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November 2015
Posts: 20
| Hi - I've removed the strings from my brother's: ?12 String Pacemaker
Model No. 1115-4 Serial No. 002131 ================= Dating Info (Ovation w/site) Serial Nos. 000001-007000 1972 (May-Dec) Now with full access through the sound hole I've been poking around inside making sure the braces on the underside of the face are all solidly attached, etc. I do not yet know if the truss rod will need any tweaking, but I did give it a look. All of the online insturctions and YouTubevideos I have seen show the Truss Rod being adjusted with a Hex Wrench/Allen Key. The end of the Truss Rod in our Pacemake appears to perhaps be an Acorn Nut ...assuming that it is meant to be turned and IS adjustable. Were early Ovations maybe not fitted with hex adjusters? Jim |
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Joined:
December 2006
Posts: 6992
Location: Jet City | Jim,
You'll have more luck posting in the main sections. There are only a handful with rights to greet in the Welcome Center.
Your status has been updated, you should be able to post now. |
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Joined:
September 2006
Posts: 10777
Location: Keepin' It Weird in Portland, OR | As to the Truss Rod...
No, old Pacemakers have a Nut.
So you need to get a deep-well socket... or a short socket with an extension.
I believe that it is a 1/4 inch.
You will also need to use one from a "1/4 Drive"...
The "walls" on a 3/8 or 1/2 inch drive sockets are too thick.
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Joined:
November 2015
Posts: 20
| OMArt, thank you again for a comeback. You were spot on: I retrieved a 1/4" deep socket, 1/4 inch drive from the barn and it settled in on top of the nut with just a little pressure. You'd think they could have made the hole the rod-top sits in just a smidge wider so that any-old 1/4" socket would get in there unimpeded. I've resisted the impluse to give it a crank or two. My neighbor "stringed insturment experts" warns that the truss rod should only be adjusted after the strings are back on and tuned. Progress! Thanks again! Jim |
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Joined:
November 2015
Posts: 20
| ...almost forgot My friend thinks there's probably, what he'd believe to be, primary access to the truss rod under the cover plate on the headstock. What will I find under the plate? |
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Joined:
September 2006
Posts: 10777
Location: Keepin' It Weird in Portland, OR | This is what is under the plate...
That is where you were when you used the 1/4 socket.
What plate are you talking about?
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November 2015
Posts: 20
| UhHo — nope I was at the other end of the truss rod inside the body. All of the videos I saw on YouTube hsowed Ovation truss rods being adjusted from inside the body. Jim |
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Joined:
September 2006
Posts: 10777
Location: Keepin' It Weird in Portland, OR | Pacemakers have a Dovetail neck joint... Or at least all that I have seen.
So there should just be a big block of wood inside there (unless yours has been modified).
So I have no idea what you were seeing inside the bowl.
Post a photo.
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Joined:
December 2001
Posts: 7211
Location: The Great Pacific Northwest | I'm going to move this thread into the general forums. Inside the body there may be mounting bolts for the neck, not truss adjustment. I'm not the best one to answer here because I don't know all the options and what they are specifically called, but... Ovation has had traditional truss rods adjusted from the headstock, they have had K-Bars (Kaman Bar) that is adjusted from inside the body, and I believe the LX series has a truss rod that may be adjusted from both ends, but that may be only part of the manufacturing process, I don't recall. Most IMPORTANTLY... NEVER turn ANY neck adjustment more than 1/4 turn at a time. My rough procedure is as follows - Tune as normal
- Play guitar, keep tuned, and ldon't make any more adjustments (except for tuning) for several hours.
- After it's rested, tune and play guitar an ensure it's in tune.
- Take Measurement to see which way the neck needs to be adjusted
- Make adjustment of ONLY 1/4 turn in or out as appropriate.
- Go back to step #1.. repeat as necessary.
This is more than most music stores do I realilze, but you're not on a time crunch. Wood bends when strings are tuned and nends to settle. Yes you could whip through it as they do at the music store, but why... You could end up over-adjusting, then you have to turn it back... all this puts add wear on your neck. When I follow the above method, I rarely have to repeat the list even once. |
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November 2015
Posts: 20
| Mr. Ovation - 2015-11-22 4:57 PM ...<snip>...Inside the body there may be mounting bolts for the neck, not truss adjustment. I'm not the best one to answer here because I don't know all the options and what they are specifically called, but... Ovation has had traditional truss rods adjusted from the headstock ...<snip>... Okay ...an update: I'm posting 3 new photos: metal Ovation lable insode the body headstock access to truss rod inside the body - looking "up" at block of wood to which the neck is attached.
(Note: the lower "hole" seems to contain a fastener of some description, though probably not the truss rod — it seems to be too low relative to the underside of the neck. The other hole/opening, that might be in the correct position for that end of the truss rod, appears to be just a hole in the wood block - does not have a nut or any thing similar in it. I can get a 1/4" socket on the headstock end of the truss rod so plan to proceed. Please let me know what I'm missing. Thank you! Jim 
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June 2012
Posts: 2303
Location: Lake Forest, CA | Shepherd Jim - 2015-11-24 10:41 AMPlease let me know what I'm missing. Thank you!
The only thing you may be missing is whether the TR needs any adjustment at all.
The TR adjusts the relief, or curvature of the neck so that the strings don't buzz when fretted.
The neck only needs to have a (very) slight curvature when viewed from the headstock to the bridge.
These two articles will tell you everything you ever wanted to know about TRs. (and probably a whole lot more)
http://www.frets.com/FretsPages/Musician/GenSetup/TrussRods/TrussRo...
http://www.frets.com/FretsPages/Luthier/Data/TrussRods/trussrods1.h...
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Vintage 12 String / Truss Rod is Not Hex?
