Ovation Makeover

Background

Every so often your guitar needs a tune-up. It can be as simple as buffing your frets or a wax job
while changing your strings. Reminds me of that Mott the Hopple song, "Man, that's your instrument! I felt
so ashamed!"

Anyway, we all have different skill levels when it comes to working on our guitars. The more complicated work should be left to qualified luthiers .
Not all luthiers are qualified. Me? I'm not a luthier. I'm crazy!

I bought my Ovation in 1974. It's a Custom Balladeer model 1112 and I'm the original owner. In those days they came with a lifetime
guarantee as Ovation guitars were relatively new to the market and they needed help from people like
Glen Campbell
and others to promote them. I remember people saying Ovation guitars were "toys" and "real" guitars are made of wood.

Let's face it. All guitars have their own sound and personality. You can hear it and you can feel it. That's why
God
made so many different guitars in so many different styles for so many different players. I think I read that in the
Old Testament.

My Ovation has met many people over the years. It performed for the passengers in the First Class Lounge of a 747 on a commercial flight from O'Hare to LAX. There were people dancing in the street as I sang solo in a bar for free beer on Bourbon Street.

When we played the 4th of July on the Santa Monica Pier, mounted cops were called to disperse the crowd. There were so many people they thought the pier might collapse. We've been on ski trips to Mammoth, campfires on the Colorado, countless parties, weddings, gigs, recording sessions and the list goes on.

Makes my head hurt just thinking about all the beer. My Ovation has been a great companion and a friend. It's the guitar I reach for when I write. It's also a Chick Magnet. Don't believe me? Ask my wife. I can't get her to leave!

I'm not a luthier so I can't take responsibility if you mess up your guitar by reading this. I've
always worked on my own guitars but never any re-finishing stuff. In fact, I've worked on just about everyones guitar I know and then some. My guitar buds would have me work on their guitar buds guitar.

Did that make sense? Kinda like three guitar buds on a blind date and two don't know Jack from Adam. Let's get started!

Sometime before Christmas

I started out wanting to do the usual. Adjust the truss rod, buff the frets, clean it up and change the strings. Then, as I took inventory of it's condition, I felt so ashamed! Man! This guitar has been so good to me over all these years and this is how I've treated it! Then the other side of me said,"Yeah, but look how old it is. Almost 35. Why don't you trade her in for a couple of 20 year olds?" I started looking at the dents and the scratches and remembering the story behind each one. Then I started looking at the dents and the scatches I couldn't remember.

Wow! This guitar could look like new if I refinished it! Haha, you laugh! I took a piece of sandpaper to the back of the neck and I was committed. Ah, feels pretty smooth. Hmmm, it doesn't smell like paint. It smells like a surfboard.

As I wondered aloud my fingers were busy on the net finding out what kind of finish I was sanding off. I fired off an email to Ovation and continued sanding. I've seen guys play with sanded necks. It looked different and they were all good players. Maybe they knew something I didn't. They must be cool to sand down the neck of an expensive guitar, right? Turns out my Ovation was sprayed with a cataylized polyester. I masked off the places I didn't want to scratch with some musicians brand duct tape, removed the hardware and continued to sand.

On my next trip to the big box hardware store I see that MinWax makes a waterbased product called Polycrylic in a spray can. It's too cold to test on a sample so I continue to sand. I also debated on staining the wood to its original color and decided not to. So, I'm sanding everything to the bare wood except the front of the headstock. I wiped the neck down with a little alcohol (just to see) and it looked beautiful.

January 7, 2008

I started on the nut today. It's one of the most important parts of the guitar. I picked one up at my local big box music store. They didn't have any left nuts and they didn't have any right nuts, so I got a bone nut. Some guitar players are really picky about their nuts.

In the 70's there was a company claiming guitars that had nuts made of brass were superior sounding because frets are made of brass. They touted their nuts for their tonal transfer characteristics. Kinda like the Pet Rock thing or the mini pyramid that kept your razor sharp longer. The truth is, as soon as you fret a string, the nut is no longer a factor in the way the string sounds.

