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Joined:
June 2007
Posts: 58
Location: Montreal | Hi:
I love 12-strings of all sorts. I've noticed on some older 12-string Ovations (CL and GC) that there appears to be a downward bow ( falling away) after the 12th or 13th fret. This is where the neck meets the body. The rest of the neck seems to have great action while playing at the 13th or 14th seems more difficult.
I had a luthier look at an oldie that I have. He told me that this was typical of the Ovation neck/body configuration.
Comments? Should I be worried? I'm refering to a GC12.
Jeff |
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Joined:
February 2002
Posts: 1817
Location: Minden, Nebraska | I don't know about that model, but I have seen the 'neck dip' problem on numerous Ovations, usually so high up that it doesn't really matter much because most players don't use that part of the neck. |
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Joined:
June 2007
Posts: 58
Location: Montreal | Thanks Paul:
If anyone has any insight into the cause of "neck dip" or the manufactured intentionality I'd love to know more about it.
Jeff |
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Joined:
March 2005
Posts: 12761
Location: Boise, Idaho | I've got something that sounds similar on my 87 Collector's. It's a high spot at about the 16th fret. Someone called it something like the "Ovation Bulge." I don't know the cause, but it appeared the neck had a little bow between the body of the guitar and the nut, which accentuated the high fret. I only noticed it after I lowered the action.
Right below the high spot, mine has a finish crack. I don't know if those are related or what had been done to the guitar before I bought it.
You might be able to reduce the problem by filing down the high fret. In my case the fret had pulled up a little from the fretboard and it helped to tap it down. |
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Joined:
November 2005
Posts: 1126
Location: Omaha, NE | What you are describing is typical of any acoustic guitar where the fingerboard extends from the neck onto the top of the guitar. Even if the neck is flat when the guitar leaves the factory, over time the neck and the body will react differently to stresses, temperature, humidity, etc. The result is usually some sort of hump in the fretboard where they neck meets the body.
Some of the newer makers are using a variety of techniques to eliminate the problem: Taylor and McPherson are among them. The idea is to mechanically detach the fingerboard from the top of the guitar.
The McPherson design is a little simpler to build (and actually fairly common), but has the side effect of moving the strings farther away from the body of the guitar. The Taylor design is brilliant, but requires lots of precision CNC equipment to execute properly. there's no free lunch. |
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Joined:
June 2007
Posts: 58
Location: Montreal | Jeff (Omaha):
Thanks. Those diagrams were very helpful.
Given the superb playability on the rest of my fingerboard (frets 1 -13) should I just leave it as is, or take heroic measures? My gut instinct is to leave as is.
Jeff |
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Joined:
March 2005
Posts: 5567
Location: Blue Ridge Mountains | Leave it as is and enjoy it...you'll never be bothered by it affecting anything!
Blessings... |
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Joined:
November 2005
Posts: 1126
Location: Omaha, NE | Originally posted by Folkestone:
should I just leave it as is, or take heroic measures? My gut instinct is to leave as is. Unless it is hurting your ability to play, there's no problem. 99% of guitars get this to one degree or another after a while.
There's not much you can do about it. Either pull off the frets and plane down the fretboard, or reset the neck. Both pretty invasive options, best put off as long as possible. |
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Joined:
June 2007
Posts: 58
Location: Montreal | Thanks:
I'm going to leave it as is. Its probably as pristine as can be for an 1981 GC 12 - and the sound!!!
Jeff |
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Neck Bow - 12 Strings