The Ovation Deacon was launched towards the end of 1972 / early 1973 at a price of $449 - a few months after the launch of the Ovation Breadwinner. Both had the same body shape - designed to resemble an axe, and to be comfortable to use seated, for studio use. Both had 2 octave 24 fret mahogany necks. Initially it was only available in antique sunburst, and was fitted with large single coil pickups. An upgraded version was displayed at the autumn 1974 NAMM show - and from then it featured double-coil 12-pole pickups, "20dB quieter than Humbuckings". In 1976 a twelve string version was released.
The Deacon was very much a deluxe version of the Breadwinner - with a gloss finish, bound neck and intricate diamond, as opposed to simple dot inlays.
The pickups and active circuitry of the Deacon are designed to give a very wide tonal range. The series II pickups are described as follows
The controls consist of a volume and tone potentiometer, pickup selector switch and band rejection filter to cut midrange. This is how the circuitry is descibed in the 1975 solid-bodies catalogue
Model | Deacon 1252 | Deacon 1253 (12-string) |
---|---|---|
Available | 1973-82 | 1976-80 |
Pickups | single coil until 1975, 12-pole double coil thereafter | 12-pole double coil |
Scale | 24 3/4" | |
Body | Mahogany body, length 39 1/2", width 14 1/2", depth 1 5/8" | |
Neck | Bolt-on two-piece Honduras bound mahogany neck, with ebony, diamond-shaped dot inlaid fingerboard | |
Width at nut | 1 11/16" | |
Electrics and controls | FET preamp, 1 volume and tone control, mid-range switch, pickup selector switch | |
Hardware | 12:1 machineheads, brass bridge. Chrome plated throughout. | |
Finishes | 1252-1 Sunburst, 1252-2 Red, 1252-4 Natural, Black and White |
Electric guitar advertisements originally published from 1974 onwards. Click on the images for larger copies. Check out other vintage Ovation advertisements
Ovation Deacon 1252 - don't dilly dally... "Dude" da Deacons dynamite (1974)
Mid seventies advert for the Deacon. The model shown is an early version with the large single coil pickups, as opposed to the later double coil 12 pole piece version
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Ovation Deacon 1252 - Ovation Solid Bodies - They're Worth A Try (1975)
1975 advert highlighting the main features of the Ovation Breadwinner and Deacon solid body electrics
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Ovation Deacon 1252 - Ovation solid bodies. Part of the Strawbs' sound. (1976)
Mid seventies ad featuring Dave Lambert of the Strawbs and his Ovation Deacon
The Ovation Deacon has the widest tonal range of any electric guitar on the market. This fantastic range makes i...
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Ovation Deacon 1252 - Bloody comfortable (1976)
Mid seventies Ovation advert featuring Steve Marriott (Small Faces / Humble Pie) and his Ovation Deacon
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Ovation Deacon 1252 - Ovation Solid Bodies - They're Worth a Try (1976)
This advert details the Ovation solid body electrics, the Breadwinner and Deacon, with the Deacon pictured.
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Ovation Deacon 1252 - How Ovation took a hint from the 50s (1977)
1977 Rose-Morris Ovation advert. Rose-Morris were the UK distributors for Ovation guitars
You remember the Bands of the 50's. The sounds they made were exciting, raunchy and alive. But those...
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