12th fret on E srting is 1/2 step flat.

[gronaubx]

D'Addario Strings which I have only had for about 6 months. G, D, A strings are all fine and in tune. When I tune the open E string, it sounds great, but as soon as I press the 12th (octave) fret, the E is 1/2 step flat. Go back to open and it's in tune again. Is this a sign of a defective string? Do I just need to bite the $ bullet and get a new set?

Any ideas?

Thanks!

[ehque]

Has your bass been intonated? Seems like an intonation problem.

6 months is also not too short a time to be thinking of changing strings.

[gronaubx]

Seems to me that if it was an intonation problem, it would affect all 4 strings and not just the one.

[deekay911]

Originally Posted by gronaubx

Seems to me that if it was an intonation problem, it would affect all 4 strings and not just the one.

Intonation is specific to each string - that's why you have individual adjustments for each string at the bridge. It's physics - to do with the length of the string. I can't think of any way a string could be responsible for bad intonation - ie. it's fine with one string, then you fit another and it's off that much..

[carl h.]

Get your bass setup and the strings are probably fine.

[gronaubx]

I'll take it to my trusty shop and have them look at it. Will let you know what happens. Thanks for being here to assist! Got a show saturday and really don't want this problem.

[devilock76]

Yup get a good setup. Of course you could try it yourself, if you are happy with the neck relief and action then you would merely need to move the saddle "forward". By forward I mean that you should move it away from the bridge and towards the neck/nut.

Now to mention you could have irregularities in the neck or fretwork that can cause this. If you have a good tuner you should be able to go fret by fret on up and watch the pitch get slightly flatter as you go for each nut. Way to much neck relief or absurdly high action might cause a similar problem but typically I see those manifest themselves as the intonation carrying sharp up the neck due to stretching the string to properly finger the note up the neck.

Best bet, if you have no experience doing this then get a professional setup. If you do, or you want to learn on this bass, well go for it. You may find that after adjust the intonation for this specific problem that the change may change the way your action feels. So you may need to now raise the saddle, then retest intonation, then play for a bit and see how it feels.

Hope that helps.

Ken

[deaf pea]

Originally Posted by ehque

Has your bass been intonated? Seems like an intonation problem...

But you need to remember to put NEW STRINGS on the bass BEFORE you (or your technician/luthier) adjust the bridge . . . . . .