Guitar Wanted: Ovation Ultra GP (1984)

Hey Guys,

I'm on the hunt for an Ovation Ultra GP. I have one and need a spare as a backup and for different tunings (for live shows).

I know they are very few and far between so even if this post is very old feel free to get in touch as I will probably always be in the market for another one. Or if anyone sees that there is one for sale somewhere I'd love it if you sent me a link or posted here..

:)

Cheers!

Josh Homme fan? good luck, they are a collector's item now and were made in fairly small numbers to begin with.... expect to search and search, then pay through the nose these days... if you have one and like it then be happy with that

they are not the world's best guitars either, I would use one as a backup to one of my better doublecuts... the Kaman group that owned Ovation and later Hamer had them outsourced in the far east and then just did some assembly and finish work in the states. They are like a prototype for the cheap Hamer far-east guitars of the 90s that ruined the brand's reputation. I remember Ultra GPs were readily available in the 90s for a pittance at pawn shops, I was not impressed. I wish I had bought one then to resell now! These Ovations have (suffer from) pretty typical early Korean craftsmanship. With the prices they command now you could have a luthier make you a one-off copy using the one you already have and it will be much nicer, plus you can get any color you want and make small changes to improve the guitar to suit your needs, a great guy I know who will do this exact sort of thing for you at a good price can be found at www.bluefrogguitars.com .... then make THAT your #1 and use the one you already have as the backup... please tell me you don't also lug a VT40 around to gigs or play a 900 through an SVT cab, LOL

Hi Jim,

The Ovation Ultra GP story is certainly very interesting, it's this bit of history rather than Josh Homme that got me interested in the first place. Granted though that Josh Homme was the first person I ever heard play a GP well, but I'm not really a JH fan... In my opinion it's the history behind the product that makes it something collectors want (like the Leo Fender/Gretsch Broadcaster/Nocaster story) but I am in no shape or form a collector. I just love guitars.

After a year of looking for an Ultra GP one finally came up for sale and I managed to get my hands on it after borrowing one every now and again. I absolutely love it, it completely changed my perspective on what makes a good guitar. Sound is always a subjective thing and everyone likes different things, I just really like that the GP is something different and was built to take on the sound of a Les Paul and in my opinion it certainly achieves that. I've never been in to Gibson and for me the GP just has that unexplainable factor when you pick it up.

As to the craftsmanship that went into it, I would agree with you for the most part but I think that the Koreans did a pretty good job on the parts.

Here's a link to a really good article on the history of the Ultra GP for anyone that's interested. (The most comprehensive and well researched out there).

http://www.junkguitars.com/stories/ovation.html

I'm still looking for another Ultra GP. :)

Hi Jim,

The Ovation Ultra GP story is certainly very interesting, it's this bit of history rather than Josh Homme that got me interested in the first place. Granted though that Josh Homme was the first person I ever heard play a GP well, but I'm not really a JH fan... In my opinion it's the history behind the product that makes it something collectors want (like the Leo Fender/Gretsch Broadcaster/Nocaster story) but I am in no shape or form a collector. I just love guitars.

After a year of looking for an Ultra GP one finally came up for sale and I managed to get my hands on it after borrowing one every now and again. I absolutely love it, it completely changed my perspective on what makes a good guitar. Sound is always a subjective thing and everyone likes different things, I just really like that the GP is something different and was built to take on the sound of a Les Paul and in my opinion it certainly achieves that. I've never been in to Gibson and for me the GP just has that unexplainable factor when you pick it up.

As to the craftsmanship that went into it, I would agree with you for the most part but I think that the Koreans did a pretty good job on the parts.

Here's a link to a really good article on the history of the Ultra GP for anyone that's interested. (The most comprehensive and well researched out there).

http://www.junkguitars.com/stories/ovation.html

I'm still looking for another Ultra GP. :)

I wish you luck! consider having a spare one made though

oh hey, this is a neat thread on MLP

http://www.mylespaul.com/forums/luthiers-corner/265043-ovation-ultra-gp-built-josh-homme-s-qotsa-kyuss-guitar.html

Nice!

That's a really interesting thread there, shame about the neck break but really cool to see a re-build in progress. :)