Trying to solve an intonation issue....

p12bassnut

p12bassnut

Supporting Member
Aug 27, 2009
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#1
I do my own setups and am quite adept (at least I thought so) at proper setup procedure but this one has me stumped. Help please.

Bass: Ibanez EHB1505 Non-fanned fret model.

All strings intonate flat and I already have the bridge pieces moved all the way toward the neck. (comparison with Open/12th fret method)

If I tune the bass at 12th fret as the reference only, all fret positions have near perfect note intonations up and down the board. (but the open strings are sharp)

Is this an indication that the Nut is too far away from the first fret ?

Note: I have already made sure the nut is cut properly with proper break angle.

Thanks
 
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#2
Does 12th harmonic = 12th fretted? That’s how I’d start and work from there. Side note: I’ve found the staggered / offset monorail array to be over-compensated with intonation running flatter even with saddles in full-forward position.

Riis
 
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#3
sounds like the nut slots are too high, you said you have a good break angle, but when the intonation is off in the first 3 frets its usually that the nut is too high in my experience. I just filed the nuts deeper on two basses for friends who were struggling with the same issue, and they were both nice high end instruments, just needed to go a bit deeper to get the intonation right on the first 3 frets.
 
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#4
BGroovy said:
sounds like the nut slots are too high, you said you have a good break angle, but when the intonation is off in the first 3 frets its usually that the nut is too high in my experience. I just filed the nuts deeper on two basses for friends who were struggling with the same issue, and they were both nice high end instruments, just needed to go a bit deeper to get the intonation right on the first 3 frets.
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Slots definitely not too high. Thanks for the suggestion

Zooberwerx said:
Does 12th harmonic = 12th fretted? That’s how I’d start and work from there. Side note: I’ve found the staggered / offset monorail array to be over-compensated with intonation running flatter even with saddles in full-forward position.
Click to expand...
I'll need to check it with the harmonic and report back. Thanks
 
#11
I’d compare the 12th fret harmonic to the the string fretted at the 12th. If you have a tuner that displays the frequency of the note in Hz (many phone app tuners do this), the 12th fret harmonic and the string fretted at the 12th should be adjusted to the same frequency. Example; tune the “A” string harmonic to 110.0 Hz, (which is “in tune” for standard tuning). The “A” string fretted at the 12th should be adjusted to the same freq, but you have to re-tun the harmonic after each saddle adjustment. If you can’t get the 12th harmonic & 12th fretted to match, you have strings “curve-arching” over the saddles, bridge in the wrong place, nut in the wrong place or some really wonky strings.
 
#12
Just wondering how high your action is. If the note is correct open but sharp on the 12th fret consider the string stretch when you push it down. I set up all my basses with low action, i always have to reset the intonation. On my fretless basses i dont pay too much attention to the intonation because its about listening.
 
#19
Ibanez basses that can't be intonated seems to be a recurring theme here on talkbass at the moment. I'll repeat more or less what I said the last time. I can't say for certain if this will help, your bass may have other issues for all I know, but this specific problem with certain models of Ibanez basses is definitely a thing.

Assuming you're not doing anything wrong, there are two things I find to be recurring issues with Ibanez basses with monorail saddles and Nordstrand pickups:

1) The monorail saddles are mounted too close to the neck, which means that some of them (typically the E and A strings) can't be intonated properly. I've seen this problem on several Ibanez basses with monorail saddles and it has been going on for years. I returned one that was totally useless, but kept another one that I was just barely able to intonate with SOME strings (luckily the strings I wanted to use with that bass was one of them). I did however need to replace one of the intonation screws (it was either the E og A) with a longer one. Be aware that intonation screws with the right dimensions can be harder to find than you think. The saddle had to be moved so far forward that it ended up outside the "tracks" in the base plate, but at least it was still on the base plate. This means the saddle can now be moved slighty sideways, which isn't ideal, but it works ok with normal playing. Another thing that MIGHT work is lighter strings. With standard roundwounds I could just barely intonate the bass without any modifications when using 40-100, but with my preferred roundwounds gauges 45-105 it was impossible. FWIW I'm now using TI Jazz Flats on that bass, and it can now (just barely) be intonated with the longer intonation screw on one of the saddles (it was either the E or A, I don't have the bass in front of me right now). I honestly don't understand why Ibanez haven't fixed this severe design flaw. Surely they must be aware of it? I returned one SR Premium that had this issue to the dealer, who concurred with my findings and said they would report back to Ibanez about this problem. This was somewhere between 5-10 years ago, and as far as I can tell nothing has been done about it.

2) You bass has Nordstrand Big Splits. My experience is with the Nordstrand Big Singles, so I'm not sure if this also applies to the Splits. Anyway, the problem with the Big Singles is the insanely powerful magnets. With what I would consider normal pickup heights the insane magnetic drag on the strings will create weird "out of tune" overtones and make the bass impossible to intonate. If this is also the case with the Splits, you could try lowering the pickups a bit and see if it helps. Be careful not to go TOO low. With the Singles there's a VERY narrow sweetspot before you go too low and the tone starts to suffer. Personally I see this as a serious design flaw, and I would never recommend the Nordstrand Big Singles to anyone. But like I said, I have no personal experience with the Splits so I'm not sure if they suffer from this same flaw.
 
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