Ovation Celebrity CC074 review

Ovation's curved bowlback, by design, aids both sound projection and comfort but also lends a unique playing position that can take a while to get used to.

However, in this glorious red sunburst finish with a super slim neck, dot and diamond inlays, oak leaf rosette, distinctive headstock and attractive binding, the Celebrity offers a strong visual statement.

Even the walnut bridge neatly absorbs the ball ends of the strings and helps to keep the things simple and clean.

The bowlback body makes this feel much less bulky than the majority of basses here but it still possesses a warm and significant voice.

The preamp is a modular design that pops out of the body at the press of a button in order to change the battery.

It is endowed with sliders for the three-band EQ and volume, plus switches for EQ in/out and for the pre-shape feature.

There's also a useful battery indicator to help prevent any awkward live incidents, but what dominates this unit is the sophisticated multi-LED tuner that gives wider options than just the standard tuning.

Sounds

The Ovation has a tightly focused natural voice and this continues when plugging in. It has good sound qualities from the EQ but we were particularly impressed with the solid projection when engaging the pre-shape.

This is an unusual feature on an electro-acoustic bass, yet it proves extremely effective. Two strap buttons are provided but this is the only instrument here not to make use of an endpin jack socket, instead the socket is located on the lower curve of the bowl.