1970'S VATION Breadwinner electric guitar W HARD Case Natural Mahogany

Brand: OVATION
;Country/Region of Manufacture: United States
;Body Type: Solid
;Model Year: 1970'S
;Model: BREADWINNER
;Body Color: NATURAL MAHOGANY
;Dexterity: Right-Handed
;String Configuration: 6 String
;Body Material: Solid Wood
;MPN: BREADWINNER
;UPC: Does not apply

1970'S VATION Breadwinner electric guitar W HARD Case Natural Mahogany

SquareTrade © AP6.0

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FOR  QUESTIONS AND RETURNS PLEASE CALL TIM MAUERY AT 1-410-603-5876

MONDAY THRU FRIDAY 8AM UNTIL 5PM EASTERN STANDARD TIME

 SATURDAY 8AM UNTIL 12PM EASTERN STANDARD TIME

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THIS  GUITAR WAS A TRADE IN  AT OUR RETAIL MUSIC STORE -- THE GUITAR MAN SALISBURY MARYLAND

STORE PHONE 1-877-474-2877 OR CELL PHONE 1-410-603-5876

OUR GUITAR TECH'S HAVE TESTED , INSPECTED AND SET UP THIS GUITAR

IT IS READY TO PLAY -- AND SOUNDS GREAT !!!!

THIS GUITAR WAS A TRADE IN AT OUR RETAIL MUSIC STORE -- THE GUITAR MAN SALISBURY MARYLAND

M-SAT 9 AM TO 6PM EASTERN TIME

OUR GUITAR TECH'S HAVE TESTED , INSPECTED AND SET UP THIS GUITAR

IT IS READY TO PLAY GREAT ACTION-- AND SOUNDS GREAT !!!!

THEY WERE PRODUCED IN THE 1970'S AND WERE THE FIRST PRODUCTION SOLID BODY ELECTRIC GUITAR TO HAVE ACTIVE ELECTRONICS

MADE IN THE USA

WITH FACTORY HARD CASE

SOLID MAHOGANY BODY

2 PIECE HONDURAN MAHOGANY NECK

24 FRET EBONY FINGERBOARD

2 PICKUPS

1 3 WAY SWITCH

A PHASE SWITCH

AND A VOLUME AND TONE CONTROL

BRASS NUT

CAST BACK COVER PLATES

THIS GUITAR WAS A TRADE IN AT OUT RETAIL STORE

CONDITION IS EXCELLENT

THERE ARE A FEW DINGS ON THE TOP EDGE OF THE HEADSTOCK AND SOME SMALL DINGS ON THE BODY

THERE IS SOME WEAR ON THE FRETS AS TO BE EXPECTED FROM A GUITAR OF THIS AGE

THE HARDSHELL CASE HAS A FEW DINGS AND DENTS ON THE EXTERIOR BUT WORKS PERFECT

ALL IN ALL EXCELLENT CONDITION FOR A 1970'S GUITAR

SHIPPING IN THE USA $35.00

But the first two solid electric guitars Ovation created in house were called The Breadwinner and The Deacon. The designer of these instruments came up with a shape reminiscent of a battle axe.

He states that he worked at Ovation/Kaman in 1971 and was a commercial artist in the advertising and public relations department. Because of his artistic background Ovation’s chief engineer suggested he come up with a couple of sketches of solid body guitars.

The concept he came up with was the Breadwinner/Deacon body design.

Shortly afterward Kaman had a plant wide layoff, so he left not knowing what had happened with his design. A few years later he was watching TV and saw David Cassidy playing a Breadwinner on a Partridge Family rerun. The totally blew him away. He was never at the plant long enough to see his design come to fruition.

He states his concept for the guitar was a medieval battle axe, based on the fact most guitar players refer to their instrument as “their axe.”

The deep cutaway on the lower bout was put there purposely to reach the high notes. The cutaway on the guitars end was an early ergonomic idea so the guitarist could rest the instrument on their thigh while playing, much like classical players.

He suggested making the body hollow with a honeycomb structure for added strength, maintaining the traditional Ovation neck and headstock shape and using Lyrachord for the back.

Ovation liked his design, but the honeycomb hollowed body was not feasible or cost effective. However they used the standard (for the time) Ovation neck and headstock and the Breadwinners solid mahogany body was coated in Lyrachord. This accounts for the fact that most 1972 Breadwinners still look like new.


The Breadwinner neck was a two piece bolt-on affair made of Honduras bound mahogany topped with an ebony fretboard that had diamond-shaped dot inlays and 24 frets. Initially the twin pickups were single coil models, although they were large and appear to be humbuckers.



In 1975 this was modified to include 12 pole double coil pickups that resembled mini-humbuckers were introduced. These were advertised to be 20db quieter than humbuckers.

The guitars bridge was made of brass. The bridge unit was adjustable in a way similar to a Stratocaster, however the individual saddles were made of nylon.

The bridge unit was surrounded by a black textured nylon cover/hand rest. The embossed back plate for the electronics was very classy looking, as was the neckplate.


As I have mentioned, the Breadwinners textured body was covered in Lyrachord and was available in black or white. From 1972 to 1976 grey, tan, red and blue were also an option.

The instruments pickguards came in black, white, tortoise shell and paint swirl.



The guitars electronics featured a the usual volume and tone controls, a 3-way selector throw switch and a band elimination switch that cut the midrange.

The Breadwinner was THE first electric guitar equipped with active electronics. This was accomplished were provided by a FET (field effect transistor) preamp board in a pocket that was routed out of the guitars backside. This allowed the player to achieve a wide array of sounds.


The preamp was powered by two 9 volt batteries. Behind the batteries on the preamp were 2 trim pots that adjusted the level of the preamp and phase switch.

The pickup switching was very unusual. The first position, toward the neck, turned on the neck pickup. The second position turned on the bridge pickup. The third position, toward the bridge engaged the preamp.


The Breadwinner was offered in 3 different models. The Breadwinner has already been described.








The Deacon could best be described as a deluxe version of the Breadwinner. The pickguard on some, but not all Deacons was smaller. The Deacons body was available in natural sunburst, clear mahogany or clear red glossy finishes. The ivoroid bound neck had mother-of-pearl deluxe diamond shaped inlays. It was a classy looking instrument




The third model was an oddity known as the LTD. The LTD had all the features of the Deacon, but the body was shaped slightly differently.

Ace Frehley of KISS played an Ovation Breadwinner. There are still a lot of owners that recognized the Breadwinner/Deacon as a great guitar. You will find no negative comments about this instrument.

Possibly due to the odd body shape, Ovation had little success with electric guitars.

When the Klein guitar came out, Ovation proposed to file a lawsuit for patent violation, but their lack of success with the Breadwinner line caused them to back off.

1970'S VATION Breadwinner electric guitar W HARD Case Natural Mahogany

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