intonation difficulties

[zhaDe]

hi , ive got problems setting the intonation on my Ibanez RG guitar with floating bridge. The 12th fret is flat compared to the harmonic but the saddle has reached it's limit. Im using light top/heavy botom strings could that make a problem when set on a floating bridge ?

I ran into this problem after ajusting the neck and the action to remove buzzing on low frets and lowering the action.

[WackyT]

Did you measure to see if your 12th fret was 1/2 the distance to the bridge?

[kiteman]

A change of string gauge may fix that.

[pie_man_25]

there are many variables to consider with intonation:
the strings guage, tuning, length and action all contribute to how the guitar intonates, unfortunately there is no single answer as setting up a guitar in itself could be considered an art. You really just have to play around with it, though I'd start with the height of the string since string length has already been explored.

[marnold***]

The first step in intonating a guitar with a floating trem is making sure that the trem is floating properly, i.e. the base of the trem is parallel with the body of the guitar and not pitched up or down. Is it?

[zhaDe]

I have been able to move the saddle farther than I tought it would go but the problem came back after a while and now the saddle really reached the end. I didnt change string gauge since it came from the repair shop and at that time the action and intonation was correct and there was no buzzing. the saddles where alot farther from the pickups.

I guess the problem would have something to do with the shape of the neck. tho I get some buzzing problems when I turn the neck rod in any direction.

Would bowing the neck in concave direction help getting the high frets sharper ?

[deeaa*]

Don't attempt to fix intonation with neck settings.

First off, make sure it IS really needing to be even further back...you may have hit a harmonic that seems flat when it really isn't and it might work just fine and sound not flat even with saddle more forward.

2ndly, don't try to intonate to 12th fret only/to start with, first make sure you have an exact G on the 3rd fret when you have a good open E and so on; easier to see what is going on intonating those first, then check the 12th.

[aeolian]

I'm a little confused reading about your intonation problem, I hope it is just me not understanding you correctly. If the intonation is flat at the 12th you need to move the saddle toward the neck to correct. Is that what you explained you did and ran out of room?

[zhaDe]

new strings did the trick, same gauge and everything I guess my strings were damaged or something. I've been able to set the intonation perfectly and lower the action without any fret buzzing.

thx for the infos
so fun to play in tune again
it was very anoying for the ears lol

[Rampant]

Glad you got it sorted....

{..I was thinking that you might need to move the entire floating bridge a small amount down the body of the guitar and then set the intonation again with the saddle adjustments..}

Cheerz

Mark H

[peskypesky]

new strings did the trick, same gauge and everything I guess my strings were damaged or something. I've been able to set the intonation perfectly and lower the action without any fret buzzing.

thx for the infos
so fun to play in tune again
it was very anoying for the ears lol

isn't it sweet when a change of strings is all you need to fix a problem? :