Aha! you say. What about the open strings? Doesn't sound travel down the neck? Yeah, and if you didn't have your hand on the neck it might make a difference, but nothing you could hear. Guitarists will talk about their nuts all day.

Removing old Nut and fitting new one

This is what a blank looks like right after you buy it (right). You can get ready made nuts but you'll have to get lotto lucky to find one that will fit exactly. They're usually made of a hard plastic and still have to be fitted. The old nut pops out by laying a piece of wood across the fretboard and giving the nut a gentle wack. It's held in with a little glue.

Lay the new nut where the old nut was and pencil in a line where you want to cut. Be sure to leave some excess in case it chips while cutting. Gently make a score line around the entire nut then continue to cut.

Initial Fit	Trim Mark

Cutting to fit

It wasn't easy cutting with the saw I used. A finer tooth saw would probably have worked better. I didn't have one. I'll get over it. The seat where the nut goes should have all the old glue removed. Notice that little lip to the right? There's function and cosmetics at work here. All the surfaces should be flat and mate the surface of the nut completely. No gaps. No rocking side to side, front to back. The bottom surface should be 90 degrees to the fretboard.

Score	Cut	Seat

Removing the Glue

See the glue on the side of the fretboard? That has to be removed very carefully. If you're too aggressive you could remove enough wood to change the intonation of your guitar. Be gentle and take your time. I'm lightly pushing a flat swiss file in one direction with only my finger. Look at your work often. When you see the light reflect off the surface like a mirror, it's done. If there is still a bit of glue left, consider it filler. Now do the same to the seat. I'm using my thumb very gently to move the file in one direction. You can use a straight edge to make sure your surfaces are flat.

Glue on fretboard	Fretboard dress	Seat dress

Fitting the Nut

As we move on keep in mind that your precision is important. Not only will your guitar play easier, it'll look cool too. Your guitar will play just like you want and if it needs a tweak here or there, you'll be able to do it yourself.

The bottom of the nut is just a tad too large for the seat. I put a sheet of sandpaper on a piece of glass and slowly removed some material. Again, apply even pressure, check the work often and be gentle. I took just a bit off the sides that contact the fretboard and the bottom. Almost all of the material was taken from the beveled side. Check the fit to make sure it doesn't rock in any direction and that there are no gaps between the mating surfaces.

Bottom too large	Sanding bevel side	Check for fit

No special gauges here. I found some cardboard that was about the thickness of the fret height and cut out a couple of pieces. The first piece will measure enough material to support the strings and the second will allow enough to hold them in place. Place the two pieces of cardboard on top of each other and draw a line on the nut following the contour of the fretboard. No need to be super critical here. Just make sure you leave enough material on the top. We'll fine tune and shape the nut as we go.

The last thing for today (I'm beat) is to burnish the nut to the seat. Take the nut and apply pressure as you move it back and forth in the seat. The bottom of the nut is still a little rough and removes the softer material below it. Check your work again. When it looks like a mirror it's done.

Tip: Remove material from the seat, NOT the fretboard to achieve the right angle. It should be 90 degrees in relation to the fretboard. What I'd like to end up with is all the pieces looking like they are one piece, no gaps, just different colors. A polished finish on the nut would be nice too.

Fret Height	Precision Measuring Device	Pencil mark

January 17, 2008

I've done a little more work to the nut. Just a little to the top so I can put it aside and continue on to the neck. I started with a coarse grit sandpaper then moved to a medium and took my time.

Shape the top	Arched Nut	Nut Side

It took a while and if you're going to use some type of power device, protect your eyes and fingers. I also angled and rounded the top a bit. It's a nice touch that will make cutting the guides for the strings easier. Notice the coloring in the bone? Is that my blood, an imperfection or an indication of a cheap bone blank? No worries here. I think the color makes it look like real bone. Cool.

