Ovation

Nearly (or maybe more than) thirty years ago, I received a Celebrity Ovation guitar as a gift. It was the instrument on which I taught all three of my sons to play, even though they as both more talented and more practiced than I. The eldest, in particular, surpassed my skills within six months of my having taught him a two-chord song. That guitar is not in very good shape, but I keep it because of its sentimental value. I suppose it's still playable, but the pick-up on it is messed up -- if you're not a musician, you may not know that this type of guitar is an acoustic-electric; it can be played either way, and the pick-up is where you plug in the cord -- but my sons can make decent sounds come out of it.

Today as I was out and about, I came across a newer one. I had been rolling around the idea of buying another guitar, but I couldn't justify spending the money on any of those that appealed to me. I didn't go out looking for one. But today, one found me. There it was, a beautiful flat-body Ovation with floral carvings instead of just [the hole that probably has a name]. It was used but well-maintained, and marked down from $299 to $239. "Would you take $200 for it?" I asked. The clerk checked the computer and said he couldn't go any lower because already they weren't making anything on it. I looked at it some more. "Does the pick-up work?" He didn't know what I was talking about, but I heard someone else who worked there saying it did. Now, I would usually take someone's word for something like that, but I wanted to know for sure. If it didn't work, that wouldn't necessarily rule out my buying it, but it would give me some negotiating power.

At first it didn't. The first guy who'd been working with me didn't even know how to plug it into the amp or how to turn the amp on. Even after that was done, nothing was happening. It turns out this model is a bit more high-tech than mine; everything is digital and there is a battery inside the controls for the pick-up. So we switched out the battery and she sang like a siren. I don't play very well, so I asked that they not turn the amp up too loud. I was both surprised and delighted to learn that it came with the original hard-shell case. I'm pretty sure those run about $100 new. I know a picture is worth a thousand words, and if it weren't pouring outside right now I'd bring it in from my car and snap a shot to share with you. Trust me; it's beautiful. Maybe I'll add the pic later. My old guitar is going up on the wall as art, and the new one is taking its place. I used to joke with my kids that they had the chance to get good on guitar while I was doing things like earning academic degrees and supporting them. Now I'm done with those things, so maybe I'll have time to get good at playing. Even if not, it will be fun to try.