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Joined:
September 2005
Posts: 10
| I've had an Ovation Celebrity Delux (with the leafy soundholes) since about 2000. As I learned on it, I wanted a louder unamplified sound, so I'm currently set up with the heaviest strings I could find, and disgustingly high action.
I don't suck anymore, and I'm mostly playing a different acoustic, but now that I have a nice woody sounding 12-string I want to lower the action on the ovation, lighten the feel etc so it feels more like an electric. I've taken a few passing attempts at adjusting it, but I've got a real job now, and decided that I could afford to take it into a shop, so I found the most independant, guitar-specific store I could, and went in to ask how much they charged. the conversation went like this:
me: how much to you typically charge for a setup?
them: what kind of guitar?
me: ovation celebrity delux
them: twice as much as we usually would because it's a piece of shit.
me: (sound of door closing behind me)
honestly.... word for word. So now I want to do it myself. I've found lots of general guitar setup instructions on the web, but if those are the steps taken during a normal setup, and people who perform normal setups hate ovations, I want to hear some tips from people like us.
I'll take any help I can get.
/g |
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Joined:
August 2002
Posts: 8307
Location: Tennessee | Start with a lighter string guage and see where the action lands. Truss rod adjustment is truss rod adjustment, guitar doesn't really matter. If you want some step-by-step instructions, HERE are some good ones. If you still need to go lower at the bridge, you can look at taking a shim or two out from the saddle ... search on that topic and there are tons of posts about that.
Welcome to the board and don't be a stranger. Be sure to ask more questions as there are a lot of really knowledgable folks who will help you out. |
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Joined:
September 2005
Posts: 10
| that's exactly what I needed, thanks.
I've looked at all sorts of guides but none of them seem complete... ie "make the spacing enough so that a sheet of paper will fit between the fret and the strings"
I'm warming up my feeler gauges as we speak.
thanks again.
/g |
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Joined:
January 2004
Posts: 338
Location: SE Michigan | At the risk of sounding pompous, if you want something done right do it yourself! Guitar work isn’t rocket science. Do a little reading on frets.com (Frank Ford). If you can take basic measurements, operate sandpaper without hurting yourself, and read and follow basic instructions, you too can do a decent setup on a guitar.
Maybe it's where I live, but every time I go into a shop and ask to see their guitar mechanic I meet someone washed out ex-roadie doper who I wouldn’t trust with my lawnmower. I am sure there are good guitar technicians out there, but I have yet to meet one. I have learned to do most of my own work and so far I am very happy with the results. Just read a bit before you raise the scalpel! |
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Joined:
September 2005
Posts: 10
| I've taken a few cracks at it before, but I've never taken it as seriously as the setup I just finished!! when I came back to playing my ovation after my other instrument I realized just how out of wack it was...
anyway, light strings are a wonder... I've been using medium elixirs for quite a while, because I was frustrated with warbling from some cheap light strings I had on previously.
The only remaining issue is that my bridge does not go low enough. relief is perfect, and sanding /shaving is obviously out of the question (pickup...)
it's not that the action on the high end is heinously high, just that I'd like to know what too low is like, and then reach a happy medium. I'm out of shims to pull!
/g |
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February 2005
Posts: 11840
Location: closely held secret | I think it's a good thing Cliff wasn't here to comment on the story at the beginning of this thread.
I can only imagine what his response would have been. |
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November 2002
Posts: 1300
Location: Madison, Wisconsin | I think it only fair that you give us the name of the shop so others can enjoy their service or at least what street they are on. |
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July 2005
Posts: 55
Location: lewisburg ohio | I took my 1712 custom balladeer to a local luthier and he took a shim out at the saddle and adjusted the truss rod and it plays as good as any guitar I have ever handled very low action and no fret buzz anywhere on the neck I think its at factory specs 3/32 at the twelth fret on the big e string |
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September 2005
Posts: 10
| They're on the South Side of Menaul Rd, right across from Baillio's Electronics... anyone else from NM?
/g |
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Joined:
May 2003
Posts: 4389
Location: Capital District, NY, USA Minor Outlying Islands | You have to keep searching till you find a tech you like. I wouldn't say all of them are ex-roadie dopers. The most imporant things for a tech, is that they care about the guitar and me. |
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September 2003
Posts: 9301
Location: south east Michigan | If I thought it would do any good I would suggest that we find this guy and "invite" him to the board. Kinda like we did with Nick. However, this guy sounds like a lost cause. |
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Joined:
August 2005
Posts: 122
Location: toneville USA | in the "tech's" defense, a celebrity delux isn't exactly a w597...
not that he should treat customers like that, but that's his fault and his problem. he may not be in business for too long with his attituide. but him being stupid doesn't make a celebrity delux a great instrument. |
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Joined:
March 2002
Posts: 14842
Location: NJ | If a tech had the balls to tell me that my guitar was "a piece of shit", my response woulda' been ". . Well . . you DO have a widely-known reputation for doing ShitWork . . so naturally, I brought it to YOU . . ."
THEN walked out.
(btw: D.I.Y.) |
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February 2005
Posts: 11840
Location: closely held secret | Yep, that pretty much fit my imagination... |
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September 2005
Posts: 107
Location: South Jersey | I wouldn't bring anything near that guys shop again; anyone who would trat a customer like that shouldn't have any. |
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December 2004
Posts: 1116
Location: Keller, TX | Same reason I don't go to Players Music (Pipeline Rd near Northeast mall) here in Ft. Worth, Texas. Took my daughter's new Celebrity down there to get some work done. The luthier said that since he didn't sell it, he wouldn't work on it. POC Ovations.
I told the manager that I was in the market for an Elite or Adamas (before I got either) and would not buy it from them because of that guys attitude. Haven't been back. |
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Joined:
January 2003
Posts: 146
Location: Germantown, MD | in the "tech's" defense, a celebrity delux isn't exactly a w597...
not that he should treat customers like that, but that's his fault and his problem. he may not be in business for too long with his attituide. but him being stupid doesn't make a celebrity delux a great instrument. The instrument wasn't the point, Hal; the tech's response was. The post, I suspect, was not intended to give you a chance to put down someone else's guitar. |
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Joined:
November 2004
Posts: 110
Location: Peoria, Illinois | hubcapboy,
You can do this!! Of all the guitars I have worked on myself, the Ovations seem to be the most straight forward. If there are shims under the saddle, you are good to go. Some minor tweaking of the truss rod might be needed, and perhaps just a very light file at the nut slots if it feels stiff in the open positions should do it for you.
Read and experiment carefully. Good luck. |
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Joined:
August 2005
Posts: 122
Location: toneville USA | Originally posted by amstphd:
in the "tech's" defense, a celebrity delux isn't exactly a w597...
not that he should treat customers like that, but that's his fault and his problem. he may not be in business for too long with his attituide. but him being stupid doesn't make a celebrity delux a great instrument. The instrument wasn't the point, Hal; the tech's response was. The post, I suspect, was not intended to give you a chance to put down someone else's guitar.
i guess it was intended to allow you to confirm your ignorance. i mentioned the tech in my reply...did you read the whole thing? or just get upset after reading the first line??
i wan't putting down the celeb., just stating the facts. if you think the celeb. is that great, then enjoy playing it. :D :cool: |
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Albuquerque Guitar Shop @$$holes