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Joined:
August 2010
Posts: 7
Location: Melbourne, Australia | Hello, I am now the very proud owner of a 2056LX 12 string and just yesterday received delivery of a 2078LE-AS limited edition, a very beautiful guitar that as far as I know, you just can't get them in Australia and I don't think one has ever been available so I consider myself lucky to have picked this one up. I haven't gelled with it straight away, the action was just a little high for me but I noticed that the shims that come with this guitar are all the same thickness where as a shim I took out of my 12 string was very thin, so I replaced a thick one for the thin one in the Elite which made it better.
I'm still not 100% happy with the action though and as I said, I haven't gelled with it just yet and i'm thinking it's the strings, they feel a bit grubby as if they've been sitting on the guitar in the shop for a while and my personal preference are Ernie Ball 11-52's which are just a tad lighter than the 12-53's that come with the guitar. I have a feeling that I may need to adjust the truss rod when I get some new strings on it, i've never done anything like that before and i'm not sure exactly how to tackle it but i'll cross that bridge when I come to it.
Another thing i'm new to is the oil treated walnut neck. It's the first non gloss neck i've played and i'm kinda getting used to the feel of it, it's different that's for sure.
In the owners manual it mentions that those sort of necks need to be rubbed with a wax every couple of months and I also read on a luthiers website that once you do this, the neck will feel differently and play differently. Can anyone speak from experience on how they feel after they've been waxed? Does it take the original "charm" out of it so to speak or is it seen as an improvement and easier to move along the neck?
I know it's an amazing guitar but I just have to do a bit of work and spend a bit of time with it to see it's true potential.
Thanks very much for any advice you can give me. |
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Joined:
November 2006
Posts: 3969
| Welcome. That's a superb guitar you have there.
Adjusting action: please don't tweak the truss rod to change the action. The truss rod tension should only be changed to correct neck relief, i.e. a slight dip or hump in about the middle of the neck. Action should be adjusted by altering the saddle height. On a conventional acoustic-only guitar, you would lower the action by sanding down the bottom of the saddle.
On acoustic electrics with integrated saddle-pickup assemblies like Ovations (what we call the PUassy), you can (gently) pull the PUassy up out of the bridge slot, where you'll find up to 3 hard plastic shims. Removing one shim will lower the action by 1/32" at the 12th fret.
As far as the neck goes, I live in a humid climate, and haven't noticed any ill effects on my 2008 Collector. Then again, I play it so often that my own skin oils and hand have "polished" the neck, so it's taken on a nice patina that's not gloss, but not the flat matte that it came with. In a drier climate it might need periodic oiling, with something like boiled linseed oil or some nut (almond, etc.) oil. Apply it, let it soak in, and vigorously rub out the excess.
Congrats again on your new guitar, and stick around to enjoy the madness. |
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Joined:
April 2008
Posts: 2985
Location: Sydney, Australia | Welcome Reevzy,
I'd like to check out that LE, I've never seen one in real life. Maybe we could catch up with the other Melbourne OFC members when I'm down there in March.
You can join the other Aussie members by clicking on the Downunder link. (You'll need to join again to participate in conversations). |
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Joined:
March 2005
Posts: 12750
Location: Boise, Idaho | I have one and took about a week to bond with it. I took out a shim and you can take them all if you like, but you might get some fret buzz. If you're a bender or slider, you might lie it low and light, but they have more tone and volume with a bit heavier strings.
This is my 4th walnut neck and I have never done anything to them other than some Dunlop fretboard cleaner, just like I do with the ebony fretboards. |
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Joined:
August 2010
Posts: 7
Location: Melbourne, Australia | Thankyou all for your replies and input.
Mark, do you use that Dunlop fretboard cleaner on the entire neck and not just the fretboard itself?
I have a bottle of Planet Waves lemon oil and i've read on these forums that it must be 100% lemon oil and not just fragranced stuff. I haven't read the back of the bottle since I read that but is it not a good idea to use it on the entire neck? |
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Joined:
March 2005
Posts: 12750
Location: Boise, Idaho | I just use the fretboard cleaner on the fretboard. On the rare occasions I clean the back of the neck, I just use a rag with guitar polish.
My memory is usually faulty, but I thought the lemon oil discussion was about avoiding alcohol, because it dried out the wood. |
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Joined:
November 2006
Posts: 3969
| Unless the bottle specifically says 100% lemon oil, it is some small percentage of lemon oil dissolved in any number of organic solvents which can dissolve and vaporize the natural oils and waxes in wood. That would then harm the wood more than it helps.
Mineral oil, a commonly used oil for fret boards, is only so-so as very little is absorbed by tropical hardwoods (ebony, rosewood, mahogany). You want a penetrating oil with a high vaporization temperature that will get deep into the wood cells and replace any lost natural oils. You're better off using boiled linseed oil, or even some tropical wood/nut oils you can find in specialty woodworking shops. A really good commercial product, made from several tropical wood oils, is Fret Doctor .
The satin neck on Ovations (or any other guitar) isn't raw wood. It's been finished with some type of catalyzed and/or polymerized penetrating (as opposed to surface gloss) finish. I'm not sure whether they use a urethane or oil (such as tung oil) finish, but in either case it's hand rubbed and machine buffed in to "set" the finish. Such a finish inhibits, but doesn't prevent, moisture loss, which is why you'd need to periodically renew the wood. |
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Joined:
August 2010
Posts: 7
Location: Melbourne, Australia | Thanks everyone for your time and replies, i've taken it on board.
Last night I got my new strings on it and really had a red hot go at playing the balls off it and yeah, things started to happen. I even had a go at finger picking which i'm hopeless at but I thought that is where this guitar really started to shine. I think once the sparkle comes off the new strings and everything settles in, my smile will grow even larger.
So there you go. New strings eh?! They can make the world of difference sometimes and it was the first thing that popped into my head when I first started to play it.
As for the care and maintenance side of things, thankyou for all your info on that and i'm not gonna miss a beat when it comes to looking after this thing cause it really is a beautiful looking guitar.
Oh, and all of a sudden, i'm really happy with the action on it, new strings playing their part? I dunno, but it plays great. It definitely has it's individual charm compared to my Legend 12 string, that thing plays like a dream but I haven't actually played a six string for some time now since getting the 12 so I guess it kinda feels a bit weird but i'm getting used to it again.
Cheers, Jack. |
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Joined:
August 2010
Posts: 7
Location: Melbourne, Australia | Latest update: This thing really is the tits and the balls in one!
That didn't take long, haha :) |
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Joined:
August 2005
Posts: 3736
Location: Sunshine State, Australia | Welcome Reevzy.
Check out the 'local' Ovation Fan Club. The link is in TAFKAR's post above.
There are a few downunderers floating around and you may even get to meet some of them and play some other nice USA Ovations. |
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Joined:
August 2005
Posts: 3736
Location: Sunshine State, Australia | Oops. I see you've already found us... |
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Setting up my 2010 L.E.
