ksdaddy Posted April 22, 2014 Share Posted April 22, 2014 Fender Musical Instruments Corporation (FMIC) is proud of the products that are built in our New Hartford, Conn. manufacturing facility and appreciates the talented group of people that hand craft them. However, due to current market conditions and insufficient volume levels, the company has made the decision to cease production there within June 2014. This decision represents a consolidation of production capabilities for FMIC U.S.-made acoustic instruments. “We are committed to providing the same high quality musical instruments our artists, consumers and customers expect and demand, and will continue to support the brands that are currently being produced in New Hartford,” said Richard McDonald, senior vice president of Fender®. U.S. production of Fender acoustic and Guild® instruments will transition to other facilities at a later date, while domestic production of U.S.-made Ovation musical instruments will cease. Forty-six New Hartford-based FMIC employees will be affected by this decision over the next several months. These impacted employees served the company well and will be treated fairly and with respect; they will be provided comprehensive assistance, including severance packages, outplacement services and other related assistance. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rabs Posted April 22, 2014 Share Posted April 22, 2014 A sign of things to come???? :unsure: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rct Posted April 22, 2014 Share Posted April 22, 2014 The end of Ovation. Dang. I have a Pre-FMIC 2000 Custom Legend 1868. I love that thing. rct Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Buxom Posted April 22, 2014 Share Posted April 22, 2014 My heard aches for the Guild factory. I was considering trying to find a way to work for them some day. Fantastic guitars, what a shame. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
the dog Posted April 22, 2014 Share Posted April 22, 2014 You gotta be kiddin me, Jack Prior whom is the Senior Design Engineer of Research & Development took myself a fellow who I work with (Ron) and his son on a 90 minute personal tour of the facility at the end of January 2013. I'm just 30 minutes from New Hartford. Ron got the offer from Jack for the tour and I was lucky to get asked. Anyway I asked how business was and he said things are good. I was a little overwhelmed at how many custom guitars were being made.All acoustic. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flyingarmadillo Posted April 23, 2014 Share Posted April 23, 2014 I've seen postings about this every other forum I'm on except the Fender forums or on the Fender press site. I'd expect to see a press release from someplace, so I looked - nothing to be found in the local news sites either. Anybody got a verifiable source for this other than some other competitors forums? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rocketman Posted April 23, 2014 Share Posted April 23, 2014 Well this is certainly not good news. I guess it is indeed a sign of the times. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guitar God Posted April 23, 2014 Share Posted April 23, 2014 No crap?!?!?! No more U.S.A. Ovation's?!?!?! Dang. What a bummer. Love my U.S.A. Ovation Legend 1767. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jimi Mac Posted April 23, 2014 Share Posted April 23, 2014 *** ENTIRE RANT DELETED*** OK, back to guitars I hate bringing politics into this place! I like Gibsons too much to have the conversation in here slouch into a political melee! I'd rather gargle broken glass than get on a political soap-box in here! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bender 4 Life Posted April 23, 2014 Share Posted April 23, 2014 no biggie......my Korean Guild w/1 pc solid spruce top sounds and plays like an absolute dream. yeah, I know it's not American made.....but i'm not ashamed of NOT overpaying for it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
the dog Posted April 23, 2014 Share Posted April 23, 2014 I've seen postings about this every other forum I'm on except the Fender forums or on the Fender press site. I'd expect to see a press release from someplace, so I looked - nothing to be found in the local news sites either. Anybody got a verifiable source for this other than some other competitors forums? The news made my local paper today.And it seems town officials are upset that 41 people will be losing their job but are more concerned about getting another business in the building. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jimi Mac Posted April 23, 2014 Share Posted April 23, 2014 The news made my local paper today.And it seems town officials are upset that 41 people will be losing their job but are more concerned about getting another business in the building. That ain't too far from where I work in CT... Windsor Locks by the airport. Funny I never even knew they were there... Again, I'll refrain from my political commentary concerning the current events as detailed... It is the politics and policies here in New England responsible for these events! Connecticut where I work is as tax happy as my own home state of Massachusetts! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
