Holy cr@p, my Les Paul is in tune

[JonnyScaramanga]

I recently ordered an Earvana shelf nut from Feline (Jonathan) and having done a gig with it, I'm a happy rocker.

Open chords are now dead on, or at least good enough for my ears, where before they were horrible. The whole neck sounds pretty good. Right up at the top of the neck (17th fret upwards), I'd say the intonation has got worse. The 19th fret comes up sharp. But since I don't play chords up there, it's not a big problem.

The only real downside is that I can't get the D string perfectly intonated, and the saddle is at the end of its travel. It's only really noticeable if I play the intro to Sweet Child o' Mine... the lower D clashes with the octave.

Anyway, all round a good buy I reckon, considering how poor the intonation was before. That said, I had the frets stoned at the same time, so I don't know how much of the difference is from that.

[FELINEGUITARS]

Glad it sounds better
The fitting of an Earvana nut does change the bridge intonation - it seems to smooth it out somewhat.
You will find that certain strings - maybe the B<G and D seem to move noticeably closer to the neck

EDIT:Sometimes you may find that the saddles need to be turned around like GWEM says below.

On certain bridges this can seem more tricky than on others
The Schaller made "Nashville" bridge that Gibson have used for a while has the saddles held in by small spring clips
Not hard to do if you are used to fiddly stuff but can be tricky
I am assuming that the fretted note is flat and that you are aving to move the saddle towards the bridge pickup
If push comes to shove you might need the bridge posts moving forward a fraction - the old holes will be dowelled and redrilled a couple of mm forward.
Not sure who you have do it for you down in Bath , but there are talented repair guys who can do it if needed

[gwEm]

you can sometimes get a bit more intonation range by turning the TOM through 180degrees. TOMs are available also with a much wider adjustment range.

[BigK]

Have you thought about fitting a tonepros bridge, I've noticed they have quit a wide range of innotation and Improve the tone of the instrument. The other option is that you be a man and use heavier string gauges.

[Philly Q]

If it's a Nashville t-o-m it's very likely that the flat side of the saddle is already facing forward, so there won't be any more range by turning the bridge or saddle round.

Different story if it's a vintage style ABR-1 t-o-m, then it might be worth turning the saddles (easy job on an ABR-1!) or getting a wider Nashville bridge.

[JonnyScaramanga]

Not sure whether it's Nashville or ABR-1 (I think ABR-1), but the saddle is already facing forwards, so that turning it around would only make things worse.

A bridge with wider travel might be worth a look though. Hmmm.

[FELINEGUITARS]

Johnny - any chance of a photo to see how it is?

[Philly Q]

ABR-1 is the narrow vintage type, usually with a retaining wire across the front and 3 saddles facing forward, 3 facing back:

http://www.allparts.uk.com/tunematic-bridge-style-p-4260.html?p=product

Nashville is a bit wider and has all the saddles the same way round:

http://www.allparts.uk.com/tunematic-bridge-schaller-nashville-p-4273.html?p=product

[Keith Crossen]

An Earvana shelf nut, eh?  This sounds like just the kitty I'm after for my 1978 LP Std.  This guitar sounds and plays great, but is a bugger to tune.  The current nut is brass.  I've had a bit of experience fitting and shaping nuts on cheapo guitars.  Is this a straightforward job on a Les Paul?
I had a look at the felineguitars site, but it's having a 'tune-up'... is this where I get one of these bad-boys?
Keith

[gamesandy135]

You can indeed get the Earvana nuts from Jonathan (Feline Guitars).  I'm sure if you PM or mail him he can sort you out.

[FELINEGUITARS]

http://www.felineguitars.com/earvana/



Got lots in stock - give us a ring if you want one