Monster Cable is manufacturing a custom cable for the guitar, and it has a 30-hour nine-volt battery life. The acoustic/ electric features Ovation’s VIP virtual microphone imaging preamp, intended to provide acoustic realism. Ovation designed the hybrid guitar to be simple to use with tons of sustain. Also, according to Hall, an end-user can put electric strings on the hybrid guitar and get an acoustic sound. “That took a lot of effort to accomplish,” he said.
Make no doubt about it, the headstock looks like an Ovation, but the company also solicited some help from a friendly source—the people at Hamer—also under the Kaman umbrella. “The Hamer guys are really schooling the Ovation guys on things like finish,” said Hall.
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Heavybag Media, a New Haven, Conn., interactive marketing agency, has been stirring up buzz for the VXT for a couple of months now, although who manufactures it and its features have been kept a secret until stories like this one come out and of course, the May 1 release. A Web site, www.thevxt.com, was launched, but the suspense remains at a zenith to visitors, who are only told the guitar will launch on May 1. Heavybag said the promotional plan was tantamount to a movie, where we see little clips in an attempt to grow suspense to a fever pitch before its release.
Heavybag further drew interest by creating a Myspace profile for the guitar as if it were a person. The guitar has tons of “friends” and lists its favorite foods and movies. A Bebo.com profile was also created. Bebo is a Myspace competitor. These themes keep up with the idea of marketing the guitar to a younger audience. In fact, the guitar is designed to be cranked up to very loud levels on stage with no feedback. “It’s a whole new world for us,” said Frank Untermeyer, general manager of the Ovation factory. “We’re used to making acoustic guitars. It’s a different process in the same factory.
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“We’re trying to redefine Ovation, with the types of guitars and the care that we put into the guitars,” he continued. “This guitar is unlike others because of its unique sound.”
According to Doyle, May 1 was picked as a launch date primarily to coincide with GC’s free financing offer of no payments or interest for 12 months. “It also suited Ovation as far as the production schedule goes,” he said.
As for the VXT symbol depicted in this story, Heavybag used a symbol library and looked up the word “hybrid,” and out spit out this result. Instantly, both Heavybag and Ovation knew the symbol was just right, and employees of both all donned black button-down with the VXT logo prominently displayed on the right chest.
Following the factory tour, Ovation employees literally practiced what they preached live on stage at Black-Eyed Sally’s, a New Orleans-style barbecue restaurant in Hartford.
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