Ovation guitar factory in Connecticut is closing

Associated Press ^ | Apr 23, 2014 1:47 PM EDT | Dave Collins

[Olog-hai]

An Ovation guitar factory in the western Connecticut hills that produced instruments for music legends from Paul Simon to Cat Stevens to Glen Campbell will be closing in June after 47 years and production of the Ovation line in the United States will stop, the manufacturer’s parent company told the shop’s 46 workers this week.

One former factory worker called it “the end of an iconic American brand.”

Fender Musical Instruments Corp., based in Scottsdale, Ariz., and maker of the iconic Stratocaster electric guitar, said in an announcement Tuesday that it was ceasing domestic production of Ovation guitars and closing the New Hartford factory, citing “current market conditions and insufficient volume levels.” The company also said it is consolidating production of U.S.-made acoustic instruments. …

[Norm Lenhart]

I have a Roland Integra 7 synth which has some of the best acoustic guitars ever put in a rack box. I agree. There is NO comparison to a real acoustic much less a GOOD real acoustic.

But they do have their uses when a good player/guitar is not available.

[Buckeye McFrog]

How much longer are we going to endure this failed socialist experiment?

The business reporter on my local news radio station said this afternoon that "companies have adjusted and figured out how to make money under these conditions."

So to answer your question, it may be a LOOOOOOONG time.

[lee martell]

Could another reason be because today’s young musician includes people who only use recorded drums and synthesized or manufactured ‘push button’ music for their spoken word or rap pieces? Just as in visual art, today, you don’t really need to go to an art school to be a successful graphic artist. All you need do is to be familiar and at ease with the many graphic software programs, starting from Photoshop and building out from there, into computer generated cartoons. I would presume there is an equivalent advantage now available to sound artists, or musicians.

[Olog-hai]

All other forms of music currently hold their own against electronic music. Now in the studio, that would be another matter, what with computer programs like “Autotune” used to correct bad takes to put the singer’s voice back in tune (the same software that makes atonal speech sound like singing, i.e. for comedic effect).

[Norm Lenhart]

There is. And Beat port is filled with clone music because of it.

I do electronic music as a hobby and anyone can spend a couple hundred bucks and ‘make music’ in Fruity Loops. the problem is, they do. Which is why electronic gets such a bad rep.

[Ben Ficklin]

Does Gibson manufacture the Epiphone overseas?

[haywoodwebb]

"I don’t know if it’s just coincidence or not but many Ova’s that I seen with several yrs. on them usually have cracked finishes on the top sound board running vertically in line with the neck."

Yup!

I've owned 2 over the years... Really nice ones... but I'll never buy another one for just that reason.

[cuban leaf]

...ceasing domestic production...

---

Yeah, I noticed that qualifier in the middle as well. ;-)

[cuban leaf]

Yeah. This is a little like Packard closing its doors.

[DannyTN]

IDK. I know they have factory(s) here. My point is that the low import tariffs force companies to off-shore to stay in business.

Just like when companies hire illegal immigrants and get away with it, their competitors are forced to do the same. Except with off-shoring it's legal.

[DannyTN]

IDK. I know they have factory(s) here. My point is that the low import tariffs force companies to off-shore to stay in business.

Just like when companies hire illegal immigrants and get away with it, their competitors are forced to do the same. Except with off-shoring it's legal.

[Texicanus]

I’ve had to do some minor refretting and replace the 9 volt battery a few times. That’s all I’ve done over the years.

I haven’t had any cracking occur like some Ovations despite being out of the case for long periods of time.

It was the first acoustic (or electric) I owned that consistently stayed in tune at all positions. Not so with my other guitars, strats, jaguar, and telecaster. Had to retune those suckers slightly everytime the wind changed directions.

[cynwoody]

Farewell. It was a great run. Meanwhile, back in the quiet hollows in southwestern Virginia, another music legend is busy being born. Can you hear it? The circle is unbroken...

Wayne Henderson - The Stradivari of the Blueridge

From the link:

Last year my brother made me aware of a book called Clapton’sGuitar – Watching Wayne Henderson Build the Perfect Instrument. The book tells the story of how Eric Clapton played a Henderson guitar in a recording studio back in 1994 and decided he had to have one. The wait period for a Wayne Henderson guitar is ten years, even for well known celebrities, such as Clapton. Henderson does not take shortcuts when it comes to his craft. Clapton received his Henderson in 2004.

[martin_fierro]

lol

[DTA]

>>>>>How much longer are we going to endure this failed socialist experiment? Until NO ONE has any jobs except rulers?<<<<<

French politician Marine Le Pen described Globalization as a process where slaves make goods for the unemployed.

Also somebody described outsourcing logic like skyscraper building where the material for the top floor is brought by disaasembling the floors below.

Rollerball and The runner were optimistic views of the future. Hunger games are awaiting us.

[MountainYankee]

I just sold my Ovation. I had a Balladier for a long while. I learned to play years on an Applause. I now belong to the Martin Owner’s Club. There is nothing like a Martin!! Those words are so true.

[SparkyBass]

"I like how Ovation guitars sound, but they don’t seem to work well if you play them sitting down."

Which is why they are known as the Standing Ovation :)

[lee martell]

I get the impression that Auto-tune is like Spell Check for the performer who doesn’t know how to sing on a stage without a good sound engineer, but does know how to put on a visual spectacle to distract the average listener.

There’s some good music out there, but much of the very popular stuff sounds like a refrain or the fade out played over and over. The bridge is usually where the sound is sped up, the voice mechanically rises about three octaves sounding like Alvin the Chipmunk, and the percussion explodes randomly. I guess that’s where you’re supposed to be in Dance Floor Ecstacy, or bobbing your head while sitting in an office chair.

[Scoutmaster]

Yes.

[Scoutmaster]

Have you played a Gibson acoustic since Gibson acquired the Flatiron Mandolin factory in Bozeman, Montana? I personally don't consider Taylor to be in the same league as Martin, but a new Gibson J-45 or Southern Jumbo can hold its own against comparably priced Martins.

I don't mention the Hummingbird, Dove, or J-200 because they're maple guitars and you always go Gibson when you're looking for the sound of maple.