Frustrating Intonation Issues On New 594

Flatten out the neck first, then check your intonation. There is probably too much relief in the neck, so when you depress the string, the note goes sharp. Keep in mind, these frets are pretty tall, so if you're burying the string to the fretboard, the note will go sharp even if the neck relief is set properly.

Thanks Shawn - I think this is probably the answer.
 
Please keep us updated how this works out. The comment about the bass side of the bridge being much higher is one to check out. I just looked at my new 594 and the bridge is flat from bass side to treble side. Before I even tweaked the neck, I would loosen the strings, level the bridge and then check to see how the intonation works.
 
Please keep us updated how this works out. The comment about the bass side of the bridge being much higher is one to check out. I just looked at my new 594 and the bridge is flat from bass side to treble side. Before I even tweaked the neck, I would loosen the strings, level the bridge and then check to see how the intonation works.

Thanks! I just did that - the bass side was much higher - and that helped the intonation overall, and yet with the E, A, and D saddles all the way back, the 12th fret is still sharp on my Peterson StroboStomp.
 
What does it sound like to your ear, rather than totally relying on the strobe tuner?

I take it you are a lot closer now?

There is slight discordance all over a guitar neck naturally.

Apologies if I am telling you things that you already know.
 
What does it sound like to your ear, rather than totally relying on the strobe tuner?

I take it you are a lot closer now?

There is slight discordance all over a guitar neck naturally.

Apologies if I am telling you things that you already know.


Hi Alnus - it's better, but my ear definitely hears what the strobe is confirming that the pitch is still off. Thanks for your support.
 
Thanks! I just did that - the bass side was much higher - and that helped the intonation overall, and yet with the E, A, and D saddles all the way back, the 12th fret is still sharp on my Peterson StroboStomp.

Something that occurs to me (as a strobostomp owner) is that it has special guitar tuning modes. I wonder if you're using one of those if maybe it messes things up if you use one of those modes to set intonation. I'm a bit superstitious about such things, so I use my old Peterson VS-1 for setting intonation.

Also, some strings just don't intonate well. I've usually seen that happen with bad sets of name-brand strings. I've never heard of the strings you're using before reading this post, so are they quality strings with a good reputation?
 
Something that occurs to me (as a strobostomp owner) is that it has special guitar tuning modes. I wonder if you're using one of those if maybe it messes things up if you use one of those modes to set intonation. I'm a bit superstitious about such things, so I use my old Peterson VS-1 for setting intonation.

Also, some strings just don't intonate well. I've usually seen that happen with bad sets of name-brand strings. I've never heard of the strings you're using before reading this post, so are they quality strings with a good reputation?


I haven't used anything but the standard tuning mode it ships with... Stringjoy Strings is a great new company out of Nashville making very high-quality strings, very highly regarded...
 
I haven't used anything but the standard tuning mode it ships with... Stringjoy Strings is a great new company out of Nashville making very high-quality strings, very highly regarded...

I don't have a 594, but I did look at the bridge of the violet one on this thread. The bridge itself is not straight, so bringing the saddles back all the way is a pretty dramatic south to north angle for the strings overall. The violet 594 has the bass strings adjust much closer to the front of the bridge. Give that a try with one string. You have nothing to lose.

Finally, if that does not work and you want to keep the guitar and don't mind a little more to do...…...

Remove the springs for the bass strings. You will have more travel and they are not needed anyway.
 
Remove the springs for the bass strings. You will have more travel and they are not needed anyway.
594, no springs
@shallbe meant the tiny springs inside the bridge, that the intonation screws go through. If you remove those, you would have more travel available.

I'm pretty sure he/she didn't mean Tremolo springs.
 
I’ve had to do this before on a couple of guitars using thicker strings:

Unstrung guitar
Disassemble E and G string bridge saddles
Cut spring into 2 pieces, one bigger than the other
Reassemble bridge using the smaller springs for E and G saddles
You now have more range to set the intonation

Not perfect but it does help.
 
@shallbe meant the tiny springs inside the bridge, that the intonation screws go through. If you remove those, you would have more travel available.

I'm pretty sure he/she didn't mean Tremolo springs.

Correct! Saddle springs. They are not needed. The saddle is held in place by the force of the string.

I have an old Les Paul where I had to flip the saddles on one side to get it to intonate, since they don't intonate in the middle of the saddle but along one edge. Not an option here, but you can remove the saddle springs and have a good bit more room to move.
 
FWIW my new 594 has been a bit finicky with intonation. Could be it's just adjusting to a new clime (purchased in LA and shipped to PA). I had to go back and forth tweaking it for a while. I also reset a few of the saddles to mid-point just so I could do a "global" reset on a few strings. It is settling in now but it took a while.

Confession: I'm pretty anal about intonation and tuning in general.
 
FWIW my new 594 has been a bit finicky with intonation. Could be it's just adjusting to a new clime (purchased in LA and shipped to PA). I had to go back and forth tweaking it for a while. I also reset a few of the saddles to mid-point just so I could do a "global" reset on a few strings. It is settling in now but it took a while.

Confession: I'm pretty anal about intonation and tuning in general.

So your guitar has travelled approximately 5000-5500 miles before it reached you?
 
Correct! Saddle springs. They are not needed. The saddle is held in place by the force of the string.

I have an old Les Paul where I had to flip the saddles on one side to get it to intonate, since they don't intonate in the middle of the saddle but along one edge. Not an option here, but you can remove the saddle springs and have a good bit more room to move.
I had to do the same thing on the last LP I had.
 
Have you checked to see if the bridge posts are straight? They’re supposed to be perpendicular to the body. If they create an angle other than 90° it’ll lead to the guitar not intonating. Not that I’ve seen this issue with a 594 yet, but I’ve seen it on other guitars.

You need to remove the bridge but keep the posts in order to check properly. If we can eliminate the bridge being the culprit, we can move on to other aspects of the guitar.
 
Change the strings. Some strings just don’t intonate correctly. Start with another set of the same brand and gauges. If the problem persists, try a different brand.
 
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