Re: Lower end Ovation`s?
I had a Celebrity Deluxe CS257 (shallow bowl).
Unplugged, it left a little to be desired, and I probably could have done better at that price point. The selling point was the on-board preamp just blew away everything else in that price range. It recorded very well plugged in. Of the acoustics I've owned, it was the best sounding through our PA at the few acoustic gigs I've done, granted, my Tak hasn't had its gig-cherry burst yet.
Ultimately I unloaded it because it didn't work for me. The hard almost V-like C shape neck and 1-5/8" nut width didn't work for me, especially since I incorporate a lot of finger style in my acoustic playing. I also had to live 90% of the time with the unplugged tone, and it simply sounded dead and uninspiring on its own.