intonation help

[jimzane]

I cant figure out how to set the intonation on my sterling. I play drop d tuning full step down with regular slinky strings.

When I play the harmonic it is sharp of the open note. Everything I find online says this is impossible. without an amp, the open e (c) sounds like I sat on all the low keys of a piano.

I have tried many different tuners.

so I tried to set the intonation to the harmonic and the fretted 12th, but it sounds way out when we record.

When I turn the bass down on the guitars eq I also get different notes

Do I have the pickup too close and the magnets are screwing the string?
I set the pickup to 6/32 from the plastic to the bottom of the g string

 

[jimzane]

so when I turn the mid and bass all the way down on the eq, my tuner works on the e and a strings. Then I turn them back up, and it works on the d and g strings. thats the only way I figured out to get this guitar in tune. I can't imagine anyone else has to do this, but if I dont tune this way its far out of tune.

help

 

[cellkirk74]

I think you should call customer service or contact the dealer you got that guitar from.

 

[Freddels]

You don't need customer service on an intonation issue. You're doing a drop tuning so you need a good tuner (like a Peterson strobe). Then you can either search on the internet for a quick explanation of how to do it or you can just figure it out on your own, or you could just bring it to a qualified tech and have it set up. There are several ways to do it but the easiest to do it yourself would be with matching the open string with the 12th fret harmonic. You have to adjust the screw for the the saddle by either lengthening the string or shortening (depending on whether the harmonic is sharp or flat in relation to the open note). It takes time b/c you have to retune the open string after adjusting the saddle position and then you check the harmonic again. You'll quickly figure out which way to move the saddle. Without an accurate tuner, don't even attempt it.