milod Posted April 23, 2014 Share Posted April 23, 2014 Harley... All kidding aside, I've been involved on the community side when various businesses were pulled from a community by their absentee ownership. It's not that the folks involved don't care, it's more a practical matter of how to handle loss of overall jobs and loss of a manufacturing operation in a given building. If you think that's an issue as seen by your local folks, in an area that I consider horribly overpopulated anyway, imagine the concerns in communities where the loss of 40 jobs and shutdown of a building is the only such job source or manufacturing building in 40 or more miles - and those folks with the jobs would also have to find any sort of employment many miles away. The community effect also would be roughly two classrooms worth of kids in local schools. Etc. etc. Bottom line is that while it's a horrid thing for the folks involved, it's also a difficult situation for folks whose responsibility is to the community as a whole. Note also the costs of doing business in Connecticut compared to alternatives. It's not necessarily a pretty circumstance from the perspective of the folks responsible for corporate revenues. At what point can a plant not generating revenue, regardless of quality, be continued? Personal experience indicates that yes, one might easily make a case that some corporate wheel may sabotage a given corporate "profit center," but there ain't much to do about it if you're the folks in a community responsible to do the best they can for the community as a whole. Again, ain't pretty. But... m Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ksdaddy Posted April 23, 2014 Author Share Posted April 23, 2014 Ovations have been 100% PAC Rim since sometime in 2007 except for Adamas and the Custom Shop. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rct Posted April 23, 2014 Share Posted April 23, 2014 Ovations have been 100% PAC Rim since sometime in 2007 except for Adamas and the Custom Shop. Indeed. That woulda been right after Fedner paid 100+ million for Kaman. rct Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rabs Posted April 23, 2014 Share Posted April 23, 2014 I've seen postings about this every other forum I'm on except the Fender forums or on the Fender press site. I'd expect to see a press release from someplace, so I looked - nothing to be found in the local news sites either. Anybody got a verifiable source for this other than some other competitors forums? http://abcnews.go.com/Entertainment/wireStory/ovation-guitar-factory-connecticut-closing-23441795 Ovation Guitar Factory in Connecticut Is Closing An Ovation guitar factory in the western Connecticut hills that produced instruments for music legends from Paul Simon to Cat Stevens to Glen Campbell will be closing in June after 47 years and production of the Ovation line in the United States will stop, the manufacturer's parent company told the shop's 46 workers this week. One former factory worker called it "the end of an iconic American brand." Fender Musical Instruments Corp., based in Scottsdale, Ariz., and maker of the iconic Stratocaster electric guitar, said in an announcement Tuesday that it was ceasing domestic production of Ovation guitars and closing the New Hartford factory, citing "current market conditions and insufficient volume levels." The company also said it is consolidating production of U.S.-made acoustic instruments. Ovations will continue to be manufactured outside the U.S., Fender spokesman Jason Farrell said Wednesday. He said Fender also builds Ovations in China, South Korea and Indonesia. "We are committed to providing the same high quality musical instruments our artists, consumers and customers expect and demand, and will continue to support the brands that are currently being produced in New Hartford," Richard McDonald, senior vice president of Fender, said in a statement. The factory also has been making Fender and Guild guitars since Fender bought Ovation's owner, Bloomfield, Conn.-based Kaman Music Corp., in 2007. The shop opened in 1967 after Charles Kaman, an engineer who founded Bloomfield-based aerospace company Kaman Corp., developed the first Ovation guitar. Kaman died in 2011. The factory closing was first reported by the Republican-American newspaper of Waterbury, Conn. Richard Hall of Winsted, who worked for Kaman and Ovation for three decades including 18 years at the New Hartford plant, told the newspaper that Ovation made the first acoustic guitar that could be plugged in to an amplifier and the company had 66 percent of the acoustic market in the U.S. in the early 1990s. "It's the end of an iconic American brand," Hall said. "In the 1970s and '80s, just about every big touring band was playing Ovation." Ovations made in New Hartford have been praised for their craftsmanship and tone. The company's website shows pictures of many music legends playing Ovations, including Simon, Campbell, John Lennon, Paul McCartney, Mick Jagger, Eddie Van Halen, Kenny Rogers, Neil Diamond and Melissa Etheridge. A worker at the shop referred questions Wednesday to an official at Fender subsidiary KMC Music Inc., who didn't return a message seeking comment. Fender officials say the factory closing will affect all 46 workers, who will get severance packages, outplacement services and other assistance. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rabs Posted April 23, 2014 Share Posted April 23, 2014 I've seen postings about this every other forum I'm on except the Fender forums or on the Fender press site. I'd expect to see a press release from someplace, so I looked - nothing to be found in the local news sites either. Anybody got a verifiable source for this other than some other competitors forums? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guitar God Posted April 23, 2014 Share Posted April 23, 2014 Here's my U.S.A. Ovation Legend 1767 acoustic/electric, by the way: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
