I imagine a lot of players have thought about this modification, I know I have. I've liked the Ovation guitars that I've owned, but didn't like the feeling of a round, plastic bowl sliding around on my waist while playing live or practicing. I'm surprised someone hasn't come up with a plan to replace the entire round bowl with a carbon fiber, traditional, flat back. Cool project, your guitar sounds nice plugged in !!
Exactly. The reason I made a vid was because I was looking for luthiers who were making mods to the Ovations. An Ovation can make a new player sound good and keep interest in learning. I think many potential players quit because of the pressure it takes to hold down acoustic chords. Even on very good acoustics. Thanks for your thoughts!
I know this wasn't the point of this video but I've been trying to troubleshoot and fix the electronics on my ovation legend 1617. I haven't had much luck getting a good look at the system in the guitar, so thank you so much for cutting it open and really showing what all was going on! it was a huge help in diagnosing my problem!
Will you finish the back in black? Just as a nod to the original? 😋 I had an Ovation Celebrity and loved it - the neck was skinny and made for great chording and soloing. But alas, I purchased a Taylor and never looked back. Sold the Ovation, yet now seeing the journey you traversed, it makes me wish I kept it!! Nice vid!!
Hey thank for the comment! Oh yeah, Taylors are hard to beat. This is a fun project for the cheaper American Ovations - it's made the difference for me in terms of playing it sitting down. As to finish, you know what, because it's such a nice mahogany board from LMI, I think it would be wrong to just paint it. I'm finishing it with clear gloss nitro lacquer. It will show all the grain and still kinda match the dark brown Lyrachord original plastic.
@@ParaRipperShaw Maybe that's an older Ovation, now they come in slim bowl, med bowl and the large have a flat side on the belly. And like I said a guitar strap will work wonders.
@@12babyapes59 Yes, I agree. The newer ones have more comfortable backs. I love the guitar and wanted to play it more so that's why I modified it. The neck is perfect. This just gives an option for the older ones that the player loves that might be sitting in a case.
haha thanks! its very well built but it is a cheaper model. Maybe I got the idea from my buddy in college who inherited an AMC Gremlin and he cut the top off and made it a convertible.
Truly... so much of this is just so wrong... 😅😅😅 As a Luthier I just was cringing so much ...until I realized he hasn't a clue and was just messing around in his garage and having fun ...and I thought " what the heck, he's having fun" Hope he never touches anyone else's instrument. 😄😅🤣😂😄😁
That big bowl on the back was there for a reason seams like it really hurt the sound way thin to my ears. But the work was excellent seems like you should have just repaired what was there like you would have had a better outcome with a lot less work maybe reshape the round Bowl just to sit on the leg marine tex is a great product I built a hardtop convertible truck one time for my son in high school bought a kit some sort of plastic that was held on fantastic it was still holding strong 10 years later
I think part of the thin should is I recorded that with electric guitar strings - 10s I think. I'll do an update with the Ovation factory recommended strings.
@@Timba-w7f Within reason, you should be able to use any good acoustic steel strings. I noticed that the dude making this video had strung it with nylon strings originally! Apparently, he went from that mistake to another one by using electric strings on his "mod". Anyway, the standard string gauge that most manufacturers put on their instruments would be an acoustic light, which is usually .012-.054. I like Martin Marquis, but any brand will do. If those feel too hard to play, you could go extra light, but then you'll have more trouble keeping the tuning. I wouldn't go thicker than medium (.013-.056), because at some point the strings will not run smoothly over the nut slots, which then would need to be filed wider. Ovations have a smart bridge design where you don't have to deal with pins, you just feed the strings through the drill holes from the bottom of the instrument. The balladeer also had decent machine heads, I believe they're rebranded Schallers.
@@JohannesLabusch you are correct with the .012 bottom but it looks like the top is recommended .053 (minuscule difference). Yes, I did try it with nylon strings with meh results. This mod though, has overall been working very well. Especially with the recommended .053-.012 phosphorus or nickel acoustic strings.
Unlike you, I'm not a fan of Ovations, but this made me sad on their behalf. Dude, I admire your ingenuity, but you did create a bit of an atrocity! 😬Sounds like you love it, so more power to you. But that sound ... well, whatever.
A couple of things. 1st, the strings on the demo were very light gauge electric guitar strings - maybe even 9s. I now have 12s on it. 2nd, as I mentioned, this is a low-end 70's Ultra model that already had a damaged bowl. 3rd, I was playing it with the original pickups through a Boss Micro Cube. It's not going to sound like a Huss & Dalton through a top of the line Fishman system. 4th, its not an atrocity, you're being over-dramatic. Under that standard, Eddie Van Halen's FrankenStrat is an atrocity.
why the hell would you take the back of of an Ovation and junk a great sounding guitar. They are loud and crisp and the Balladir has a pickup and volume control. they are very nice to record with. why would you want to change that? just get a Martin or a Gibson if you want an all wood guitar. also they were disigned with aoustics in mind this is stupid.
I imagine a lot of players have thought about this modification, I know I have. I've liked the Ovation guitars that I've owned, but didn't like the feeling of a round, plastic bowl sliding around on my waist while playing live or practicing. I'm surprised someone hasn't come up with a plan to replace the entire round bowl with a carbon fiber, traditional, flat back. Cool project, your guitar sounds nice plugged in !!
Exactly. The reason I made a vid was because I was looking for luthiers who were making mods to the Ovations. An Ovation can make a new player sound good and keep interest in learning. I think many potential players quit because of the pressure it takes to hold down acoustic chords. Even on very good acoustics. Thanks for your thoughts!
