossete and the carved bridge is now just a plain one. I would also try to find a mid-depth model. I could never get on with a deep body but once I discovered the mid-depth it was like baby bear finding the porridge, ie just right.
This is one guitar I just delight in looking at as well as playing but then Ovations have always made guitars that delight the eye despite having a plain glass fibre bowl.

Ovation Custom Legend 1869 ccb (cherry cherryburst)
paid $999 brand new, last year's model by two months
Optima electronics---built in tuner (precise!) (handy!)
super shallow cutaway
please check kaman music website for specifics (Ovation)
most apparent stunning feature---it's nothing less than a work of art
nice, nice Ovation case included

I gig once or twice a week in venues ranging from bars, supper clubs, to roadhouses. I play a folk rockish blend, with Zeppelin, Hendrix, and the Stones thrown in heavily. I have done this for just over ten years using an Elite 1868-5 (black), but I had to get the frets dressed on the Elite, noticed finger trails on the fretboard, and decided to look for a backup. I have had a Custom Legend 12 string ccb for seven years. This new 1869 (6 string) matches it. Played my first gig with the 1869 last night through a Peavey Ecoustic 112 lined out with a Danelectro Cool Cat chorus and a Danelectro phaser pedal, and it sounded great. However, the thing that amazed me is the sound I got with the 1869 set with its sliders in the 0 position and the sliders on the Ecoustic 112 in the 0 position bypassing the effect pedals. It has a voice of its own and seemed to talk to me all night. I used it for three solid hours and only used the 12 string (Custom Legend ccb) to end my last set with "Over the Hills and Far Away". I just didn't want to set it down. My elderly Elite 6 string has a special twang to it, my Rickenbacker 360 12 has a chime of its own, but this 1869 sings to me with a whole different sound and it is wonderful. Many times during the gig last night I'd catch myself listening to it as if I were merely playing for myself. In other words, it took me right to the edge and had me doing things that I didn't even know that I could do...and all six of the strings were involved. Maybe we call that "rounding out the sound". I can't wait to plug it into my Peavey XRD 680 head and PA system.

I tried two of these last Friday at Hermes Music of San Antonio. They were identical in looks, but the action on the one I chose was lower than the other one. The work on the guitar, I mean abalone binding and sound hole work, it's just incredible. The AAA spruce top is flawless; the guitar is the best of everything and plays and sounds like it also. I have relied solely on Ovations for gigging for years (recently included the Rickenbacker 360 12) and like everything else, you either like Ovations or you don't. I do. They stay in tune, they are fun to look at, and I've always felt good playing an Ovation. I've never seen an Ovation of any price that wasn't top quality. I've never minded spending money for an Ovation because these guitars deliver what I need onstage.

The strap buttons are gold. That blew my mind. I rarely gig without a backup because "strings will break"... but with a road trip ahead of me last week, I gigged solely with my old Elite and never worried about it. I would gig with any of my Ovations (have 3 if you're counting) and not be concerned. They are quality guitars.
Because of a decade of carrying around the Elite (and I'll still use it) and having worn out it's original case and buying a new case for it, I am a firm believer in the quality and longevity of Ovation guitars.

I sent them a letter one time praising my Elite and they sent me back two packs of Adamas guitar strings and then sent me a golf shirt for Christmas! I promise! These guitars don't mess up...but if one did, I know that they would fix it and who knows what they might send me along with it. I love these people!

Talk to me about Armageddon, but let's just not mention this guitar getting stolen. I've had it less than a week and feel like I've discovered the Grail. They cost a lot, but I still love mine.

CUSTOM LEGEND

Model 1869 Specifications:
6-String Acoustic/Electric
Body Type: S/Shallow Cutaway
Top: AAA Grade Sitka Spruce
Bracing: Ovation A Brace
Scale Length: 25 1/4
Scale:
Fretboard: Bound Ebony
Fret Inlay: Abalone
Bridge: Ebony
Rosette: Wide Ovation Walnut Veneer Pearloid Logo
Pickup: Ovation Piezoelectric
Nutwidth: 1 11/16
Machines: 24K Gold Schaller Die Cast Perloid Button
Case: 9117-0

Sounds wonderful for any type of sound! Even bar chords. I love it.

