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September 2009
Posts: 144
Location: SW Washington | I appreciate all the patience and restraint all of you have shown me as I endeavor to learn all the wonderment there is to the world of Ovations... But allow me once again to ask for an explanation of something. I assume this is not particular to Ovation, but all my other guitars have serious fret buzz issues so I had not noticed on them, but I just experienced something I do not understand and maybe some of you could shed some light? I was playing last night on Melody (my 6778LX) and I noticed some serious fret buzz on the lower frets on the bass side. I was planning on putting her on the bench today for a good cleaning and string change anyhow and decided maybe I needed to make some adjustments and level the frets too. For some reason I just decided to skip that and do the string change. (I think it had something to do with I could not bear the thought of going that much longer without playing her) Anyhow, I did nothing to the action or the frets, but with the new strings, all the buzzes are gone! So, my question is this...what are the mechanics/dynamics that cause old worn strings to buzz on the lower frets when fresh ones don't? I don't see why new ones would have more clearance than the old ones without any setup change. Hmmmmm I was just curious... |
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October 2005
Posts: 4081
Location: Utah | Same brand, type, and gauge of string? |
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March 2008
Posts: 2683
Location: Hot Springs, S.D. | Hmmm...different gauge strings? Or even a different brand in the same gauge? I have sometimes seen strings start to "unravel", and when that happens they rattle. Could the temperature or humidity have changed?
The main thing is, it is working now. I Do understand how hard it is to put an LX down! I have come close to being late to work because of mine, and let me tell you, my boss is a real witch! :D |
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April 2008
Posts: 2985
Location: Sydney, Australia | If the action is very low, you may be just a tad away from fret buzz all the time and a slight change in humidity may have set it off. Removing the old strings may have allowed the neck to move ever so slightly and removed the buzz. |
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September 2009
Posts: 144
Location: SW Washington | Alison, I take my LX to work with me, lol. I play it at lunch time and on my breaks! I am hooked!
He slowly arose from his place in the circle, lit by the harsh institutional glare of the flourescent lights. Without taking his eyes off his shoes, in a barely audible voice, he quavered, "Hello, my name is David....and and... I play an Ovation." |
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March 2008
Posts: 2683
Location: Hot Springs, S.D. | David, I can't bring my LX to work 'cause everyone wants to buy it! And when I'm home, I have the 1587, the 1617, the Parlor, a Morgan Monroe, and the Hamer, all competing to be played next. It's amazing how different they all sound, and yet how GREAT they all sound. But I must say, that LX touches my soul like no other guitar ever has. When I play on the Adamas, the song sounds better. When I play on the LX, *I* sound better. |
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September 2009
Posts: 144
Location: SW Washington | Well, before the LX a Taylor would have been an upgrade from any of my other guitars, lol. Come to think of it, a First Act would have been an upgrade...okay, that is hyperbole, but not by a whole lot. |
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January 2006
Posts: 1132
Location: NW Washington State | << I was planning on putting her on the bench today for a good cleaning and string change anyhow and decided maybe I needed to make some adjustments and level the frets too.>>
David, have you done a lot of fret leveling in the past? Seems pretty drastic, but maybe we're not talking about the same thing.
-Steve W. |
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September 2009
Posts: 144
Location: SW Washington | I'm talking about making sure all the frets are the same height, re-crowning them and then polishing them with 0000 steel wool. I haven't done a LOT, but I have done several and so far they have all come out nicely. I generally only do it when I have deep grooves worn into the frets or if there are some buzzes I just can't live with anymore. Also, anytime I adjust a tension rod, I always check to make sure the frets are still level and if not I take care of it while it is still on the bench. Like I said, until now, my guitars have not been much to get excited about so I wasn't too worried about spending a lot of time on setups, but I do change a guitar from a rhythm guitar to a finger picker or vice versa from time to time. Back in the 70's and early 80's I hung out with a friend in Portland who is a world class luthier and I learned a few things from him. |
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January 2006
Posts: 1132
Location: NW Washington State | Yep, we're on the same channel. What I learned from doing a few cheap guitars was that I could do an OK job but I wouldn't trust myself on anything I really value. I'm just not careful and patient enough to avoid overfiling the frets, making an incidental gouge here and there, etc. I did this before things like radius sanding blocks and crowning files were easily available. You're probably better at it than I am. For me it's better to pay a pro to level the frets on a nice guitar. Or just ignore 'em...
One tool that might help make the decision is a "fret rocker" that's available from StewMac and others. I'm still in the stoneage, using a metal ruler to find high frets.
-Steve W. |
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allow me once again to display my ignorance...