guitardog247 Posted March 12, 2008 Share Posted March 12, 2008 I can never seem to get my low E in tune, had this problem with more than one Les Paul. Even after professionally set-up, and adjusting the intonation/saddle. What gives? The Gibson site mentioned that this can sometimes happen, and you may need to try a different gauge on that one string. But, what way do I do? Lighter or heavier? I guess I have to try both. Anyone else ever had this problem. I use Dadarrio 9's, and I've always used those on all my electrics. I also have an Ibanez as75 hollow body, the intonation on that was perfect, right out of the box from buying online. And that was only $375! But I can't record with my $1000 Les Paul because the intonation bothers me. Any suggestions? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DoubleSixx Posted March 12, 2008 Share Posted March 12, 2008 How was the intonation when you first got the guitar ? Gibson usually ships with 10s, maybe give that a shot. If you still have problems it could be the nut. Good luck. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Archer993 Posted March 12, 2008 Share Posted March 12, 2008 I don't know what I'm talking about BUT if the saddle is maxed out in travel you might try reversing it and then retuning. Best of luck... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bischofftep Posted January 4, 2010 Share Posted January 4, 2010 Has anyone ever solved this kind of problem? I have had an Epiphone Les Paul Ultra II for just about a year now, and taken it to three different luthiers to fix the same kind of problem on my B string. JUST that string has an intonation problem: it's set up fine (stroboscope at open and 12th fret are rock-solid) but any time you fret it... BANG, it goes sharp. Is it just a matter of having a different gauge string for that ONE string? Seems odd, but I'm willing to try it. Anyone else know of other solutions to this problem? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lowdown Posted January 4, 2010 Share Posted January 4, 2010 I can never seem to get my low E in tune' date=' had this problem with more than one Les Paul. Even after professionally set-up, and adjusting the intonation/saddle. What gives? The Gibson site mentioned that this can sometimes happen, and you may need to try a different gauge on that one string. But, what way do I do? Lighter or heavier? I guess I have to try both. Anyone else ever had this problem. I use Dadarrio 9's, and I've always used those on all my electrics. I also have an Ibanez as75 hollow body, the intonation on that was perfect, right out of the box from buying online. And that was only $375! But I can't record with my $1000 Les Paul because the intonation bothers me. Any suggestions?[/quote'] I'm not exactly clear on what you're asking here...is it the tuning OR the intonation you're having problems with? If the tuning...more than likely in 99% of cases the nut's to blame. Especially when it comes to Gibson stock nuts. Those corian things they cut are absolute SH*T. I always re-cut mine,or replace with Tusq. If it's the intonation...well,if you know what you're doing easy. If not...here we go then - 1. Get a guitar tuner set to 440 hz.(A) Pluck your E string open-tune-fret at 12th fret-tune. If flat-tighten nut at bridge/tune-o-matic. Retune-refret at 12th. repeat till in tune. Repeat for all strings. Experiment on a bitsa 'til your comfortable. Go for it...save your money & be proud that you can do it yourself. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
guitarjunky Posted January 4, 2010 Share Posted January 4, 2010 Mine does the same thing. The saddle needs to go all the back. And when you check it, don't press to hard at the 12 th fret. Just enough to hear the note. You will find it is good. No one will be able to notice a low E intonation problem if you do what I said. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bluemoon Posted January 4, 2010 Share Posted January 4, 2010 The stock nuts do suck. I replaced mine with bone. Never had a tuning problem since. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rdclmn7 Posted January 4, 2010 Share Posted January 4, 2010 Do the harmonics of the following; 5th string at the 7th fret. 6th string at he 5th fret. Adjust the tuning once you hit both the same time. Once its really in tune, do the harmonic for the 5th string, 7th fret, with the fretted 6th string at the 17th fret. The idea is to confirm that the strings are tuned, which is a baseline for the intonation. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rocky4 Posted January 4, 2010 Share Posted January 4, 2010 Pay attention to how much pressure you're putting on the fretboard. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sschefer Posted June 22, 2021 Share Posted June 22, 2021 (edited) LP's and SG's ship with 10-46's. The ABR-1 bridge is canted to account for string diameter. The distance from the center of the 12th Fret to the Center of the 1st E saddle is 12-1/4 inches. Set this first. The bridge mounting stud is also 12-1/4 inches from center of the 12th fret. The 5th and 6th string saddles point towards the nut the rest point towards the stop bar. Set the 6th E saddle so it's centered on the the stud nearest it or 12-7/16 " from the center of the 12th fret. Lay a straight edge across the the top of the saddles and line up the 5th, 4th, 3rd and 2nd string saddles with the 1st and the 6th using the adjusting screws. WHILE HOLDING THE GUITAR IN THE PLAYING POSITION, tune the guitar and check the intonation at the 12th Fret. Adjust the saddle back if it's sharp and forward if it's flat. Make sure you retune the open string every time you make an adjustment. Finally, check the 6th E by fretting it at the 17th fret and compare it to the 5th string fretted at the 12th fret. They should both be a solid A, As to why you have to do this, it's all about math and it doesn't help that the 6th E was added to the guitar after the initial math problem was solved. Edited June 22, 2021 by sschefer Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rabs Posted June 22, 2021 Share Posted June 22, 2021 Another zombie thread.... 