subsidiary industry musical instruments predecessor ovation instruments a division of kaman aircraft 1 2 c. 1964 history 1 history 2 founded c. 1965 citation needed new hartford connecticut founder charles kaman headquarters new hartford connecticut products acoustic guitars parent drum workshop website ovationguitars.com the ovation guitar company is a manufacturer of guitars . ovation primarily manufactures steel string acoustic guitars both 6 and 12 string versions and nylon string acoustic guitars often with pickups for electric amplification . in 2015 it became a subsidiary of drum workshop after being acquired from kmcmusicorp . 3 the company s ovation and adamas guitars are known for their round backs which gives them a recognizable shape . the latter are also well known for the use of carbon fiber tops instead of the typically wood tops for acoustic guitars . among musicians the relatively thin neck stands out as well compared to other acoustic guitars . contents 1 history 2 research and development of first models 3 initial marketing 3.1 josh white 3.2 glen campbell 1968 4 design innovations 4.1 ergonomics 5 model overview 5.1 upper level guitars balladeer legend and elite 5.2 entry level guitars applause and celebrity 5.3 electric guitars semi hollow and solid bodies 5.4 other instruments acoustic bass guitars ukuleles mandolins 6 performers using or endorsing ovations 7 see also 8 references 9 bibliography 10 external links history edit a mid 1970s kaman ovation custom balladeer 1612 4 acoustic electric guitar next to a lute . founder charles kaman 1919 2011 developed the first ovation guitar in 1965 1966 . 4 5 6 kaman an amateur guitarist from an early age worked on helicopter design as an aerodynamacist at united . eventually he founded a helicopter design company kaman aircraft in 1945 . 7 the kaman corporation soon diversified branching into nuclear weapons testing commercial helicopter flight development and testing of chemicals and helicopter bearings production . in the early 1960s however financial problems from the failure of their commercial flight division forced them to expand into new markets such as entertainment and leisure . charles kaman still an avid guitar player became interested in making guitars . 4 8 from 1966 to 2007 ovation guitars and later on adamas guitars were a brand of kmcmusicorp which itself was a subsidiary of kaman aircraft . in 2008 kmcmusicorp and with that the ovation brand was sold to the fender musical instruments corporation . 9 in 2014 fender announced that they are closing the iconic ovation guitar factory in new hartford connecticut leaving all production of ovation guitars overseas . 10 before that announcement fender established a u.s. production of various acoustic guitars in the new hartford factory . alongside ovation and adamas guitars which have been produced there for decades fender started a u.s. production of other fender owned brands in that factory as is known guild guild guitar company and fender . 11 shortly after closing the new hartford factory it was announced that the ovation brand has been sold to the company drum workshop alongside a few other previously fender owned brands . the announcement was made on january 7 2015 . aside from the ovation brand drum workshop has also bought the new hartford factory and reinstated the previously ceased u.s. production of ovation and adamas guitars basses ukuleles and mandolins . 12 research and development of first models edit fiberglass round back body medium depth of ovation balladeer 1968 charles kaman put a team of employees to work to invent a new guitar in 1964 . 4 13 for the project kaman chose a small team of aerospace engineers and technicians several of whom were woodworking hobbyists as well . one of these was charles mcdonough who created the ovation adamas model . history 1 kaman founded ovation instruments and in 1965 its engineers and luthiers guitar makers worked to improve acoustic guitars by changing their conventional materials . the r & d team spent months building and testing prototype instruments . their first prototype had a conventional dreadnought body with parallel front and back perpendicular to the sides . the innovation was the use of a thinner synthetic back because of its foreseen acoustic properties . unfortunately the seam joining the sides to the thin back was prone to breakage . to avoid the problem of a structurally unstable seam the engineers proposed a synthetic back with a parabolic shape . by mid 1966 according to ovation they realized that the parabolic shape produced a desirable tone with greater volume than the conventional dreadnought . 14 once the engineers had settled on a parabolic shape they turned their attention to developing a substance that could be molded into this bowl like shape . using their knowledge of high tech aerospace composites they developed lyrachord a patented material comprising interwoven layers of glass filament and bonding resin . the first successful design built by luthier gerry gardner went into production soon after the company was established . 15 the first ovation guitar made its debut in november 1966 . its lyrachord body gave the instrument according to the company unprecedented projection and ringing sustain . history 2 compared to modern ovation guitars the initial instruments had a shiny bowl that was used again for example in the balladeer 40th anniversary re issue . initial marketing edit custom made josh white model 1965 1966 built under his guidance . glen campbell pictured gave national publicity to ovation s round back guitars . the introduction and promotion of the first ovation was closely associated with two performing artists the blues performer josh white and the country music singer glen campbell . josh white edit in 1965 1967 the ovation guitar company produced a signature guitar for josh white which was the first signature guitar made for an african american . model 1 model 2 model 3 model 4 white was the first official ovation endorser . history 3 upon completion the first ovation guitar was called the josh white model model 5 model 6 which white played at the hotel america hartford connecticut 14 november 1966 ; at the same show the balladeers played balladeer models . 