Ovation CC059 Celebrity

The features are listed below by others. The built-in tuner is a nice feature.

Unplugged it sounds somewhat dull, probably due to the shallow bowl. It sounded pretty good plugged in.

Having owned several Ovations since the mid 70s, I've had good luck with them over the years, so I thought that this might be a good choice for an entry level nylon string guitar. The fit and finish was fine. But the action was not. Even after removing all the shims under the saddle the action was still too high, even for a classical style guitar. I took it to a reputable guitar tech/luthier shop in town and they said that the new angle was "bad". Based on the height of the bridge and saddle, as compared to the thickness of the fretboard, the only way that the guitar could have an ideal neck angle would be if the neck actually bent "back", below parallel to the top/face of the guitar. Not wanting to invest in a neck reset on a new guitar, I just returned it and starting looking for a better guitar.

Since I couldn't find this model locally, I had to purchase it online, so I couldn't try before buying. I would recommend looking the guitar over quite closely before buying one of these, if you can, or you might wind up with similar quality issues as well.

Didn't have it long enough to find out.

Ovation is a great company, and I've had great luck dealing with John Budney and the customer service staff there, but since the guitar was new, and returnable, there was no need to involve them on this issue.

It would have been a decent entry level guitar, if the action were better.

The is Ovation's low-priced, made-in-Korea, nylon-string offering. Super-shallow bowl, single cut-away, with a laminated cedar top. Includes an on-board preamp (vol., bass, treble, mid), and tuner. Mahogany neck is slightly narrower than traditional classical guitar's. Heavy finish, probably polyurethane, on top; light satin finish on neck. Tuning machines are traditional classical style, but light duty.

Unplugged: The shallow round back and rigid top yield a rather thin unplugged tone. You can easily get better tone out of a $200 classical student model.

Plugged: The piezo sound is servicable, but it is difficult to get a "natural" sound without substantial tweaking, esp. critical is a subtantial cut in the mids. I use the on-board EQ with a Baggs Para Di, and the resulting sound works pretty well live.

The guitar came with some problems: The nut slots were rather rough, which caused tuning problems as the strings would catch during adjustment. The D string slot was particularly ragged, and the string broke within a couple of hours at the nut. The strings were improperly installed, with many extra winds around the posts. I smoothed out and polished the nut slots and replaced the strings. Ah, much better.

The tuning machines are cheap. I'll be replacing those soon. The guitar has rather light construction, but this is to be expected with a nylon string model. It's not going to take a licking like a strat or tele would. But hey, I can be careful.

I've not dealt with Ovation.

I've been playing for over 30 years. I own several acoustics and electrics. I was looking for something I could use with a band live, not a guitar to replace my main classical instrument.

If you are looking for a good unplugged sound, look elsewhere. If you want a nylon string guitar for occasional live use, then I think this one is acceptable. The shallow bowl and rigid top are good for avoiding feedback, and the piezo sound is acceptable with some pretty severe eq'ing.

The narrowed neck will take some getting used to for classical players, as will the satin finish neck, which is almost too "non-stick" for traditional tastes. Electric players will probably appreciate the narrow neck, but there is a reason for the wide, flat fretboard on a traditional classical: It's much easier to get the fingers into the complex positions required in classical playing. This isn't a problem if you're playing rock or jazz on a nylon string.

2002 Made in Korea. 21 Frets with cut away. Its a Cedar top, natural finish. Sound hole with leaves surrounding the hole. On board preamp (low, mid, high), volume (gain) and on board tuner in a module that takes a 9volt battery. Pickup is under the bridge. Very fat neck with great detail to the frets! I give this a ten due to the electronic features and how she sounds plugged in.

I ran her through the PA first, and was amazed at the tone. Some say ovations sound like crap when not plugged in, but being a first time Ovation owener, I very much disagree! Shes sounds great unplugged, and I even plugged her into input two on my Fender Hot Rod deluxe (clean channel) and very sparkley! It came stringed with Adams 4141 Normal tension nylon strings. I put a little chorus on her, and it was like heaven.

Not much to setup on her really. I'm very happy with the action (no need to get more shims for the bridge). No flaws that I can tell. I bought the guitar unplayed and unseen and was very happy with what I found! The neck is just a dream. I was expecting the cedar to be a little darker like the pick on Ovation's website... but I've very happy with the natural cedar!

I havn't gigged with it yet. I plan to use it tomorrow at my church. the electronics seems very top notch and will be a great tool to use to shape the tone. I think the finish could be a little thin on the top, so be careful for nicks and scratches. The only strap I have right now is a Fender california strap that I use on my Strat, but it didn't come loose. Yes, I would use it without a backup!

Never had to deal with Ovation before.

I've been playing seriously for about 4 years. This is my first classical guitar. I also own a Strat, P-bass, Lotus Acoustic. On Musician's friend website, they didn't have the model number listed on this guitar. So I emailed them and found the other review and bought as soon as I can. It seems to be really popular, since it was out of stock for 2 weeks. If it was stolen, I would buy (and wait) again. I love the tones that this guitar gives unplugged and plugged in. My friend has a yamaha classical, and I would say the playability and craftsmanship of this one wins hands down. I chose this one due to the cut away and classical features. This is a must own for classical/progressive rock players!

The Celebrity line is made in Korea. Laminate cedar top, DJ4 active preamp has 3 way EQ and volume, under saddle pickup, cutaway body with NYLON strings, 1 7/8 inch nut, shallow bowl exacly like the CC057. The great thing about this guitar is the nylon strings - its like a hybrid between a classical and a steel string guitar. The nut is narrower than most classical, so it plays like a nice fingerpicking steel string, but the sound is so cool with the nylon strings, great for jazz licks. The nylon strings plus Ovations fast action make this the easiest palyning guitar I've ever touched. It lloks alot like the CC057 except for the nylon strings and classical style headstock.

This is a sweet sounding 'classical' guitar for jazz and fingerpicking. the nylon strings give it a mellow, cool sound. It sounds very good plugged in, great for jazz. The DJ4 preamp gives all kinds of adjustments to go from mellow sounding to very bright sounding. I like the mellower sound.

Fast action with the nylon strings and trademark Ovation setup. This thing is super easy on the hands and a real treat to play. Everything looks good, clean and simple looking, the gloss cedar top looks beautiful.

Plastic is durable. laminate cedar top is durable. This thing seems tough, and Ovation are known for toughness.

Never needed 'em yet.

If you are looking for a classical stle acoustic, get this one. The neck is not as wide as most classicals, but wider than regular acoustic, so it feels roomy and fast. Great mellow tones for jazz and fingerpicking. This is my favorite guitar right now. I've played on and off for 25 years, but the past 2 years I've really played a lot. This is a sweet guitar!!