Have you ever run out of intonation adjustment range?

[Top-L]

My new M-1000 highE saddle is pretty close to the front with 9s. I'm pretty sure it will still intonate with 8s (but not entirely sure.)

This could have the benefit that with larger strings, you would not run out of backwards movement. (But I never use really large strings.)

Have you ever encountered a guitar where it was unable to intonate because the saddle movement was restricted? (I read a complaint thread about a defective Kiesel where this was apparently the case.)

Looking at my various Floyd guitars, there does seem to be a bit of variance between guitars... which is strange because you would think they would all be installed at EXACTLY the same distance. These are pretty high quality J and K guitars too.

[PFDarkside]

I’ve got vintage style Strat that I had to shorten one of the springs as it was restricting the range. On my Epiphone I thought I’d have to flip the saddle, but it makes it.

[idsnowdog]

With a Floyd there are normally two rows of intonation holes on the baseplate for intonation. Are you using the rear hole? I have had to shorten springs with Strat tremolos and I have even ground down cast zinc saddles to shorten them to get things properly intonated on short-scale guitars.

[Top-L]

With a Floyd there are normally two rows of intonation holes on the baseplate for intonation. Are you using the rear hole? I have had to shorten springs with Strat tremolos and I have even ground down cast zinc saddles to shorten them to get things properly intonated on short-scale guitars.

These are the front holes. The high-E saddle can move forward another mm, I don't know if that would accommodate an 8. I hadn't thought about it, but I could grind down part of the saddle to move it even farther forward if I had to.

I'm assuming they installed it in this location on purpose, which means the lowE has more rearward movement. I wonder if the players using really thick strings for downtuned styles have ever run into a lack of backward movement? That would explain why it is positioned as far forward as reasonably possible.

[chadd]

I've had to trim springs to allow enough rearward travel on strats a few times

[idsnowdog]

These are the front holes. The high-E saddle can move forward another mm, I don't know if that would accommodate an 8. I hadn't thought about it, but I could grind down part of the saddle to move it even farther forward if I had to.

I'm assuming they installed it in this location on purpose, which means the lowE has more rearward movement. I wonder if the players using really thick strings for downtuned styles have ever run into a lack of backward movement? That would explain why it is positioned as far forward as reasonably possible.

I misread you. I thought you meant back and not forward. I have never used strings that light.

[Mincer]

I have run across this with guitars with some custom string sizes and in some odd tuning. I've cut springs, I've flipped bridges, and even then, it just might not work. Sometimes you have to get close and that's it.

[ErikH]

Yes, this has happened to me when I tried out DR strings some years back. Could not get the guitar to intonate at all. I took those strings off and went back to the Dean Markley's I was using at the time and never tired DR's again. Sometimes it's as simple as the strings themselves.

[idsnowdog]

A 9 may work and not radically change the feel of your setup.