PDA

View Full Version : Ovation mandolin????



Jerry LM
Oct-03-2013, 6:38pm
Anyone familiar with the Ovation mandolin?? I saw one for sale at a cheap price but it looks more like a little guitar than mandolin and it has ball end strings like a guitar? Just curious if they are worth even looking at. They call it a F style but like i said it looks like a baby guitar.....Jerry:disbelief:

DataNick
Oct-03-2013, 6:43pm
This will give you some already documented research to check out:

http://www.mandolincafe.com/forum/search.php?searchid=4021574

Tim2723
Oct-03-2013, 7:08pm
[Nick, the link is wonky]

Hi Jerry,

The Ovations are one of the most popular acoustic-electric mandolins and we have a small community of players here on the Cafe. They are not an F style mandolin; no idea why the seller would call it that. They are a sort of mandolin/guitar hybrid and use ball-end strings like the Adamas style Ovation guitars they're styled after. They are known for four primary advantages:

They provide a very realistic representation of the mandolin sound when amplified, although their sound strikes a lot of players as a cross between a guitar and a bowl-back classical mandolin. That makes them less popular with Bluegrass enthusiasts who want the traditional arch-top sound.

They are practically feedback proof in loud environments. That makes them very easy to manage on stage and well suited for rock and jazz as well as any time when the volume is blasting.

Their construction makes them practically bullet proof provides a tuning stability that is legendary.

If any of that speaks to your needs then they are most certainly worth a look. But know that they are pretty much specialist tools for specialist players. Most Ovation owners don't have it as their sole instrument.

They come in four models of varying price and quality so it's important to know just what model you're looking at to gauge the value

Jerry LM
Oct-03-2013, 7:30pm
Thanks guys that pretty much answers my questions...don't think I would care for it.

mandobassman
Oct-03-2013, 9:16pm
I've heard a few recording of Ovations that sounded surprisingly decent. However, the only one I ever actually played was among the worst sounding mandolins I have ever heard acoustically.