Members green2 Posted July 19, 2009 Members Share Posted July 19, 2009 :confused:i can't get the low e string intonated on my fender strat. the fretted note is sharp. the neck is properly adjusted. it doesn't matter what strings i use. the bridge is level. the action is medium. the problem is i have lengthened the string length by moving the saddle as far back as it will go and the string remains sharp. this is driving me crazy b/c i have never had any problem intonated any of my other guitars (i've been doing this for 20yrs!). what could possibly be the problem? thanks in advance for any feedback Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members ST-III Posted July 19, 2009 Members Share Posted July 19, 2009 What gauge strings are you using? And how old is your strat? Also what type of bridge does it have? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Fusion1 Posted July 19, 2009 Members Share Posted July 19, 2009 Wouldn't thicker strings lengthen the scale length so you wouldn't be as sharp at the same saddle position? I'm thinking going from 9s to 11s or 12s might buy him a 1/16" more of adjustment??? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members green2 Posted July 19, 2009 Author Members Share Posted July 19, 2009 the strat is an american fat texas special from 2002? i bought it used - it is in excellent condition. the strings i use are standard 10-46 gauge. i am not sure about the type of bridge (i think its a standard usa tremolo)?) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members green2 Posted July 19, 2009 Author Members Share Posted July 19, 2009 the saddle is back as far as it can go (i even took out the spring to get more length!). the only solution i can think of is filing down the saddle? or buying a new saddle that is smaller? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members solderjunkie Posted July 19, 2009 Members Share Posted July 19, 2009 lighter touch... jumbo frets? Put the spring back on the intonation screw and start over. Your tuner might be picking out the second order harmonic (instead of the root), which can be sharp... especially if you are heavy-handed on jumbo frets. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members ChrisGansz Posted July 19, 2009 Members Share Posted July 19, 2009 Try dropping your pickups on the bass side down a bit especially if you are using the single coil pickup - perhaps the magnetic pull is too strong on that one side. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members green2 Posted July 19, 2009 Author Members Share Posted July 19, 2009 they are jumbo frets, and your right that they tend to "sharpen" notes when fretted. i understand what you are saying about the tuner and the harmonic, but seriously it doesn't matter. i've started over several times - this has been a problem for a few years!!! my ears tell me it is sharp - when i am playing chords below the 4th fret it sounds fine, but when i hit notes higher up the fretboard, the low e string is sharp. my tuner says it is sharp about an 1/5 of a semitone. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members green2 Posted July 19, 2009 Author Members Share Posted July 19, 2009 thanks for the help. i certainly will try everyones suggestions, but i'm fairly certain there is some other problem, although everything looks good visually. when I get the chance i will post photos to illustrate what is going on. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members ST-III Posted July 19, 2009 Members Share Posted July 19, 2009 What type of tuner are you using? Is it a strobe or something else? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Bro Blue Posted July 19, 2009 Members Share Posted July 19, 2009 Have you checked to make sure they put the bridge in the right place? If the scale is off, that might be why. Also, with bigger frets, you will tend to go sharp the more pressure you apply. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members flummox Posted July 19, 2009 Members Share Posted July 19, 2009 I had that same problem. It turned out that the low E was intonated fine. The problem was that I tuned the strings from the highest to the lowest - which, on a Strat with a tremolo, causes each string to go incrementally flat as the next one is tuned. So by the time I got to the low E, the high strings were flat in relation to it. I solved the problem by tuning from the high strings to the low strings, and then back to the highs again. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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