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Joined:
March 2009
Posts: 20
Location: Millville, NJ | Hey folks,
Here's my situation....
I have a 1989 Custom Legend.
Outstanding tone.
There is a slight "bellying"
right below the bridge....
And the back end of the bridge
has a gap the width of a pick.
So, my action is on the high side.
It's playable...but I can't adjust
the action at all by removing shims.
If I did, the strings would lay on the
bridge & intonation would be a nightmare.
Any suggestions on exactly what repair
needs to be done?
And the approx. cost.
I've tried contacting the "mothership"...
No reply.
I am the 2nd owner of the guitar.
I really want to get the action lower...
Because the guitar sounds fantastic.
Any help?
Thanks! |
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Joined:
October 2007
Posts: 2711
Location: Vernon CT | Von, First Welcome!
If your getting "Bridge lift" Definitely have it looked at, preferably by the Mothership.
You say you have tried to contact them with no response. That is highly unusual. BEST Customer service anywhere, bar none! Keep trying you won't regret it once you get through. One thought is I beleive their E.M's changed recently (last couple of months)? I could be wrong but....... |
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Joined:
April 2009
Posts: 3
Location: Canada | Hi everybody. I registered just to reply to this post. In the past few days I've read everything on the interweb about bridge lift on Ovations. Seems to be common and more frequent than on traditionally built guitars. This has to be because of the non-pin bridge design and the technique of gluing the bridge to the finish, not directly on to the wood.
I just got a 1997 Legend 5777-4es Limited Edition with a bridge lifting about 1/8" in the back. I called my local experienced luthier - doesn't work on Ovations!! I don't like the licensed Ovation dealer here - big corporate store, poor customer service, and very expensive.
So, having some repair experience on cheaper guitars, I decided to take the plunge and attempt a bridge removal and reglue myself.
Very nervously I probed under the bridge with an artist's pallette knife. Quite a bit of the bridge had come up. So I used an Exacto knife to score the finish all around the bridge. This turned out to be the most difficult step in the entire operation.
The finish is a very thick epoxy like material - very hard but very brittle. This is both good and bad. Bad because as you score it, it chips very easily so it is common to have some visible chips in the finish around the bridge after a reglue. Good because the finish does not penetrate the wood like glues or other finishes.
As a result(at least in my case) by working the palette knife under and around the edge, the bridge came off very cleanly bringing the finish with it. I flaked The finish off the bottom of the bridge with a knife which left a very clean
surface. A light sanding and I'm ready to reglue. For this I've made a clamping jig - 1 deep-throat clamp and an 2 aluminum bars with cork sheet glued on. I'll use yellow carpenter's glue and the bridge will now be glued directly to the wood. I've read that this can actually give the guitar a better sound - Can't vouch for that.
2 things I've taken from all this:
1)After seeing pics of the damage done to the top and finish when an Ovation bridge completely pops on its own, I would say the sooner you repair a lifted bridge the better.
2)If my experience is common, any luthier should be able to do the job.
P.S. Apparently, some Ovation bridges have bolts under the dot inlays. Mine doesn't but does have 2 plastic dowels underneath that fit into holes drilled in the top and the bridge. This was another pleasant surprise as they line the bridge up perfectly for the reglue.
If anyone is interested, email me through this site and I can describe the operation, tools, jigs, etc.. in more depth. Thanks, Steve. |
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Joined:
December 2006
Posts: 6268
Location: Florida Central Gulf Coast |  to the Ovation Nation!
Boy, this would have been a great photo op... |
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Joined:
September 2005
Posts: 3618
Location: GATLINBURG TENNESSEE :) | Welcome to both of you. I had an Elite that had a bit of bellying aslo, although it didn't bother me because it still played and sounded great. If you are wanting to lower the action and can't remove any more shims, you are probably looking at a top replacement. When they replace the top they also replace the bowl, and in my case they also did new electronics and a nice new carved bridge. Although it was not cheap by any means, it was well worth the money spent, as you basically end up with a new looking instrument. I think it works out better because in my opinion the older necks looked better. An additional advantage of replacing the top is that you can then customize it with your choice of color, i.e., sunburst, New England burst, etc. You can see some of these top jobs by looking for the post titled "bursts", and my latest post entitled "A Nice Suprise Came to the Office Today". Good luck to you.
