My current obsession (Ovation-themed)

Russian Guy

Member
Joined
Aug 30, 2011
Messages
691
Reaction score
0
Location
Blagoveschensk, Russia
A week ago this beauty came to my doorstep. Huge thanks to Miles from OFC. This first photo of the headstock was so seducing that I couldn't resist.

Introducing a NOS 70s custom Ovation Viper III with number of features in other Ovation electrics from that period.

viperIII-neck.jpg


100_4654.jpg


100_4650.jpg


100_4652.jpg


There were only two of them made by Ovation, the other one had the white pickguard. Both of them were in Bill Kaman's personal collection.

Now for the features:

1) 24-fret Viper neck
2) UK-II shaped Urelite body (giving great sustain and light to boot)
3) Preacher passive humbucking pickups
4) Series/Parallel switches usually found on UK-II (series wiring gives the humbucking mode while the parallel one - single-coil mode).
5) Brass nut and bridge
6) Gold plated machines and pickups covers

This baby is so comfortable to play that I might consider selling my regular Viper right here which might prove useful in my quest for S-100.

100_4465.jpg
 

SFIV1967

Venerated Member
Joined
Nov 20, 2010
Messages
18,442
Reaction score
8,956
Location
Bavaria / Germany
Guild Total
8
Congratulations to this very special guitar! You are lucky to get one from Bill Kaman's collection I guess!
Ralf
 

Russian Guy

Member
Joined
Aug 30, 2011
Messages
691
Reaction score
0
Location
Blagoveschensk, Russia
SFIV1967 said:
Congratulations to this very special guitar! You are lucky to get one from Bill Kaman's collection I guess!
Ralf

Thank you, Ralf! But it was long gone from his personal collection and well-preserved by the owner of Ovation Fan-Club. So it wasn't me who relieved Charles Kaman's son of this guitar. Boy it's gonna be loved and cherished.
 

alpep

Member
Joined
Dec 10, 2009
Messages
460
Reaction score
0
Location
NJ
that was a great guitar and did belong to bill kaman
 

Ravon

Senior Member
Joined
Apr 8, 2011
Messages
1,939
Reaction score
0
Location
Kaintuck
Congratulations. I remember sitting in the high school library back in the '70's drooling over the Ovation Breadwinner and Preacher advertisements in Guitar Player magazine. Never got either of those but did eventually get an Ovation Elite deep bodied acoustic. If their electrics are as good as their acoustics you've got a winner.
 

walrus

Reverential Member
Gold Supporting
Joined
Dec 23, 2006
Messages
23,957
Reaction score
8,020
Location
Massachusetts
That is very cool!! There can't be too many "NOS 70's" guitars around any more!!

walrus
 

Russian Guy

Member
Joined
Aug 30, 2011
Messages
691
Reaction score
0
Location
Blagoveschensk, Russia
alpep said:
that was a great guitar and did belong to bill kaman

I love this guitar. It would be great if it went into mass-production as well as the same guitar but with Viper single-coils. I love the neck-body joint on this UK-II body. It is much more comfortable than on a regular Viper.
 

Russian Guy

Member
Joined
Aug 30, 2011
Messages
691
Reaction score
0
Location
Blagoveschensk, Russia
Default said:
What's the function of that, Vadim?

Chazmo said:
I was wondering the same thing.

The screw on the back adjusts the rear of the bridge for string angle across bridge posts. As Miles said "more is better usually, but within in reason to make easy changing of strings".

Screws on the front adjust actual bridge height.

The bridge that is on this guitar is the earlier version used on almost all Ovation electrics including Vipers, Vipers III, Breadwinners, Deacons and UK-IIs. On my regular you can see the later Schaller bridge also used on all of those guitars. The guitars equipped with that later one either have a plug on the back or nothing at all.

Since I have guitars with both bridges I actually prefer the earlier bridge. It is easier to change strings and on top of that you can rest your palm on its solid cover without leaving your fingerprints all over it.

Ovation electrics are even more underrated than Guild electrics.

P.S. Man I need a 22-fret guitar. S-100 come to me.
 

