How to Adjust the Neck on an Ovation Guitar

When first purchased, many guitars are vary rarely set up to a person's playing preference or style. One important adjustment that you can do to make playing the guitar more comfortable and easier to play is to adjust the neck properly. Save yourself time and money and learn what tools are needed to adjust the neck, how to identify what type of adjustment is needed (if needed) on the neck and how to make those adjustments.

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Guitar capo (optional)
• Ruler or tape measure
• Ovation adjustment wrench (or appropriate sized Allen wrench, sizes may vary)

1. Fret the E string (6th string) at the 1st fret with one hand (or a guitar capo if one's available) and 13th fret with your other hand. Looking from the side of the neck, at the 5th fret, the space between the fret and the string should be no less than .005 inch to .015 inch, depending on the gauge of strings being used. Check the low e string (1st string) in the same manner. If either string touches the 5th fret, then the neck is "warped" and the truss-rod will need to be loosened. If the space between the string and 5th fret exceed .32 inches, then the neck is considered to have too much "bow" and the truss-rod will need to be tightened (a very little amount of "bow" is normally desired to prevent strings from "buzzing" on the frets when played). Please note: The measurements given are guidelines only. Optimum string height at the 5th fret will vary depending on the size of the strings used, as well as the playing style of the player. There is no set rule for string height at the 5th fret. Ideally for most, average players, it would likely be around .10 inches at the 5th fret.

2. Locate the truss-rod, adjustment nut. This is normally found inside the guitar, where the neck and body of the guitar meet, or the "heel" of the neck. You can access this in one of two ways depending on your model of guitar--either through the sound hole (for guitars with a large, center located sound hole), or through an access panel located on the back bowl of the guitar that can be opened (if your guitar does not have a large, center located sound hole).

3. Detune the guitar considerably, lessening the tension of the strings. Two to three turns of the tuning keys should be sufficient.

4. Reach inside the guitar and place the Ovation Adjustment Wrench on the adjustment nut. Make sure it's securely seated on the nut.

5. Turn the nut in a clockwise direction to tighten the truss-rod in order to correct a warped neck. For a bowed neck, turn the nut in a counter-clockwise direction to loosen the truss-rod. Keep in mind, truss-rods are very sensitive. A small adjustment, in either direction can go a very long way. Make your adjustments in very small increments at a time (approximately 1/8th of a turn).

6. Retune the guitar.

7. Check the neck condition as shown in Step 1 and make further adjustments if necessary.

Tips & Warnings

• Different string sizes (or guages) put different amounts of tension on the neck. If you change from one string size to another, check your neck condition to see if any adjustments will need to be made in order to compensate. Keep in mind also that wood can take a little time to settle. The neck may continue to "adjust" for another day or two. After a couple days, recheck the neck condition to see if any further adjustments are needed.
• Only small adjustments should be done to the truss-rod at a time. Turning the truss-rod in either direction too far can possibly damage the neck. No more than one eighth of a turn at a time before rechecking the condition of the neck. Also, always detune the guitar when adjusting the truss-rod, especially when tightening the truss-rod. When you tighten the truss-rod, it will increase tension on the neck. When combined with the already considerable pull of the strings, it can be quite possible to damage the guitar.

[dyslexicpeot]

on 10/30/2009 Steps 1 and 5 contradict each other. Step 1 says it's necessary to loosen the truss-rod in a warped neck and tighten the truss rod in an excessively bowed neck, but step 5 says to loosen the truss-rod in a bowed neck and tighten the truss-rod in a warped neck.