I've also been doing a little research to add a personal touch to my guitar. Seems I've got a truss rod access cover that has a little crack in it. Since I'm going to replace it I thought I might want to do something a bit different. This may be frowned upon by guitar collectors but it doesn't matter unless you're going to sell your guitar to a collector.

Access Cover

I've seen covers that have been embossed, engraved, metal ones and even some with etched art on them. I've seen guitar makers put their name on the them just like B.B. King puts his name on "Lucille". Use your imagination. I went to a local engraver and asked about pricing. He wants $10 and $1 a letter. Not bad. I also asked if he could put something on the nut. He said he could engrave it and then fill the letters with a black lacquer.

That, I thought, would be extra special. I think I'd like to engrave my phone number. You can use your imagination here too. The name and phone number are like etching an ID on glass windows of a car. Kind of a non-lethal theft deterrent.

People that steal cars don't want to have to replace the glass. Now, I'm not saying another guitarist is going to steal your guitar. Guitarists would never do that! It's written in "The Guitar Players Code". If a guitarist stole your guitar, they wouldn't be a guitarist anymore. They'd be a thief.

January 18, 2008

I removed all the tension from the truss rod and used a ruler to check the neck. A guitar string or fish line will work too. Use something you know is straight that will reach from the fret where the neck meets the body to the first fret.

The neck has more bow than I expected. I would have preferred that it was straight. If it were bowed in the other direction, it would have presented a small problem in leveling the frets. It's probably due to lack of moisture in the wood. No worries. I'll adjust the truss rod and get it as straight as I can.

Check	Bow	Straight

My Ovation made a trip to the factory some years back. While having some warranty work done they filled the low spots on the fret board. I've worn the filler back to the wood and then some. A smooth fret board sure would be nice to have again. It not only looks good, it feels good too. I admit, I'm guilty of rushing through this next step more than a few times causing my fret board to scallop a bit.

Fretboard Wear	Sand Lightly	Long View

In an effort to correct this I glued some 400 grit sandpaper to a scrap piece of plexiglas to sand with. Turns out the scallops aren't that bad and the new tool doesn't seem to work as well as I thought it would. The goal here is to distribute the cutting action of the sandpaper evenly across the arch of the fret board. I like to use a long strip of sandpaper and very gently sand while pulling it tight. After a little practice you'd be surprised how much control you have. I don't want to take too much off . Just enough to almost smooth the surface. I'll leave those low spots alone. It'll look like I practice all the time.

I started with 220 grit, then 400 and ended with 600. I like to use long, slow, steady and even strokes in the beginning. When it begins to smooth out I might use short and long strokes and then finish with long ones. The thing is to take your time. If the sandpaper goes over the fret occasionally it's not a problem. I'll take care of the frets later. Being over aggressive or doing this many times over many years will eventually create another problem. The frets will sit too high above the fret board and need replacing along with making the grooves they sit in deeper. By that time they'll probably need to be replaced anyway. The frets on this guitar are still in decent shape.

Long	Short	Edge Detail

Hold the sandpaper by the edges when you need to get close to the fret. The contact area is smaller and feathers away. Don't pull down on the ends. Try to match the arch. It also helps to look at your work as the light reflects off the surface. This guitar is really starting to come back to life! Notice that I didn't try to remove every last imperfection. I'll do a little more refinement when I work on the frets.

Reflection

January 21, 2008

Over the years I've heard guitarists say they'd like to get their guitars back to the "factory set-up". They've lowered their strings when they were beginning because their fingers hurt, someone else made an adjustment to their guitar or they changed the gauge of their strings. Their guitar just doesn't feel or play like it used to.

I was very young when I was in my first band. I lived in a small 2 bedroom apartment with four guys and sometimes more. The pictures would shock you. One of the guys was my best friend/bandmate and worked at Music Man Corporation. He had a great job setting up and playing guitars all day and passed that knowledge on to me. My friend was a young, talented guitar player. Leo Fender took him under his wing and gave him a couple of amps, numerous guitars and my Sabre Bass. In fact, I interviewed Leo for a local paper.

