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Hi luthiers
I have an Epiphone Casino which I cannot intonate correctly. I suspect the bridge has been put in the wrong place when fitted in the factory but need the collective knowledge of the forum to confirm. My understanding is that the scale length is measured from the nut to where the string sits on the saddle. Please tell me if this is not correct.

My perception of why the intonation is out comes from the fact that playing anything above the 9 or 10 fret is out of tune. Particularly sounds ugly playing chords or scales up the neck. According to most web sites, the scale length on a Casino is meant to be 628mm (24.75 inches). To try and set the intonation I measured from the inside edge of the nut to the crown of the 12 Fret. That gave me a measurement of 314mm. I then measured from the crown of the 12 Fret to the bridge and 314mm took me exactly to the outside edge of the bridge. That gives me a distance that is exactly what the scale length is meant to be. However the saddle sits back from the edge of the bridge and even when adjusted as far forward as possible its about 5mm from the edge. This would mean the distance from the crown of the 12 fret to the point where the string meets the bridge is about 319mm which obviously gives me an incorrect scale length. When the saddle is moved as far forward as possible the guitar at the 12 fret is about a semitone out. I am measuring this with a number of different tuners and have tried them plugged in and just acoustically. I have also used tuners built into my boss multi-effects pedal. All give very similar results.

If I am correct in that the bridge is too far back then I have a couple of questions about moving it.

1. Does the bridge have some sort of support block under the top which would make it difficult to reposition.
2. How could I repair the two holes in the top that would be there if I moved the bridge.

Its a great guitar with a really nice finish so don't want to ruin it but I cant play it up the neck. I have written to Epiphone Australia but no response.

Any help to get my guitar sounding as beautiful as it looks would be appreciated.

Compensation is what you are seeing and that's how it's supposed to be.

Look up intonation which needs to be adjusted.

I'd write more but am in hospital waiting for kidney stone surgery and only have iPhone and finger...

Hesh, best wishes to you on the surgery.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Thanks Rusty

Also check to see if bridge got reversed during a restring, easy to do.

I measured my ES 335 and the low E string is intonated properly at 632.5mm total string length. I have seen a couple Epiphones that had bridges set to close to the nut but it sounds like yours is maybe to far back. If you look at the bridge on most of these Epiphones the low E saddle is generally set almost all the way back towards the tail. If the bridge posts are in the wrong location moving them is the fix but a fairly big job. Sometimes the saddle can be reversed to gain some extra adjustment. Matt

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A man who carries a cat by the tail learns something he can learn in no other way.
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You might consider replacing the bridge with a Nashville type.
The Nashville is wider than a standard bridge and offers a bit more saddle adjustment.
Not sure if it would give enough adjustment.

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wah
Wah-wah-wah-wah
Wah

With the number of Casinos that have been built and by whom as well I would not default to thinking the bridge is in the wrong location.

Instead I'd want to know more about things such as string gauges, tunings, bridge is it flipped - they fall out if no strings, etc. my bet is this is something simple.

OP makes no statement regarding compensation.... In his measurements. The statement about intonation is not how it typically checked.

Moving the bridge is a leap and highly likely not th issue. Wish I could see the thing, I'm sure it's something simple.

OP how about some things pics, closeup of bridge, saddles, orientation. String gauges, tunings, etc - anything not factory spec?

If you look at casinos on E bay almost every saddle you see will be set all the way back as far as it will go. Here is one I have that wont intonate correctly. It needs to be set back further to get the proper intonation.

_________________
http://www.cushmanguitars.com/.

A man who carries a cat by the tail learns something he can learn in no other way.
Mark Twain

I've been doing guitar repair since '77, and bridges are frequently placed in the wrong place - Gibson, Fender, Ibanez, acoustic, electric - doesn't matter. Just get a wider bridge, or move the bridge. Builders make mistakes - we get to fix them.

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"Act your age, not your shoe size" - Prince

Maybe something like this:

http://www.guitarfetish.com/Chrome-Bada ... p_153.html

YIKES, Hesh. I'm sure it'll be fine, but my knee jerk reaction is still YIKES! Prayers instantly coming your way!