There are two bolts that hold the neck to the body on the Ovation. This is the lower one. I suppose I could have put my mirror into the guitar to get both bolts in the picture, but I was lazy. Plus, I really don't need the mirror to see where the bolts are.
I got under the fingerboard extension with one of my palette knives and didn't find much glue there.
Then I put some gentle but firm, judicious pressure on the neck and - crack - the neck popped off. The 'crack' was from the glue giving way. I was thinking about putting some steam into the bolt holes if needed, but the neck popped off with just a bit of pressure.
Other than the bowl back, it looks pretty much like most any other acoustic guitar neck joint. (Plus the bolts of course).
A lot of repair people refuse to work on Ovations. Send your broken Ovations to me instead.
But now I see the issue. At the bottom of the neck joint, see the cracked plastic and the glue on top of it. It looks like the plastic running across the bottom of the joint on the outside broke off. The repair person decided to just use epoxy to fill the gap. Unfortunately, there was still a small gap when the neck was back on the body.
And for some reason, they also used glue along the edge of the slot where the block under the fingerboard extension slides into the guitar.
I'm going to clean up all the epoxy, measure for the neck reset, and then see how big the gap is.
In this case, the epoxy just started to crack when it was heated. It came off in chips.
Next up: doing the math for the next reset.
Cool, do you know if the celebrity guitars have bolt on necks as well? And did you publish a follow up to this somewhere?
ReplyDeleteRemoving Ovation Guitar Neck For Reset
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All Ovations are bolt on. I did a lot more with this guitar - if you click "Newer Post" down below (just above the "Subscribe to..." button, you'll be able to go to each post after this one.
ReplyDeleteI have a Celebrity with no bolts
ReplyDeleteI have been going back and forth between my pro Ovations and my decent, but not professional 6-string banjos. For some reason 6-string banjo makers equip even their "mid-priced" banjos with crap necks. I was wondering if it would be possible to put an Ovation neck on a banjo body. But it would have to be an actual Ovation neck, not an applause or
ReplyDeleteCelebrity. Ideal, of course would be a LongNeck, since they have the same scale length as a banjo. Does anything like that ever come across your path? Thanks.
Hi Paul -
ReplyDeleteI have not seen just a neck like that. Have you tried someone like Kevin Enoch for a neck? He may sell them.
Hi - I need a neck reset and tweak on a Pacemaker 12 string. You make it look not that difficult. Advice?
ReplyDeleteHi - I need a neck reset and tweak on a Pacemaker 12 string. You make it look not that difficult. Advice?
ReplyDeleteLooked inside - no bolts visible. Base of Neck is not visible - appears to be part of the plastic bowl.
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ReplyDeleteI have one of those doubleneck guitars and I would love to swap the configuration around so that the twelve string is on the bottom and the six is on the top.
ReplyDeleteWould you know if the twelve and six would be made the same in so much as would I be able to swap them or would their construction and attachment be any different?
Any thoughts on this would be greatly appreciated!
I've got one and want to do the same thing. Did you have any luck? Any tips or advice?
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DeleteIt might be possible, you'd have to check:
ReplyDelete- Do both necks bolt on to the body?
- And most critical: are the measurements of the necks at the heel end the same? I would think the 12-string neck/heel are bigger.
- If the first two check out, the next question is the saddles. Are they the same width, or is there a big difference? If they are the same, or if the difference isn't that great, it might still work.
IF they are the same, and they both attach the same way, it's probably possible. The Ovations I've seen have a molded "V" shape on the bowl that the neck heel fits into. So if the widths of the heels isn't the same, then you'll have problems trying to swap them.
Hope this helps.
I have a Korean made Ultra that needs neck repair. Can you tell me what glue (or type of glue) that was used to glue the neck on and what would be the best glue to reset it with? I'm not sure the best glue for plastic to wood. Unfortunately this is not a bolt on type neck, although I'm thinking of adding them in if possible.
ReplyDeleteMy understanding is the glued-on necks are some kind of epoxy. I have no idea how to get it apart...probably more hassle than it's worth, sorry.
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ReplyDeleteI just did this myself, tonight, after reading this blog. Maybe I'm lucky, but it was a piece of cake. Then again, I had nothing to lose, as my Ovation had been sitting in its case broken in half for the last 30 years. Back when I was a teenager, a friend knocked it over and the neck broke off. I glued the heel back together but never had the confidence to try to reattach the neck. Until reading this blog, that is. It was a long time coming.
ReplyDeleteWhen I put the neck back on, it was unplayable due to very high action, just like the guitar in this blog. In the last few decades, I've become something of a Martin guitarphile, so I know something of the need for neck resets. Never would have thought I'd give it a try, even on a guitar with a bolt on neck. I did the measurements as described, and came up with pretty much the same thing - about a half a millimeter needed to come off the heel. I wasn't too careful about it, cause what the hell. Used a file and some sandpaper and took the heel down just a bit, made sure it mated nicely, and put her back together.
I'm thrilled with the results. I never thought I would play this guitar again. THANK YOU.
Glad it helped! The Ovations seem to vary, some are bolt on, and some are expoxied. It's great that you were successful and you can use the guitar again.
ReplyDeleteFriend asked me to repair a dropped ae 48 ovation applause. I saw a video describing a 2 bolt + glue system. Took cover off back and could find no bolts, just the truss rod adjuster. Is the neck on these just held on with glue? I think it's a Korean ovation. I'm looking before leaping!
ReplyDeleteFriend asked me to fix a dropped Ovation applause ae48, neck loose at heel and fret board. Checked videos and saw about a 2 bolt + glue system. Are these Korean made Ovations made with just Glue? (good for kindling) or is it possible to repair?
ReplyDeleteMy Ovation Balladeer 1861 needs a neck reset. Would you be interested in doing that?
ReplyDeleteGreetings! My Ovation Applause AE-138 needs a neck reset. I have loosened the fingerboard from fret 15 to fret 20. As I see no bolts holding the neck, how can I now remove the neck from the body. Thanks.
ReplyDeleteRemoving Ovation Guitar Neck For Reset
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