Bryan |
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Joined:
September 2005
Posts: 3618
Location: GATLINBURG TENNESSEE :) | Welcome to both of you. I had an Elite that had a bit of bellying aslo, although it didn't bother me because it still played and sounded great. If you are wanting to lower the action and can't remove any more shims, you are probably looking at a top replacement. When they replace the top they also replace the bowl, and in my case they also did new electronics and a nice new carved bridge. Although it was not cheap by any means, it was well worth the money spent, as you basically end up with a new looking instrument. I think it works out better because in my opinion the older necks looked better. An additional advantage of replacing the top is that you can then customize it with your choice of color, i.e., sunburst, New England burst, etc. You can see some of these top jobs by looking for the post titled "bursts", and my latest post entitled "A Nice Suprise Came to the Office Today". Good luck to you.
Bryan |
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Joined:
December 2003
Posts: 1071
Location: Carle Place, NY | The best way to contact the Repair Dept at Ovation is by email. |
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Joined:
January 2006
Posts: 387
Location: Whitecourt, Ab | Welcome Von Face, & Nova Scotian (nice to see another ice-back)on board.
VF, it sounds to me like a brace may have "let go". Can you see inside the soundhole towards the bridge if there is a space between the brace and top?
If that is the case you (or your luthier) may be able to re-attach it without removing the top. |
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Joined:
April 2009
Posts: 3
Location: Canada | Hi again. I did take some pics of the latter part of the operation. Let's see if I can make this work.
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Joined:
February 2002
Posts: 5750
Location: Scotland | It has nothing to do with the bridge being attached to the finish, or the pinless design. It's down to glue seam failure, which can happen to any instrument at any seam, regardless of manufacturer. Ovation guitars are no more or less prone to this than any other shop-built guitar. |
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Joined:
April 2009
Posts: 3
Location: Canada | Respectfully, the glue or the 'glue seam' was not the problem here. The glue was holding as well as when it was first applied. It was the thick brittle finish that cleanly detached from the wood. That finish was still firmly attached to the underside of the bridge where it had pulled up. |
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Joined:
September 2006
Posts: 10777
Location: Keepin' It Weird in Portland, OR | On a video that I watched, it shows them routing the finish off in prep for bridge attachment.
Don't know if they always do this on all models, in all years, in all cases...
but this is what they did to this one in 2005.
Here's the video... Notes in French... Music in English.
[I have this video bookmarked cuz I will run it in another 'window' just to listen too the music!
It is sooo Cool!] |
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Joined:
December 2008
Posts: 1453
Location: Texas | OMA,
Great video, it's very interesting, especially having never had the opportunity to attend a factory tour.
(and you're right, nice music.)
However, I don't see how they can do such precision work in that environment, I didn't see a single ironing board anywhere ;) |
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Joined:
September 2003
Posts: 815
Location: Colorado | First, welcome to the OFC Steve! Thanks for your write-up, pics, and motivation to repair the guitar yourself.
OMA is correct. The Ovation DVD I have shows an Elite (I think) being prepped for bridge attachment by removing the finish. I would be interested in learning how long that practice has been used.
Please allow me to offer my opinions here. You have a twelve year old guitar in your hands. Perhaps you can vouch for its treatment over its life, perhaps not. Things that may have contributed to the lifting condition are climate (temp and humidity) and overall care of the guitar. Also, the guage of strings used could have helped worsen/accelerate the condition.
Guitars are like most other consumer products--with proper care from new they will last for many years. The unfortunate thing is that (once in a while) a manufacturer may put a unit out that fails for some reason or another. We've all experienced that.
I appreciate your opinions Steve, thanks for listening to mine.
I wonder if Beal will chime in on this one... |
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Joined:
September 2003
Posts: 815
Location: Colorado | Apologies Von. Welcome to the OFC! |
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Top bellying / slight bridge lift...
