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Joined:
March 2003
Posts: 3
| I just bought an Ovation Matrix, model 1632 dirt cheap, and I was wondering if anybody knows how to go about working on an aluminum fretboard. The frets are worn almost smooth to the board in places and I was contemplating bringing it to a machinist to have the fretboard machined down and the frets shaped, but would like to find out more about the specs so I can have it done properly.
Does anybody have any expenience with these guitars ...is it worth investing in, or should I just use it as a campfire beater and leave it as is?
Any help or advice would be appreciated. |
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Joined:
February 2002
Posts: 5750
Location: Scotland | You now have the slide guitar you always wanted. |
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Joined:
November 2002
Posts: 3666
Location: Pacific Northwest Inland Empire | Capo'ed at, likely, the 4th fret, for "regular" play. If you have a local vocational-technical, machinists' school, the students might be willing to mill your fretboard for free. Otherwise, it will make an excellent slide rig. |
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January 2002
Posts: 14127
Location: 6 String Ranch | now you know why it was dirt cheep. Machine the tangs off the frets and glue them on. |
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Joined:
March 2003
Posts: 3
| I like the glue on idea, but I don't think I would be able to have it done well enough to maintain intonation. Does anyone know what substance or compound Ovation put on the fretboard to keep it warm to the touch? It is flaking and painted over in places, and that is another reason I would like to get it machined down.
By the way, if I ever get this figured out, my next posts will be about how to refinish the soundboard which has severe cracks in the finish, but doesn't seem to be cracked through to the wood, so any suggestions in advanced would be appreciated.
No matter what happens at least I can say I own an Ovation :) |
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Joined:
November 2002
Posts: 3666
Location: Pacific Northwest Inland Empire | Granted, you have joined The Membership. Welcome! "Mighty Oaks From Acorns Grow". 'Warm to the touch'? Not sure what that means. The original finish on the fretboard is a type of anodization process that bonds the finish elecrochemically. That probably is why the paint is flaking off. I believe the fretboard is attached to the neck by an epoxy adhesive. As the Mother Ship informed me, those necks were meant to be replaced, not restored. As for gluing on frets, good luck. You would be better off milling off the worn frets, and then milling new slots for replacement frets. Whether the brass fret wires would hold in an aluminum neck is debatable. The expansion & contraction of different metals joined together may be problematic. "Ask what time it is, and they tell you how to build a watch!" |
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Joined:
March 2002
Posts: 14842
Location: NJ | ". . . You now have the slide guitar you always wanted . . ." |
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Joined:
November 2002
Posts: 3666
Location: Pacific Northwest Inland Empire | Occam's Razor, eh?! |
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Joined:
January 2003
Posts: 1498
Location: San Bernardino, California | One thing that I did with one guitar is: put on .008 strings, tune up to a G and capo the ninth fret. Now you have a guitar that plays an octave higher. Blends well with another guitar. |
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Joined:
March 2003
Posts: 3
| If I ignore the pun by seesquare, but take his advice to look to Occam's razor, it would seem that I am going to have to get a slide, and I will also try the octive higher BruDev...thanks for the advice. |
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Matrix 1632
