In the early 1960s, however, financial problems from the failure of its commercial flight division forced it to expand into new markets, such as entertainment and leisure.

[16] In 2020, the German-based GEWA company acquired the brand and assets of Ovation and Adamas from Drum Workshop and moved production to a smaller shop in New Hartford, Connecticut.

[7] In January 2024, Ovation and Adamas guitars were displayed at the NAMM Show in Anaheim, California, as part of the larger GEWA family of brands.

[8][17] For the project, Kaman chose a small team of aerospace engineers and technicians, several of whom were woodworking hobbyists as well.

To avoid the problem of a structurally unstable seam, the engineers proposed a synthetic back with a parabolic shape.

By mid-1966, according to Ovation, they realized that the parabolic shape produced a desirable tone with greater volume than the conventional dreadnought.

Using their knowledge of high-tech aerospace composites, they developed Lyrachord, a patented material comprising interwoven layers of glass filament and bonding resin.

[history 2] Compared to modern Ovation Guitars, the initial instruments had a shiny bowl that was used again, for example, in the Balladeer 40th anniversary re-issue.

The introduction and promotion of the first Ovation was closely associated with two performing artists, the blues-performer Josh White and the country-music singer Glen Campbell.

[2] The show was witnessed by "300 representatives of the press and the music industry"[1] The Ovation Roundback Balladeer first caught national attention in 1968 when Glen Campbell hosted a variety show called The Glen Campbell Goodtime Hour on CBS, and in the following year, 1969, he became one of Ovation's first endorsers.

[20] Ovation guitar design reflects its founder's engineering training and development of Kaman helicopters.

Kaman felt there were structural weaknesses in the orthogonal joining of the sides, and that a composite material could provide a smooth body.

In the 1970s, Ovation developed thinner soundboards with carbon-based composites laminating a thin layer of birch in its Adamas model.

In 1977–1978, Gypsy, an Ovation performing and recording artist, designed the first stereo pre-amplifier for the Adamas 12 string and used it on his album "Ladies Love Outlaws."

At the same time, Ovation provided small doors that blocked the sound holes from the inside in order to dampen feedback in the presence of loud stage monitors.

Ovations reached the height of their popularity in the 1980s, where they were often seen during live performances by touring artists, such as Rush's Alex Lifeson or Paul Simon in The Concert in Central Park.

[22][23] Tamm (1990) wrote that the acoustic 1867 Legend has "a gently rounded super-shallow body design that may be about as close to the shape and depth of an electric guitar as is possible without an intolerable loss of tone quality.

Production of the standard model range of Ovation guitars in the U.S. had been ceased under the ownership of Fender Musical Instruments Corporation, but is planned to be reinstated by the new owner Drum Workshop.

Until the closure of the New Hartford, Connecticut factory in June 2014, all Adamas models were produced in the U.S.[25] LX does not only stand for U.S. made.

Back in 2007 Ovation explained on its website that new features included the new OP-Preamp, an advanced neck system (lightweight dual-action truss rod, carbon fiber stabilizers), a patented pickup (made of 6 elements), inlaid epaulets, scalloped bracing, and a new hard composite Lyrachord GS body.