Well I've gotten around tonight messing with the Ovation 1617 first thing was to get those old strings off & clean up the bridge & fret board.. I used lighter fluid then steel wool on the bridge after I pulled the piezo out to get all the dark stains off of it & then cleaned the ebony fret board up with steel wool then lemon oiled both..

I also removed the control assembly = pot & battery box etc in order to put some tuner lube/deoxit into the dual pot assembly... The Pots are sealed so I had to  dribble spray the sauce into the pot via the shaft of the pot & then turn it in order to get some in there to smooth it up & make it feel less gritty as if it were full of dust , It came out much smoother & I also put a new Lithium battery into the battery box..

The shims under the piezo have me puzzled as there are the two factory shims, one is stairsteped on the treble side & there were two itty bitty pieces of wood one under the EA & one under the DG they were .010" & .035" thick? I went ahead & made a few brass & stainless shims out of some old feeler guages but have some old spruce scraps in the shop I can cut & shape into whatever I need.. I can also cut and shape some thin aluminum shims as well if I have too..

I'm gonna also make sure the neck bolts are snug & may give the neck a few thousanths more relief before I string it up.. I took a few pictures of the 1617 & a few of the bridge & control assembly/battery box..

Gary/Hk

1982 1617

Shims Two factory & two small pieces of popcycle stick & two metal ones I made, one stainless, one brass

That's what's got me puzzled? I really can't quite figure out why the shims were used the way they were? If you look at the one picture it appears that the slot is cut deeper on the treble side but it's nice & smooth all the way across & being the top of the bridge is arched it makes it hard to determine if it's not flat by measuring with my digi-caliper across the top.. The shims were stacked in such a way that there is a empty space in there in more than one area, NOTE : shims are on the treble side only & the stairsteped factory shim was as well, stacked up like the attached picture.. I'm almost now tempted to recreate the total thickness of all the pieces flat & paralell out of brass or aluminum & fit it exactly down to small hole etc for the piezo/pickup wire & mounting pin? I've got a few chores to do tonight & will be going to Home Depot & may pickup a scrap of aluminum stock to mold into said shim if it should arise.. The guitar had great tone & played fine? Go figure Huh? It did buzz slightly on the open low E when played hard so I may give it a bit more relief, It has very little, also it appears the truss rod allen wrench is a 3/16" adjust via the sound hole on this model.. Thanks to all for any help or info.. Gary/Hk Stack of shims ???

The brass shim I cut to the left is .010".. I haven't measured the total thickness of the shims YET!!

Imagine all the dead air spaces inside & under the peizo saddle with the shims stacked as they were, The botttom of the pickup is flat & smooth & the aluminum isn't even scratched

Looks to be a Total "TONE ROBBER"

This vidio was helpfull though I wish I had the three shims in different thicknesses & the one tappered one.. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JepfhqFXB-8

I suppose that Ovation must have with lots of reserch came up with the use of the fiber shims, It could be possible that they have better tone transfer than spuce, brass or aluminum.. Hard to believe..

Now to go rob a board out of that old rubbish PC in the basement, I knew it would come in handy someday for something..OH YEAH!! The Super TONE Green Shim Baby with Gold contacts yet..

I can understand being particular about shim choice when you have a bone (or whatever) saddle between the string and the bridge...but A/E have whatever the piezeo saddle substance is that is encased in plastic separating the string from the bridge. I have always wondered whether a 1117 and a 1617 from the same year, acoustically, produce a noticible difference in sound because of the two completely different saddles.