Impossible to intonate: bad string?

[Chrisk-K]

I put a new set of DR Sunbeams 40-100 on my American Performer P bass, and it was impossible to intonate the G string. The saddle was pushed forward to the max but the 12th fretted note was still flatter than the open G (and the 12th fret harmonic). I checked everything (witness points, pickup heaights etc.) but didn't find anything wrong. I've been doing my own setup for the past 20 years, and this was the first time I couldn't intonate a string. So, I took out the offeding G string and put a G string from a new set of Hi-Beams (same gauge) and it intonated perfectly. Was it just a bad string? If so, how does a bad string screw up intonation?

 

[michael_t]

Was it just a bad string? If so, how does a bad string screw up intonation?

Yes, sounds like the string is faulty. Can't say exactly how it happened, but it's always possible with round cores that it might have slipped out of calibration in the winding process. Contact DR Customer Service and have it replaced.

 

[GIBrat51]

I put a new set of DR Sunbeams 40-100 on my American Performer P bass, and it was impossible to intonate the G string. The saddle was pushed forward to the max but the 12th fretted note was still flatter than the open G (and the 12th fret harmonic). I checked everything (witness points, pickup heaights etc.) but didn't find anything wrong. I've been doing my own setup for the past 20 years, and this was the first time I couldn't intonate a string. So, I took out the offeding G string and put a G string from a new set of Hi-Beams (same gauge) and it intonated perfectly. Was it just a bad string? If so, how does a bad string screw up intonation?

Yes, sounds like the string is faulty. Can't say exactly how it happened, but it's always possible with round cores that it might have slipped out of calibration in the winding process. Contact DR Customer Service and have it replaced.

I'd have to agree with this, but with the caveat that you might want to check for a twisted string first. And, based on my adventures with an '88 Tokai TB48 Thunderbird's bridge? You might want to make sure that your bridge is in the right spot. Set your G string saddle at the bass's scale length - and see how much adjustment you have to play with. My TB48's entire bridge turned out to be 5/8's of an inch too far forward. Which made intonating it... well, sort of impossible. It was a pretty easy fix, and the bass looks like I didn't do a thing to it. But, every time I play it, I wonder; How come it took 36 years to figure out the problem?!?