Jeff Buckley’s 1980s Ovation Viper

This Ovation was used by Jeff sometime in the early to mid-1980s. A photo of him with the guitar appears to have been taken before his college years.

According to Jeff’s friend Jason Hamel, the guitar was purchased in 1982 as a replacement for Jeff’s old Les Paul knockoff.

The Ovation Viper was purchased at Pete’s Music. My friend Dave Judy says he sold it to him. He used that all through high school and GIT.

Jason Hamel – email

Jeff’s bandmate at the time, John Lindsey—who reached out to us via email—mentioned that Jeff played the Ovation through a Roland JC-120 during their time together. Alongside Tim Marse and Dan Roth, the band performed covers of Genesis, The Police, and U2, while also working on original material. As John recalled, Jeff wasn’t particularly interested in singing back then—his focus was on exploring what he could do on the guitar. (Thanks, John!)