GUEST, the strings may have something to do with it. Before falling too deeply in love with that Martin 12, slap a new set of strings on the Ovation you already have and see if it doesn't sound much better. A $12.00 set of strings is much cheaper than a $2,000 guitar.

That doesn't mean the Ovation with new strings is going to sound like the Martin. Generally speaking, an Ovation 12 is going to have a little less sustain and 12-string jangle than a Martin, and much less than a jumbo-bodied Guild or Taylor. How much sustain you want depends largely on your playing style. A chord strummer may want maximum sustain while a single-note picker may want less.

Personally, while I don't care for Ovation 6-strings, I like their 12s. You can actually play fiddle tunes on them without it sounding like mud.