It sounds really good better than I expected to be honest.
He's a madman, he must be stopped! Ah yeah - what an amazing idea. Great job!!!
I know this wasn't the point of this video but I've been trying to troubleshoot and fix the electronics on my ovation legend 1617. I haven't had much luck getting a good look at the system in the guitar, so thank you so much for cutting it open and really showing what all was going on! it was a huge help in diagnosing my problem!
That's great! A secondary benefit.
Love what you did! And you stirred up some controversy in the process...😂
Will you finish the back in black? Just as a nod to the original? 😋 I had an Ovation Celebrity and loved it - the neck was skinny and made for great chording and soloing. But alas, I purchased a Taylor and never looked back. Sold the Ovation, yet now seeing the journey you traversed, it makes me wish I kept it!! Nice vid!!
Hey thank for the comment! Oh yeah, Taylors are hard to beat. This is a fun project for the cheaper American Ovations - it's made the difference for me in terms of playing it sitting down.
As to finish, you know what, because it's such a nice mahogany board from LMI, I think it would be wrong to just paint it. I'm finishing it with clear gloss nitro lacquer. It will show all the grain and still kinda match the dark brown Lyrachord original plastic.
I have three ovations and as long as you have a guitar strap, there is no problem with the guitars play ability
Yeah - but it still tends to slide around. I don't think this sounds any different from the deep bowl now that it has this mahogany back.
@@ParaRipperShaw Maybe that's an older Ovation, now they come in slim bowl, med bowl and the large have a flat side on the belly. And like I said a guitar strap will work wonders.
@@12babyapes59 Yes, I agree. The newer ones have more comfortable backs. I love the guitar and wanted to play it more so that's why I modified it. The neck is perfect. This just gives an option for the older ones that the player loves that might be sitting in a case.
Excellent job!
I have a UKII electric. Love it.
You’re crazy but I like it! Good work dude
haha thanks! its very well built but it is a cheaper model. Maybe I got the idea from my buddy in college who inherited an AMC Gremlin and he cut the top off and made it a convertible.
Nice job! Always hated the huge bowl
Thank you! You almost can't play those things with the deep bowl. One was even smashed because my friend's little nephew though it was a kiddie seat.
I have a 72 Balladeer that I play every single day.
They are fantastic guitars.
Sabotage !!! 😢
Haha! Well I put my best effort into it.
Truly... so much of this is just so wrong... 😅😅😅
As a Luthier I just was cringing so much ...until I realized he hasn't a clue and was just messing around in his garage and having fun ...and I thought " what the heck, he's having fun"
Hope he never touches anyone else's instrument. 😄😅🤣😂😄😁
That big bowl on the back was there for a reason seams like it really hurt the sound way thin to my ears. But the work was excellent seems like you should have just repaired what was there like you would have had a better outcome with a lot less work maybe reshape the round Bowl just to sit on the leg marine tex is a great product I built a hardtop convertible truck one time for my son in high school bought a kit some sort of plastic that was held on fantastic it was still holding strong 10 years later
I think part of the thin should is I recorded that with electric guitar strings - 10s I think. I'll do an update with the Ovation factory recommended strings.
@@ParaRipperShaw...exactly my question ..what are the original factory spec strings for the 1970's big bowl acoustic balladeer?
@@Timba-w7f Within reason, you should be able to use any good acoustic steel strings. I noticed that the dude making this video had strung it with nylon strings originally! Apparently, he went from that mistake to another one by using electric strings on his "mod". Anyway, the standard string gauge that most manufacturers put on their instruments would be an acoustic light, which is usually .012-.054. I like Martin Marquis, but any brand will do. If those feel too hard to play, you could go extra light, but then you'll have more trouble keeping the tuning. I wouldn't go thicker than medium (.013-.056), because at some point the strings will not run smoothly over the nut slots, which then would need to be filed wider. Ovations have a smart bridge design where you don't have to deal with pins, you just feed the strings through the drill holes from the bottom of the instrument. The balladeer also had decent machine heads, I believe they're rebranded Schallers.
@@JohannesLabusch you are correct with the .012 bottom but it looks like the top is recommended .053 (minuscule difference). Yes, I did try it with nylon strings with meh results. This mod though, has overall been working very well. Especially with the recommended .053-.012 phosphorus or nickel acoustic strings.
As long as you like it…
It's been working great - especially now with .053-.012 phosphor-bronze strings.
Unplayable. Wow.
Unplayable? It plays great!
Unlike you, I'm not a fan of Ovations, but this made me sad on their behalf. Dude, I admire your ingenuity, but you did create a bit of an atrocity! 😬Sounds like you love it, so more power to you. But that sound ... well, whatever.
A couple of things. 1st, the strings on the demo were very light gauge electric guitar strings - maybe even 9s. I now have 12s on it. 2nd, as I mentioned, this is a low-end 70's Ultra model that already had a damaged bowl. 3rd, I was playing it with the original pickups through a Boss Micro Cube. It's not going to sound like a Huss & Dalton through a top of the line Fishman system. 4th, its not an atrocity, you're being over-dramatic. Under that standard, Eddie Van Halen's FrankenStrat is an atrocity.
why the hell would you take the back of of an Ovation and junk a great sounding guitar. They are loud and crisp and the Balladir has a pickup and volume control. they are very nice to record with. why would you want to change that? just get a Martin or a Gibson if you want an all wood guitar. also they were disigned with aoustics in mind this is stupid.
Take 2 aspirin in the morning, then deal with it. In no way we're UA-cam viewers harmed while watching this demonstration.