Ovation UKII 1281

The Ovation UKII 1281 (a.k.a. Ultra Kaman II) is a solid-body electric guitar manufactured by Ovation guitars in the late 1970s. The body is moulded from Urelite - high-density Urethane - resulting in its light weight and shaped for comfort. Fingerboard is made from bound ebony and bolted to neck, fitted with Nickel frets. Two Humbucking pickups (refined by Ovation) are positioned at the neck and bridge, each with series/parallel circuit selector switches to choose between a double-coil (series) or single-coil (parallel) sound. Also has adjustable brass saddles (for intonation) and tailpiece (for height of strings).

The Ovation was Steve Hackett's main electric guitar during the early 1980s, which he used virtually exclusively during this period in the place of his usual Les Paul (which was far more expensive). It can be heard all over his Highly Strung album. Most notably, this guitar was the one Hackett played when he joined in for the encore ("I Know What I Like" during Genesis' Six Of The Best reunion show on 2 October 1982. His UKII (as described) was the black/grey version with gold fittings, square mother-of-pearl inlays and a built-in preamp.

Further information

 * Owner's manual