Question Valentine Trem - tuning stability

[axeman5150]

I have recently acquired a 2017 Valentine trem - Buttermilk. It came strung with 11's but they are too heavy for me so I changed to 9's. I have set the trem springs so the trem is flush with the body (no floating), set intonation and added a tiny bit of relief to the neck as I'm a fairly hard player, oh and thoroughly stretched the strings and added a little nut sauce. It has now been set up with 9's for three day's. The main tuning problem is with the E and A strings. If I tune to pitch using either the Kemper or Boss tuner and then play (for example) an E or A chord the tuning is way out. To get the tuning correct I have to have the E tuned -10 and the A -7. Sounds really odd but that's the only way you can play any chords in tune. Has anyone else had anything like this before.

 

[jones4tone]

Was adjusting intonation the last change you made?

 

[axeman5150]

Yes, I did truss rod adjustment then checked the intonation.

 

[jones4tone]

If you're saying you're having to tune an open string 6 down -10c for a first position E chord, that doesn't make sense to me? Maybe one of the smarter chaps here can chime in.

 

[beej]

It shouldn't be rocket science. Assuming the strings are new, the intonation isn't right, or you're throwing out the intonation by pressing too hard when you fret.

 

[Clyde]

You may want to measure your relief with feeler gauges and make sure you are in the ballpark of normal. Check both the treble and bass sides to make sure you don't have a twist in your neck.

If that checks out, make sure you are in tune on the open string and at the 12th fret. Then it's a matter of working your way down the fretboard and checking the notes in between with your tuner. They aren't ever going to be perfect but they shouldn't be wildly off. If you find problems, first thing I'd do is replace the strings. Even new ones can be bad sometimes.

Also, some people like to intonate based on the 15th fret instead of the 12th so you could try that.

 

[axeman5150]

Thanks for the advice. I checked the intonation and it appears to be spot on. I checked harmonics on the 5th and 7th frets and there is a difference of around 4 cents to that of the open string. The only thing I haven't checked for is a twist in the neck, which i'm guessing wouldn't be good news. the first thing I'll do is put a new set of strings on. It seems's quite bizzare. Never had anything like it before.

 

[tbonesullivan]

That's kinda weird. That close to the nut the intonation adjustments should barely come into play. Did you check to see if the strings were seating correctly in the nut?