“When I first played an Ovation, I noticed the exceptional balance, response and clarity. It’s an instrument that encourages me, rather than restricting me. You can’t do better than that.”
- Al DiMeola
Ovation Built a special guitar for a tour Al had planned with The Guitar Trio, which also featured John McLaughlin and Paco De Lucia. It featured Al's preferred deep cutaway body and added a stealth feature that every guitar player would find useful - the ability to go to "11". A small black latching-button switch was installed on the upper bout of the guitar, about three inches above the neck/body joint. When Al tripped the switch with his left thumb, the output from the preamp would be boosted by 4dB. The stealth location and easy operation of the switch allowed Al to turn the boost on and off without the audience - or his band mates - ever noticing.
The guitar became one of Al's favorites and in 1998 it officially became the Al Di Meola Signature Model.
Aside from this button, it is basically an A-braced Custom Legend. The inlay work is stunning. A real eye catcher on stage. This is my main gigging acoustic.
There is no better center holed Ovation... PERIOD!
I was lucky enough to catch Al backstage last time he came to town and he was gracious enough to give mine an authentic signature!
