Ovation Guitars: Aerospace Innovation Behind the Strings

Strumming Through History: The Tale of Ovation Guitars and a Guns N' Roses Snippet

Join PJ Pat in this episode of the It's 1 Louder podcast as he takes you on a nostalgic ride through the history of Ovation guitars. From their aerospace engineer origins, thanks to Charles Kaman, to becoming a favorite for live performances among artists like Glen Campbell and John Lennon, discover what makes these unique guitars so special. Before diving into the Ovation saga, PJ kicks off with a look at one of Guns N' Roses' greatest songs, 'Civil War,' packed with trivia and interesting tidbits. Whether you're a guitar enthusiast or a classic rock fan, there's a little something for everyone. Tune in, laugh, and learn about the innovative spirit of Ovation guitars.

00:00 Introduction and Personal Story
01:29 Guns N' Roses: Civil War Breakdown
05:28 Introduction to Ovation Guitars
05:55 The Birth of Ovation Guitars
06:44 Innovations and Impact
08:52 Challenges and Legacy
10:01 Conclusion and Listener Engagement

Transcript

[00:00:00] Welcome my friend to another episode of the It's One Louder podcast. I'm your humble host, PJ Pat. And today we're going to talk about the history of Ovation guitars. I personally own an Ovation acoustic guitar. Now it's a little unusual of an Ovation guitar. I must admit it's not like your typical Ovation guitar where there's little mini sound holes at the the top part of the body of the guitar.

[00:00:30] Mine actually looks like more of a traditional guitar where there's there's just one main sound hole in the middle like a typical acoustic guitar and nothing, none of these mini holes that you would typically find on an Ovation. So that's why I love it so much. Definitely a lot of sentimental value for me.

[00:00:46] I had moved from Montreal to Toronto back in 1999 and that's one of the first big things. That I got myself just to commemorate the move and have had it with me since and absolutely love it. It's such a cool guitar and also a very comfortable to play standing up. That's one of the main reasons back then I was doing a lot of gigs and playing live a lot and I just found it so much more comfortable to hold an acoustic guitar standing up versus the bulkier typical acoustic guitars, but we'll get into that if you're into the.

[00:01:19] Ovations or even just acoustic guitars in general. Hopefully this little mini history lesson would be of value to you and entertaining to you. And so stay tuned for that. Before we get into that, I just have one little snippet of an article I want to read to you. One of my favorite bands, Guns N Roses.

[00:01:36] Have a classic rock magazine right in front of me here entitled the 50 greatest songs Guns and roses and the stories behind them and I'll just skip to number seven Civil war and we'll slowly make our way to number one in future episodes But here goes civil war used your illusion to 1991 already Wow Crazy how long ago that was Harley Nuanced with its anti-war sentiment, civil War is nonetheless gn, R'S most finely detailed Epic.

[00:02:08] Born from a rift slash recycled at soundchecks. During the latter stages of the Appetite for Destruction World Tour, the band drilled it. prior to playing two shows in Australia in December of 1988. The recorded version first appeared on the George Harrison compiled 1990 charity album, nobody's child, Romanian angel appeal and was later repurposed to open the user illusion to at a slow burn.

[00:02:34] It begins with a sampler of Strother Martin's prisoner governor's speech to Paul Newman's Titular convict from the 1968 movie masterpiece, Cool Hand Luke. Oh, nice! I've always wondered where that came from. It's such a cool little snippet. And in brackets it's, What we have here is failure to communicate.

[00:02:59] And then, ba that riff starts, that cool acoustic riff starts.

[00:03:07] So in brackets it says, What we have here is failure That starts off the song, and then that amazing acoustic picking that Slash does comes right after that. So cool. And has Rose whistling the American Civil War era folk song, When Johnny Comes Marching Home. Rose's morning piano and vocal, Look at your young man fadding, is stocked by layered electric guitars.

[00:03:39] At 1 minute 19 seconds, Slash's guitar and Adler's drums kick in, with Rose switching to his Hylian Howl. 

[00:03:48] Civil War ebbs and crests for near five more minutes. Beseeching versus Roar courses. Rose cites the assassinations of Martin Luther King and JFK and quotes the manifesto of Peru's Shiny Path Guerrilla Army. Wow, I did not know that. Slash plays up a storm. Absolutely. Slash's solo the wah pedal solo on that song.

[00:04:12] Crazy. Crazy, crazy riff. The concluding 1 minute and 38 seconds breaks down to a rolling piano line and stonesy Riffing paired with a sampled thunderstorm and yet more whistling from Rose Adler's only recorded contribution to the Use Your Illusion albums. This was the last GNR track he played on. Yes That is right.

[00:04:37] For those of you who don't know I just found this out not too long ago actually that in use Illusions two, actually two N one. This is the only song that Steven Adler plays on. It's the last song they recorded, and you can definitely tell there's a different vibe than Matt Soms. I always found Matt Sorum to be a little bit more technical, actually a little bit more, a lot more technical than Steven Adler's.

