I agree Don, right on the money. I hate to sound like a Kamen rep., but the later Ovations sound as good as most anything else. If you must electrify, I still stand with my previous post, but Don's point is well taken. For the past 10 years especially, Ovation has put great emphasis on the"Plug It In" idea and when you do the listen test, I think you'll be surprised at just how good Ovation compares. Plus, they are tough! Now comes the time that everyone jumps in and says, "Bullshit"...BUT...I would also like to say that a lot of older Ovations are nice sounding guitars unamplified. Like Rick, I'm kind of an instrument junkie and I recently found a 1980 12/cust.bal that has a tremendous sound. I've owned 4 other Ovations since 1970 and they've all been more than acceptable. I don't care a lot for the Adamas style top when unamplified...but plugged in?..not too bad.

Sorry group...I like Ovation. Nothing beats the sound of a great guitar without amplification, but a great sound doesn't pass through the electrons any better. catspaw