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Joined:
June 2003
Posts: 1
Location: Sweden | During a recent trip to the US I bought an Adamas 1597SMT (brand new). I didn't have time to play it a lot during my stay there, and now that I'm home I've found out that there is a disturbing amount of fret buzz when I play. At first I thought i just had to loosen the truss rod, but even after doing that and the neck is quite bent (almost 1mm gap at the 5th fret), the annoying buzz seems to remain. It's not extreme, but on a guitar of this quality and price, I expected more. It's equipped with the factory standard strings (D'Addario EXP16 I think)
After inspecing the guitar closely I've found that there is a small gap (about 1mm) between the fretboard and the guitar top (just where the board ends), where the glue is visible. I suspect that might be the reason for the buzz, but I'm not an ovation expert and maybe it's supposed to be like that? Or is it a construction error?
Also when inspecing the neck, it seems that the fretboard is not bent in a perfect curve, there is a small bump on the board where the neck meets the body, making it slighty s-shaped.. not a lot, but it's there.
The problem is that I'm not sure whether there is something wrong with my guitar, or if it's supposed to be like this. Anybody who knows about these things or have similar experiences? Thanks a lot.
Regards
Torbjörn from Sweden |
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Joined:
May 2002
Posts: 3005
Location: Las Cruces, NM | Torbjorn
Welcome
Excuse me for not placing the mark on the o, my keyboard probably has it but I don't know where. If you have a reliable music store that deals in guitars, I would suggest that you take your Adamas there and have it properly set up. We on the board, and I, in particular, have worn out our keyboards complaining about the fact that todays guitar sellers do not do the basic setting up of a new guitar that was standard a few years ago. Probably wiped out by mail order, it is especially atrocious on an Adamas, where part of that premium price should be setting up to the customer's satisfaction. If you can get it set up properly, you might want to warn us on who here in the USA did not set up the guitar they sold you.
We have discussed this at length and some very good tips are available, I just can't think of a good search word or words at the moment, maybe someone else can and will.
Bailey |
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Joined:
June 2002
Posts: 136
Location: Parkersburg, WV | Hi Torbjorn,
I may be able to put your mind at ease about one issue you may have with your Adamas. The gap between the fretboard and top is normal. When the Adamas was designed it was felt that leaving this gap would allow more vibration from the top, vibration that would have been normally restricted. Kind of a nice touch if you think about it.
Patsbro |
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Joined:
February 2002
Posts: 5750
Location: Scotland | This was the case on the original Adamas & Adamas 2, but on the SMT the fingerboard is glued to the top from the 14th fret. Fixing a problem like isn't easy on a multi-hole guitar, because there's no easy access for a clamp. I'd talk to the European distributor first but as this guitar was bought in the US they may not offer warranty service. Failing that talk to John or Kim at Ovation customer service. |
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Joined:
December 2001
Posts: 7251
Location: The Great Pacific Northwest | I would absolutely talk to Customer Service from the locol distro and then the Factory if necessary. This is a NEW guitar, and other than setup, that's all it should need, but what you describe sounds more than just setup. |
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Joined:
June 2003
Posts: 12
Location: central Indiana | The gap on the adamas and elite models is ok. The neck is set at a slightly different angle so you can actually lower the stings to where the instrument is playable. I am a repairman and specialize in Ovation guitars. Perhaps you have some high frets in the area of the buzz. Since it is a new guitar, your Ovation dealer should be able to set it up to your satisfaction.
Scott Lamperd |
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Joined:
July 2002
Posts: 8
| "Also when inspecing the neck, it seems that the fretboard is not bent in a perfect curve, there is a small bump on the board where the neck meets the body, making it slighty s-shaped.. not a lot, but it's there"
I also have a 1597SMT and the neck has the same shape as what your describing. I don't have any fret buzzing and the action is set quite low for an acoustic. I did make several adjustments with both the truss rod and the shims under the bridge. |
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Joined:
May 2002
Posts: 3005
Location: Las Cruces, NM | Just a note on neck configuration, a proper neck will have some of what you are describing. It should have a slight reverse bend from around the 12th fret to the nut. The theory is that the strings vibrate around nodes, of which all the ringy-dingies who play harmonics know is at like the 12th fret (and others). That means you can have a low action without buzzing as the string whips about that node. (did anybody detect a wisp of British jargon in the use of the word "about" here, or is it the Canadian "aboot" that I am reaching for)? |
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Fretboard problems on new Adamas SMT