Need Advice Intonation Epi SG Bridge

[Gutsy SG]

I just bought an Epi G-400 Deluxe Flametop. I really like the guitar except for one thing. The intonation was off. When I set the intonation I had to move the 3rd string back just about as far as it would go. That's because the bridge is angled to where the treble end of the bridge is closer to the bridge pup than the bass end of the bridge. That means I have no more leeway to move the G string back if I put on a set of 10-46. They come with 9's.

Can I gain any leeway by lowering or raising the strings (bridge)?
Anybody else had this problem? Any suggestions???

I could just continue to use 9's and be ok but I had rather use 10's.
Or should I return the guitar?

 

[Dills]

Re: Need Advice Intonation Epi SG Bridge

I had exactly the same problem, with my SG copy so to say after thinking of buying an SG400, The only problem is that the intonation on it is out and is getting worse the more I play it. I like everything else about it except the heavyness of the neck and intonation. I have taken it into the guitar store to get it setup and the second time, he said Most SG's are very hard to intonate and that it is a typical problem with SGs especially copies, he said he couldnt get it perfect but close (to my ears it was anoying not close enough) and also it is the THIRD G STRING which gets on my nerves. I cant play a G and then play an E chord on the seventh fret without it sounding bung. I installed new machine heads (gotoh) and it helped the tuning of the strings to be more precise but did not help the intonation at all. The guy in the store (different one this time) said just get a new set of tuners and that should solve your problem, it didnt. I dont think the neck is warped etc and I cant understand why anyone cant intonate it correctly, after trying to move those saddles further away on the bridge there was no room. So I say return it and find another one without that problem. Bump

 

[Mac-P]

Re: Need Advice Intonation Epi SG Bridge

I just bought an Epi G-400 Deluxe Flametop. I really like the guitar except for one thing. The intonation was off. When I set the intonation I had to move the 3rd string back just about as far as it would go. That's because the bridge is angled to where the treble end of the bridge is closer to the bridge pup than the bass end of the bridge. That means I have no more leeway to move the G string back if I put on a set of 10-46. They come with 9's.

Can I gain any leeway by lowering or raising the strings (bridge)?
Anybody else had this problem? Any suggestions???

I could just continue to use 9's and be ok but I had rather use 10's.
Or should I return the guitar?

The guage of the strings shouldn't really have anything to do with the intonation woes.

If your action is high then you have to actually "stretch" the string to fret it. So you have to compensate by moving the saddles back.

If your action is lower then your saddles can be closer to the nut.

A good set up by someone who REALLY knowes what they are doing is very helpful. Better yet to learn and do it yourself.

I would stick with the .010's personally (I use .011's). .009's are so, so flimsy and give you SO much less tone. Thicker strings sound better, break less and hold tune more solidly.

The trick is to set the proper amount of neck relief for the guage of strings (a whole other discussion). THEN set the action (height of the bridge).

Once THAT is done you set the intonation. If the harmonic at the 12th fret is sharper than the fretted note: you make the string LONGER by moving the saddle back (and vice versa).

If the bridge is an ABR-1 style, it is narrower than the "Nashville Tune-o-matic" style and had less travel distance for the saddles (you can't move them back as far).

The G and low E will be back the farthest, the D and high E the closest and the B and A in between them.

You should be able to get the saddles reasonably close to perfect intonation. Maybe the G and low E aren't QUITE as far back as you'd like, but usually it isn't SO bad.

I know the Epi guitars are Metric so you can't just replace the parts with stock Gibson ones. But if you were to get a Nashville Tune-o-matic style bridge, it is wider and the saddles go back further. Problem solved.

Good luck!

 

[Gutsy SG]

Re: Need Advice Intonation Epi SG Bridge

When setting intonation I try to start out by making sure the notes are in tune at the 12th fret then play around with barre chords all over the neck mainly around the 7th to 16th fret and then fine tune to get the barre chords to ring smoothly together with no woofiness or echoey sounds. When intonation is out I seem to first notice it around the 7th fret. I seem to have it in pretty good intonation but the 3rd string is all the way back. I was thinking if I went from 9's to 10's on the strings it might need to go back a tad more which would be a real problem, but I may be wrong. The action is a bit high still. Its at 5 to 6/64's from the top of the 17th fret to the bottom of the strings. I might lower the strings about 1 more 64th but probably not any lower. I couldn't remember if I would need to move the saddles toward the neck or toward the tailpiece if I lowered the strings.

I guess I need to put some 10's on it and lower the strings to exactly where I want them then see if I can get it back in intonation. If so I may keep it, but it bothers me that there is so little leeway for adjusting the G string for intonation.

The neck relief seems to be perfect. Will it change if I go from 9-42 to 10-46 strings?

Are you sure a Nashville tune-o-matic bridge will fit the 2 holes already drilled in the Epi G-400 for the stock bridge?
Thanks

 

[Mac-P]

Re: Need Advice Intonation Epi SG Bridge

When setting intonation I try to start out by making sure the notes are in tune at the 12th fret then play around with barre chords all over the neck mainly around the 7th to 16th fret and then fine tune to get the barre chords to ring smoothly together with no woofiness or echoey sounds. When intonation is out I seem to first notice it around the 7th fret. I seem to have it in pretty good intonation but the 3rd string is all the way back. I was thinking if I went from 9's to 10's on the strings it might need to go back a tad more which would be a real problem, but I may be wrong. The action is a bit high still. Its at 5 to 6/64's from the top of the 17th fret to the bottom of the strings. I might lower the strings about 1 more 64th but probably not any lower. I couldn't remember if I would need to move the saddles toward the neck or toward the tailpiece if I lowered the strings.

I guess I need to put some 10's on it and lower the strings to exactly where I want them then see if I can get it back in intonation. If so I may keep it, but it bothers me that there is so little leeway for adjusting the G string for intonation.

The neck relief seems to be perfect. Will it change if I go from 9-42 to 10-46 strings?

Are you sure a Nashville tune-o-matic bridge will fit the 2 holes already drilled in the Epi G-400 for the stock bridge?
Thanks

.010 guage strings will "pull" the neck a bit more than .009's will and make the action feel a bit higher. If you like the relief the way it is, you will probably have to tighten it just a hair to compensate for the added tension of the .010's.

And if you lower the action, that may FIX the problem with the G string because the string needs to stretch less to be fretted. So you can bring the saddle in more (closer to the nut).

No, an American made Nashville Tune-o-matic will NOT fit your Epi guitar which is metric (we use the wonderfully outdated "USA" standard of measurement here).

Here ya go: http://wdmusicproducts.com/Merchant2/merchant.mv?Screen=CTGY&Category_Code=TPBRDGTAIL

Look around at the options. There are wide post and narrow post bridges in chrome and nickel. Make sure you get the right one. And you may not even need it at all.

Good luck!