Gibson intonation problems

[Jake30]

Hi all,

 

I'm new to this forum and I would like to discuss a problem that I've been struggling with lately. I play metal and I use drop C -tuning. I've owned two Gibsons: a 90's SG standard and a Les Paul Traditional and neither of these guitars have had an intonation that I'd be satisfied with (I mean that they don't play in tune all over the fretboard). I use big boys' strings (12-58) and the set-ups have been checked and adjusted by professionals. The Les Paul, which I still have, works much better, but is still not quite satisfying enough when it comes to recording tunes with my band. I already thought that I might just be paranoid and the problems I have are problems that all guitar players have to deal with since we're talking about guitars, not pianos. But a few days ago I tested my friends SG faded with the same set of strings and the same tuning and I thought the intonation of this guitar was just perfect. Ironically, this is the cheapest Gibson model there is.

 

SO, if I decide to buy a new guitar, how an earth can I know if this particular guitar will work better for me since I can't test it with my own strings and adjustments? With the Les Paul I thought I found the perfect guitar as I tested it carefully before buying (it had the original strings since it was new), but still a 600-euros-guitar beat its *** when it comes to intonation when using drop-C tuning.

 

I know one way would be to get a "metal" guitar that is designed for low tuning, but I'm not metalhead enough to let go of rock 'n roll in my metal...