TOM or compensated nut issue?

[JoeTam]

Well, seems I had two issues on my 2012 Y2D guitar.

Was getting some clicking/pinging sounds while bending the strings about a step or so, traced it back to the tune-o-matic bridge. Also, had an intonation issue where my D string saddle was all the way back and the fretted note was still sharp at the 12th fret. Replaced the standard TonePros locking bridge with another TonePros locking bridge with roller saddles. My clicking problem is solved, and the guitar now actually sounds louder and maybe slightly brighter, so I guess that's a bonus.

The D string is better now with the roller bridge, but the saddle is still quite far back. I'm thinking this might be due to the compensated nut. Anyone else experience this?

 

[DrKev]

Yeah, I would always expect the D-string saddle to be about level with the B-string saddle, and never behind the G-string saddle. So the possibilities are either the string, the nut, or user error.

You probably know this already, but as a reminder to those who don't...

1) Give customer service a call and ask their advice

2) When setting intonation, make sure the guitar is in playing position when you test tuning, be very careful with finger position and pressure (easy to pull strings sharp), neck pickup selected, roll tone controls off, use the most accurate tuner possible rather than your ears. I love strobe-type tuners because it's easier to compare the speed of motion of the pattern rather than the average position of a wiggly line. Check pickups are not set too high (which can cause all kinds of nonsense).

As a trouble shooting test try setting the intonation by comparing the note on the 3rd fret to the note at the 15th fret. (Use a capo on the 3rd fret if you like). If the new saddle position is where it should be, then the problem is at the string slot in the nut. If the saddle position is still 'wrong', it's not the nut, and probably a dud string or user error.

If it's the nut, any nut can wear over time and this instrument is a decade old. A nut string slot should be angled slightly downwards from the front to the back of the nut (but less than the string angle from the nut to the tuners) which is a very small amount on the G and D strings. All the string tension and pressure can wear the string slots and eventually result in the highest point of the slot being at the back of the nut rather than the front. That would force the saddle to shift backwards too for proper intonation. If the slot is *not* too low, it can be carefully filed to fix the issue. If it's too low in the front, the open string will buzz and you should replace the nut entirely.

You can buy a new compensated nut from Music Man so give Customer Service a call. If you do not have the nut files and experience to do this without risking ruining a nut, get a luthier to do the job. Or you could also send the guitar to Music Man and have a full factory service and even a refret if you like. Their bench rates are very competitive and you know the job will be good.

 

[JoeTam]

Thanks. The new bridge definitely intonates better, but was surprised I still had to go so far back. I got it at the end of February, didn't really notice it with whatever strings were originally on there. I put a new set of EB Hybrid Slinkys on, thought maybe it could be a weird/bad string. I kept the same strings on when replacing the bridge, so I'll see if maybe a new string might help next time I decide to change them. The nut seems okay, but I could always bring it in to my local shop and have him take a look.

 

[JoeTam]

UPDATE: Even with different strings (EB Slinky 10-46 and 9-46) the D string was still out. Even tried a GHS string with the same issue.

Got some sets of 9-48 Stringjoys (9, 12, 15, 26, 36, 48) cheap so I decided to see what all the hype was about. Holy crap, perfectly intonated!

I still think the compensated nut was the issue in the first place, as I did a search and read some other posts mentioning it, so maybe I'll eventually change the nut and see what happens, but it's perfectly fine now with the Stringjoys. Odd that the EB strings didn't seem to want to intonate on an EBMM guitar.