scottrandall Posted April 25, 2003 Report Share Posted April 25, 2003 Hey Gang - I have a 1960's Trini Lopez ES 335. It has a non-original Gibson fixed or "stop action" bridge. The guitar tunes up fine, holds a tune and passes the 12th fret intonation test fine too. Trouble is when I play the strings down at the lowest first and second fret (on the machine head end of the neck) they go sharp. The strings get progressively more in tune as you go up the neck towards the bridge - the opposite of the usual problem! The neck looks pretty good to the eye. Can anyone help? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vh-guitarstore.com Posted April 25, 2003 Report Share Posted April 25, 2003 other than adding the buzz feiten tuning system, there isnt anything you can do.....short scale necks are harder to intonate and are known for this.....you could try to go up a gauge in strings..... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
john Posted April 25, 2003 Report Share Posted April 25, 2003 a compensated nut , eg: Earvana would probably sort it out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jeremywills Posted April 26, 2003 Report Share Posted April 26, 2003 I have been hearing that the Earvana compenstated nuts are great, if you end up trying one or if anyone does for that matter, lemme and the rest of us know if its worth it or not, as for me, I rarely tune up and change strings as faithfully as my oil, wich means hardly ever, anyways, just mentioning that, changing string guages could help or just simply a fresh set of strings of same guage, sometimes you just get a crappy string, it happens or especially if the ones on it are reasonably played out like mine usually are, good luck Jeremy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Setch Posted May 5, 2003 Report Share Posted May 5, 2003 I'd also check your nut height - a slightly high nut will help get buzz free play, but will always throw the first couple of frets out of whack. Try fretting a note at the third fret, and see how much clearance you have between the string and the first fret. If you have no gap the nut is cut too deep, if you have an obvious gap, it's too high. You really want it so close that you can't see the gap... You can tell if there is a gap you can't see by tapping the string between the nut and first fret, whilst still fretting it at the third. If you hear a tiny metallic ' tap' when you tap it, theres a gap. If it's actually touching the fret you won't hear anything but your finger striking the fretboard. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DCord Posted May 5, 2003 Report Share Posted May 5, 2003 I second that - check both your string height at the nut as well as the angle at which the nut slots are filed, if they don't follow the headstock angle, you could have improper string length... Now that I think about it, I could *never* get the 3rd fret G on the low E string to sound "right" on my LP... ~d~ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scottrandall Posted August 22, 2003 Author Report Share Posted August 22, 2003 Thanks for the advice, gang. I'm working on it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian Posted August 23, 2003 Report Share Posted August 23, 2003 Welcome back how's it going so far? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaulNeeds Posted September 1, 2003 Report Share Posted September 1, 2003 Now that I think about it, I could *never* get the 3rd fret G on the low E string to sound "right" on my LP... I've always seemed to get this problem on Gibson scale lengths - but more with the first fret on the G string. Getting the nut slot correct does help - but often not completely. It drives me nuts. I too have thought about the Earvana system, but I've just Fenders with no probs at present, but would love to hear any experiences of them as I quite fancy an LP DC at some stage. Another point, although it's unusual these days, a wound 3rd G string does help enormously. The string doesn't bend so much when it's fretted with a high nut slot. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roli Posted September 1, 2003 Report Share Posted September 1, 2003 Wound 3rd's are okay, and on a 24 3/4" scale they've got a bit less tension so you can bend 'em quite well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaulNeeds Posted September 1, 2003 Report Share Posted September 1, 2003 what I meant re the wound G is this - if your nut is cut too shallow, simply the pressure of your finger fretting the note can bend the string even if you push straight down - almost the same as if the board were scalloped, but not as extreme. It makes it impossible to play open chords and barred chords in tune with each other. If you can notice this (any many don't) it can be painful to the ear. As I said, it annoys the **** out of me. Using a thicker, stiffer or tighter string helps this odd artifact. EVERY Gibson type I've owned has had this to some extent or another, & needing reslotting. A thicker string set is better for many reasons, arguably, but I'm a lazy git and use 9-42s. Used to play 13's when I was playing bass a lot, and used to bend those suckers all over too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roli Posted September 1, 2003 Report Share Posted September 1, 2003 For me 12 - 54's all the time. (No drop tuning) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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