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Location: Spain | Two independent luthiers today told me the neck is bent two different ways like a snake!! Both agreed the only thing to do was loosen truss to bring it back as straight as possible, which means a huge action :(
I'm stuck with my wonderful new Ovation with an unplayable high action.
Needless to say I am now quite p++++d off and am sat with some big beer bottles.
:-(( |
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Location: eastern united states | is that the one you just got after all the international trouble marty? |
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Location: Spain | Yes mate the very same. It sounds amazing I love it, it's just the action. On first inspection it all seemed fine, but when I wanted to lower the strings etc..... :( |
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Location: eastern united states | lucky you. at least you have the beer bottles. what was the ebay sellers name? |
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Posts: 260
Location: Spain | His name was PUTO CABRON DE MIERDA!!!
Ok, not really, his name is "puristics"...I don't suppose I can do anything about that, I bought it and received it and was happy enough. Only when I came to think about a lower action have I got problems...
:( |
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Posts: 12759
Location: Boise, Idaho | Loosening the truss rod is not a big deal. I can do it, so anyone can. There are plenty of discussions on this site if you spend a bit of time with the search function and Ovation discusses it in the owner's manual for every guitar. It's routine maintenance. |
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Posts: 260
Location: Spain | Hi Mark, I'm fine with loosening the truss rod, it's just that however I look at it, that does raise the action, a lot.
It's already too high.
Any other guitar I'd work with the bridge/saddle of course...but as we know it's all one with the O.
I suppose there is one alternative, I could always learn to be a better player! :) |
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Location: Hot Springs, S.D. | Um, Martinez, you CAN work with the saddle. They usually have shims underneath that can be removed. That one has the wide saddle, right? On the treble side, that little black part of the end will lift right out. Then you can lift the saddle and pull the shims out. There's probably a tutorial on this site somewhere. If I had a working camera I'd take some pics and show you, but do a search and it'll probably be here somewhere. |
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Location: Spain | Hi Alison,
Thanks, yeah I've looked and there's no shims. Taking the little black pins out is easy yeah, I even had a very quick look if the actual saddle (just the white part) would come out so I could sand it...but of course it's all one ... |
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Location: Hot Springs, S.D. | http://www.ovationfanclub.com/cgi-bin/ubb/cgi/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=ge...
OK, scroll down until you see the pictures. That second picture shows how the black end on the treble side has a pin that goes through the bridge. DON'T take the whole thing apart, just pullthat pin out so you can get a wedge under the saddle and lift it to reveal the shims. I don't even bother taking the saddle completely out. I used a tiny flathead screwdriver to lift the saddle, then some tweezers to reach in and slide the shims out.
Hope this helps. |
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Location: Hot Springs, S.D. | We were typing at the same time. Rats! No shims. I wish you could bring it to South Dakota so I could take a look. It's a bit of a trip though.
It sounds like you may need a neck reset. How high IS the action, anyway? Measue from the crown of the twelfth fret to the bottom of both the bass and treble E's. |
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Posts: 7230
Location: The Great Pacific Northwest | Originally posted by martinez:
Two independent luthiers today told me the neck is bent two different ways like a snake!! Both agreed the only thing to do was loosen truss to bring it back as straight as possible, which means a huge action :-(( A + B not necessarily = C
Why not do as suggested? You might be surprised at the result. I am consistently surprised at how resilient Ovation guitars can be. Even if you can correct the neck a little (loosen rod, clamp straight, etc..) it's a whole new ball game. Neck angle and bridge height are back in play.
Remember the slightest couple of mm of change on a neck are amplified across all the components, but patience is key and with a little luck, you might achieve exactly what you are looking for. |
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Location: Spain | Thanks again :-)
I wish it was that easy haha. I've had both pins out and the whole thing out (without disconneting the cable underneath) and the shims have already been taken out.
So I'm left with, a high action and a bent neck. The neck can be taken care of easily, but only by leaving me with an even higher action :-((
Thanks for the help guys, but it's not looking good. |
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Location: Spain | Ha yes Alison we typed together :-)
I wish I could go to South Dakota!! Never mind the guitar, are you kidding?? ha! way too cool !
Hi Mr O, I have loosened it a little just to see. Neck goes a bit more straight (as it should be), an daction inevitably goes a bit higher.. |
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Location: Bellevue, Washington | A crafty luthier can remove a very small amount of the wood from underneath the saddle, equivalent to one or two shims worth without compromising the structural integrity of the guitar.
This can make all the difference in the world as Miles said, on a previous beater guitar I owned it dropped the action by almost half an inch. |
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Location: California | Mucha suerte Marti with this, think about having the factory do the job, perhaps some friends travelling across the Atlantic can help. |
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Location: Whitecourt, Ab | If these options aren't feasible, you could tune the guitar to open D, and practice some slide guitar. |
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Location: Italia, Zianigo di Mirano (Venezia) | Martinez,are you sure there is not shims under the saddle?.... 
