Claude Thomas Jazz Music Blog

By Mike Furlong

History

Making guitars might not be rocket science, but Charlie Kaman applied aerospace and aeronautical science to the manufacturing of the Ovation guitar. Kaman, an aerospace engineer, was a long-time guitarist and wanted to diversify his aerospace company. When he took his Martin guitar to be repaired for a warped neck, he was offered a tour of the factory. He was surprised to find the luthiers there using hand tools, animal glues, and low-tech approaches to guitar making.
Interestingly he offered to buy the Martin guitar company, but was refused — twice. So he decided to expand his company into guitar production. Like most engineers he approached the problem of making a guitar with engineering precision. He formed a team of people who analyzed problems, formed solutions, and tested them. The Ovation Balladeer was the result of their efforts.

Body

One of the first things people notice about the Ovation guitars is the round back. This was one of those engineering discoveries that Kaman’s group made. According to their research, the regular guitar’s flat back actually hindered the sound projection. So they chose a round back. In addition they made the back out of a synthetic material — a composite plastic that Kaman was familiar with due to his experience manufacturing helicopter roto blades. This was another interesting innovation in guitar manufacturing.

Pickups

The acoustic guitars of the day suffered greatly from feedback when guitarists attempted to amplify them. The Ovation guitar was an early adopter of preamps, onboard equalization and piezo pickups. This provided a fantastic improvement in the reduction of feedback. And the sound of Ovation was far more realistic and adjustable than what had been available for standard acoustic guitars. The piezo pickups were another Kaman innovation for the Ovation that was developed through engineering and manufacturing techniques that were standard in the aviation industry.
I am sure the engineers knowledge of aviation electronics helped too.

Celebrity Endorsements

Celebrity endorsements are common in the music industry. Guitar manufacturers feature the celebrities in advertising and often the celebrity’s name may appear on a special model guitar in the manufacturer’s line.

By Jason C Diggs

Tuning your instrument is one of the most vital components to playing a pleasant sounding guitar. It is also something that novice players often struggle with. There are many different ways to tune a guitar depending on the desired sound. The purpose of this article is to provide some simple instructions that will explain how to tune your guitar without having to buy any additional equipment.

The first thing to understand about tuning your guitar is the tone the various strings are supposed to make. From thickest to thinnest the strings are: E, A, D, G, B, E. The low E is referred to as the sixth string; the A is called the fifth string and so on. Start at the low E and tune it as accurately as you can. Generally the sixth string is in tune because it is the heaviest and is most resistant to the jostling that makes the instrument go out of tune. If you have a piano you can use that to tune the guitar. The sixth string should match up with the 1st E below middle C. If it so happens that there is no other instrument or tuner present then just get it as close as you can. What really counts is that the guitar is in tune with itself and the other instruments you are playing with.

The second step to tuning the guitar is to place the first finger of your left hand just behind the fifth fret on the bottom E string. This is an A note. Now pick the fifth and sixth strings in turn adjusting the tuning peg for the fifth string until the two notes sound the same. Now place the first finger on your left hand just behind the fifth fret on the fifth string. That is a D note. Pick the fifth and fourth strings in succession until the two notes sound identical. The rest of the guitar can be tuned the same way ending with the high E. Sounds easy, right? Well not quite as easy as it sounds. Here are a few tips and tricks to help you master the tuning of the guitar.

It is a major no-no to store your instrument somewhere that might experience drastic temperature swings. This will mess up the tuning of the guitar as well as possibly warping the wood.

Remember, any jostling will make the instrument out of tune, so re-tune anytime it is dropped or bumped. A guitarist should learn how to properly attach the strings to the machine head properly.

Prior to tuning a string that you believe is out of tune make sure and check it against its surrounding strings. The string you suspect could turn out to be the one in tune!

If you are playing and a chord you know well sounds a little strange, take time to tune it. Always trust your ear in situations like this.