2 the show was witnessed by 300 representatives of the press and the music industry 1 glen campbell 1968 edit the ovation roundback balladeer first caught national attention in 1968 when glen campbell was the host of a show called the glen campbell goodtime hour on cbs and a year later he became one of ovation s first endorsers . 4 design innovations edit this section possibly contains original research . please improve it by verifying the claims made and adding inline citations . statements consisting only of original research should be removed . october 2012 learn how and when to remove this template message ovation adamas has multiple sound holes 11 15 or 22 by model on the upper soundboard . 11 of them are visible in picture on board electronics on celebrity cc44 right a pre amp unit op 4bt including electronic tuner left 9 volt battery box . this unit provides volume knob 3 band equalizers tune button led display and is a standard on entry models celebrity and applause in 2011 2012 . ovation guitar design reflects its founder s engineering training and development of kaman helicopters . ovation guitars replace the instrument s conventional back and sides with composite synthetic bowls . kaman felt there were structural weaknesses in the orthogonal joining of the sides and that a composite material could provide a smooth body . ovation claims the parabolic bowls dramatically reduce feedback allowing greater amplification . improved synthetics techniques from helicopter engineering control vibrations in the bowl . ovation developed a thin neck striving for the feel of an electric guitar s neck but with additional strength from layers of mahogany and maple reinforced by a steel rod in an aluminum channel . 16 the composite materials and thin necks reduced weight . sound holes on ovation applause for its soundboards ovation uses sitka spruce a wood that kaman engineers used in helicopter blades . in the 1970s ovation developed thinner soundboards with carbon based composites laminating a thin layer of birch in its adamas model . the adamas model dissipated the sound hole of the traditional soundboard among 22 small sound holes in the upper chamber of the guitar which ovation says yields greater volume and further reduces feedback during amplification pioneered in the adamas model in 1977 . 16 although the area of the multiple sound holes is equal to the area of a single soundhole the altered position allows a new style of guitar bracing e.g. adamas bracing . the design strengthens the soundboard reducing the traditional design s bracing and hence weight . in the 1980s ovation introduced shallow bowl guitars to appeal to electric guitarists . later on board electronics let guitarists move about the stage rather than stay in front of a microphone . on board electronic tuning availability uniformity and frugal costs facilitated performances by guitar ensembles like robert fripp s guitar craft students . ovation has also produced solid body electric guitars and active basses . ovations reached the height of their popularity in the 1980s where they were often seen during live performances by touring artists such as rush s alex lifeson or paul simon in the the concert in central park . ovation guitars synthetic bowl shaped back and early use 1971 of pre amplifiers onboard equalization and piezo pickups were particularly attractive to live acoustic musicians who constantly battled feedback problems from the high volumes needed in live venues . citation needed ergonomics edit glen campbell suggested reducing the weight of the guitar which caused back strain . 17 since then ovation has reduced the weight of several models and pioneered super shallow guitar bodies . while it was produced ovation s super shallow 1867 legend was the recommended guitar in robert fripp s guitar craft . 18 19 tamm 1990 wrote that the acoustic 1867 legend has a gently rounded super shallow body design that may be about as close to the shape and depth of an electric guitar as is possible without an intolerable loss of tone quality . fripp liked the way the ovation 1867 fitted against his body which made it possible for him to assume the right arm picking position he had developed using electric guitars over the years ; on deeper bodied guitars the frippian arm position is impossible without uncomfortable contortions . 18 model overview edit this section possibly contains original research . please improve it by verifying the claims made and adding inline citations . statements consisting only of original research should be removed . october 2012 learn how and when to remove this template message the ovation guitar company produces guitars under the names ovation and adamas . ovation has produced the custom legend 1769 adii for al di meola pictured . model 7 ovation guitars have been also produced in china south korea and indonesia . import models generally have a wooden top . recently ovation significantly reduced u.s production . from 2010 on better models legend elite custom legend custom elite were made both in the u.s. and in korea . before that these models were u.s. made . in recent years many u.s. made are identifiable by lx in the product name e.g. legend 2077lx whereas korean versions have ax in the model name e.g. legend 2077ax . ovation does not use this convention on all models e.g. ovation 1617ale . currently ovation produces only a few u.s. made models mostly signature and limited edition models e.g. custom legend 1769 adii al dimeola . production of the standard model range of ovation guitars in the u.s. has been ceased under the ownership of fender musical instruments corporation but is about to be reinstated by the new owner drum workshop . 12 20 ovation developed another signature guitar an adamas model