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Joined:
July 2008
Posts: 9
| Hi folks - pretty new to forum - have enjoyed reading - wondered if anyone could help me out here - I recently picked up a 1980 Legend 1651, and though it's in just about mint shape otherwise, there is a slight raising of the top from the bottom of the bridge toward the lower bout (as I understand is typical?) under the bridge and there are two very slight stress cracks beginning on the bridge in line (E string to E string)with the saddles; looks like the saddles themselves are the source of the stress. I can send a pic of the cracks - from a foot away, they look like woodgrain and are no more than and eighth of an inch in length. I was thinking of just dropping some hide glue in the cracks and detuning the guitar to seal the cracks. As to the top arching, anything to be concerned about? The arch is about three credit cards' width from flat at the worst. The bridge is secure to the top all around - my thinnest gap feeler can't find a gap and it intonates almost perfectly. Thanks for any tips, do's don't's. Mike | |
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Joined:
October 2007
Posts: 2711
Location: Vernon CT | msl109, first welcome. This is a very diverse, interesting group with a love for a wonderful guitar. My suggestion to you is to contact Kaman/Ovation and send your guitar into what is commonly refered to here as the Mothership in New Hartford Ct. Key in Ovation Guitars and the web site should "pop-up".Follow the link to contact the proper "person". It is as with many here a fantastic experience to have youe guitar get some TLC from them. You will be extremely pleased with the out come. | |
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Joined:
November 2006
Posts: 3969
| Welcome to the board. It doesn't sound like the issue is too severe, although it does raise concerns. It's more than likely a result of improper humidification over a long time. Sometimes just getting the wood back to proper moisture level corrects such a problem.
Get your self a good hygrometer and a guitar humidifier from someplace like StewMac and store the guitar in its case to achieve 40-55% relative humidity inside the case. If after a few days the top straightens out you should be good. If that doesn't solve the belly bulge, and/or the cracks really concern you, then by all means contact Ovation [email]askus@ovationguitars.com[/email]. Nobody does better service. | |
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Joined:
July 2008
Posts: 9
| Thanks, folks - I've seen the "mothership" get nothing but good press here on the site, so I'm going to follow your advice and contact them with the question I posted. Interestingly enough, the original manual, (which I unearthed in the case) has a section that suggests that both the neck and body may "raise" over time and cause a need for fretboard work if severe; that's the first time I've ever seen this described as something to expect, but it is reassuring in some sense. I have had a dampit humidifier in there for a few days just to assure that nothing cracks, but it doesn't cover the soundhole completely near the neck. So far, the top is the same. I have another type of humidifier I'm going to try. Will post again if I get more info and if anyone has a host where they wouldn't mind posting the bridge picture, I'll mail it along. I have no hosting at present. Thanks again, Mike | |
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Joined:
November 2006
Posts: 3969
| Hey Mike - the OFC has a new social networking site where you can post pictures, sound clips, videos, etc. You can upload your pics there, then link back to them from here. | |
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Joined:
July 2008
Posts: 9
| Thanks -- photo posted at (I think) http://ovationfanclub.ning.com/photo/photo/show?id=2194223%3APhoto%... | |
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March 2007
Posts: 843
Location: CA | Not that contacting 'Mom' isn't a good idea, but I'm not sure this is something you need to worry too much about. I played and played around with guitars most of my life, and I really can't remember a center-hole guitar more than 10 years old that DIDN'T have some 'belly bulge' in this area. It's just nature of the beast. My center-hole Ovations both have it, as did several that have come and gone. I've played older Gibsons, Yamahas, Martins, Epis, Fender acoustics — and they all had bulges to one degree or another. Interestingly, the 'side hole' O's I've seen and played do not seem to suffer from expanding waistlines as much, I imagine because, with no center hole to get in the way, the bracing and top could be stiffer. | |
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Joined:
July 2008
Posts: 9
| Thanks for that reassurance; it was my hunch that this is typical, but since others didn't echo my thought immediately, the concerns grew. I have two Takamine six strings, one fifteen and one twenty five years old that are both solid tops and dead flat, so the belly raised, (excuse the pun) a bit of concern with me. I can see from pics on the site that the bracing on Ovations is much different than conventional bracing and the belly swell generally follows the structure of the braces, like a sheet being pulled taut from the bottom of the bridge. I just wanted to make sure this was indeed typical, that none of the bracing had separated from the top, and that after swelling, it has pretty much stabilized. I'm going to have a local luthier check the braces and if it's stable, I'll probably proceed no further than working on the saddles for intonation unless I'm advised otherwise. Thanks again, Mike | |
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Joined:
November 2006
Posts: 3969
| Mike - are you aware of the Takamine Forum ? Many of us here are also Tak owners and members of that board.
If the intonation is spot-on, I wouldn't mess with the saddle. Plus, with A/E Ovations, the saddle and peizo pickup is a single assembly. It's theoretically possible to separate the saddle from the pickup, sand it down, then re-glue it to the pickup, but you'd likely screw up the contact between the saddle and the pickup. If you need to adjust string height there should be shims under the saddle that you can add/remove. | |
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Joined:
July 2008
Posts: 9
| Thanks -- As you can see, I'm pretty unfamiliar with these guitars. I'm not going to tamper with the pickup connections, but the intonation is off a bit on two strings, so I'm going to try the shimming and then refer it to someone more familiar with the bridge. | |
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Joined:
July 2008
Posts: 9
| OK -- here's the latest from Ovation's support - below is the message I sent them, more or less what I posted here earlier - anyone familiar with how I could check this out? I asked in a reply message but haven't heard back yet. The bridge seems firmly bonded all around the perimeter. Thanks!
Mike,
It's also a possibility that the bridge bolts are pulling on the top due to a bridge bonding problem. Check to make sure that the cracks don't originate at the bolts. If they do, then the bridge should be replaced ASAP.
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Reply to:
Hello -- I'm writing hoping for some advice with my guitar, a 1980 model
1651 - I've noticed a slight raising of the top from the bottom of the
bridge toward the lower bout (according to my original manual this is
not unusual?) below the bridge and there are two very slight stress
cracks beginning on the bridge in line (E string to E string)with the
saddles; looks like the saddles themselves are the source of the stress.
I've sent a picture of the cracks - from a foot away, they look like
woodgrain and are no more than and eighth of an inch in length. I was
thinking of just dropping some hide glue in the cracks and detuning the
guitar to seal the cracks but don't want to mess with anything without
consulting with you first. As to the top arching or the cracks, anything
to be concerned about? The arch is about 3/32"' width from flat at the
worst. The bridge is secure to the top all around - my thinnest gap
feeler can't find a gap nor can my eye, and the intonation is only
slightly off on a couple (well used) strings. Thanks for any
advice/recommendations. | |
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legend top raised near bridge - advice?