I got it used, so the action and setup is not a catagory.

The finish is perfect!

Now this is where it gets weird. I went to tighten the input jack, and I must have flucked up a wire or something by turning the whole jack. Im sure its an easy fix, and im stupid, it seems real solid, and kicks ass.

I dont think I'll ever have to deal with them, I have an exxelent tech, call the number from http://www.cowtownguitars.com to ask for his number, great guy

I could not pass this up, it was in mint condition at half price (for me only), and it came with a $300 custom ovation case free. I never need another acoustic, set for life. If it were stolen, i would cry my self to sleep every night.

Please see earler reviews for specs on the 1869. Mine is Cherry Cherry Burst, with a deep bowl, white pearloid tuners; lots of abalogne inlay; a stunning acoustic guitar to look at.

Awesome sound plugged in; unplugged, still very, very nice; rich and full, crisp and clear. A very contemporary-sounding acoustic.

Superb fit and finish; no blems, or flaws.

This guitar should last for decades.

No dealings with them.

I've owned other older Ovations over the years. The newer ones, in my humble opinion, are better in terms of construction quality and finish. Maybe, the woods are not as choice as in the old days, but still they are exquisite works of art, and superb musical instruments. If it were stolen, I would hunt down the thief like a dog, rip off his arm and beat him with it.

The 1999 Custome Legend in all black! WOW! It took a while to get as they don't make a large number in black. My friend had a hook at Kaman. It's a thin body acoustic/electric with an Optima preamp. It has a great chromatic tuner on it. An AAA sitka spruce top. The whole guitar is full of beautiful abalone inlay, which looks awsome on a black guitar. The guitar itself is a black which is really sweet looking. The tuners are 24k gold plated and the neck and head are both black (This is only standard with the black color, the other colors come with a natural wood neck and head) I got the guitar with a ovation molded case

The guitar sounds great unplugged, for a super shallow body. It is when you plug it in that you are blown away. I've never heard a better sounding guitar in my life. Great highs, mids and powerful lows.

No flaws at all. It came out of the box from the factory in perfect condition. The action is awsome!

I've only had it for about 2 months but it seems like a work-horse. It almost never needs tuning. The strap buttons are gold plated and solid.

Ovations come with an excellent warranty, but to this date, I've never had to use it.

If it was stolen, I would wipe away my tears and run to order another one. The Custom Legend in black looks better then all other Custom Legends and the sound is simply unbelievable and second to none!

This is a 1991 Model that I bought brand new in 1992, built in the USA (New Hartford CT) it has 20 frets, cutaway thin body, AAA solid spruce top done in tobacco sunburst, OP-24 active electronics (volume 3 band EQ), undersaddle wide ribbon piezo pickup, 5 piece solid wood Kaman neck, Ebony fingerboard/ ivory bound, 18K gold tuners made in Germany for Ovation (Sperzel I think), lots of mother of pearl inlay on the fingerboard, Ivory bound body/top and mother of pearl rozette soundhole... this is a gorgeous guitar

I play in church, contemporary Praise and Worship. And I write Country, Folk-Rock, Rock type music as well as some recording. I play this guitar direct through a Fender PA live and a Carvin AG-100 at home and in small gigs. The guitar is quiet, has a vary wide range of sounds due to a very good quality 3 band EQ on the OP-24. I really like the sound over-all, It rocks as a full rythm capable machine and can lull you to sleep with its articulate arpeggio ability on the slow stuff. I am not a great lead player but I do a lot of single melody note runs and it is very full sounding (bass and mid range) and can cut through the mix in a live setting. It does every thing but the metal and hard rock stuff. This guitar also works very well in the studio using a combination of direct in and by miking the sound hole, you have an instant dual source system that can sound very natural. I still use my Yairi dreadnaught for the 'real' acoutic needs

The guitar is absolutely beautiful, the neck has gone through a few safe experiments trying to acheive a 'solid body guitar' action, but it aint gonna happen. The action is about a good as you can get on this guitar right now and is 3/32" at the 12th fret (hi E string). The problem is me, I am prone to heavy open strumming with an acoustic in my hand. But I am happy with this action beacuse it does not buzz and is lower than most acoustic/electric guitar that I have played (except Taylor) The neck width across the nut is 1 11/16" which is a little narrow for me. This is a great stage guitar, it is light, fits well against your body and all of the controls are easy to get to. Warning: It will slide out of your lap sitting down (round back) unless you keep the strap on. The quality of workmanship is very high for an upper class guitar.

