McCarty 594 SE Bridge Holes Not Drilled Correctly

[Raven87]

Hi everyone. Longtime follower but I just joined up because …

I bought a new 594 SE Singlecut (Black Gold) and after trying to get the intonation set it had two saddles maxed out completely to get the G and B strings corrected. The other four are almost maxed.
Every string was very sharp intonation-wise right out of the box. Hmm…
Called my vendor and the tech said the bridge holes were most likely drilled slightly off. They are pulling another new one and checking it out to exchange for my current one.

I searched but couldn’t find anything but is this a one off Issue? Love everything about the guitar other than this issue.

Steve

 

[Glide-bpm]

Hi everyone. Longtime follower but I just joined up because …

I bought a new 594 SE Singlecut (Black Gold) and after trying to get the intonation set it had two saddles maxed out completely to get the G and B strings corrected. The other four are almost maxed.
Every string was very sharp intonation-wise right out of the box. Hmm…
Called my vendor and the tech said the bridge holes were most likely drilled slightly off. They are pulling another new one and checking it out to exchange for my current one.

I searched but couldn’t find anything but is this a one off Issue? Love everything about the guitar other than this issue.

Steve

Never had that problem... Wow!

 

[Rod/]

Hi everyone. Longtime follower but I just joined up because …

I bought a new 594 SE Singlecut (Black Gold) and after trying to get the intonation set it had two saddles maxed out completely to get the G and B strings corrected. The other four are almost maxed.
Every string was very sharp intonation-wise right out of the box. Hmm…
Called my vendor and the tech said the bridge holes were most likely drilled slightly off. They are pulling another new one and checking it out to exchange for my current one.

I searched but couldn’t find anything but is this a one off Issue? Love everything about the guitar other than this issue.

Steve

Hi Steve. I’m glad your store is standing behind this. PRS will as well… Can‘t have intonation issues

 

[Alnus Rubra]

Just a wee question, does the bridge have Allen bolts that press on the bridge studs and have they maxed out too?

 

[bodia]

Incorrectly drilled holes would be unlikely with the use of a CNC machine and program. Glad your dealer is taking care of you.

 

[RCM78]

If every string was sharp, I suspect you're pressing too hard on the fretted note.

 

[AP515]

^^^^ this. Also, if the action is higher than spec, that will force the intonation to go sharp. Worth checking.

 

[Raven87]

Thank you all. I’ve adjusted the intonation on nearly all my guitars for years so I know what pitfalls to avoid. The first one to certainly avoid is pressing too hard on the strings at the 12th fret which can cause a sharp reading.
(The action is actually quite good and overall the guitar plays very well.)

But this guitar is different intonation-wise. Even the lightest pressure (just enough to cause the string to hit the fret to not be a harmonic note) was still giving a reading sharp during the adjustment process albeit in slowly decreasing amounts of sharpness with each adjustment/recheck.
I was finally able to get the guitar into intonation. But - all the saddles are near the end of travel with the B and G being ultimately at the end of travel. They are fully up against the tiny springs and can not be turned further. I’ve never had a guitar have this issue before. Not one.

I too was surprised that given the automated technology used in production that how incorrect placement of the holes was even possible? I even asked the tech if he thought maybe the bridge itself had an issue and needed replaced but he said he didn't think so but to be sure that I wouldn’t still have a problem (in the event a new bridge did not fix the issue) they would just replace the guitar with a new one.

And, they would check the new one over completely on the bench before shipping it. So, I’m looking forward to getting it and checking it out. I‘ll post here again after I do.

Again, thanks to all.

 

[Raven87]

I’ll try to post some pics soon.

 

[Raven87]

This is how the bridge and saddles were set when it arrived.

This is how the saddles ended up.

Are those small springs on the adjustment screws actually needed?

 

[jak3af3r]

This is how the bridge and saddles were set when it arrived.

This is how the saddles ended up.

Are those small springs on the adjustment screws actually needed?

I can't tell if it's a camera illusion but those strings look like they fan out of the stop tail piece to the bridge more than usual.

 

[Raven87]

I can't tell if it's a camera illusion but those strings look like they fan out of the stop tail piece to the bridge more than usual.

It’s just the camera effect from being held close.

 

[frankencat]

There are other things that can affect intonation like the nut and sometimes the strings. Every now and then I see a string or even a set that doesn’t intonate correctly and changing it almost always fixes the issue. At any rate, glad your dealer is taking care of you. Let us know how you make out.

 

[Stephen J.]

Do I understand correctly that you achieved accurate intonation by backing the saddles to the rear limit of travel? If so, is there an issue? Are you looking to use a heavier set of strings?

I have removed the spring from behind the saddle of a trem bridge. It didn’t cause any problems.

 

[Birdsofprey]

There’s still plenty of adjustment available so not quite sure that it’s not able to intonate. Like many ABR-1’s which I understand this is not you can reverse the saddle giving you additional adjustment. I do agree with the op this should not be an issue on a new guitar and agree with other statements that these are made by cnc and doubtful it’s a mis drilled bridge location. Nuts important too, cut to high = problems with intonation. Dealer/PRS will figure it out.

 

[Raven87]

There is more adjustment available only if I remove the springs or reverse the saddles on the B & G strings. They are backed up tight against the springs and will not move any more.
I mentioned both of those possibilities to the tech but he was very apologetic for having the issue in the first place and said he would prefer to just exchange the guitar.
I’ll update things here once I get the replacement in hand.

 

[Lewguitar]

There is more adjustment available only if I remove the springs or reverse the saddles on the B & G strings. They are backed up tight against the springs and will not move any more.
I mentioned both of those possibilities to the tech but he was very apologetic for having the issue in the first place and said he would prefer to just exchange the guitar.
I’ll update things here once I get the replacement in hand.

Gibson invented the Tune-o-matic bridge and they would reverse some of the saddles. No biggie.

 

[Raven87]

Gibson invented the Tune-o-matic bridge and they would reverse some of the saddles. No biggie.

Right. I bought a new Epiphone LP Custom that had the saddles already reversed on the three strings. Here’s a pic (Ignore the dust).

 

[RCM78]

You can remove and cut the springs for more range of adjustment.

 

[Raven87]

You can remove and cut the springs for more range of adjustment.

I will keep that in mind. Thank you.