Shims For Action Adjustment
Acoustic/Acoustic-Electric guitars have a minimum of two (2)
shims and a maximum of four (4) shims.
The Hand Rubbed Urethane Oil Neck
This neck fi nish is available on some Ovation models. If
your guitar has it, you will notice a natural wood feel on the
neck. It requires a higher level of maintenance than a gloss
fi nished neck.
Approximately once a month, if you play daily, you will want
to apply a commercially available wax. We recommend...
O
Trewax
O
Lundmark's Clear Paste Wax
O
Butcher's Bowling Al ley Paste Wax
They are available at most hardware stores.
The Ovation Bridges
The Ovation bridges found on our Roundback guitars are
de signed to take full
ad van tage of the unique
con struc tion of our in stru -
ments. Thin ner in de sign,
the bridg es help trans mit
the string vi bra tions more
ef fi cient ly.
"Standard action" for
all Ova tion steel string gui tars is 6/64" at the bass E string
and 4/64" at the treble E string (mea sured as the dis tance
between the bot tom of the string and the top of the 12th fret).
This action is nor mal ly achieved with 1-3 shims beneath the
sad dle. These settings were chosen to suit the re quire ments
of a broad range of players. If you wish to change the ac tion,
how ev er, use the fol low ing pro ce dures:
1. Loosen or re move the strings.
2. Remove the saddle care ful ly. This is a delicate op er a tion
par tic u lar ly if you have an acoustic-electric model. Be cer tain
not to pull or force the wiring beneath the saddle.
3. For lower than standard action, remove the shim be neath
the saddle. Removing one shim will lower the action by
1/64" at the 12th fret.
Ovation Factory Set-up . . .
and Stringing Guideline
Ovation guitars, basses, mandolins and LongNecks go through
numerous detailed steps to ensure that our instruments play to
the highest standards possible.
The following standard factory setting, saddle height, action
ad just ment and tension rod adjustments represent the
tol er anc es when your instrument is shipped.
Set-up
Action Setting - The following standard factory actions are in
32nds of an inch measured from the top of the 12th fret to
the bottom of the string.
Bass Tre ble Recommended
Kaman
String Sets
Acoustic & acoustic Minimum 2-1/2 2 1818-6 strg
electric steel string, Nominal 3 2 Long Neck
LongNeck Maximum 3-1/2 2-1/2 1616-12 strg
Classic Minimum 4 3-1/2
Nominal 4-1/2 4
Maximum 5 4-1/2
Acoustic Bass Minimum 3 2-1/2 5300-4 strg
Nominal 3-1/2 3 5305
Maximum 4 3-1/2 5-string
Mandolin Minimum 2 1-1/2 8080
Nominal 2-1/2 2 Ball-end
Maximum 3 2-1/2 mandolin set
Mandocello Minimum 3 2-1/2 9090
Nominal 3-1/2 3 Ball-end
Maximum 4 3-1/2 mandocello set
Saddle Height
The maximum distance from the bottom of the strings to the
top of the bridge is 6/32"
The minimum distance from the bottom of the strings to the
top of the bridge is 2/32".
Tension Rod Adjustment
From .005" to .015" of warp is ac cept able.
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