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Posts: 338
Location: Omaha | Well, as I walked into my local Ovation dealer with my Ovation-in-case, here comes a fellow walking toward the door with his Ovation-in-case. We said a friendly "hello" to each other, recognizing our case-taste-in-common.
I went to the guitar counter and talked to Dan, telling him that my L777's fingerboard is splitting again, a problem I had "fixed" at the factory a year ago, and now the glue, or whatever was used has given up and it's splitting in the very same places as before (this time it's actually gotten a little worse, since I waited until after Christmas and NAMM to take it in).
So he yells across the room, "Hey Bob, getcher butt over here!" (nicely, of course) Then he introduces me to Bob, the guy I saw walking toward the door with the Ovation case. Bob is the Ovation/Kaman rep for our area!!! So I get to show Bob what the (recurring) problem is with my fingerboard, and he gets right on the phone with Ovation to get a number to ship it in for the repair!
I only hope this time the repair will be done a little more thoroughly than last time (as it was clear almost immediately after I got the guitar back that they had just glued it somehow and were hoping for the best...). In other words, if that means a new fingerboard, or even neck, I hope I'm "worthy" as a customer to get "the works."
;) |
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April 2004
Posts: 13303
Location: Latitude 39.56819, Longitude -105.080066 | Does that one have an ebony or rosewood fingerboard? I would think that ebony would be easier to fix without reoccuring problems...but that would just be a guess. |
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October 2005
Posts: 803
Location: Avondale, AZ | Lefty Bob is the Ovation/Kaman rep for our area!!! So I get to show Bob what the (recurring) problem is with my fingerboard, and he gets right on the phone with Ovation to get a number to ship it in for the repair!
Let us know if Bob is the MAN. |
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Posts: 338
Location: Omaha | It has an ebony board.
I wish it was as easy as removing the neck, then the fretboard, then glueing a new fretboard on, then reattaching the neck. But it seems I've heard it requires a whole new neck?
If this is the case, it needs a new neck, unfortunately. Which is also why last time they didn't replace just the fretboard; they simply tried glueing the cracks...which didn't even last a year.
Alpep or anyone in the know want to comment on this procedure? |
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Posts: 4389
Location: Capital District, NY, USA Minor Outlying Islands | I wonder why the original repair didn't work, did they offer any opinions?
I've repaired cracks in ebony fret boards (if you do a search, you'll see how I repaired the crack in CA 1624), in fact, there's really no reason to bring it to a tech, it's something you can do yourself. It really only takes time do it right.
Without knowing more, I see no reason to remove the fretboard. Why would you?
Why it would require a new neck if the problem is only in the fretboard? |
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July 2004
Posts: 338
Location: Omaha | That's a good question! I also wondered why they couldn't just "unglue" the fretboard and put on a new one...although it sounds like your repair involved just glueing and clamping?
I suspect that's what they tried, but it has cracked again, and as I said, is worse than it was the first time. |
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Posts: 11039
Location: Earth·SolarSystem·LocalInterstellarCloud·Local Bub | With Rosewoods it is important to wash the wood down with mineral spirits before gluing to rid the surface of the wood's natural oils that can inhibit proper adhesion. |
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Posts: 338
Location: Omaha | Um...it has an EBONY board...
...anyway, the cracks are not between the board and the neck wood, but on top of the board, starting at the soundhole, going right down the center of the fretboard (meandering back and forth a little, hitting and even splitting an inlay here and there...). The cracking continues, off and on, up to around the 11th fret.
I'm thinking I should get the return # from the dealer, and call Ovation myself and talk to someone....is it Kim, or who? |
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April 2004
Posts: 13303
Location: Latitude 39.56819, Longitude -105.080066 | That is typically a problem associated with the humidity being too dry and is usually not covered by a manufacturers warranty.
The fix is to add glue and ebony dust to the hairline cracks and then humidify the hell out of the guitar until it reaches a normal state of humidification. If done properly, the fix will be virtually undetecable except in certain light (and the fact that you are looking for it).
A good luthier would probably fix it for $20-30 if you are not comfortable doing the work yourself. |
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Posts: 4827
Location: Campbell River, British Columbia | So, what you actually need to do is, move to any coastal region for healthier humidity. :D |
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December 2003
Posts: 13987
Location: Upper Left USA | I have been "coasting" all my life! |
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November 2005
Posts: 4827
Location: Campbell River, British Columbia | Maybe that's why my guitars are in such good shape considering the poor treatment they get from me.
Reading here is the only thing that reminded me to oil the Balladeers fretboard this decade. I guess I should do that for all of 'em, eh? |
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March 2005
Posts: 12755
Location: Boise, Idaho | When all I had was the Matrix and Applause, I left them out, didn't care, and they were fine except for when my daughter dropped the Matrix and cracked the rosette. Then I bought one with a finish crack and started obsessing. I got rid of it, but I still obsess that I'm going to find cracks in all of them some day. |
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Good timing!