Di Meola said that he owned a lot of guitars, including some very collectible Martins. solid wood AAA Sitka spruce top, 5-piece laminated neck, unique specially designed sound holes, and the best piezo pickup system of the day.Ībout 10 years ago I got to see Al Di Meola present a demonstration of his personal Ovation model. They blatantly disregarded the rest of the guitar i.e. Most of those that commented apparently preferred a wooden back.
The design was loosely based on that of ancient stringed instruments such as the lute, oud, and the Neapolitan mandolin. I could not believe the responses, which went from “Get a real guitar” to “Why would you want to play that #$%^&!” There were other comments.Īll of the hate comments concerned the guitars round back the one that Ovation calls a parabolic bowl, that was built to better to project sound. I recently visited a web based discussion page, where on innocent guy asked the question, “Does anyone manufacture a guitar strap that will allow my Ovation guitar to stay flat against me when I’m standing up?” Though he was not a musician, he often sent me information about guitars, and corresponded with my wife. He was a great husband, father, and one of the brightest men I have ever met. I have known Michael since the mid-1970's when we went to the same church. Cristiani, who passed away unexpectedly on May 31st, during the time I was writing this article. I am dedicating this to my friend Michael W.