12 string guitar bridge lifting slightly - leave it, or fix it?

[Arthur Sweeney]

Hi all.
I just picked-up a nice AE35 Ovation Applause 12 string acoustic/electric guitar.
(Yes, I know, many people on this site really do not like Ovations). Anyway, the
price was great, the guitar is in excellent condition, except for a slightly lifting
bridge. (I can fit the tip of my guitar pick under the middle of the bridge a bit).
So, my question is, as it needs new strings anyway, should I just restring it
with extra-light strings, and hope for the best (not fix it), or should I just go
for it, and pay the money to have the bridge professionally reglued?
How long do you think it may last the way it is? It plays well, the action is
slightly high, but I can still play it fine.
Thanks.

[Mark Pollock]

When you take the strings off, what happens? Does the gap close, or stay the same? If there is movement, I would have it fixed, but if it stays the same, I might not worry - many manufacturers seem to allow a gap around their bridges, which is not great for tone, but is not necessarily a problem.

Regluing a bridge is not that tough, especially if it is a pin bridge - you just use a couple of sacrifical pins to place the bridge perfectly. I used some basswood blocks covered in cork from Ikea to reglue my Guild 12-string, and it worked very nicely. It was also a chance to fix that unglued margin around the bridge and get it seated really well.

Of course, there is the concern that it is an Ovation, and who knows what kind of glue is in there.

[Mike Kolb]

I would remove the bridge, drill tidy little holes for bolts, reinstall the bridge with epoxy and bolt it down. If you want to get fancy, you can countersink the bolt heads and cover the holes with MOP.  

This advice might be considered blasphemous with a Martin or other fine guitar, but....hey... it's an Ovation, right? 

Seriously, Ovation has never had a shortage of "brilliant unorthodox methods" in their original construction, so a couple of bolts shouldn't be an affront to their reputation. And that bridge will never rise again! 

[Steve Williams]

Mike, first thing that crossed my mind when i saw this was "bolts". I'm not sure i would even bother to re-glue it (in the spirit of maximum blasphemy)

steve

[Russell Vance]

A lot of new Ovations come standard with two bolts with MOP caps,I just set up a new one and access to the bridge plate is dead easy through the bowl port in the back - just go to their website and copy the locations onto the existing bridge. They are not going to live long enough to become collectable.

Rusty.

[Arthur Sweeney]

I have attached a photo of the bridge.
(I found this photo online, I do not have photos of my actual guitar handy)
I have not removed the strings yet, so I do not know if the bridge will lay
back down flat after string removal.
I was hoping to save alot of money, and restring it with extra lights, and
hope that is does not get any worse. How much would a luthier charge
to reglue the bridge?
Also, (don't laugh), could I syringe-in some special glue in the gap, clamp it, and be OK?

[Arthur Sweeney]

I have attached a photo of the bridge.
(I found this photo online, I do not have photos of my actual guitar handy)
I have not removed the strings yet, so I do not know if the bridge will lay
back down flat after string removal.
I was hoping to save alot of money, and restring it with extra lights, and
hope that is does not get any worse. How much would a luthier charge
to reglue the bridge?
Also, (don't laugh), could I syringe-in some special glue in the gap, clamp it, and be OK?

[Arthur Sweeney]

I have attached a photo of the bridge.
(I found this photo online, I do not have photos of my actual guitar handy)
I have not removed the strings yet, so I do not know if the bridge will lay
back down flat after string removal.
I was hoping to save alot of money, and restring it with extra lights, and
hope that is does not get any worse. How much would a luthier charge
to reglue the bridge?
Also, (don't laugh), could I syringe-in some special glue in the gap, clamp it, and be OK?

[Mark Pollock]

MY comment about regluing and bridge pins was way off the mark, sorry about that.

So, if your bridge looks EXACTLY like this, with two dots inlaid near the ball ends of the strings, then it is probably bolted on. You know what I would do? Look inside. See (or feel) if there are bolts with nuts on them. Make sure the nuts are still there. Make sure that they are not loose. I have no idea how tight they should be, but tightening them wouldn't help you anyways, the pressure is in the wrong place.

If they look good, then go for the extra light strings, and have a great time playing 12 string! I'm guessing that, being a top-loaded bridge, it's just going to pull up like that, and it's okay. And for the first time, I understand why Martin Tiple bridges have that extra tongue in front - to avoid pulling up like most top-loaded bridges.

[Arthur Sweeney]

Why do Ovations get such a bad rap anyway?

Also, sorry about the duplicate postings, I have no idea why that happened.

And, thanks in advance for all the advice!

 

Regards,

-Arthur

 

 

[Russell Vance]

Arthur, if this is the guitar you have it already has bolts (which are under the pearl dots) - take it to a luthier who will pop the bridge off, clean both surfaces for gluing and then re-glue and bolt down the bridge.  $50 (glue only) to $100 (including a restring and setup)is a ballpark figure.

Ovations have some shortcomings in their design and execution which present luthiers with difficult problems on a regular basis.  They do not seem to age well.

Rusty.

[Paul Verticchio]

Just a note to all the responders.  Arthur is NOT a repairman.  Everyone gave great responses but highly technical suggestions are overkill.

Arthur: Rusty's last post gave you the exact answers you sought.  Go with his advice.

BTW: Nice score. The instrument appears to be in great shape.

As to why so many of us are "down" on Ovations: They play well and sound good.  However, once they develop problems, they're a nightmare to repair due to their unconventional construction methods and thick epoxy like finish. Oh ya, and their pickup systems pose weird issues that are a nightmare to diagnose. One other factor: Ovation, as a company, is not "repairman friendly". Their support of independent tech's & luthiers is nonexistent. In other words, we don't have access to replacement parts.

Personally, I direct Ovation owners to Ovation to do the repairs as they're not worth the frustration factor for me to repair. 

Plus (and this IS a personal POV problem), I can't figure out why they bought a new Ovation when they could have gotten a much better sounding conventional acoustic for the same $$.  A 'super deal' on a used instrument like yours, in great condition, is the exception(:

Enjoy your instrument & follow Rust's advice (-:

[Mike Kolb]

Arthur indicated that the picture he attached was not of his guitar, but rather a shot he found online.