I bought a Blacktop Tele today... and i think it's broken :o (intonation)

Hello from sunny South Africa! :cool:

So here it is.. my very first post on this forum. That's because I purchased my first ever Fender today... A blacktop tele. Boy was i excited. Until i checked the intonation that is.

So far I've only attempted to set the low E string. I haven't gone on to the other strings because something seems amiss. I had to move the saddle (of the E string) way way back before it was even close to being right (see pic.). As it stands the saddle is pretty much sitting against the back of the bridge and if anything the fretted note at the 12th is still a little sharp. The spring between the two is pressed tight. This just doesn't seem right. Is my new guitar a dud? I haven't changed the factory strings yet, could this be the issue? I'm thinking of taking it back to the shop but I'm not sure how helpful that'll be.

Other than that its a beautiful guitar.

I apologise if this is a n00b question.

Much thanks!

You are at the tail end of a set up.

From the start:

•Install the strings you are most likely to always use

•Set the neck relief

•Set the action

•Set the pickup heights were you like them (tone/power wise)

THEN intonation.


Welcome to the forum and HNGD !!

Guitars do need some tweeking out of the box, be patient.

What sjtalon said.

I'd bet a nickel that there's way too much relief in the neck. Get that under control and you'll be fine.

Thanks for the speedy reply :)

I will attempt the entire set-up first thing tomorrow and report back on the results.

Does too much relief mean the neck is too straight or too bendy? I have a feeling thats a dumb question :P

yg2w_usINTs

Does too much relief mean the neck is too straight or too bendy? I have a feeling thats a dumb question :P

Too bendy.

Don't worry about dumb questions, but I reserve the right to answer in a silly voice.

Errrt!

On alot of Fenders,I take out the spring on the low E.

Don't worry about dumb questions, but I reserve the right to answer in a silly voice.

Lol, funniest thing I have heard all day!

Just looking at it, I'd say you overcompensated. If you let the saddle back out a lot you should be able to get it right.

But like sjtalon said, you're at what should be the end of a set up. You don't want to try to set intonation on dirty strings. Put a new set of strings on it and then go from there.

Hello,
The problem may be one of the things the other posters said. One of the problems I had
on a strat was the springs were just to long. I had to remove them one at a time and
clip a little off each one, It did help and I thought I was overreacting, but that ended up
being the solution.