Intonation Problem

stratman77 · #1 June 13th, 2007

HI all,
I need some help.... I recently purchased a Gretsch junior jet 2 as a back up guitar.. It is really nice.. got it off of ebay.. it was brand new...But the sucker would not stay in tune and the intonation was out.. So I took it into my favorite guitar shop and got it professionally set up.. because it has a compensator wrap around bridge the G string was out marginally.. But even after I got it back it was still not staying in tune..Being that the guitar was made in China I heard that the hardware might be second rate so I changed the tuning heads to Groovers.. that seemed to help the going out of tune but the intonation still sucks.. when you play certain chords it just sounds wrong even though the guitar is in tune.. I am thinking about changing the bridge to one of the Protone ones.. has anyone got any suggestions.... or had the same experience???
Stratman77

allthumbs · #2 June 13th, 2007

Take it back to the shop. It should stay in tune if it was setup right or you should have at least been warned that there could be tuning problems with it.

Ben_Sir_Amos · #3 June 14th, 2007

To me that sounds like a poorly cut nut. That should have been identified at least, if not rectified, during a set up. Take it back to the shop / tech and ask them to look again. You can spend a lot of cash chasing simple things like this. Don't go spending a load of money on a compensated earvana nut or anything. All it needs is someone to do their job properly.

It seems any and all brands can have poorly cut nuts these days. Perhaps this is a business opportunity for me. Nutz-R-Us, or something.

starsailor · #4 June 14th, 2007

Agree with the above, if you had it professionally set up, their troubleshooting should have picked up any intonation problems, I would be disappointed if I'd paid for a set up and I couldn't play the guitar when I got home. As they are professionals they should be able to nail the problem and hopefully find a solution.

stratman77 · #5 June 15th, 2007

Hi there,
You are totally correct.. When I first brought the guitar in the nut was in fact cut very poorly.. they had to replace it.. I have phoned and talked to a number of luthiers around and they agree that the problem should be recified with a good bridge. Hopefully this will do the trick..

Ben_Sir_Amos · #6 June 15th, 2007

Doesn't it already have a compensated bridge?

P-90 · #7 June 16th, 2007

The Gretsch Junior Jet II, regardless of vintage, is essentially a variant on an LP Jr. Like an LP Jr., it usually has a wraparound bridge/tailpiece that is basically a one-piece metal bar (squint at my avatar a little and you'll get the idea). You can raise/lower one side or the other, that's all. In most cases it works just fine. In others it doesn't.

Ben_Sir_Amos · #8 June 16th, 2007

It's just that the advertising blurb says "compensated wrap-around bridge". I guess that translates into normal English as "slanted" then.

stratman77 · #9 June 16th, 2007

Tone pro has a bridge that looks like it might do the job.. it is essentially for people with the problem that I am describing to a tee.. I will purchase this and see if it does the job.. Thanks to all of you for your help.. I appreciate it...Stratman

OldG · #10 June 16th, 2007

I use one of these on my Gordon Smith, It works great and comes at the right price.