This is the tank of acoutic/electrics... no doubt. With the round back material you don't have to work about dings and scratches, the Kaman Bar Neck is 'baseball bat' tough (yet sleek and beautiful) the gold tuners are not cheap, after 8 years of ownership they show no signs of tarnish. I am starting to see slight hairline cracks in the edges of the finish over the AAA top (the price of fine finishes)? The electrics are still strong and quiet and it does not eat 9V batteries I think I have only swapped out 4 in 8 years and I play this guitar live every week. Everything is strong and well built. It is not a string breaker either, I have broken 2 strings during shows in 8 years (you don't forget those) but remeber I tend to strum hard. I never have had a backup so by default it has never let me down, a very dependable guitar.

Never had to deal with them. 10 year warranty, I may talk with them about the hairline cracks

Overall this is a great live guitar because it is so durable and full of different quality sounds. If it were stolen I would buy a New Taylor 514ce (I probably will get one anyway) mainly because of the slightly better action and wider neck (1 7/8") and dual source electronics, but the Taylor would require much more TLC out and about beacause of the all wood construction.

This is the more recent (I'm assuming probably 1998)Custom Legend. It's a thin body acoustic/electric with an Optima preamp. It has a great chromatic tuner on it. An AAA sitka spruce top. The whole guitar is full of beautiful abalone ornamentation. The guitar itself is a cherry cherryburst which is really nice. The tuners are 24k gold plated and the neck has these two lines running down the back, which I like a lot. I got the guitar with a case... not molded, but it's hardshell Kaman TKL case.

It's not the fullest acoustic I've heard, but for a super shallow guitar, it's pretty good. I'm mainly a rhythm guitarist. I only play at church, so electronics were pretty important. The electrified sound of this guitar is really nice. Acoustically, I'd stick with my old Takamine (G332), but this isn't bad. It's just a bit softer than I'd like. It's a much better fingerpicking guitar than my other. It rings better. I like the acoustic sound but I've heard better. Electronically, it can't be beat.

Action was good. I originally thought it to be a bit high, but after playing a while, it was definitely good, especially for rhythm. The whole guitar is so nice, good neck, good finish. Actually, the quality of the guitar is the best I've seen. I've seen no flaws, but the tuner is incredibly sensitive. To the naked ear, there is no change in sound, but the tuner completely picks up the slightest change.

I'm sure this guitar will withstand live playing... I've done it a couple of times. This guitar will last (actually, it'd better last. I"m hoping for it to last me for a while.) If I keep this guitar in good shape, I'm sure it'll keep the new guitar look. This guitar will last, it's an ovation. The back is one of the strongest ever. The strap buttons (there are two, one on the bottom, one on the top side of the bowl) are extremely strong. I don't really "gig" but if I did, i wouldn't have a problem using it w/o a backup, but at church, there's always a backup guitar, but i've never really used it.

N/A, but the warranty looks ok. There's a lot of fine print. Free parts and labor for first two years. Limited lifetime warranty.

I've been playing for about 4-5 years. I've only used a Takamine G332 before this. I originally was one of those people that wouldn't buy Ovation for the world, but after trying to find a specific guitar with three specifications, I decided to try one, and I was sold on it. Three specifications. 1) Thinline guitar- I really wanted a shallow guitar, It's easier to play, and i already had a full size one, so i was willing to sacrifice a bit of sound for it. 2) Good electronics- Actually, this was probably #1. I considered full size guitar with good electronics. 3) Solid top guitar- This was the one that I had trouble finding. Most thinline guitars were not solid top. I basically looked at the Washburn EA26 but it wasn't solid top. Yamaha, same problem. All the solid top ones were not available anywhere i looked. Taylor but I didn't like the Grand Auditorium size, so it ended up being the Ovation. This is truly a beautiful guitar. I had the option of a black one, but this one sounded better. I don't know if i could afford another guitar if it were stolen, but I hope it won't be. This was a graduation present from high school, so this guitar should last me well into the 21st century.