dihnekis Posted April 29, 2014 Share Posted April 29, 2014 So I bought an SG special off craigslist, seemed like a good deal. Didn't check the intonation because the thing looked brand new and the owner claimed they had bought it for their daughter who had never played it. Well I got home and checked the intonation at the 12th fret and sure enough, off by a pretty decent amount, high. Also the action was super high. So I used the bridge nuts to drop the action to a more reasonable level and started to back the saddles off to fix the intonation. Nothing is happening. I've brought the saddles away from the tuners a good amount and the intonation hasn't changed at all. Am I looking at a truss rod adjustment? I have a guitar ruler. I really don't want to pay for a setup for such a cheap guitar. I have an Tele American Standard that I've switched out compensated saddles and fixed the intonation on so I'm not a complete newb. Also, the tuners feel cheap and terrible. Would it be worth trying to get this thing in decent shape (new bridge, saddles, tuners, etc) or should I just give it away and move on to something else? I'm away from my Tele on work and I wanted a cheap electric I could leave in my guitar and not care if it got stolen. But man I wasn't surprised at how awful this thing actually is. Thanks for any help, I'm at a loss and the epiphone support told me to go screw. Doubt I'll ever buy anything from this company again after that customer service debacle. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gunner Posted April 29, 2014 Share Posted April 29, 2014 How old are the strings? I would only set the intonation with new strings. Truss rod adjustment won't affect intonation much as long as it is in the ballpark. Tuners are probably OK. If you have tuning stability problems some work on the nut, or better yet a new nut may be in order. Tusq nuts are pretty cheap and easy for the do-it-yourselfer to install and can be a big improvement. Epiphone is not in the business of helping people set up their guitars, and the warranty is not transferable so no reason to be unhappy with their customer service. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BRAZIE Posted April 29, 2014 Share Posted April 29, 2014 I would try shimming the neck.its a bolt on and odly enough iv just taken necks off and put them back on with no extra work and the intonation worked itself out.but a good shimm job would probably help. i have 3 sg specials i love them but iv put work into all of them.also the tun-o-matic on those things is great,i really doubt that's the issue. i wouldn't mess with the truss rod until iv checked every other possibility.or ill give u $50 for it and pay shipping. or u can pay shipping and ill set it up for you for $50. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scott Marlowe Posted April 29, 2014 Share Posted April 29, 2014 So I bought an SG special off craigslist, seemed like a good deal. Didn't check the intonation because the thing looked brand new and the owner claimed they had bought it for their daughter who had never played it. Well I got home and checked the intonation at the 12th fret and sure enough, off by a pretty decent amount, high. Also the action was super high. So I used the bridge nuts to drop the action to a more reasonable level and started to back the saddles off to fix the intonation. Nothing is happening. I've brought the saddles away from the tuners a good amount and the intonation hasn't changed at all. Am I looking at a truss rod adjustment? I have a guitar ruler. I really don't want to pay for a setup for such a cheap guitar. I have an Tele American Standard that I've switched out compensated saddles and fixed the intonation on so I'm not a complete newb. Also, the tuners feel cheap and terrible. Would it be worth trying to get this thing in decent shape (new bridge, saddles, tuners, etc) or should I just give it away and move on to something else? I'm away from my Tele on work and I wanted a cheap electric I could leave in my guitar and not care if it got stolen. But man I wasn't surprised at how awful this thing actually is. Thanks for any help, I'm at a loss and the epiphone support told me to go screw. Doubt I'll ever buy anything from this company again after that customer service debacle. Sadly a LOT of new guitars nowadys come poorly setup and need the work of a luthier or a skilled amateur to get them ready to play. And it's not just the cheapies. I've seen some pretty nice expensive guitars come with high frets etc. It's impossible to move the saddles that far and have no change in intonation. It might not have changed enough, but it has to have changed. Are you sure your tuner is working right? That you're adjusting the same saddle you're measuring etc? And lastly, you did not buy anything from Epiphone. You bought it from some dude on craigslist. I've gotten GREAT customer service from Gibson / Epiphone when I've needed it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dihnekis Posted April 29, 2014 Author Share Posted April 29, 2014 Well it just makes me sad that I can come to a forum like this and get responses from random people on the internet, but I can't actually go to the company with any of my questions without them just telling me to take it to an authorized dealer. If you guys know the answers to my questions, surely someone at Epiphone must too? Anyway thanks for the responses, I really appreciate it. The strings are brand new. I'll try some of the suggestions though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scott0 Posted April 29, 2014 Share Posted April 29, 2014 I would 1. check the relief. if off, it's an easy adjustment as long as nothing's broken. 2. pending proper relief, bring the saddle all the way to the front of the bridge and start over adjusting for intonation using 1/4 turns or maybe 1/2 turns of the saddle screw and checking tuning and intonation after each and every turn. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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