So, I guess you could say I was taught how to set up guitars indirectly by Leo Fender. The truth about the "factory set-up" is the factory sets up guitars the same way each time as quickly as they can so they can be sold and shipped. They don't have the time to spend on a problem guitar. They just scrap it. I'm sure there may be manufacturers that spend more time on their guitars and when the guitar arrives at the music store, they may do some additional work to help sell the guitar faster.

I don't care about the factory set-up. I'm going to set up my guitar the way I want for the way I play.

We'll miss you, Leo!

I want to make sure that the arcs of my frets are all in the same plane at any given point along the neck. If the frets were flat like on a classical guitar this would be much easier. On my Ovation that means every fret from the 1st fret to the 14th fret where the neck meets the body. The other frets after the 14th should slope away from the strings slightly as they get closer to the bridge. I've already adjusted my truss rod so my neck is as straight as I can get it. Or, is it?

Marble Tile	Cut to size	support the neck

I looked around for something I knew was flat that I could use as a sanding block. I had some scrap tile from a recent house project that would work nicely, but those were in case I needed to make a repair. So it was back to my big box hardware store where I found some 12 x 12 marble for $2. Excellent! You can use anything you want. Just make sure it's long, flat, won't bend and is easy to handle with some sandpaper around it. See the reflection from the tile? Looks pretty good to me. Even mirrors polished for telescopes have a tolerance. After I cut the tile I laid it on a piece of glass to check for flatness.

Next, I supported the neck in an effort to minimize the effects of gravity, put the tile across the length of the neck and looked for high and low frets. Any truss rod adjustments I make now are very, very small. I also flex the neck to make sure my adjustments are accurate. Kind of like touching a scale while you're weighing something. It seems my guitar has both high and low spots. Nothing drastic. You can tell by touching the top of the tile to see if it rocks and using a sharp eye to see if there are any gaps. You can also check by sliding the tile (don't push down) along the length and width of the frets and look at the marks where the tile touched.

To check again, lightly brush the frets with the fine sandpaper we used on the fret board. A used piece works fine. Just keep the tile as parallel to the neck as you can.

Touch to check	Tile marks	Allow tile to pivot

I'll have to make some decisions here. Will I have to level all the frets to match the few that are low? Will I get lucky and only have a few that are high? In either case, working with metal is different than working with wood and paying attention to subtle details here will determine the personality of my guitar.

January 22, 2008

The fret board turned out beautiful. In the light it looks like one continuous surface and will add to the beauty of the neck when the frets are surfaced. I've made my final adjustments to the neck and determined where to level the frets by removing the least amount of material.

I'm going to start by using the finest grade of sandpaper I can find. I think I've seen 800 grit and emery cloth at the auto parts store. Using 600 grit on the fret board was probably overkill. There was a limit to how smooth I could get my fret board. The goal here is to align and polish the frets so you'll need sunglasses to look at the guitar.

If we can't impress them with digital dexterity, we'll dazzle them with brilliance.

Length	Across	Single Fret

I started with 1000 grit sandpaper using the tile as a sanding block and moved it along the length of the neck. I can see the high and low spots very clear now. There were a couple of frets I knew were higher so I used a shorter piece of 400 and concentrated on just those frets using the exposed bare tile as a guide for the shape of the fret arc.

Then I moved on to 600 and then 800 grit covering the entire length of the tile while sliding it up and down the neck. Don't push down. You can feel when the frets begin to line up when the sandpaper doesn't resist and seems to glide. I also work the cutting action across the frets and checked often with the bare tile.

When I finished, the bare tile moved the length of the neck effortlessly and made no noise. Be patient and check the work often or you'll end up chasing a high spot here or a low spot there. The frets are softer than you think.

