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Joined:
September 2003
Posts: 9301
Location: south east Michigan | Well, it was really last week.
At the Martin dog & pony show they had maybe 10 guitar tops to show all the different styles of braces.
For their 12 fret model they showed how the upper bout was made longer to join the neck at the 12th fret. I guess that having a larger air chamber will make some difference but I always thought that the maximum benefit is achieved when the bridge is moved down to a meatyer, (meatier? / meteor? / meetior?)... different part of the lower bout.
Martin might make a 12 fret model with a re-located bridge but I wouldn't know. I'm not a Martin man. |
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Joined:
October 2005
Posts: 5332
Location: Bluffton, SC | That's interesting, Brad. So, if you had two guitars that were "essentially" the same but one a 12 fret and one a 14, the Martin's 12 would have a larger upper bout. I'm specifically thinking of the koa's that Al had made - some 12 and some 14. Does Ovation (and everyone else) alter their dimensions like Martin does? |
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Joined:
May 2008
Posts: 4996
Location: Phoenix AZ | Brad's right (almost). Yes, on most Martin 12 fret vs. 14 fret models the body of he 12 is elongated to meet the neck at the 12th fret. The distance from bridge to tail of the guitar is the same on 12 fret and 14 fret models. But the bracing pattern is shifted forward a bit on the 12's. But there are exceptions. These are called 12 fret models on 14 fret bodies. My Norman Blake model is like this. It's a 12 fret neck on a regular 14 fret body so the bridge is backed towards the tail which.
Weas - Ovation is locked into the dimensions of the bowl so the way they accomplish the 12 fret neck is to back off the bridge towards the tail, which seems to wrk quite nicely.
Other wooden box builders do it more or less the same as Martin does. |
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Joined:
March 2009
Posts: 416
Location: On the Coast - Halfway between SF & OR | Originally posted by Gallerinski:
Ovation is locked into the dimensions of the bowl so the way they accomplish the 12 fret neck is to back off the bridge towards the tail, which seems to wrk quite nicely. Dave - So what does ovation do on the "long neck" models? And kind of related, what is the difference between a "long neck" and a baritone model? |
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Joined:
May 2008
Posts: 4996
Location: Phoenix AZ | Long neck models have a different scale length, so combo of a longer neck (duh) and bridge placement.
Baritone and Longneck are essentially the same but I think technically speaking "baritone' refers more to the tuning (D-G-C-F-Bb-D |
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Joined:
March 2009
Posts: 416
Location: On the Coast - Halfway between SF & OR | Originally posted by Gallerinski:
Long neck models have a different scale length, so combo of a longer neck (duh) and bridge placement. OK, dumb question asked so I may as well continue to show my ignorance. With a static bowl dimension, is the long neck bridge moved towards the neck? I'm wondering if you could have a center hole long neck ovation or does the placement of the center hole preclude this if you can't change the bowl dimension. |
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Joined:
February 2005
Posts: 11840
Location: closely held secret | The longneck bridges are are like the 12-fretters, they are moved into the lower bout. Other than possibly needing different bracing to deal with the tension, I don't know why you couldn't make a center hole. |
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Joined:
March 2009
Posts: 416
Location: On the Coast - Halfway between SF & OR | Thanks Wab...er Psycho.
The basis for these questions is that I was wondering if it would be possible to create a center hole longneck by mating a 12-string balladeer body to a longneck neck (changing the bridge to a 6-string). Figured the 12-string fan bracing could handle the tension but wasn't sure if it would be possible due to the bridge location. |
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Joined:
August 2002
Posts: 8307
Location: Tennessee | I think the bridge would need to be moved further away from the soundhole. Since you're going to replace the bridge anyway, might as well go ahead. But then you've also got to consider how you're going to make sure the neck mates up the body because they are not all mix and match. Maybe you ought to look into a body from a bass guitar with a roundhole? |
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I learned something today... (12 fret)
