Guitars With Jon Way Ep. 9 Ovation Deacon

[Rikitocker]

Great guitars ... a white Breadwinner was my first guitar I ever bought back in 1988 and I still have it today ... I also have a beautiful wine burst Deacon in addition to my Ovation magnum II bass. These really are incredible guitars capable or more sounds than any other I ever picked up ... so shhhh lets keep the secret going.

[TheStrongfulOne]

Hey Jon, can you put Never Again on youtube or something? That song is AWESOME!

[TheStrongfulOne]

Jon, what the name of the song in the beginning of the video?

[brianway1]

@TheStrongfulOne

The song is Never Again by Buckingham, my band from 1980-1986.

[TheStrongfulOne]

@brianway1 Hey Jon, can my band cover Never Again? With your permission.

[brianway1]

@MrSteviesavage

Hold on to it, as they haven't made these since 1980. A very rare piece indeed, and I agree a true pleasure to play.

[MrSteviesavage]

I own a RH version, and love it. I have nine guitars in total and it plays the nicest out of them all - just like your fingers are sort of gliding over the board, an incredibly nice feel to the whole thing.

[mario6161]

Thank you for the great vid. I have a ton of great guitars (Gibson, PRS, etc...), but have always wanted one of these. You sure got a great Peter Green tone out of it.

[brianway1]

@mario6161

You're welcome and thanks for watching. There are still a few Deacons that come up on Ebay from time to time.

[RavenRP]

Wow I haven't seen one of these for over twenty years and you have a lefty. I remember playing one and really liking the unusually high access.

Does anybody remember Keith partridge jamming on one of these?

I'm actually not kidding, but I should be.

[brianway1]

@RavenRP

They are great guitars. I remember Keith. I think we were all looking at the guitar while the girls were looking at Keith. Lol

[elviskelvis]

damn, i wathced this video half a million times and can't get this guitar out of my head... by now i'll go buy the eastwood "reissue" and if you'll ever have the insane idea of selling this beauty, first think it twice, then call me(or should i say write me?)!

[brianway1]

@elviskelvis

selling? what is this word selling mean? I'm not familiar with this word. ;)

[THEFRANKLINFILM]

Where did you manage to get a lefty Deacon?

[brianway1]

@THEFRANKLINFILM

Cool and unusual story. Jimi Bell received this guitar for his 18th birthday. His uncle or cousin worked at Ovation at the time and was able to push it through. I met Jimi when he had his own music store in the 1990's, and we were showing each other our LEFTY guitars. I gave him my number and said, " if you ever want to sell this guitar call me". A couple of years later- Bingo. Sam Stathakis, the nearly famous Ovation collector owns the blueprints for this guitar.

[THEFRANKLINFILM]

@brianway1

...so you torment us with the only one in existence. Damn you as if it wasn't bad enough for lefties. By the way your video for the Danelectro has convinced me to buy one. Have you ever seen a lefty Charvel Surfcaster?

[brianway1]

@THEFRANKLINFILM

Not yet, but if I do you'll see it here. By the way....for Lefties....Greco out of Japan makes some of the best SG and Les Pauls I've ever played. 1979 to 1982 are the best. You may want to hunt one down. Enjoy.

[maico125]

I had a Deacon that I bought brand new in Bellevue Washington. I gave it away to my cousin cause he thought it was really cool looking. I loved/hated that guitar. Loved the looks but didn't like the pickups.....oh well. Played it live a lot and it was built very well. Still looked new after two or three seasons. Replaced it with a '76 reverse Firebird then a Pat Pend Dean Elite. Water under the bridge now!

[brianway1]

@maico125

The one that got away. We all regret at least one, don't we. Mine was a 1958 Les Paul jr. oh well..............thanks for the comment

[ironbuttermilk]

I play a white peiced-together Breadwinner that I built for my old Partridge Family cover band (I played bass, so I didn't get to use the Breadwiiner then). All the FET crud was gone so I installed passive wiring and Firebird pickups. I like it alot better that way. Had to wedge a chunk of wood under the bridge to get sustain. I'm digging it for my new band. I used to have a Deacon 12, but I hated the active stuff. Wish I still owned it, I'd rewire it. It played great.

[brianway1]

@ironbuttermilk

yeah, the necks and bodies on these guitars were really cool to play.

[larkk22]

I have 4 Deacons, two six-strings and two twelve-strings...I do love these axes! The mini-humbuckers give punch and subdued twang when needed. The battery requirements? Well, if you use pedals, you know how much we all love fooling with batteries...wisdom

[brianway1]

@larkk22

4 Deacons...........man I'm envious. Mine is the only lefty they made. Having 4 must be sweet. Jon Way

[dketcheson]

Thanks for the video - I feel the same way about my Deacon.

I'm not sure when mine was made. The body is a gorgeous deep red mohogany. Being a classical guitarist I probably appreciate the body design more than most.

To my ear, the fet system sounded awful and ate up 2-9v. batts really quick! I carefully removed it so it can be restored easily with a few connectors.

The cold pick-ups sound beautiful, although a little low in gain.

Glad to find someone else who appreciates these instruments!

[brianway1]

@dketcheson

Thanks for the nice comment. If you look online you'll find some sites to help evaluate your serial number and pinpoint a year for your Deacon

[nadfie]

Check out my videos, I'll restore the black one I have in putting the Fernandes sustainer kit in it

[brianway1]

I bet that will sound sweet. Do a video when it's done.

[brianway1]

glad you dig it man, gotta shoot some more hopefully this week! think we can get a camera from your end?

[BenProulx]

Hell yeah!