The frets are now flat and aligned. I'm going to smooth any scratches left on the fret board using some 0000 steel wool. A little touch is all it takes. I also want to put a crown on the top of the frets so the strings will contact only the top and the center of the fret.

Mask	Slits	Crown the tops

I masked off the frets with some painters tape and cut some slits in some 1000 grit sandpaper. The slits will allow the sandpaper to flex easier. I looked around the house for some really soft foam and came up with one of those pads that you scrub pans with. It had an abrasive woven cover on it that I cut off. My wife is going to wonder what happened to her scrubber. She'll get over it.

I taped the sandpaper to the pad and made a flexible sanding block. The goal here is to round the tops of the frets evenly by applying pressure as the pad is moved up and down the frets. Getting the arc right is the tricky part.

Frets Buffed

Finally, I used some polishing paste that I use on my car and started buffing out the frets. My neighbor came by and asked why I wasn't using a Dremel. I would, but mine was broken. He brought his over and the job was done in no time. Just a dab of polishing paste on the buffing pad was enough for the whole neck.

Did I say sunglasses? Welders glasses is more like it!

January 23, 2008

The frets are done and they look like a brand new shiny whistle. Looking at each fret I can see that the crowns are centered and uniform by the reflection of light. It's amazing how our eyes see the smallest imperfections that only sophisticated instruments can measure. Is it perfect? No.

Even the machine that made the frets and the machine that cut the grooves for the frets have a tolerance. Is it really close? You betcha!

Double Check	Groove positions	Precision groove cutter

I've formed the nut very close to it's final width and carefully matched all the edges to the wood. It's a touchy feely thing. I'll leave a bit to allow for polishing. Once the finish is applied to the neck I don't want to be able to feel where the nut stops and the finish begins.

Making the marks for the grooves is probably the most difficult thing I've run into so far. The frets on this guitar are cut at an angle and don't span the entire width of the fret board. Not a problem. I marked the center of the nut and used the metric side of a ruler to calculate the spacing. Getting the marks evenly spaced was the pits! The symmetry of the strings will be a noticeable thing even to a non-player. I should know. I cut the previous nut.

My goal here is to remove enough material for the grooves so the nut acts like another fret. When a string is pressed at the 3rd fret, it should just touch the 1st or very close to it. I'm not going to remove all the material at once, just enough to get close. We'll fine tune it later. I double check and get an idea how much I have to remove. After all the grooves are cut I'll make it look pretty then polish it.

When I started this project I knew there were special tools for this type of work I didn't want to buy. I also wanted to show it could be done using stuff around the house.

To start the grooves I used a single edged blade and wiggled it on the marks. I had this hack saw blade handle/holder I bought for another project because I was too cheap to buy a real hack saw. It's a Stanley #15-809 and can be had for around $5 with a blade. Best of all it's made in the U.S.A. Check out the notch I cut to hold the ball end of the string.

Continue cut	Front view	Side view

I roughed up the string with a file and slowly continued my cut using the tile as a guide to keep the cut straight. After all the time spent on shaping the nut, I don't want to chip it now. I did the same for each groove using the gauge string I'll be playing. The bottom of the groove should contact the entire bottom half of the string.

If there are any irregular spots they'll be worn away first and the string will position itself lower. Not a good thing. The angle and straightness of the groove can effect the sound of the string. I want all the strings to terminate their vibrations at the same point.

That point would be where they enter the nut. Can you imagine what would happen if the string vibration terminated somewhere in the middle of the nut? You'd wonder why the string sounded dead or why the tuning didn't sound quite right.

I've decided not to engrave my phone number on the nut. They change area codes around here too often. I got my Ovation an email address using it's serial number in front of the "@" symbol instead. If it turns up somewhere and someone writes an email to that address, the vacation responder will send an automatic email back to the sender. Very cool!

Nut view 1	Nut view 2	Nut view 3

Did someone mention scrimshaw? To me, this little piece of bone is the most valuable piece of bone on the face of the planet. It turned out beautiful!

