Ovation Celebrity Acoustic

[Vice1]

My Ovation Celebrity has a terrible rattle whenever I play it. The rattle seems to come from the part of the Guitar where the fretboard meets the body. I took the Ovation to a couple places and the repair men said they could'nt do anything! They said that Ovations are cheaply made and are made with parts that are not standard to most Acoustic Guitars.
Is this true? Has anyone had this problem before? Can I fix it my self? Or should I sell the Ovation while I can and get something better? Any help is greatly appreciated!!! thanks

[DALtune]

I think it depends on where the guitar is on the scale for that brand. I'm pretty sure the Celebrity is not the top of the line, but there should be some way to fis it. The question is, will it be cheaper to fix or to buy another.

If the rattle seems to be coming from the fretboard, can you isolate it a little more? Can you tell if it's the fretboard to the neck, the neck to the body, or a combination of both? It could be anything from a truss rod to a loose fret. I think this is the ovation web sight www.kaman.com
I could be wrong...

[Vice1]

thanks for your help. I think I'll take it to the Ovation headquaters, which is only about an hour from me. Hopefully they will know what's wrong.

[PILSMAN]

Vice1- The celebrity is the bottom end of the Ovation food chain. I'm not 100% sure, but I think they might be made in Korea by Applause (Ovations cheaper sister co). A guitar made in Korea is not a problem today, but a few years back, the quality was much lower. If you find out if this guitar was made in Korea, and the price of fixing it would be more than $150US, I would recommend buying a different guitar. (try the used market)

This is just my opinion, I could be wrong. The fact is, I used to own a celebrity, and the same thing happened to my neck joint. The cost of repaire didn't justify keeping it.

Hope this helps.

[adam]

i have had a celebrity for about 10 years and have at times heard a buzzing that drove me crazy. It always turned out to be a loose pickup wire inside that was fixed with some tape. This might not be your problem but I thought I would pass it along.

[Vice1]

Thanks for all the ideas. I think the problem is the truss rod, thats where the buzz comes from. I'd like to look around inside the body.
Adam which wire was it that came loose the most? thanks

Also if I do have to get a new guitar I'd like to do it right. I don't mind spending the $$$ but I travel alot so I'd like a Guitar that doesn't riquire alot of matnience. Can you guys recommend a brand that is known for good sounding but durable guitars?

[This message has been edited by Vice1 (edited 05-25-2000).]

[Buck62]

Look down the list of subjects, and you'll see "Acoustic Buying Advice Needed".
There's 50 posts of advice on this subject.

[Treeline]

You may find some oddball adhesives at work on a Celebrity fretboard that could make it difficult to work on. Sounds like a loose truss rod - they are set in a channel cut into the neck at the fretboard joint, with a pressure fit and adhesive, and sometimes they can develop a contact buzz or an outright rattle. How is the neck adjustment? Is the truss rod nut reasonably tight? (Don't turn it, just check to see if it is under tension). The other things that occur are a slightly loose neck, or a binding or brace inside that is beginning to come loose. Finally, it could be a top lamination under the fretboard extension that is beginning to come apart. But look for the simple things first. A good tech can do a pretty thorough exam in about ten minutes with a mirror and a light.

[adam]

vice1 -- the wire connecting the piezo to the output jack