Ovation Guitar Company

The Ovation Guitar Company was founded in New Hartford, Connecticut, USA by amateur guitarist and aerospace engineer, Charles Kaman (1919 – 2011). In his early life, Kaman worked as a helicopter designer, establishing his own company, Kaman Aircraft, in 1945. With the onset of financial difficulties in the early 1960s, Kaman sought to expand his product reach by developing high-quality guitars, an area in which he was still passionate. His first team of designers, which was primarily comprised of fellow aerospace engineers and technicians, was organized in 1964 and their first guitar, dubbed the Balladeer, was released in November 1966. The company aimed to draw upon their expertise in aircraft design in order to alter and improve the construction and design of the acoustic guitar. To this end, they introduced several important innovations inspired by the design and construction of helicopters, including the use of synthetic and composite materials intended to lessen the instrument’s weight and control the amount of internal vibrations. Perhaps their greatest contribution was the implementation of a parabolic synthetic bowl in replacement of the Dreadnought-style flat back and sides. This shape greatly reduced feedback, allowing the user to perform at relatively louder volumes. The company patented their synthetic material, referred to as Lyrachord, and its unique combination of glass filament and bonding resin. In 1977, they released the Adamas model, designed by Charles McDonough, which featured the parabolic back, composite materials in the soundboard, and multiple offset holes placed toward the upper chamber of the instrument’s body instead of a single sound hole in the centre. In the 1980s, their most productive era, Ovation released a series of shallow and super-shallow bowl guitars. An early proponent of this design was British guitarist Robert Fripp, who cited that he could obtain the acoustic sound without compromising the position one normally assumes with an electric guitar. In addition to six- and twelve-string acoustic guitars, Ovation has produced nylon-string guitars, acoustic bass guitars, solid-body electric guitars, ukuleles, and mandolins. Among their more well known acoustic models are the Balladeer, Standard Elite, Legend, and variations therein. Legend-style models closely approach the design of traditional acoustic guitars, while Elite-style models feature the multiple sound hole design. In 2015, Ovation became a subsidiary of Drum Workshop, owned and operated by KMCMusicorp. Performers to have employed Ovation guitars include David Gilmour of Pink Floyd, Glen Campbell, Roy Harper, Alex Lifeson of Rush, John Lennon of The Beatles, Lindsey Buckingham of Fleetwood Mac, Jimmy Page of Led Zeppelin, Cat Stevens, Mike Rutherford of Genesis, Van Morrison, Robert Fripp, Brian May of Queen, and Paul Simon.