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Joined:
September 2006
Posts: 347
Location: Reno, NV | Why doesn't "O" polish the frets more? The first few months of bends are like scraping sandpaper. Now I have a nice smooth glaze on the tops from bends, but they sure did feel bad out of the box.
Woudn't the brand get a better first impression in the showroom if it played silky smooth out of the box? It might be worth the extra manufacturing time in the long run. IMO.
PS.. Im ready for all your polish jokes! (pole-ish) :D :D :D |
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Joined:
December 2001
Posts: 7210
Location: The Great Pacific Northwest | Any chance you got a fluke? Was the guitar sitting in the store for a long time? I have found Ovations to have some of the best "out of the box" fret jobs around, so I'm a little surprised to hear this. If you ever get to the factory you'll see that more goes into their necks (Hamer and Ovation - the whole process) than some manufactures put into the entire guitar.
I've had guitars that are 20+ years old, that are still smooth as silk. |
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Joined:
July 2002
Posts: 1900
| I'm curious as to how many fret wire manufacturers there actually are. I thought the wire might come with a factory finish before installation. (I'd like my next O' to have titanium fret wire...) |
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Joined:
April 2006
Posts: 1138
Location: CT | Originally posted by Steve:
(I'd like my next O' to have titanium fret wire...) It'll give the guitar a different sound. Ask anyone whose gone from vintage nickel-silver on maple or ebony, to the stainless steel/carbon graphite of the Parker Fly. Some don't like it.
As for O's, mine were all nice and shiny when new. Maybe your guitar was sitting a while on the wall. I haven't buffed the frets on my 1619 since I've had it (23 years) and the upper frets were tarnished. It went to the 'ship for a small neck adjustment and the frets were polished like mirrors when I got it back. |
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Joined:
September 2006
Posts: 347
Location: Reno, NV | Originally posted by Mr. Ovation:
Any chance you got a fluke? Was the guitar sitting in the store for a long time? I have found Ovations to have some of the best "out of the box" fret jobs around, so I'm a little surprised to hear this. If you ever get to the factory you'll see that more goes into their necks (Hamer and Ovatio - the whole process) than some manufactures put into the entire guitar.
I've had guitars that are 20+ years old, that are still smooth as silk. hmmm.. Interesting thought. I'll stop by GC tonight on the way home and feel a few others to be sure. |
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Joined:
September 2006
Posts: 347
Location: Reno, NV | Originally posted by brainslag:
Originally posted by Steve:
(I'd like my next O' to have titanium fret wire...) It'll give the guitar a different sound. Ask anyone whose gone from vintage nickel-silver on maple or ebony, to the stainless steel/carbon graphite of the Parker Fly. Some don't like it.
As for O's, mine were all nice and shiny when new. Maybe your guitar was sitting a while on the wall. I haven't buffed the frets on my 1619 since I've had it (23 years) and the upper frets were tarnished. It went to the 'ship for a small neck adjustment and the frets were polished like mirrors when I got it back. |
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Joined:
May 2004
Posts: 2850
Location: Midland, MI | I've had success masking between the frets with that bright red, plastic 3M tape (it's about 1" wide) and using Flitz polish. YMMV. |
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Joined:
December 2001
Posts: 7210
Location: The Great Pacific Northwest | For quick touch-up/polishing, I use electrical tape.
It's thick enough to protect the fretboard, and two strips last for several frets. I work one fret at time and just work down the neck. Takes no time at all to do a nice job.
For the actual polishing I use a polishing cloth on a small block of wood. I take a nail and lay it on the block and wack it with a hammer to leave a nice smooth dent for the fret to travel in through the cloth. |
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Joined:
September 2006
Posts: 347
Location: Reno, NV | I went by GC after work as planned. Checked out the O's. They sure had alot compared to the other times I've been in there. They must have stocked up for Christmas. Mostly the lower end celebrity models with a hand full of balladeers. No elite or legends.
Anyway, My frets are the same as the other LX balladeer on the wall. There is a definite difference between the fret material between the Celebrities and the LX's. The LX material has a matte or almost brushed finish which isn't as smooth as the Celebs, oddly enough. However, the quality of how they are set and the consistency seems to be better looking at a glance. I didn't play any of them, just did a couple of bends to see how smooth they were.
So I guess its all normal. I just expected it to be a little smoother. |
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Joined:
December 2006
Posts: 61
Location: us | Hi yak,
I noticed my 1771LX did not have (highly) polished frets and the rosewood board had the texture of asphalt and a few minor paint flaws.(this was the guitar that converted me over to ovations) I pointed all this out to the sales guy, haggled with him a while and walked out with it and case for $700 with 15% off christmas sale to help(am sale from 9:00-12:00).they had several perfect ones but I didn't want those ;) being a machinist with a state of the art facility at my disposal the frets will now blind you and the board although not as smooth as ebony, is pretty darn slick. now my 1777LX legend came from the factory with very polished frets, the 1771 plays and sounds realy GREAT, but the legend...ohhhh man....the legend is one fantastic playing accoustic.also by polishing the frets on the 1771LX I could tell ovation uses high qaulity fret wire. softer material is gummy and harder to get a mirror finnish than hard material. |
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Joined:
September 2006
Posts: 347
Location: Reno, NV | FretJob..
How did you polish the frets? Any secrets? Did it play any better once they were polished, or was that just for looks?
I got my 1771LX at the GC labor day sale, at that time it was $848 plus the labor day discount of an extra 10% off. Now they have actually gone up in price at $979 with no discount. I feel I got a good deal. Especially compared to that plywood box I was looking at for the same price. (Martin/Taylor) |
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Joined:
December 2006
Posts: 61
Location: us | yes it dose play much nicer, bends and slids are enhanced as well as the tonal qaulity, by improving string contact with the fret you get a more clear tone from the note, not a huge difference, but it is a difference all the same. I did the polishing with a air powered die grinder we use to polish injection molds. eagle-1
mag wheel polish was the best compound for me. I think you could do this with a dremal just as well( use a felt wheel) as someone else mentioned, they will tarnish so every so often you can keep them shining by hand-rub polishing with a cloth or never-dull. I think this pretty much is the norm with any highly polished surfaces I have worked with. you'll love your ovation, the 1771LX IMO is when the balladeer realy starts kicking butt. good luck with the frets. |
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Joined:
December 2006
Posts: 61
Location: us | Yak,
one more thing.I feel you made the right choice with your purchase I'm no fan of Taylor but... I love my martin and for the $900-$1000 price range the martin would have been good also, its just two different sounds. having said that, if I were only allowed to own one guitar I would truly miss my martin because it would be ovation hands down. |
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Joined:
February 2002
Posts: 1817
Location: Minden, Nebraska | Remove the strings, cover the sound hole(s), and give the frets a brisk polishing with 000 grade steel wool. If you don't grind the frets, but just give a nice rubbing, it will remove oxidation and smooth them without scarring the fretboard. Brush off the filings, apply an appropriate coat of fretboard oil while the strings are off, restring and you should have a guitar that feels much nicer to play. |
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Joined:
January 2006
Posts: 2120
Location: Chicago | Play alot, all positions: frets WILL shine!! |
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Why doesn't Ovation polish the frets more?
