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September 2011
Posts: 260
Location: Spain | Two independent luthiers today told me the neck is bent two different ways like a snake!! Both agreed the only thing to do was loosen truss to bring it back as straight as possible, which means a huge action :(
I'm stuck with my wonderful new Ovation with an unplayable high action.
Needless to say I am now quite p++++d off and am sat with some big beer bottles.
:-(( |
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September 2011
Posts: 108
Location: eastern united states | is that the one you just got after all the international trouble marty? |
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September 2011
Posts: 260
Location: Spain | Yes mate the very same. It sounds amazing I love it, it's just the action. On first inspection it all seemed fine, but when I wanted to lower the strings etc..... :( |
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Location: eastern united states | lucky you. at least you have the beer bottles. what was the ebay sellers name? |
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September 2011
Posts: 260
Location: Spain | His name was PUTO CABRON DE MIERDA!!!
Ok, not really, his name is "puristics"...I don't suppose I can do anything about that, I bought it and received it and was happy enough. Only when I came to think about a lower action have I got problems...
:( |
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Posts: 12759
Location: Boise, Idaho | Loosening the truss rod is not a big deal. I can do it, so anyone can. There are plenty of discussions on this site if you spend a bit of time with the search function and Ovation discusses it in the owner's manual for every guitar. It's routine maintenance. |
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September 2011
Posts: 260
Location: Spain | Hi Mark, I'm fine with loosening the truss rod, it's just that however I look at it, that does raise the action, a lot.
It's already too high.
Any other guitar I'd work with the bridge/saddle of course...but as we know it's all one with the O.
I suppose there is one alternative, I could always learn to be a better player! :) |
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March 2008
Posts: 2683
Location: Hot Springs, S.D. | Um, Martinez, you CAN work with the saddle. They usually have shims underneath that can be removed. That one has the wide saddle, right? On the treble side, that little black part of the end will lift right out. Then you can lift the saddle and pull the shims out. There's probably a tutorial on this site somewhere. If I had a working camera I'd take some pics and show you, but do a search and it'll probably be here somewhere. |
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September 2011
Posts: 260
Location: Spain | Hi Alison,
Thanks, yeah I've looked and there's no shims. Taking the little black pins out is easy yeah, I even had a very quick look if the actual saddle (just the white part) would come out so I could sand it...but of course it's all one ... |
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Location: Hot Springs, S.D. | http://www.ovationfanclub.com/cgi-bin/ubb/cgi/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=ge...
OK, scroll down until you see the pictures. That second picture shows how the black end on the treble side has a pin that goes through the bridge. DON'T take the whole thing apart, just pullthat pin out so you can get a wedge under the saddle and lift it to reveal the shims. I don't even bother taking the saddle completely out. I used a tiny flathead screwdriver to lift the saddle, then some tweezers to reach in and slide the shims out.
Hope this helps. |
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March 2008
Posts: 2683
Location: Hot Springs, S.D. | We were typing at the same time. Rats! No shims. I wish you could bring it to South Dakota so I could take a look. It's a bit of a trip though.
It sounds like you may need a neck reset. How high IS the action, anyway? Measue from the crown of the twelfth fret to the bottom of both the bass and treble E's. |
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December 2001
Posts: 7230
Location: The Great Pacific Northwest | Originally posted by martinez:
Two independent luthiers today told me the neck is bent two different ways like a snake!! Both agreed the only thing to do was loosen truss to bring it back as straight as possible, which means a huge action :-(( A + B not necessarily = C
Why not do as suggested? You might be surprised at the result. I am consistently surprised at how resilient Ovation guitars can be. Even if you can correct the neck a little (loosen rod, clamp straight, etc..) it's a whole new ball game. Neck angle and bridge height are back in play.
Remember the slightest couple of mm of change on a neck are amplified across all the components, but patience is key and with a little luck, you might achieve exactly what you are looking for. |
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September 2011
Posts: 260
Location: Spain | Thanks again :-)
I wish it was that easy haha. I've had both pins out and the whole thing out (without disconneting the cable underneath) and the shims have already been taken out.
So I'm left with, a high action and a bent neck. The neck can be taken care of easily, but only by leaving me with an even higher action :-((
Thanks for the help guys, but it's not looking good. |
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Posts: 260
Location: Spain | Ha yes Alison we typed together :-)
I wish I could go to South Dakota!! Never mind the guitar, are you kidding?? ha! way too cool !
Hi Mr O, I have loosened it a little just to see. Neck goes a bit more straight (as it should be), an daction inevitably goes a bit higher.. |
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Posts: 364
Location: Bellevue, Washington | A crafty luthier can remove a very small amount of the wood from underneath the saddle, equivalent to one or two shims worth without compromising the structural integrity of the guitar.
This can make all the difference in the world as Miles said, on a previous beater guitar I owned it dropped the action by almost half an inch. |
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June 2005
Posts: 494
Location: California | Mucha suerte Marti with this, think about having the factory do the job, perhaps some friends travelling across the Atlantic can help. |
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Location: Whitecourt, Ab | If these options aren't feasible, you could tune the guitar to open D, and practice some slide guitar. |
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January 2011
Posts: 355
Location: Italia, Zianigo di Mirano (Venezia) | Martinez,are you sure there is not shims under the saddle?.... 
Uploaded with ImageShack.us :confused: |
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September 2011
Posts: 260
Location: Spain | Hi, yes sure, there's nothing at all :( |
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January 2011
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Location: Italia, Zianigo di Mirano (Venezia) | ...a photo of the neck "bent two different ways like a snake" ? |
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September 2011
Posts: 260
Location: Spain | ha ok I'll try, but I'm not the best at photography and my mobile is a cheapo....I'll give it a whirl tho |
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September 2011
Posts: 260
Location: Spain | Ok, here goes..I've tried to do the same pic. One without any lines then with lines to show what I mean..haha not sure if this will work..
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August 2009
Posts: 1137
Location: Germany, where delicious wine is growing (Rheinh) | Hi Craig, you are writing the neck is bent like a snake, so I think the rod is ruffianly overstrung. I'd do the following: loosen the strings, loosen the truss rod completely, store the guitar away for maybe two weeks in a well climated room so the wood can get off the stress.
Then tune her up slowly and look for the neck is still bent in two directions. If so you have bad luck, if not you can clockwise try to adjust the truss rod to the correct setup.
And I keep my fingers crossed for you.....
Bernie |
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August 2009
Posts: 1137
Location: Germany, where delicious wine is growing (Rheinh) | And I've just seen your pics: The SSB have only one bolt for the neck attachment to the body. When everthing is loosened have a look whether the bolt is still correct tightened....
Bernie |
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Posts: 4230
Location: Steeler Nation, Hudson Valley Contingent | Originally posted by bburg:
And I've just seen your pics: The SSB have only one bolt for the neck attachment to the body. When everthing is loosened have a look whether the bolt is still correct tightened....
Bernie Bernie may have a point here.Have you taken a close look at the heel? I had a SSB with high action (albeit no twist in the neck) and discovered you could slip a sheet of paper beneath the edge of the heel and the body of the guitar even though you couldn't really see the separation. Once I tightened down the neck bolt, I actually had to put a shim back in to set the action.
It's worth a look anyway.
Best of luck! |
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