Contrary to popular belief, the Ovation name was derived from the famous Ovation Brothers who got their name from clammerin’ and clappin’ audiences. Obie Ovation was their chief designer and got his idea while on tour in Mexico where he spotted a sweet, young chica grinding some cornmeal in a stone bowl. Thus, the rounded backs. But if you ask Ovation, they’ll tell ya it was a tycoon named Charlie Kaman, president of the Kaman Corporation (of which Ovation is a subsidiary). He was a guitar enthusiast who decided that his aerospace division should apply some of its technology to the creation of a different type of guitar. And contrary to my belief, that’s exactly what they did.

In mid-1966 the guys in the long white bathrobes, after 18 months of testing and researching with such devices as a logarithmic audio-spectrum analyzer, had proved “beyond question” (I’ll let them say that) that the most efficient shape for a guitar back is "semi-parabolic (like the shape of a sad mouth on a “Have A Bad Day” bumper^ sticker). That seemed pretty natural, since the human ear, an amphitheatre, a radar reflector, and other structures and devices dealing in air-waves are semiparabolic.

Next up in their minds was to create a substance which could be molded to the shape they found most efficient. Lyrachord-R, which is inter-woven layers of glass filaments bonded by resins (fiberglass), said the magic word. In the acoustic world, where everyone seemed wood-headed, it’s surprising that Ovation didn’t attempt to duplicate the wooden body structure of the lute, or of some of the earlier mandolins. But Lyrachord-R had some characteristics which even wood lacked, and Ovation believes Lyrachord-R is acoustically and structurally superior to wood.

“But!” raises little Glen from Delight, Arkansas, “What about vibration of the body?’ Isn’t your material too strong to vibrate?”

“No,” responds a confident engineer at Kaman, “you see, Glen, you’re right in thinking that a guitar bowl must vibrate to help amplify the tone. And to vibrate properly, it must be extremely thin, but thin wood is, of course, fragile. Now Ovation’s Lyrachord-R bowl is only .043 inches thick, and yet it is many times stronger than any wooden guitar. Here, Glen, sit oh it.” (Not recommended.)

But the fact is that Ovation did come up with a pretty good instrument which is different. Its sound is definitely “Ovation” and some people may not even like it, but it is different. If you want to play clean and bright sounds characteristic of some' rock, bluegrass, some country, and jazz, you might want to consider Ovation. Personally, I broke down and added an Ovation Electric Artist to my collection less than a year ago, aifd I’m satisfied. While it boasts an FET pre-amp mounted inside, I’m not really thrilled to death playing it electrically but that’s wholly because the sound comes out “acoustic guitar,” not electric. But seein’ how that’s what they built it for, that’s my problem, not theirs.

Ovation offers its roundbacks in sixteen different flavors, from the $340 (Fall, ’74 prices) Baliadeer model to the $800 Electric Custom Legend. They have both deep and shallow bowled models available. Also, for the left-hander, Ovation offers acoustic models at no extra charge, but a 10% add-on for left-handed acoustic/electric models (a fair price).

With the exception of the Ovation Classic, which is Spanish Pine (Thuja Plicata), all acoustic and acoustic/electric models have Sitka spruce tops. All body-bindings are ivory grained and all fingerboards are of ebony, with some having ivory bindings along the sides of the necks. Inlays are either pearl or snail shell and bridges are predominantly walnut except for the 12-string models which are reinforced rosewood.

The shallow bowled Ovations have a width of 5 1/8” while the deep bowls are 5 13/16”. Neck width at the nut varies from 1 11/16” to 1 7/8” while the classic models are 2 inches. Most Ovation roundbacks feature a 251A”„ scale length, with the neck joining the body at either the twelfth or fourteenth frets.

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The electric solidbody’s circuitry features built-on FET pre-amp as well as a band rejection filter and is volume compensated on all controls. All controls are isolated in the circuitry so that changes in volume or amp impedance have no effect on the tone control.

Also in the Ovation package is a complete line of accessories. Ovation sells guitar stands, cases, saddle-shimsnut sets, strap knobs, guitar polish and cloth, pegwinders, adjustment wrenches, machine heads, picks, guitar cords, woven guitar straps* matching bNelt and guitar strap sets, leather straps, and strings, all the way down to their Pic-Keys, which are a combination key chain, pick-holder.

Some Ovation endorsees are Traffic, The Who, Badfinger, Mountain, Mac Davis, Paul Anka, Tim Hardin, Roger Miller, Eric Clapton, Charlie Byrd, Gabor Szabo, Glen Campbell, Kenny Loggins, Conway Twitty, John McLaughlin, Del Reeves, Tom T. Hall, and of course, Bobby Goldsboro.

All Ovation guitars come with a lifetime warranty (to the original purchaser) against defects in material ahd workmanship.

In the solidbody electric bag, Ovation has two contestants, the Breadwinner and the Deacon. The Breadwinner is available in black, white or tan finishes,

while the Deacon’s three choices are sunburst, natural or. red. Both feature no-hum pickups, bolt-on detachable necks, two-piece Honduras mahogany necks, adjustable truss rods, ebony fingerboards, and two pickups with 12-pole pieces each. The Deacon is a little more expensive due to the Deluxe hardware, twenty inlays, a gloss finish, and a curved and bound fingerboard. The Breadwinner has twelve inlays, a textured finish, a curved fingerboard and chrome hardware. In the fall of ’74, the Breadwinner was $395 and the Deacon $475 (may still be the same).