Massive intonation adjustment required

[geoham]

I've got a slightly weird one... I've recently put a set of GHS Bass Boomers on my Lakland 5501. Same gauage as always, but first time using this brand. Anyway - I've had to move the B string saddle all the way back to get the intonation right - a huge adjustment - and it's still note quite right, I feel it needs to go back a little more. The rest of the strings just needed a tiny tweak. to put it in perspective, the B saddle doesn't overlap the E saddle at all. The nut looks fine, the neck releif is exactly where it should be. I'm at a bit of a loss. Any suggestions?

 

George

Edited October 1, 2020 by geoham

[Beedster]

Dodgy string?

[geoham]

41 minutes ago, Beedster said:

Dodgy string?

I guess so... It otherwise sounds and looks fine, so I'd like to understand how a string can be dodgy like this, and perhaps check in with the manufacturer.

[mcnach]

I've had that with a new set of strings, and then not with a replacement, so @Beedster's suggestion looks likely to me.

If you like higher action, the amount of compensation required is larger, and it can highlight when you get weird strings like that.

[Beedster]

 

1 hour ago, geoham said:

It otherwise sounds and looks fine, so I'd like to understand how a string can be dodgy like this, and perhaps check in with the manufacturer.

I've had strings out of the pack that were simply dead, one that just unwound as I tightened it, and a couple that wouldn't intonate like yours, in each case either an A or E string (I don't play 5ers). Why it happens I've no idea, I'd guess either manufacturing tolerances, poor QC or good old human error. Unless the string is a significantly different gauge to the previous string, it's the most likely solution, although probably not the only one 

[geoham]

Cheers guys. I think I’ll drop GHS a note. Never had this before in 25 years of playing though only have a dozen or so string changes on a five string.

[geoham]

I dropped GHS an email and they got back to me really quickly.

They have suggested that their strings are a higher tension than the DRs that were on it before, and have suggested trying a lighter gauge. They have offered to send me a 125 gauge string to try. I'm not entirely convinced, I've used the same gauge across a few brands - but I'm happy to give it a try.

[Andyjr1515]

1 hour ago, geoham said:

I dropped GHS an email and they got back to me really quickly.

They have suggested that their strings are a higher tension than the DRs that were on it before, and have suggested trying a lighter gauge. They have offered to send me a 125 gauge string to try. I'm not entirely convinced, I've used the same gauge across a few brands - but I'm happy to give it a try.

I was just about to post a question whether they are higher tension than your normal ones.

The reason that the string sharpens as you press it down is that you are effectively bending the string - think Clapton on his Strat but vertically rather than horizontally.  So the higher the action, as @mcnach says, the more it sharpens and the further back the saddle has to go to compensate.  

But likewise, the higher the tension of the string (and they do vary a lot between makes) the more it sharpens.  A lighter gauge will have less tension and therefore GHS are quite right, it won't sharpen as much and hopefully will sit within your saddle adjustment range.  Lowering the action a tad, if possible, will help some more.

[geoham]

15 hours ago, Andyjr1515 said:

I was just about to post a question whether they are higher tension than your normal ones.

The reason that the string sharpens as you press it down is that you are effectively bending the string - think Clapton on his Strat but vertically rather than horizontally.  So the higher the action, as @mcnach says, the more it sharpens and the further back the saddle has to go to compensate.  

But likewise, the higher the tension of the string (and they do vary a lot between makes) the more it sharpens.  A lighter gauge will have less tension and therefore GHS are quite right, it won't sharpen as much and hopefully will sit within your saddle adjustment range.  Lowering the action a tad, if possible, will help some more.

Thanks - this makes sense.

My action is already rather low, but I've not touched since adjusting the saddle, so it's feasible it could still come down another bit.

On one hand, I've used loads of brands 130 guage strings on this bass - so I'm having trouble getting my head round the concept that the GHS tension would have a such an impact. This leads me to think it's a duff string. But no idea how it could be faulty in such a way.

So, I'll wait for the 125 string to arrive and take it from there.

George

[Dan Dare]

I think GHS's suggestion is sound. I had that problem when I tried Tomastik flats. The A is very skinny/low tension. I had to wind the bridge saddle almost off the thread of the adjuster bolt to get the intonation near correct. It still wasn't perfect, but the saddle would have fallen off the bolt had I adjusted it any further. I gave up in the end and swapped it for a D'Addario Chrome, which is slightly heavier. So if you're having to wind it in the opposite direction and the string is much heavier than the one it replaced, that would make sense.

Edited October 5, 2020 by Dan Dare