[00:04:59] Steven Adler more had a, I think, a feel and a groove to him that I think was missing a little bit with Matt So's technicality. But yeah, go check it out and you'll definitely hear Stephen Allers on there, his groove. That's different from the rest of the album. Very, very cool. Definitely one of my favorite songs.

[00:05:17] I remember learning that solo note for note back when it came out at seven is, is pretty good. It's a pretty good place for that, for sure. It would definitely be in my top 10. Okay. Hopefully you enjoyed that enough of that. Let's get into ovation guitars,

[00:05:36] ovation guitars. They don't just sound great. They look like they belong in another world with their round backs and cutting edge materials. Ovation guitars redefined what an acoustic guitar should be. But how did these futuristic looking guitars come to life? Well, today, we're going to dive into the fascinating history of ovation acoustic guitars.

[00:06:01] So our story begins in the 1960s with a man named Charles. Come on or came in, but here's a twist came in. Wasn't even a luthier. He was an aerospace engineer, believe it or not. His company came in. Aircraft was focused on designing helicopters. So how does an aerospace engineer end up revolutionizing acoustic guitars?

[00:06:22] Well came in was also a passionate guitarist. He wanted to bring his engineering expertise into the world of music and he believed he could design a better acoustic guitar. Traditional wooden guitars were prone to issues like warping and inconsistent tone. Cayman saw an opportunity to use aerospace technology to solve these problems.

[00:06:44] In 1966, Cayman introduced the world to ovation guitars. And what made them unique? Two big things, the materials and the shape. So first the round back instead of a traditional wooden back ovation guitars featured a bowl shaped back made from a composite material called Lyra cord. And this was inspired by helicopter rotor blades, believe it or not.

[00:07:05] The round back didn't just look cool. It reduced feedback and created a more consistent sound. And I got to say when I'm standing up on stage and playing, it's a much more comfortable feel. Playing this acoustic standing up than like the traditional bulky acoustic guitars. Second, the use of advanced manufacturing techniques came in, his team experimented with bracing patterns and sound holes to optimize the guitar's projection and tone.

[00:07:30] The result, a guitar that was both innovative and reliable. So the first model, the Balladeer, set the standard. It was lightweight, durable, and had a clear, balanced tone that quickly caught the attention of musicians. Now in the 1970s, ovation really became a game changer for live performances. Acoustic guitars had always struggled with amplification on stage, often leading into feedback issues.

[00:07:55] Ovation solved this with built in pickups and preamps, making them the first mainstream acoustic electric guitars. Artists like Glen Campbell and Paul Simon were among the first to embrace Ovation guitars. Glen Campbell, in particular, became a major ambassador for the brand. His TV show featured him playing Ovation guitars, bringing them to millions of living rooms across America.

[00:08:16] Now with their sleek design, the amplified sound, Ovation guitars were perfect for live performances and they quickly became a favorite for touring musicians. Ovation just didn't stop at folk and country music. By the 1980s, their innovative designs caught the attention of rock and pop artists as well.

[00:08:33] John Lennon famously used an Ovation and it became a staple for performers who wanted a guitar that could handle both delicate finger picking and aggressive strumming. Meanwhile, artists like Melissa Etheridge and Aldi Miola show that Ovation guitars could shine in genres ranging from rock to jazz to the world music.

[00:08:52] Just like any brand, Ovation has faced its fair share of challenges. By the 1990s though, the acoustic guitar market was becoming more competitive, with traditional wooden guitars regaining popularity. Ovation adapted by introducing new designs and expanding their lineup, but the competition was really tough.

[00:09:09] In the 2010s, Ovation briefly Ceased production in the U. S., but the brand was revived by Drum Workshop, ensuring that their innovative legacy continues. Today, Ovation Guitars are known for their quality, versatility, and their unique place in music history. Ovation has definitely left a mark in music.

[00:09:28] Whether you're a folk singer, a rock star, or just someone who loves great design, Ovation Guitars are a reminder that sometimes thinking outside the box leads to extraordinary things. Just like this guitar right beside it, the Flying V pretty much has kind of the same vein of history where they came out with a really unique design that didn't really catch on.

[00:09:50] The Flying V and the Ovation guitars, I'm telling you right up there with innovation and just snubbing the status quo, which is right up my alley for sure. Alright, well thanks for joining me on the journey of the history of this iconic guitar. Let me know, are you a fan of the Ovations? I know some people either love them or hate them.

[00:10:11] I haven't really met a person that's kind of In between it's either you really like them or you can't stand them 

[00:10:17] Well, thank you rock slash guitar fan for listening. I hope that was the least bit enlightening for you And you learned a thing or two Please reach out to me on YouTube. You can check me out on my channel, Rock with PJ Pat, type that in, or you can just type in It's One Louder Podcast on YouTube, and I'm sure it'll show up.

[00:10:36] I there's a lot of obviously visual representation of what you hear here. For this episode specifically, you can see my ovation guitar. I'm talking in front of my Marshall app as well, you can check that out. But yeah, hopefully there's gonna be something a little bit for everybody.

[00:10:52] I appreciate you listening until the very end. It means the world to me. And, you know, keep on coming. I'm gonna keep on doing my best on these episodes. Thank you.