Here's a common problem we all have with the Ovation A/E pick-ups: String dents.

I've found that this is really easy to fix so the saddle portion of the pick-up is like brand-new again.

First, you'll need to contact John Budny at the MS to ask him to send you some of these. This is the plastic saddle portion of the saddle/pick-up.

In this thread I'll show how I replace the old saddle with these new ones. It's really easy.

Step 1: Use an Xacto blade to gently pry the old saddle out of the pick-up.

You want to start at one end and insert the edge of the blade into the space between the end of the saddle and the black plastic filler piece, then pry it out peeling the saddle away from the inside of the pick-up.

The saddle is glued to the pick-up with what looks like white silicone caulking which has just enough grip on the plastic saddle to keep it in place, but not so much that it takes a Herculean effort to separate the two.

In fact, the fit is so good that you could pry the old one out, pop a new one into place, then string it up and play it.

Once the saddle is out of the pick-up, this is what you'll see. The gold-ish pieces are the actual piezo crystals.



DO NOT ATTEMPT TO REMOVE ANY OF THE WHITE SILICONE.

The wires connecting the crystals are very delicate and you are almost guaranteed to pop a crystal off its mount as you peel the silicone off it. It's not necessary to remove any silicone as you'll soon see.

Spread some white silicone across the top of the old silicone. Make sure to get an even layer across the whole pick-up.

Push the new saddle down into the pick-up. Wipe up any excess that squeezes out, then lightly clamp the pick-up at both ends. All you're doing with the clamps is to keep the saddle firmly squeezed against the tops of the crystals, so you don't want to apply too much pressure. Now just leave it to sit overnight.

In order to make sure the bottom of the pick-up makes even contact with the floor of the slot in the bridge, I use some naptha to remove the mfr label.

The pick-up is ready to be put back into service. I put rebuilt pick-ups on Daren's 1528 and Ken's 1612. By all accounts they're working just dandy.

Did I mention that the saddles come in white, and black?

Okay...

So...

Here's another problem with the OCP-1K -- poor intonation, especially at the low E and A strings.

Luckily, there is a solution -- 3D printing. First, a little back story.

After completing my 1778T(orrefied), also known as my Frankenvation, I was pleasantly surprised that the intonation was nearly perfect across all six strings. This is a result of the slanted-slot bridge (thank you, Beal!) and a compensated saddle.

Below is a photo showing the difference in the saddle breaks between the OCP-1K and the later slimline saddle. Generally, the Ovation steel string guitars have a scale of 25.25". This places the front of the bridge at 25" from the back of the nut.

So, both of the bridges would be glued to the same place on the top. As you can see there is a significant difference in the saddle breaks on the two bridges.

I measured the distance from the front of the bridge to the saddle break for each string on the slimline saddle, then designed a replacement OCP-1K saddle that placed the saddle breaks as close as possible to the slimline saddle. I was able to relocated all of the strings except the low E to the same distance as the slimline.

Here's a table showing the measured differences. What this shows is that the low E and A is out of tonation by over an 1/8", which is a bunch. =O

And, here's the 3D model of new, compensated saddle. The low E is closest to the camera.

I sent the file off to the 3D printers and got them back today. I ordered a copy using two different printing materials. Both are nylon. The white, already installed in the pick-up, is a little lower resolution and a little courser surface. The black, sitting on the desk next to the original Ovation saddle, is higher resolution with a smoother surface.

I installed the new compensated saddle into my Book Elite and I can report that this experiment is a smashing success! The guitar now plays in tune up and down the neck on all the strings, just like my Frankenvation and I couldn't be more thrilled. The low E is a few cents out at the 12th fret, but that is very, very minor.

I'm going to play this saddle for a few days, then swap it out for the black one so I can hear if there's any difference to the white one.

Versatile Plastic - Also known as Strong and Flexible, Nylon Plastic, PA12, Polyamide (white)

Professional Plastic - Also know as HP Nylon Plastic, Nylon Plastic, PA12, Polyamide (black)

Okay...

So...

I couldn't wait until this weekend to try out the black saddle and I'm glad I swapped it out.

Al,
As you postulated, the smoother surface of the black translates into a denser final product. The tonal qualities of the black material is closer to the OEM plastic than the white. I'm making the white available for sale for those who want a white saddle. It still sounds really good, just slightly muted compared to the black.

Ken,
Yes, I believe that Shapeways will ship to Japan. If not, let me know and I will!

WRT to durability, the fused nylon is pretty tough. The black sounds closer to the OEM plastic than the white. I was curious how deep the string dents would be in the white and they don't look any worse than the OEM plastic.

FlySig,
Yeah, the intonation problem you're describing with the low-E is completley fixed with this saddle. And, not just the low-E, but also the A and B strings as well.

Kevin,
Ovation was aware of the problem, which is what lead to the slanted slimline bridge with compensated saddle. (Thanks you, Beal!) I can't say why they didn't apply the same sort of fix to the OCP-1K. Yes, as a matter of fact, I did put these on a strobe tuner and even videotaped the resultes. See below. :D

So, how does the new saddle sound compared to the OEM saddle?

Here's a couple of video clips. The first is of my 50th Anniversary Custom Legend with the stock saddle. The second is the black compensated saddle. I'm using a Peterson strobe tuner. When the strobe rotates to the right, the pitch is sharp, to the left, flat.

Intonation Demo of Stock Ovation OCP-1K Saddle

Intonation Demo of 3D-Printed, Compensated, Ovation OCP-1K Saddle

For those who want to order their owm, you can visit my Shapeways.com page.

Ovation OCP-1K Fully-Compensated Saddle

Hi Al,

You're welcome.

Yes, you're correct. I checked Shapeways again and I don't see wax as an available printing material. They may have dropped it.

You're correct. You would upload a file and they would 3D print it in wax. You would then use that model to cast a part in the traditional way.

Dan