milod Posted April 23, 2014 Share Posted April 23, 2014 I got my two AE guitars in the early '70s - both Ovations. Although some of the way the electronics were handled weren't done as we've now generally agreed they should have been done - such as placement of the battery - the steel string "electric legend" and nylon string "country artist" still sound quite nice through a board or through an amp. I've used both for various gigs and had nothing but nice feedback dating back to the '70s doing saloon country gigs, old time fiddler material, classical/jazz on the nylon... I think they got a bad rap in some ways, but... It's also an interesting tale of how an entrepreneur with a dollar and an idea can be successful - and then corporate crud damaging it by putting it on the back burner... m Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rct Posted April 24, 2014 Share Posted April 24, 2014 Hi rct is it just me or have you noticed Fender just keeps ruining every brand they buy? Dont get me wrong Im all for a worldwide market Im not just a Yee Haw USA all the way guy. But in industry and music equipment the same countries fall short when they make tools machines electronics and musical instruments. USA England Switzerland Germany Japan make even Korea is starting to make consumable dependable items. Mexico Vietnam China India Indonesia and Pakistan are still cranking out sub par items, and many of them with iconic authorized brand names on them. Its just sad as I watch Fender destroy all these legendary brands we grew up with and vend shadows of their former selves to unsuspecting consumers. Fender is by far the worst about this. I do love a Stratocaster I will admit but... It is sad. Ovation was truly original, a different kind of guitar. People that know me can't believe I dumped a Taylor and two Gibson acoustics for an Ovation, but I did. It's a shame to see them go. Take a drive out to Fender, you'll be amazed at the chaos around you! It's a wonder they even still exist I swear. rct Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brytam Posted April 24, 2014 Share Posted April 24, 2014 I saw this yesterday & was surprised that Fender hasn't had any info on this. Very quiet... Surprised that Fender owns Guild & Ovation. Didn't know that until yesterday. My first EBay purchase was an Ovation Deluxe CS 257 I bought on 2002. (Still play it today.) I love the way this guitar sounds when run through an amp using the on-board electronics. I hate that Ovation will no longer be "USA" anymore. Saddens me! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ksdaddy Posted April 24, 2014 Author Share Posted April 24, 2014 I only have 3 Ovations at present. I DO have 49 aluminum necked Applauses, but that was a different factory and division of Kaman. Here is a 1966 Balladeer, serial number 093, the 88th Ovation ever built (1-5 were bowl assemblies; #6 was the first complete guitar). It has a 4 piece spruce top, likely made from the leftover helicopter blade spruce. The shading is NOT messed up, it was the flash and angle. On the right is a prototype for the 1983 Collector's Edition. The collector's editions were all numbered "X of XXXX"; this one is the date it was built, serial # 121582-4 (12/15/1982). Apparently there were at least 3 other prototypes. The label reads "Kaman Music Group Original Prototype". The only non-production features I can see is there is no "1983" inlaid in the fingerboard and it also has two output jacks, mono and stereo. It was a basket case and I begged for six months for the guy to sell AND ship. This one would pre-date any production models of course. Daryl Hall has (production run) #1 and Nancy Wilson has #2. My only other 'O' is a run of the mill white '79 Balladeer, bare bones. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guitar God Posted April 24, 2014 Share Posted April 24, 2014 Thats is just so very cool Thanks, man! I actually got this guitar for free technically. A good friend of my Mom's husband passed away a few years ago and this was his guitar. He had a '98 Corvette and my Dad bought the Corvette not too long right after he passed and she knows I play guitar and she gave me the Ovation when my Dad bought the Corvette. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jimi Mac Posted April 24, 2014 Share Posted April 24, 2014 It is very political Jimi, you hear that suckin sound goin to the south? Thats your money and you can thank NAFTA. Fender is some NAFTA lovin she dogs. You can bet they be makin them in Mexico along with Fenders and Charvel! Oh don't I know it... I just don't want to go-off on a tangent as I'm inclinded to do in political debate... I get easily riled being a conservative minded individual surrounded and outnumbered here in uber-liberal New England. The Northeast is the poster-child for how not to cater to businesses (and society or civilization for that matter) small or large. They are treated as cash-cows to gang-rape at-will for every pet political pandering entitlement project they can fund and walk away from; taking manufactured credit and kudos for from those that win the politically correct lottery of socialist wealth redistribution... Trust me, I get it! It is the fault of politics and politicians that every good American thing is fleeing for parts unknown where they won't be used as a political revenue source pin-cushion to fund welfare bribery both corporate and to the illegal invasion that is being promoted for voter-block security by power mongering polititards of every persuasion... It is patently unsustainable! Without them fleeing our shores a guitar won't be attainable by the common man! Lots o' folks complain about how much a Gibson costs vs other guitars... Hello... Can you say; "daylight working hours raid by automatic weapon armed para-military federal agents?" Hmmm, I wonder if there's a connection Mr. Obvious??? Gibson said no to the insanity and we saw what happened... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brantobrien Posted April 24, 2014 Share Posted April 24, 2014 History repeats itself. Fender did it to Tacoma. They are doing it to Guild and Ovation. They acquire companies, mis-manage them, strip any kind of ingenuity and haphazardly apply it to an Asian or Mexican made import that eventually dies as well. In another 10-15 years I hope that someone saves the Strat and most of the Gretsch line from a similar fate. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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