Installing a preamp in an ovation

Discussion in 'Acoustic Instruments' started by stjimmy1990, May 21, 2011.

  1. May 21, 2011 #1
    stjimmy1990

    stjimmy1990 Member

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    Ok so I have my uncles old ovation balladeer acoustic from 1978. And Its got to be my favorite acoustic ever. But I really could use it more if it was an acoustic/electric. I tried the whole sound hole pickup thing. Didn't give me that great of a sound honestly. So now I'm considering having a regular active preamp installed. I want the ovation iDea preamp. But I was wondering how hard is it going to be to make this happen? I'm great with wiring my electrics but this is an entirely new ballpark. Cutting the body, installing the pickup ect.
    Well any positive feedback would be greatly opreaciated!

    Thanks!
     
    stjimmy1990, May 21, 2011
    stjimmy1990, May 21, 2011
    #1
  2. May 21, 2011 #2
    walterw

    walterw Gold Supporting Member

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    Instead of the major and irreversible surgery of cutting into the bowl like that, you could install a good internal pickup system from, say, fishman or baggs and have a professional plugged-in sound with way less work that way.
     
    walterw, May 21, 2011
    walterw, May 21, 2011
    #2
  3. May 21, 2011 #3
    stjimmy1990

    stjimmy1990 Member

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    True but how good do those sound?
     
    stjimmy1990, May 21, 2011
    stjimmy1990, May 21, 2011
    #3
  4. May 21, 2011 #4
    RustyAxe

    RustyAxe Member

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    The only reason to go with an iDea preamp is if you want a Karoake guitar. Really. There's a guy at a local open mic who has one, and trust me, he gets little to no respect from the rest of us. A Fishman Matrix Infinity or LR Baggs Element VTC will sound as good as anything Ovation makes (maybe better). Others are the D-Tar systems, K&K Pure Western systems, and many, many others.
     
    RustyAxe, May 21, 2011
    RustyAxe, May 21, 2011
    #4
  5. May 21, 2011 #5
    stjimmy1990

    stjimmy1990 Member

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    Ok cool. And I have an mxr 10 band eq pedal I could use for added control. How much are those pickups?
     
    stjimmy1990, May 21, 2011
    stjimmy1990, May 21, 2011
    #5
  6. May 21, 2011 #6
    RustyAxe

    RustyAxe Member

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    Depends ... look 'em up. Google is your friend. Go to the Acoustic Guitar Forum and check out the "Electrified" folder. Do a search and read before posting there, please.
     
    RustyAxe, May 21, 2011
    RustyAxe, May 21, 2011
    #6

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