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Joined:
January 2010
Posts: 3
Location: Sacramento | Hi guys. This is my first post regarding my 1st Ovation. The model is a GCS771LX-C, with OP-30 pre-amp. I love the guitar, but I thought the action was a little high and I wanted to switch to 11-52's. I took it to a local guy to lower the action, work the frets, compensate the nut and file the bridge break points where needed. He did all of that, and it plays better and the intonation is dead on. When I got it home and plugged it in, the B and high E string were significantly quieter than the other 4 strings. I slacked the strings and pulled/swung out the bridge and pickup. Checked the surfaces of everything to make sure they looked clean. Everything looks good, but after I put it all back together I don't get any sound from the pickup and the tuner doesn't work either. When I switch to tuning mode, I get a green light that pulses on every few seconds. Also, I tried replacing the battery and did a tongue test to see if it was charged...and it is. I then started troubleshooting and refered to the manual. The manual shows a thing called a "plus plate" that goes between the saddle and the ceramic blocks. I don't have one of those, don't know what it looks like or is made out of.
I have everything stacked like this:
> Bridge
> Plastic Sleeved Ceramics (shiny aluminum side up/dull brown side down)
> Piezo pickup mounted in Steel casing
> White tapered plastic shim (also tried the brown spacers)
> Brass shim
> Saddle
If I have the pickup and casing swung out, with nothing in or on it, plug in the guitar and tap the pickup with my finger, I can hear it through the amp. This makes me think that the preamp and pickup are functional. I'm thinking that there is some problem where the vibration of the string is not cleanly transfering down to the pickup. However, I have no idea of how to troubleshoot this. Any ideas on what I should look at and what a "plus plate" is?
Thanks,
Eric |
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Joined:
September 2006
Posts: 10777
Location: Keepin' It Weird in Portland, OR | Welcome Eric,
Often the shim material is not solid enough for a good transfer of vibration.
That might have been the original problem with the B and E string.
When you go to reassemble this again, first be sure that the plug from the pickup into the preamp is secure.
Then be sure that the shims are firmly placed in between the saddle and the bottom of the slot.
If you can get a sound by tapping on the saddle it must be working...
OH? Is that saddle and pick-up one unit? Or are the saddle and the piezo separate?
Pictures sometimes help. |
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Joined:
January 2010
Posts: 3
Location: Sacramento | Thanks for the help OMA. I really want to get this working. I pulled everything apart and replaced the brass spacer with the brown ovation spacer, as the brass spacer had some waviness to it. I put it all back together in the following order:
> Bridge
> Plastic Sleeved Ceramics (shiny aluminum side up/dull brown side down)
> Piezo pickup mounted in Steel casing
> White tapered plastic(?) shim
> Brown shim
> Saddle
After putting it back together, still no luck. I'm am not sure what else I can do. I don't see how things can be so far off as to not make any sound from the pickup. Everyone says how fragile the pickups are, but I don't understand what can happen to the pickup and how to test if something happened to it. Also, any idea what the "plus plate" is?
Here are some pictures of the guitar and the pieces:
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Joined:
September 2006
Posts: 10777
Location: Keepin' It Weird in Portland, OR | You are way more ambitious than me.
When I have had one of those piezo-saddle combos quit working on me, I just replaced them.
So I have never taken one apart. This is the first time I have ever seen what was in there.
This is what I have used... Artec PP-607 ... On a Trekker, a CK047, and an 1860.
It worked fine.
Eventually, Woody or Chris will be along.
Or somebody else with more experience than me.
That is nice looking S771. I need to find myself another one of them eventually. |
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Joined:
September 2006
Posts: 10777
Location: Keepin' It Weird in Portland, OR | I'm still waiting for the smart people to help-out on this one... |
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Joined:
December 2006
Posts: 6268
Location: Florida Central Gulf Coast | Try the PATENT until the experts arrive... |
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Joined:
September 2006
Posts: 10777
Location: Keepin' It Weird in Portland, OR | That is the Patent for the Ovation Patented Pickup...
Eric's is a Thinline pickup.
But it is educational to see what the innards of the thing looks like. |
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Joined:
November 2005
Posts: 1126
Location: Omaha, NE | Is the thinline saddle the same width as standard saddles (from other makers)? Could you replace the saddle with a bone saddle, and replace the pickup with something off the shelf (like a B-Band)? |
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Joined:
March 2005
Posts: 12755
Location: Boise, Idaho | If it worked before, it's probably just the white plastic thingy moved too far to one side. It needs to be lined up so there's even pressure all the way across. I did the same thing back in 04 or 05 taking out shims in my daughter's guitar. |
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Joined:
January 2010
Posts: 3
Location: Sacramento | Thanks for the help. I'll try to keep messing with it and see if I can get it to work. I'll also try to get a runout guage and see if the saddle floor is flat and level. if it is flat and all the components stacking up on it are flat and the ceramics are lined up with the strings, I don't see how I can't be getting some sound out of it. It doesn't sound like anyone here has taken a part the thinline bridge pickups before. If someone has and can advise if the shiny aluminum looking side of the ceramic blocks should face down to the pickup or up to the bridge, it would be helpful. The fact that the surfaces are different makes me think there is some purpose to it. And I still can't figure out what the "plus plate" is, as shown in my manual. It shows it in the pickup assembly diagram, between the bridge and the ceramics. I don't have anything between those 2 things and am concerned it may be the culprit.
Thanks Again, Eric |
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No Sound from Piezo Pickup - OP-30
