Alt Reality 12 string fretting heavy strings sharp

[akpasta]

Hey all,

I have an alternate reality xii that’s fretting my heavy (low octave) E A and sometimes D strings sharp, esp in the lower frets 1-5 or so. Intonation is spot on. As is neck relief and action. What’s the fix? Should I try and lower the nut slots? I’m apprehensive because that’s irreversible!!

Thanks!

[adamrobertt]

Well, first you should determine if the slots are too high to begin with. Hold the strings down at the 3rd fret and then see how much of a gap there is between the first fret and the held down string. Ideally you want it to be around 10 or 20 thousandths (although this is also somewhat personal preference, some like it no higher than the height of the fret tops). If it's more than that, it COULD cause intonation issues in the first position, but honestly the strings have to be pretty high for it to be noticeable to the ear.

If you have never cut nut slots before, I'd recommend not doing it yourself and bringing it to a tech.

[MKR]

yeah all signs point to the nut being cut too high. It's pretty common on new guitars.

It's really not that hard to shave down string slots on a new nut provided you have the right tools. I do it using very fine files. The key is working slow and checking your work.

[akpasta]

Thanks y’all. I have a set of nut files. It’s always more noticeable on a 12 string because if the low octave string pulls sharp but the high octave does not, you notice it more. As is some strings are pulling sharp like almost a 1/4 step. I’ll take some measurements. Also I had a .46 low E string which is pretty heavy so I’m gonna try a .44 which is a bit closer to the high octave E. I find having the pairs somewhat closer in string gauge helps keep them more in line as well.

[akpasta]

Hey all,

I found three things that helped me solve the issue. And before y'all call me crazy, on a 12 string if both strings fret a bit sharp, it doesn't matter, but if only one string of the pair frets sharp, your whole guitar sounds out of tune. So that's why I'm looking for a fix here.

First, I slightly lowered the Low E nut slot. Dunno how much of a factor this played, but it was a little high.

Second, I discovered that the Gotoh bridge screw was too long for the low E saddle, and wasn't allowing me to pull the saddle back enough to get the intonation just right. I chopped half the screw off and was able to pull the saddle back enough to get it right.

Third, and perhaps most important, I found that the thicker the string, the less it would bend and go sharp- good rule of thumb if you're having issues with tuning. The two strings on my low E are a .26 and a .46. I found a .46 was thick enough to not bend sharp, but not too thick for playing/sound whereas a .44 and .42, which work great on short-fretted Rickenbackers are no good on Fender, which have really tall frets, lots of room for that string to bend sharp when fretted.

[MKR]

thanks for the information. useful