I don't own any of these guitars, but I do have opinions from listening to many live performances.

Takamine does show up on stage quite a bit. Although these guitars may be lacking when played acoustically, most have included the Fishman blender pickup system and sound quite well when played directly into the sound system. There are few electronic overtones and they can sound pretty "acoustic" when plugged in if the player has spend some time "foolin' with the sliders". They show up on the road because they do have a decent sound and are reasonably priced. They are good working guitars.

Ovations show up less frequently, and I thank God for that. Ovation was one of the first makers to incorporate an electronic pick-up in many of their models. They allowed players to "plug-in" and some players love the freedom and consistency they get from a direct connection. They are not wedded to a mike on stage. However, I have never heard an Ovation that sounded like an acoustic guitar when plugged in. They have all sounded electric with some acoustic overtones. On many, the sound has been pretty "muddy." Can't ever recall an Ovation player using just a microphone.

Of course, the plastic bowl makes Ovations more resistant to destruction on the road. I think many choose one for that reason alone.

I have not seen many performers with Yamaha's, but the new Yamahas I have played in stores were quite decent. I have not tried any plugged in. I suspect Yamaha could be on the rise.

As they say here in Carroll County, opinions are like (_|_), everybody has one. Fortunately I have fewer (_|_)'s than I have opinions.

Roger in Baltimore