Reviewed by:
masterclaw, on november 05, 2007
2 of 2 people found this review helpful
Price paid: $ 799
Purchased from: www.Guitartrader.com
Features: As all guitars from the Ovation LX series also the Standard Balladeer 1771 LX was made in the US. It is one of cheapest USA made Ovations but has the full LX feature set:
- Body type: mid-depth bowl
- Top: a grade solid sitka spruce
- Bracing: scalloped LX
- Scale length: 25 1/4"
- Fretboard/bridge: rosewood
- Pickup: original patented pickups
- Nutwidth: 1 11/16"
- Machines: chrome
The guitar is available in three standard finishes: black, cherry burst and natural. There are also ltd. editions in other colors. The Standard Balladeer 1771 LX looks very simple but precious. It comes with a very solid plastic case with Ovation logo. // 9
Sound: The OP-PRO pre-amp offers a clear and excellent sound but also un-amplified the guitar sounds brilliant and sweet. There is no clangor or other disturbing noise coming from the guitar because the guitar is well processed. The sound is quite honestly great! // 10
Action, Fit & Finish: The guitar set-up was perfect, nothing I had to change. It came flawless in a flawless case. Nothing to complain. The strings were perfectly fixed. The finish and the rosette look beautiful and also the colors of the other used materials fit together perfectly. Nothing negativ to add here! // 10
Reliability & Durability: The strap buttons are a little bit too small from my point of view and therefore the strap might easily slip from the guitar, but of course there are workarounds for that. I have the black finish and you definitely see every scratch but I think this is always the case for every black high gloss finish. Live playing it no problem with this guitar as it is solid and reliable. The pre-amp seems to be very robust. The volume knob cannot countersink into the pre-amp but it looks solid as well. // 8
Impression: The Ovation Standard Balladeer 1771LX was made for stage. It looks nice and offers a great amplified sound. It can be used for everything you can play on a steel string guitar and due to the Ovation round back the body is not as big as other western guitars but offers the same loudness. The only thing I don't really like on the round back is that the guitar starts tilting while using a strap as the guitar has no flat back. Beforehand I used a Yamaha western guitar (FG-420A) but by changing to the Ovation it is quite a difference. The Ovation is very easy to play as the neck feels good and together with medium frets it feels very convenient. All in all for the price you get a great USA made guitar with nice features and a brilliant sound. // 9
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