Ovation Neck reset???

[Zamm Guitars]

I have a friends ovation in the shop that is in need of a neck reset. Does anyone have experience with this? I have been searching the web but can't find any sites that show an Ovation. I have no problem with other acoustics but can't seem to get this neck off.

 

[curtis]

i've always turned them down - i cant see that its possible... although I'm sure there are people out there that know a good trick or two more than me!

I dislike them as a guitar, they sound poor to me, dont sit on my lap, and cant be reset (so it seems to me)...... hard to know what to do with it...

I'm very interested in this thread to learn of a better answer than I can give!

good luck!

 

[Eagle1]

Which one ?
USA ones are just bolt on takes less than five minutes.
The rest are stuck on with car body filler (no really.)

 

[David Collins]

The US bolt-on's can be reset easily enough. As for the others, clamp the whole thing face down on a flat surface, perhaps add a shim at the endblock to take pressure off the bridge and force the neck angle back further, and stick it under a heat lamp.

Actually I've never done this, but always wanted to try. Seems like softening and reforming the back would work. Worst case scenario, I guess it could burst in to flames. Watching that would be a lot more fun than playing one of those things anyway.

Really though, I sent one back to Ovation years back for a customer because it needed a neck reset. If memory serves correct, they were charging around $120-$150 (I was charging $375-$450 for a standard neck reset at the time). I believe the tech I spoke with on the phone told me that they essentially heated and reformed the back to reset neck angles. It's been a few years though and I may be totally making that up. Really though, if you were careful and monitored the heat well, I see no reason it wouldn't work just fine. It would effectively be the same as a shoulder tuck (aka, "slipping the neck block") on a cheap flat top.

Edit: If you decide you actually want to try it this way, let me know and I may be able to throw in some more detailed ideas on temperature, clamping, safety precautions, etc. I don't see a lot of ovations in my shop (I seem to be a lucky one), but I'd be interested in the details if someone else decides to take it on.

 

[Zamm Guitars]

This is an older American made that is glued in and not bolted in(I wish it were bolted in) I started to try to steam originally, there definitely is bondo in there.

I'm going to call Ovation on Monday and see what they offer. Thank you for the replies!

I will let you know what happens.

 

[curtis]

I'm sure there are people out there that know a good trick or two more than me!

well said that man!