Jaktripper Posted February 17, 2012 Share Posted February 17, 2012 I just purchased a 50th anniversary Pete Townsend model SG with a wraparound lightning tailpiece. Could someone tell me how to intonate it. As soon as I get passed the 12th fret, it goes VERY VERY sharp on me, and quite frankly I can't even play it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GibSinCity Posted February 18, 2012 Share Posted February 18, 2012 What exactly do you mean by "passed" the 12th fret? Gibson Setup http://www.peerlesstone.com/node/79 "On an electric guitar with a wraparound tailpiece, the tailpiece can be adjusted only at the treble end and bass end. It is usually not possible to achieve perfect intonation for every string with a wraparound tailpiece. If an individual string is out of tune, you may be able to compensate by replacing that string with a higher or lower gauge string." An option: http://www.stewmac.com/shop/Bridges,_tailpieces/Electric_guitar,_non-trem_tailpieces/Adjustable_Wraparound_Bridge.html Adjustable Wraparound Bridge Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
L5Larry Posted February 18, 2012 Share Posted February 18, 2012 What exactly do you mean by "passed" the 12th fret? Oh, come on. Do you REALLY need an explanation of this statement? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GibSinCity Posted February 18, 2012 Share Posted February 18, 2012 Oh, come on. Do you REALLY need an explanation of this statement? Explanation? No. Clarification? Yes. "Could someone tell me how to intonate it. As soon as I get passed the 12th fret, it goes VERY VERY sharp on me..." Passed the 12th fret while playing makes sense. Passed the 12th fret while trying to intonate makes no sense. The OP is a Newbie. Weather that's to this forum, or to guitars in general, I have no way of knowing. Who knows what he's trying to do? The way it's written, it could have meant either one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Rutherford Posted February 18, 2012 Share Posted February 18, 2012 It be quite simple really, if the fretted note on the 12th fret is higher than it should be the scale length is too short and the tailpiece should be moved away fron the nut via the two small grub screws [ de-tune first obviously ] Try this first with the top E then the bottom E, there's not much we can do about the A D G B strings as they are set into the tailpiece. As for replacement with a horrid adjustable gizmo, quelle sacrilege, like putting a sat-nav in a 59 Cadillac I've had the opposite prob on my Townshend SG, the intonation on the 12th fret was always flat meaning the tailpiece could get no nearer the nut without drastic recourse to a file. It was obvious the postholes were a few millimetres out when they were drilled. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beate Posted March 20, 2012 Share Posted March 20, 2012 I just purchased a 50th anniversary Pete Townsend model SG with a wraparound lightning tailpiece. Could someone tell me how to intonate it. May i take up this thread: i bought that beauty of an SG just yesterday. My finding is that the tailpiece is compensated, but it was completly unadjusted (the trussrod as well...). I do not get the intonation right. If ever possible i would prefer not to modify that instrument, e.g, by changing the bride. My questions concern the details of the compensation of that specific bridge, since that depends a lot on the strings and the string height: o what string gauge, material, winding properties (roundwound, halfround, flat, except the obvious one, namely a blank G string) has the compensation been designed for? o which string height has the compensation been designed for? o First impression: the original bridge needs thicker strings because the compensation distances are very similar to those of the wooden bridge of my archtop which is really good for flatwonds with a .013-.015 string gauge (except of the G-string of course). Do i really need strings that heavy on the guitar? There has no allen wrench to adjust the screws been supplied with the guitar. What size do i need? (Where can i get one in Germany...) In case i do not manage to adjust the bridge sufficiently i need a replacement - intonation is more important than originality... Does someone know the exact distance and measures of the posts of the bridge? Can i use a Schaller 455 as a replacement? (i really do not understand why a company supplies otherwise great guitars with inherent intonation problems, this is even more annoying than the intonation problems of my Epiphone EB-3...) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beate Posted March 21, 2012 Share Posted March 21, 2012 Meanwhile i have managed to improve the situation a lot: i filed tiny, almost invisible, notches into the saddles of the bridge in order to improve the contact and position of the strings, improved the lubrication of the saddle putting a bit of soap into its notches, and corrected the possition of the bridge. It improved the situation a lot. Nevertheless, my archtop with its .015 strings intonates better. So everything further seems to reduce to finding the set of strings for which the correction of the bridge ist optimal: anything else will reduce the long term value of the guitar - and retaining this was an important part of my motivation buying a Gibson although i feel able to build an even superior instrument by my own. On the long term, that guitar shall become a great player in really good, almost mint condition. It cant'be perfect because the vendor put in on an inappopriate stand and damaged the finish, but the guitar sounds really great. Therefore i would prefer any solution leaving the guitar intact except of changing strings... PS: Maybe i should take a photo of my two white beauties - the Gibson SG and the EPI EB-3. Resumee: any experience concerning strings and intonation on compensated gibson wraparound bridges is really welcome. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hydra26 Posted March 21, 2012 Share Posted March 21, 2012 I don't have experience with that type of bridge, but I wish you the best of luck. There seem to be two major camps of owners, some that are primarily collectors and some that are primarily players, with most falling somewhere in between. I put myself probably more towards the collector end due to my lack of talent, although with the limited funds I have, the truly collectible pieces are often out of reach. Might I suggest that you purchase through your availlable channels a spare tailpiece if originality is a concern. Then make whatever modifications you need to and put the spare part away in case you need to resell. My feeling is set the instrument up to play well. It sounds like you are on the right track, and along with some of the tips provided it could be a great player. The kind of guitar that any real player would find to be a joy, even if the parts aren't 100% stock. Remember that the artists whose models are being made today, started with (at the time) stock models and modified them to better suit their needs of playability and features and what is stock for their signature models was not necessarily stock configuration before they became famous. Something like replacing a tailpiece with a compatible part, while possibly altering the aesthetics and characteristics of the gutiar is not a permanent modification should you need to revert it back. I find that sometimes vintage style parts are used even though more capable modern equivalents are available because it keeps with a theme and allows players a certain nostalgia, or look, or feel. Subjectively, it can be interesting to me to see what kind of music I can make with a tool that is basically the same configuration as the greats would have used in the 1960's, rather than something completely updated with a floyd rose or a compound radius fingerboard. Soemtimes I think the limitations imposed by the older specs and technology can give an interesting spin, although the modern refinements certainly have their place. I think the important thing is to get it to a point where it makes you happy to play it. I have too many guitars, but all of them do make me happy to play. Viele glück und beste Wünschen von die Vereinigten Staaten. (My German is probably horrible these days, but I didn't have to resort to Google) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Rutherford Posted March 21, 2012 Share Posted March 21, 2012 I realise the compensated wraparound isn't perfect, but the smooth wraparound on the new Junior seems to work great, tested with a electronic tuner the intonation is spot on on all strings Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.