Epiphone SG bass setup.

[bexkex]

Hello everyone,

I recently bought myself a nice, shortscaled Epiphone SG bass, used from a cool boutique guitar shop. It sounds good and has a nice look to it, but I cant figure out why its so detuned? When Im up to the 12th fret on the neck it sounds like Ive bent it way up, therefore I cant play it yet with the band. Does anyone recognize this problem and know how to fix it? Is this a bridge matter or should I take it to a shop?

 

[El-Bob]

Your intonation is off, that's all. Look up a basic bass setup guide, and follow the instructions.

 

[XylemBassGuitar]

Your intonation is off, that's all.

Yep, probably exactly what's happening. You might go back to the store and ask if you can get a free setup since you just bought it (they really should have set it up better than that when they got the instrument in the store originally).

If they won't set it up for you, buy a chromatic tuner (the black Korg works well...CA20 I think is the model #) and connect it to your bass. Then, while the bass is in playing position, compare the tuning of the 12th fret harmonic to the tuning of the string when fretted at the 12th fret. For example, tune the 12th fret harmonic of the E string perfectly, then play the 12th fret on the E string normally. The fretted note will probably come up 10 to 20 cents sharp compared to the harmonic note. If that is the case, you'll want to adjust the saddles away from the neck (toward the bottom of the body), then check again until the two match. Moving the saddle back like this makes the singing length of the string just a tiny bit longer, lowering its pitch and correcting the sharpness. Repeat for each string, making sure not to bend them when fretting at the 12th.

Now, this is a little overly simple, there are a lot of things that can throw off your intonation. But, following the steps above should, at the very least, improve the tuning if not correct it completely.

Failing that, take the bass to a (good, knowledgeable) tech for a setup.

 

[hdracer]

I own two Epi EB-O's
Using the stock bridge you will never get the intonation right on the E and A strings. You can get them sort of close but never right on.

The problem is that the bridge is mounted in the same position as a Gibson.
The Gibson is 30.5" scale and the Epi's are 29.75"
There is not enough room for the saddles to move back without getting onto the wrap of the string.
A Hipshot Supertone bridge will cure that but the Supertone is made for a Gibson and the saddles will not go low enough to get your string height low enough. I cured that with a .125 full size shim and a .045 shim under the front of the neck to give it a little angle. It takes some work but they can be made right.
Or you could plug the bushing holes and redrill them in the proper place.

This is my modded EB-O

 

[bexkex]

Thank you so much, Ill have a fine day figuring this out!

 

[XylemBassGuitar]

The problem is that the bridge is mounted in the same position as a Gibson.
The Gibson is 30.5" scale and the Epi's are 29.75"
There is not enough room for the saddles to move back without getting onto the wrap of the string.

Wouldn't all of the strings be too flat, rather than too sharp if this was the case? If they mounted the bridge on the Epi in the same spot as the Gibson, it would end up .75" further back than it should be, which would cause the strings to be too flat, ensuring that the saddles couldn't be moved forward enough.

 

[hdracer]

If you use a V shaped file you can file the saddle to get the string to sit low enough. You will have to remove the silk and turn the string so it sits properly in the slot. I messed up a couple of saddles trying it but I did get it to work on my red plywood one. The intonation is very close and it plays fine.

 

[hdracer]

Wouldn't all of the strings be too flat, rather than too sharp if this was the case? If they mounted the bridge on the Epi in the same spot as the Gibson, it would end up .75" further back than it should be, which would cause the strings to be too flat, ensuring that the saddles couldn't be moved forward enough.

No it is .375 off.
30.5-29.75= .75
.75 divided by 2 = .375

The D & G stings have enough room to get them right.

The one in the photo is close enough for a kick around bass but it isn't right.

 

[XylemBassGuitar]

No it is .375 off.
30.5-29.75= .75
.75 divided by 2 = .375

The D & G stings have enough room to get them right.

The one in the photo is close enough for a kick around bass but it isn't right.

But, if they "mount it in the same place as the Gibson," wouldn't they just be putting the fully forward-adjusted saddles right at 30.5" from the nut on the Epis? Why would they then divide the difference by two?

...and it still stands that if they mount the bridge further back than it is supposed to be (whether .75" or .375"), the strings would be too flat, not too sharp like the issue the OP is having. If the bridge is installed too far back, the saddles couldn't be adjusted forward enough to intonate properly. You wouldn't need to adjust the saddles even further backwards if the bridge was already installed too far back.

 

[Pilgrim]

Interesting. Is that a Filtertron by the bridge? Looks like one with the TV Jones surround to match. And is that a Dimarzio at the neck? Hard to tell whether that's a chrome cover, but it looks black.

 

[CnB77]

I own two Epi EB-O's
Using the stock bridge you will never get the intonation right on the E and A strings. You can get them sort of close but never right on.

The problem is that the bridge is mounted in the same position as a Gibson.
The Gibson is 30.5" scale and the Epi's are 29.75"
There is not enough room for the saddles to move back without getting onto the wrap of the string.
A Hipshot Supertone bridge will cure that but the Supertone is made for a Gibson and the saddles will not go low enough to get your string height low enough. I cured that with a .125 full size shim and a .045 shim under the front of the neck to give it a little angle. It takes some work but they can be made right.
Or you could plug the bushing holes and redrill them in the proper place.

This is my modded EB-O

Why would they make the bass literally impossible to play in tune?
I'm going through some EB0 woes of my own, and people on here were trying to convince me to buy the hipshot. Glad I didn't spend a Benjamin just to find out that wouldn't work right either. Guess I'll be drilling holes

 

[Pilgrim]

I've had no problems intonating the 3-point bridge on Epis if I take my time and do my homework first.

The problem isn't the bridge.