Uploaded with ImageShack.us :confused: |
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Location: Spain | Hi, yes sure, there's nothing at all :( |
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Location: Italia, Zianigo di Mirano (Venezia) | ...a photo of the neck "bent two different ways like a snake" ? |
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Location: Spain | ha ok I'll try, but I'm not the best at photography and my mobile is a cheapo....I'll give it a whirl tho |
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Location: Spain | Ok, here goes..I've tried to do the same pic. One without any lines then with lines to show what I mean..haha not sure if this will work..
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Location: Germany, where delicious wine is growing (Rheinh) | Hi Craig, you are writing the neck is bent like a snake, so I think the rod is ruffianly overstrung. I'd do the following: loosen the strings, loosen the truss rod completely, store the guitar away for maybe two weeks in a well climated room so the wood can get off the stress.
Then tune her up slowly and look for the neck is still bent in two directions. If so you have bad luck, if not you can clockwise try to adjust the truss rod to the correct setup.
And I keep my fingers crossed for you.....
Bernie |
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Location: Germany, where delicious wine is growing (Rheinh) | And I've just seen your pics: The SSB have only one bolt for the neck attachment to the body. When everthing is loosened have a look whether the bolt is still correct tightened....
Bernie |
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Location: Steeler Nation, Hudson Valley Contingent | Originally posted by bburg:
And I've just seen your pics: The SSB have only one bolt for the neck attachment to the body. When everthing is loosened have a look whether the bolt is still correct tightened....
Bernie Bernie may have a point here.Have you taken a close look at the heel? I had a SSB with high action (albeit no twist in the neck) and discovered you could slip a sheet of paper beneath the edge of the heel and the body of the guitar even though you couldn't really see the separation. Once I tightened down the neck bolt, I actually had to put a shim back in to set the action.
It's worth a look anyway.
Best of luck! |
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Location: Germany, where delicious wine is growing (Rheinh) | Of course, I bought a 5858 ASW-12 string a few years ago as unplayable. Action was more than 1/2". The neck wasn't fastened correctly.....
It's now one of the best playable 12ers I've ever played! |
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Location: GATLINBURG TENNESSEE :) | Wow! That is a great idea! The solution may just be as simple as that. I hope he's trying it out as we type(: |
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Location: Keepin' It Weird in Portland, OR | Did that on an old T that I had...
The action was really high, so I took the neck off and put it back on.
That's it.
No shims, no sanding, no nothing.
In 20/20 hindsight, I could have just loosened the bolts a bit and then re-tightened.
That would be Cool, so I hope this works-out and cures the problem. |
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Posts: 260
Location: Spain | I'm a but scared of taking the neck off etc, I have no place or tools really, probably best left to someone who knows what he's doing....(now I have to try and find someone like that...which in Spain is VERY difficult)
This from the ebay seller..
"Hi, on Ovations adjusting the truss rod is the primary way of adjusting string height.
Have you or the luthier actually tried adjusting the truss rod on the guitar?"
.... |
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Posts: 10777
Location: Keepin' It Weird in Portland, OR | Originally by martinez:
This from the ebay seller..
"Hi, on Ovations adjusting the truss rod is the primary way of adjusting string height.
Have you or the luthier actually tried adjusting the truss rod on the guitar?"
.... This eBay seller person is an idiot.
(the primary way of adjusting string height is with shims) |
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Location: Germany, where delicious wine is growing (Rheinh) | Originally posted by Old Man Arthur:
Originally by martinez:
This from the ebay seller..
"Hi, on Ovations adjusting the truss rod is the primary way of adjusting string height.
Have you or the luthier actually tried adjusting the truss rod on the guitar?"
.... This eBay seller person is an idiot.
(the primary way of adjusting string height is with shims)
I will see what to do. Drop me a PM.
Bernie |
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September 2011
Posts: 260
Location: Spain | PM sent Bernie thanks.
This again from the seller "You may or may not agree with me about how action shold be adjusted, I know for a fact that it is done by adjusting the truss rod".
:( |
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Location: Germany, where delicious wine is growing (Rheinh) | Again, as Arthur said:......idiot!!
This ebay seller should sell duct covers or...what ever to the hell...
but no guitars!!
I've given you an answer, Craig.
Bernie |
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Posts: 260
Location: Spain | Cheers.
I have told this clown that what he says is wrong but of course he says not. Doesn't someone here work for Ovation? I would love if you could write to me contradicting that advice!
Anyway, at the end of the day, I don't have a lot of rights I don't suppose. I have had the guitar a while and only complained now. I should have seen the condition of the neck at first glance, but hey I'm no expert.
Thanks for all the help and advice from all you guys here, it is much appreciated. |
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Location: Steeler Nation, Hudson Valley Contingent | Here is proof directly from Ovation. Start reading at the bottom of page 14. |
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Location: Germany, where delicious wine is growing (Rheinh) | Thats exactely my knowledge is taken from for a really good set up.
Thanks Patch for posting. I was looking for it but I doesn't found it yet on Jerome's page.
Bernie |
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:-(