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Joined:
July 2002
Posts: 150
Location: Minneapolis, MN | And so I defer to my Ovation brethren for the counseling and guidance that I need...
My beloved Legend 1663 has developed a neck bow that a simple truss rod adjustment cannot remedy. You see, it has taken on a reverse bow and the truss rod is as loose as it can get- with no relief in sight. And worst of all, it has subsequently acquired a buzzy neck that almost renders it unplayable.
The local repairman says the solution is to heat the neck and "...bend the bow back into it..." with no assurance that it will hold over time. Has anyone here had any experience with either doing this type of repair, or having it done?
All I was able to do to make it playable again was to shim the bridge back up and put some super high tension strings on it. All that helped some, but isn't the cure I'm looking for. Any ideas, thoughts or suggestions would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks in advance :) |
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Joined:
May 2002
Posts: 3005
Location: Las Cruces, NM | Rich
First define exactly what you mean by "reverse bow", and if you can give us some dimensions of fret to string at various frets. This may not be a serious problem if we know exactly what it is. |
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Joined:
November 2002
Posts: 3666
Location: Pacific Northwest Inland Empire | Rich, we're waiting........I know, "Now where DID I put that digital micrometer?!" To follow up on Bailey's question, does the neck tend to increase the distance between the strings and frets, or tend to reduce the distance. More importantly, WHERE is the centerpoint of the curvature in the neck? Ball's in your court........ |
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Joined:
July 2002
Posts: 150
Location: Minneapolis, MN | Sorry guys, I don't get on the internet until late afternoons.
If warped means that the neck has too much relief and has caused the action to increase, than my problem is the opposite.
The strings buzz because there isn't enough neck relief. After I shimmed up the bridge, there string buzz was still there. The nut on the truss rod is only finger tight (and in fact I removed the nut entirely for 24 hours)- thus I'm not able to loosen it any more to add more relief.
When capoed on the first fret, the strings appear to lay on the fifth fret- so I presume that's where the apex of the bow is.
I haven't measured the action. Once I was told the neck had to be heated and bent to add the relief it needs, I came home and shimmed her up, and here I am. So again, any input is appreciated and thanks again.
P.S. After further investigation, 'reverse bow' implies warp and that's not what I meant- thanks Bailey :cool: |
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Joined:
June 2003
Posts: 12
| I had the exact same problem with my 1617 when I moved from NY to Arizona after the guitar was in Arizona for about 4 months. (The guitar was 6 years old by then )
I did everything you have done to fix it , but at least my tech didn't say to try a forcibly warp the neck ????? , he just said it needed a new neck
I gave up after several attempts of shiming the bridge ect. ect. and by that time my truss rod was also finger tight. I loosened the strings, put it in it's case and called it a piece a
under my breath because it couldn't take the humidity change.
It was at least 7 months latter or maybe even a full year before I even opened the case again ( I was mad at that guitar )....
I tuned it up , and to my amazement the neck had litterly fixed itself..... and in fact now needed a truss rod adjustment to get the action back to where it was when I bought it ... BUT .....
Now there is some slight finish "checking" on the back of the neck where the 5 pieces join and its a little un-level..... but it plays great again.
To this day , I think it was a matter of the different woods reacting differently to the change in humidity and "de-formed" the neck tempoarily..... maybe one of the woods wasn't quite as dry to start with as the others ??? I don't know, but other than the finish showing the battle scars , the neck has held rock steady for almost 14 years now.
I don't know if that helps , but I would be real skeptical about forcing the neck to "warp" with heat and weights and stuff unless your thinking of removing the entire fingerboard too..... maybe your tech thinks he can succeed with such a radical solution , but if you start heating and steaming that 5 piece neck.. some glue somewhere is bound to give or soften and then you really will have a wall hanger.
Rick |
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Joined:
March 2002
Posts: 15683
Location: SoCal | Contact Ovation before you give up hope on the guitar. |
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Joined:
November 2002
Posts: 3666
Location: Pacific Northwest Inland Empire | Sound advice. As a matter of fact, start there. |
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Joined:
May 2002
Posts: 3005
Location: Las Cruces, NM | I agree, there is no simple adjustment to a neck that has "reverse warped". In the old days a good repair person would clamp the neck in a clampimg system and heat it GENTLY to allow everything to slip back in to manufactured tolerances. But this repair should be done by an expert, the factory may be the best. The problem is that any attempt to repair it in a home situation only makes it worse, e.g. loosening the strings, worse, adjusting the truss rod, worse, it will increase the reverse bow, it has to be done with a clamp that applies pressure to the center of the neck where the "reverse bow" is and hold until it is corrected. I don't think it will go away, as has been suggested.
Bailey |
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Joined:
November 2002
Posts: 3666
Location: Pacific Northwest Inland Empire | In my usual activities that pay the mortgage, a decision is made whether to treat on an outpatient versus hospital basis. Frankly, this situation looks like hospitalization. Your call. Ultimately, our collective opinions, and $2.50, will get you a double-shot Americano. |
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Joined:
July 2002
Posts: 150
Location: Minneapolis, MN | Thanks for your input guys... I'm not ready to give up on the guitar just yet, as it is my favorite. I'll see what the folks at Ovation have to say.
As a side note about the humidity: My guitar had developed a split in the ebony fingerboard that went from the soundhole up to the eleventh fret. This happened over the winter, when the air was the driest. I use a soundhole humidifier-didn't seem to help the fingerboard much. Now that it's summer and humid as heck, it 'magically' went away! :cool: |
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problem necks continued...
