GEWA Music announced the acquisition of the Ovation Guitars brand from longtime partner Drum Workshop Inc. Associated brands Adamas and Applause are included as part of the deal that was inked in September of this year.
In 2015, DW became owner of Ovation Guitars as part of a multi-brand acquisition from Fender/KMC. GEWA was awarded exclusive Ovation distribution rights throughout Europe, and soon after, began developing proprietary Ovation designs for the European market.
Effective February 1, GEWA Music USA will take over Ovation distribution from Drum Workshop, while international retail partners already serviced by GEWA will continue as before. Moving forward, Ovation‘s New Hartford Custom Shop will focus on the manufacturing of Adamas models. These hand-built instruments will be available for viewing directly on the Ovation website and will be available for purchase through the brand’s worldwide network of Ovation PLUS Retailers.
“We look forward to using our knowledge and expertise in the guitar field to link new ideas and concepts with one of the most legendary guitar brands of the 1970/1980s,” Hans-Peter Messner, CEO and president of GEWA Music, said. “We are already working on the implementation of several ideas that will soon be presented to our worldwide Ovation fans & trade partners. No other guitar brand has shaped the sound of the 1970s and 1980s like Ovation. It is a very special challenge to continue the legendary story that began with Charles Kaman’s vision. We dedicate ourselves to this with a lot of enthusiasm! We would like to thank Drum Workshop for the fair and open discussions and the good cooperation over the past years.”
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