Good evening Jerome,
 
so here my report upon the musikmesse in Frankfurt:
 
First of all I was dissapointed, because they didn't show the four re-issue models. Hoped to see the Josh White and Balladeer re-issues. They said they will be available in Germany (and therefore I think in France too) but I guess they don't think to sell very much of them. Ovations became well-known in the mid 70' in Germany, so they assume there will be not a big interest for the 60' models.
But they showed the new Adamas models and the Collector's 2006. Honestly, I was not thrilled about the 2006. It's an eye-catcher, but sounds too flat for my ears. But the Adamas 1860 is just about the limit !!! Looks great (slotted headstock, textured top) and is a 12-fretter with a wider neck (I think 1 3/4 ", but I'm not sure, do you know it??). Plays, feels and sounds great. And has the new electronics. If I could buy another guitar - I would buy this one. And would prefer it to an older 1689. But I have prohibition from my wife: No more guitar!!!! It will take a long time to convince her that I need a ......... and a ........ and so on.
They also had the new classic 1773 LX. I like the look and the neck. It has an 1 7/8 " neck (narrower than standard classics) and that's very comfortable to play. I got an offer for this guitar from a music store here in Germany. They sell all the guitars from the musikmesse and they want 1600 Euros for this 1773LX. There are only 5 in Germany (Europe?) at the moment, so they are very rare.
I met Paul Templeman at the G-band booth. He is really a nice guy and a great player! He told me, that he has 25 Ovations. So Jerome, we have to save some more money to join his League. And he made me a present: His two G-Band capos. I tried to play around with them today and I found some nice new sound possibilities.
Matt Smith was also there, but I had no chance to meet him. Maybe next time.
I visited some concerts and saw Jacques Stotzem there. What a great guitar player! He speaks very good German but with a French accent. Do you know him?
 
I have attached some picture impressions from the musikmesse:
 
1773LX
Adamas 1680 and 2080
Paul Templeman
Matt Smith
Concert pics of Jacques Stotzem and Pop Akademie
Ukulele wall and stand
 
If you like you can put them on your web site and put a post on the OFC with a link to it. So I could comment the pictures on the board.
 
By the way: No new Ovation catalogs on the booth. They had the Unique Voices DVD, the 40th Anniversary booklet and the 2006 US catalog. I think you have this stuff, otherwise don't hesitate to ask me. I could send you each of them.
 
Good night and have a good week,
 
Karl