My pocket camera doesn't show the reflection well. It's off to the engraver!

January 30, 2008

I've been testing the Polycrylic on a wood sample. It looks O.K. but doesn't seem as hard or glass smooth as the original finish. I'm leaning in the direction of the email I got from Ovation. A catalyzed polyester. Finishing resin used on surfboards should work. The choice now is spray or use a brush. A two part system or a UV cured application. I have a compressor but no sprayer so I'm also considering one of those disposable type sprayers. The nut should be ready by 2/1/08.

February 7th, 2008

I got the nut back from the engraver yesterday. The work didn't turn out as expected. Seems the black lacquer used to fill in the letters liked the grain of the bone as well. I tried buffing it out but that only made it worse. I ended up sanding the engraving off and polishing the nut again. What I should have done was apply some type of sealer to the nut.

The engraver should have known better too. He said he did work like this for Alvarez guitars here in Los Angeles years ago. Will I use him again? Sure. He does good work. It could have been cheap bone stock. Who knows. I've never had a nut for my guitar engraved before. I still like the idea and I'll get the engraving thing done again sometime in the future. Hope you liked the idea too.

Nut Engraved	Nut glued	Mask

I applied a small amount of yellow carpenters glue to the nut seat and edge of the fret board with a brush and installed the nut. The fit was so good the glue dried in no time. Now it was time to start masking off the neck.

While I was waiting for the nut I did some research on finishing surfboards. This stuff is dangerous! Not only can the hardener blind you, the catalyzed resin fumes can damage your lungs permanently. I had gloves and goggles but no respirator. Since I'm going to use one of those disposable sprayers I also picked up some styrene monomer used for thinning the resin. I've never heard of styrene monomer.

As far as the respirator I'll just wear a dust mask and hold my breath. The warnings also mentioned something about disposing your work shoes.

Temperature	Head Back	Neck Back

The sprayer is supposed to be able to spray just about any liquid. I've thinned the resin the recommended 2% so I should be alright. Right? I'm going to spray the inside of the trash can just to make sure. The sprayer works. I move on to the neck as I only have a limited amount of time before the resin begins to harden.

I move the sprayer evenly to avoid drips or sags. The resin doesn't want to coat the surface. It just sits there in drops! This can't be! I've cleaned the surface with acetone as recommended so there shouldn't be any oil to cause this. I spray on. This is not looking good. What to do? What to do?

I quickly lose the sprayer and dump the contents into another container I was going to use for cleaning. I grab one of those cheap dollar brushes I had around and start spreading the resin by hand. This is looking much better! Sorry there are no pictures. I had my hands full!

I knew, going into the finishing part, that if I messed up I could always sand the neck and start over. Not something I wanted to do. I'm actually burned out on sanding for now. I also knew that getting the finish to look like glass would take a little work. So, for now I'm happy with the way it turned out. Did it go the way I wanted or expected? No. I'll get over it. The important thing is after a coat or two more this guitar will be able to be played in just a few days. And life goes on with or without you. Is that a Beatles thing?

When this project is finished I'll treat you to a few video clips of some of my guitar buds playing my Ovation again for the first time. Keep in tune!

February 8th, 2008

The second coat was applied today. I sanded the first coat lightly with some 220 grit sandpaper then thinned the resin to 5% and applied it with a brush. There are only so many pictures you can take of finish being applied to a neck. It's looking good.

February 9th, 2008

The third coat was applied today. Some of you have asked what type of resin I'm using, etc. I'm using a generic finishing resin from a plastic supply store I've frequented for years. They've got all sorts of neat stuff . The resin is not the same that you would buy from a big box hardware store and it's also not laminating resin. Laminating resin remains tacky after it cures. This resin will cure to a hard crystal clear finish that won't yellow over time.