Russian Guy

Member
Joined
Aug 30, 2011
Messages
691
Reaction score
0
Location
Blagoveschensk, Russia
Updated pictures of this beauty in daylight.

100_4694.jpg


100_4684.jpg


P.S. All those kiddy decals on the cupboard were put there by my wife for our 14-month old baby girl. Just saying so you wouldn't get any ideas :D
 

fronobulax

Bassist, GAD and the Hot Mess Mods
Joined
May 3, 2007
Messages
24,708
Reaction score
8,836
Location
Central Virginia, USA
Guild Total
5
Russian Guy said:
P.S. All those kiddy decals on the cupboard were put there by my wife for our 14-month old baby girl. Just saying so you wouldn't get any ideas :D

Nah. We wouldn't start having ideas unless the decals were on the guitar or the case. :wink:

I do like the guitar, though, even if it seem to have too many controls or ways to adjust things.
 

Russian Guy

Member
Joined
Aug 30, 2011
Messages
691
Reaction score
0
Location
Blagoveschensk, Russia
fronobulax said:
Russian Guy said:
P.S. All those kiddy decals on the cupboard were put there by my wife for our 14-month old baby girl. Just saying so you wouldn't get any ideas :D
Nah. We wouldn't start having ideas unless the decals were on the guitar or the case. :wink:

:) I'd never do that though because in my mind it's desecration of a beautiful instrument, plain and simple.

fronobulax said:
I do like the guitar, though, even if it seem to have too many controls or ways to adjust things.

It just seems that way. Three series/parallel switches above each pickups basically give you the option of a single-coil or a humbucker sound, while 3 toggle-switches turn each pickup on and off. Granted in a live situation you might get lost in the controls. So I'd guess that it be really nice in not so fast-paced songs. Not to mention home practicing/strumming/experimenting.
 

fronobulax

Bassist, GAD and the Hot Mess Mods
Joined
May 3, 2007
Messages
24,708
Reaction score
8,836
Location
Central Virginia, USA
Guild Total
5
Russian Guy said:
It just seems that way. Three series/parallel switches above each pickups basically give you the option of a single-coil or a humbucker sound, while 3 toggle-switches turn each pickup on and off.

So my pickup can be on or off and in single or humbucker mode. So that is 4 choices per pickup. Three pickups so 12 total choices. Subtract one because all three pickups being off isn't going to work. So 11 choices seems like a lot to someone whose main instrument has one pickup and no switches :wink: Even my JS with the bass boost only has 5 choices...
 

Thunderface

Senior Member
Joined
Nov 2, 2009
Messages
4,713
Reaction score
10
Location
Twin Cities
I once had a pair of 70s Ovation solidbodies, a Viper and a Deacon. I then sold them at different times to the same guy. Kinda which I still had the Deacon. A tremendously comfortable guitar to play.

IMG_8777.jpg
 

Russian Guy

Member
Joined
Aug 30, 2011
Messages
691
Reaction score
0
Location
Blagoveschensk, Russia
fronobulax said:
Russian Guy said:
It just seems that way. Three series/parallel switches above each pickups basically give you the option of a single-coil or a humbucker sound, while 3 toggle-switches turn each pickup on and off.

So my pickup can be on or off and in single or humbucker mode. So that is 4 choices per pickup. Three pickups so 12 total choices. Subtract one because all three pickups being off isn't going to work. So 11 choices seems like a lot to someone whose main instrument has one pickup and no switches :wink: Even my JS with the bass boost only has 5 choices...

I counted 9 overall choices :? for this Ovation which is way more than on all my other guitar with 3 choices on each one. I'm not saying it is more than I can handle but it is very unusual for me :)

Thunderface said:
I once had a pair of 70s Ovation solidbodies, a Viper and a Deacon. I then sold them at different times to the same guy. Kinda which I still had the Deacon. A tremendously comfortable guitar to play.

IMG_8777.jpg

For me Deacon looks really badass but I'd go with that sunburst Viper with a maple neck. That combination is really beautiful. I wanted to buy one for some time but eventually backed out because of the maple fretboard (mainly because how it looks when worn).
 
Top