11 Years later lol... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ken374 Posted June 22, 2021 Share Posted June 22, 2021 (edited) oh **** Edited June 22, 2021 by ken374 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sschefer Posted June 22, 2021 Share Posted June 22, 2021 "Another Zombie thread" True and too bad it wasn't answered correctly for 11 years and still shows up at the top of the list when the question is asked. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rabs Posted June 22, 2021 Share Posted June 22, 2021 (edited) 2 minutes ago, sschefer said: "Another Zombie thread" True and too bad it wasn't answered correctly for 11 years and still shows up at the top of the list when the question is asked. Im not having a go at you or anything its just been happening a lot recently... Its all good... There was one in the main lounge asking if you prefer coke or pepsi.. Thats from 2010 and a bit of an odd one to come up again after all these years. Edited June 22, 2021 by Rabs Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sschefer Posted June 22, 2021 Share Posted June 22, 2021 Just now, Rabs said: Im not having a go at you or anything its just been happening a lot recently... Its all good... Cool, yeah the reason I posted it was because I got asked the question on another forum. I figured I'd search around and make sure my answer was the right one before I posted incorrectly on the other forum. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sgt. Pepper Posted June 22, 2021 Share Posted June 22, 2021 Posting on Zombie threads the new thing. Take a 10 year old problem and solve that sucker. Who knows if the guy even has the guitar any more? We have had two different Presidents since then and Gibson had a different CEO. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
merciful-evans Posted June 24, 2021 Share Posted June 24, 2021 I think think this zombie managed to eat a bit of my brain. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pinch Posted June 27, 2021 Share Posted June 27, 2021 Flip the saddle? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pinch Posted June 27, 2021 Share Posted June 27, 2021 Oh, btw, Gibson Les Pauls are notorious for this issue. It's something to do with the design. It's on my Tribute, it's on my Standard. If it causes problems in the studio, flip the saddle. I get the feeling it's more in your head than om tape. Don't feel bad, I'm exactly the same. These guitars aren't free. You could peruse some of my posts and find someone balancing PRECARIOUSLY between "New guitar OCD" and "Get the fxxking butterfly net out". I got better when I watched Slash's tech show off some of the best-sounding Les Pauls in the world. My favorite was his main one, and it had three breaks on the neck alone. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sgt. Pepper Posted June 27, 2021 Share Posted June 27, 2021 (edited) 3 hours ago, Pinch said: Flip the saddle? Buy a new guitar. Edited June 27, 2021 by Sgt. Pepper Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pinch Posted June 28, 2021 Share Posted June 28, 2021 16 hours ago, Sgt. Pepper said: Buy a new guitar. You mistake him for SteveFord. 😉 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pinch Posted June 28, 2021 Share Posted June 28, 2021 26 minutes ago, Pinch said: You mistake him for SteveFord. 😉 That no dig at Steve, just an astute observation. I'm happy for the guy 🙂 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sgt. Pepper Posted June 28, 2021 Share Posted June 28, 2021 29 minutes ago, Pinch said: You mistake him for SteveFord. 😉 If he didn't have to fix up his house he would probably have 3 on the way. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SteveFord Posted June 28, 2021 Share Posted June 28, 2021 It HAS been a while. Actually found myself looking for a semi(?) hollow body single cutaway w/ P90s earlier today... Chimney is next and I keep having subwoofer amp problems which is keeping me busy replacing the pieces of Chinese rubbish. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sgt. Pepper Posted June 28, 2021 Share Posted June 28, 2021 (edited) 3 minutes ago, SteveFord said: It HAS been a while. Actually found myself looking for a semi(?) hollow body single cutaway w/ P90s earlier today... Chimney is next and I keep having subwoofer amp problems which is keeping me busy replacing the pieces of Chinese rubbish. I've been on Reverb looking at 00-28's and 000-18's. Man I love those small bodied guitars. I was playing my 000-28 and 00-18 all weekend. I still kick my self for not getting that 000-28EC at the beginning of Covid. Edited June 28, 2021 by Sgt. Pepper Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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