I've read that mixing this stuff is a bit of an art. If you add too much hardener or too little it won't cure properly. There's also a temperature range the curing process likes. I've already thinned the resin to a little more than 5%. I'm mixing in small 1 ounce batches and adding 13 drops of hardener for a fast cure time. Too bad the sprayer didn't work the way I wanted. No worries. Thinning the resin also helps it brush on smoother.

February 14, 2008

I applied another coat and let it cure for 24 hours. The thinned resin brushed on smoothly and took an extra coat for the desired depth. You may be able to see some imperfections. These will disappear after the final sanding. I'll start with 220 grit to level then 400, 800 & 1000 before starting to polish.

Neck Joint	Head back	Head front

Light Sand	Head polished	Neck Polished

I was suprised how easy the finish was to polish. The polishing paste on a rag worked in just a few minutes. There are a few spots that need attention. I'll take care of those later. The finish looks almost like glass. I'm sure if I use a polishing paste with a smaller micron size the finish will look even better. I'll do that when I fix the imperfections. Let's see how this Ovation plays!

Hardware	New Strings	12th Fret

Top	Pick-up	Granite saddle

After installing the tuners and putting on the strings I check the work on the nut by fretting each string on the third fret. Each string should almost touch the 1st fret. Looking good! Then I check the the bow on the neck by fretting each string where the neck meets the body and the 1st fret. Each string should just about touch the fret at the mid point.

I need to make a truss rod adjustment so I loosen all the strings and turn the truss rod nut clockwise to tighten 1/8 turn and re-tune. Remember the truss rod was adjusted so the neck was straight with no strings? I repeat this until the string is just about to touch the fret at the mid point. Which string? Either of the center strings will do. All of them should be checked though. If there is a noticable difference across the neck from string to string it means other problems are present.

The distance at the 12th fret is a bit high for me. I'll lower the height of the strings at the saddle. Not an easy thing for this guitar. Years ago I installed a pick-up that disguised itself as a saddle. It didn't have the nice curve on the top you see in the picture. I had to shape it myself. What a pain! If I took too much off I'd have to shim the saddle. Not a good thing. If I broke the lead it was kiss the $100 pick-up good-bye!

If the strings can't be lowered at the saddle it means that the neck angle has changed or the top of the body at the bridge has changed. A good clue would be warpage at either of these points. You can see by the reflection that the top of this Ovation is still in pretty good shape. All guitars will show some warpage over time. I've seen new guitars with slightly warped tops. A guitar with a warped top can still be made playable. It's not an easy thing to do.

February 20th, 2008

I played the guitar most of the day on Saturday. After making some truss rod adjustments I wasn't completely happy with the higher strings. Just a little fret buzz. The guitar played effortlessly. Since I don't plan on playing live anytime soon I decided to make a bone saddle. I really don't want to mess with the pick-up. Off to the big box music store I go. When I got back I discover that the saddle blank is 0.17" too thin. It's not much but there is no way I'm going to install a saddle that is going to lean slightly in the slot. I decided to make a saddle out of the scrap plexi-glas I had.

The new saddle fit snug and the guitar played fine. I was able to adjust the height of each string by cutting a groove. I'd hit a string extra hard. When the string just started to buzz I stopped cutting the groove. Then I smoothed the arc of the saddle to the bottom of each groove and dressed up the top. The Ovation played just fine but the strings didn't sound as loud or bright. Guitarists will talk about their saddles all day.

It makes a difference what material is used to make a saddle. Plexi-glas is on the soft side of relative hardness when it comes to saddles. The plastic eventually forms to the string and deadens the vibration. I'm sure the material has a lot to do with it's ability to transfer vibration as well. All is not lost. I have a template to make a new saddle.

I thought about all types of material I could use to make a saddle. At this point why not experiment? I decided to make a saddle out of granite. I wouldn't recommend granite if you lack patience. Doing this by hand took me hours. I used a stone that tile guys use for smoothing the edges of tile to shape it. It was worth it. This Ovation sounds and plays great! I think the black granite will look cool too. Now I'll take care of the touch-ups.

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Categories: Do it Yourself (DIY)