![]() ![]() In for a penny, in for a pound, Kaman soon turned his attention to the guitar’s top. Kaman wasn’t one to rest on his laurels, and innovation continued to pour out of his company, including an array of refinements to the Ovation guitar and a fascinating (if ultimately unsuccessful) obsession with trying to crack the solidbody electric guitar market with its own designs. 1983 Ovation Adamas II 1681-5 with serial number 3598 5 in the model number indicates color (black). In 1970, Ovation developed its first acoustic/electric pickup system specifically for Campbell.Ī surge in popularity of singer/songwriters through the ’70s added to Ovation’s success, the guitars’ durability and amplified sound proving ideal complements to the genre. For nearly three years, Campbell played the show in front of a national audience, plucking his round-back Ovation. When Byrd was shown a prototype, the legend exclaimed, “This guitar deserves an ovation.” A name was born!ĭespite those early endorsements, Ovation guitars might never have taken off were it not for Glen Campbell, the Arkansas singer/songwriter who scored big in ’67 with the pop-folk ballad “Gentle On My Mind.” With Ovation, Campbell devised a signature model in ’69 – the year his “Glen Campbell Goodtime Hour” variety show hit television airwaves. They called it the Lyrachord, and among the first players to embrace it were folk/bluesman Josh White and jazz/classical fingerstylist Charlie Byrd. Kaman’s designers came up with a spruce-topped guitar with a molded fiberglass body. He set his engineers to work solving the problem using aeronautical principals applied to the guitar, focusing on the back and sides. ![]() In 1965, he conceived a “better” guitar, specifically, one he could hang on his wall without fear of cracking. As a result, Kaman made his share of trips to the Martin factory, having repairs made, like splits in tops. Connecticut can be warm in the summer, very cold in winter. Like any true guitar fanatic, Kaman kept one at work, for inspiration and diversion. Eventually, differences of opinion led Kaman to start the Kaman Aircraft Corporation. Kaman chose aeronautical engineering and, in 1945, got a job with helicopter pioneer Sikorski, in Bridgeport, Connecticut. Kaman (1918-2011), a man driven by two passions – engineering, and playing guitar. The father of Ovation guitars was Charles (Charlie) H. ![]() Among Ovation’s alt-material creations, the Adamas is the ultimate expression. What do you get when you cross a helicopter with a Martin dreadnought? Easy answer – Ovation guitars, perhaps the greatest champion of alternative materials in an age when traditional woods like Brazilian rosewood and Honduran mahogany have become virtually extinct. ![]()
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