Please ensure Javascript is enabled for purposes of website accessibility Jump to content

Setting Intonation On Jtv-89


Recommended Posts

The pickup height on the bridge pickup is so high, and the hex wrench is too long.

 

So how are we to set intonation on the guitar without removing the humbucker???

 

Also, this is yet another bad example of Sweetwater's so-called "55 point inspection" process.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

48 views and zero replies. Come on, Line6 -- give us an answer!

If you think you will get an answer from Line 6 in here, you're in for a very long and ultimately disappointing wait. They won't address individual problems in an open forum. If you actually want an answer you have to open a support ticket.

 

On the intonation topic though...while I don't have the 89, I've been adjusting intonation on guitars for 20+ years, and I've never seen one where the pickups had anything to do with intonation adjustment. It's the bridge saddles that have to move, so what difference does it make what the pickup height is?

  • Upvote 1
  • Downvote 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

A support ticket has already been opened -- I thought maybe someone here might have had the same problem.

 

I have 22 guitars and have been setting intonation, doing fretwork, customizing electronics, etc. for almost 40 years.

 

The problem is that the string length adjustment screws on the bridge saddles are facing the fretboard, thus facing the bridge pickup. The bridge pickup is too high and in the way of getting an allen wrench in there to make the adjustments. I even lowered the bridge pickup and it is still in the way.

 

So how is anyone setting intonation? Are they cutting their allen wrench shorter so they can fit it between the humbucker and the bridge?

  • Downvote 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

A support ticket has already been opened -- I thought maybe someone here might have had the same problem.

 

I have 22 guitars and have been setting intonation, doing fretwork, customizing electronics, etc. for almost 40 years.

 

The problem is that the string length adjustment screws on the bridge saddles are facing the fretboard, thus facing the bridge pickup. The bridge pickup is too high and in the way of getting an allen wrench in there to make the adjustments. I even lowered the bridge pickup and it is still in the way.

 

So how is anyone setting intonation? Are they cutting their allen wrench shorter so they can fit it between the humbucker and the bridge?

I was able to get it to work by lowering the pickup. Be careful! I lowered it too much and the screws actually came out. It was a MAJOR pain getting them back in. 

 

I have had an issue where the low E is still too long. Unfortunately the string slot is already all the way back in the saddle and I haven't had any luck figuring out how to adjust the saddle. Anyone had luck adjusting the saddle "down" (i.e. away from the pickup)?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I was able to get it to work by lowering the pickup. Be careful! I lowered it too much and the screws actually came out. It was a MAJOR pain getting them back in. 

 

 

 

This is a very simple problem to solve. For $10-$20 at any Home Depot, or it's local equivalent, you can get a screw driver with a set of interchangeable heads...flat-head, Philips head, and Allen keys. I've been using such a set for a decade or more. I forget the manufacturer, but it was cheap,  has about 100 pieces to it, both metric and English measurements (for the Allen key sizes anyway), and it has worked just fine for a multitude of projects from motorcycles to guitars...just come straight down at the saddle adjustment screws, and then you'll never need to concern yourself with swinging an allen key out over a lowered pickup.

 

I don't have an 89f, but I do have an old Ibanez with a Floyd that has the saddle adjustment screws in the same place as the bridge on the 89f...never occured to me to try swinging an allen key out past the pickups. It's not necessary. I've been adjusting it this way for years on end, never a problem.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

This is a very simple problem to solve. For $10-$20 at any Home Depot, or it's local equivalent, you can get a screw driver with a set of interchangeable heads...flat-head, Philips head, and Allen keys. I've been using such a set for a decade or more. I forget the manufacturer, but it was cheap,  has about 100 pieces to it, both metric and English measurements (for the Allen key sizes anyway), and it has worked just fine for a multitude of projects from motorcycles to guitars...just come straight down at the saddle adjustment screws, and then you'll never need to concern yourself with swinging an allen key out over a lowered pickup.

 

I don't have an 89f, but I do have an old Ibanez with a Floyd that has the saddle adjustment screws in the same place as the bridge on the 89f...never occured to me to try swinging an allen key out past the pickups. It's not necessary. I've been adjusting it this way for years on end, never a problem.

 

Well that would work if the allen set included a "special" key. The one for adjusting the saddles for intonation has a small "ball" at the end of it. You can't adjust the saddles without that particular tool. Not sure if there are others like it available. The issue with the bridge pickup comes in because the ball is on the "long" arm, not the short one. No idea why Line6 chose to make them that way. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Well that would work if the allen set included a "special" key. The one for adjusting the saddles for intonation has a small "ball" at the end of it. You can't adjust the saddles without that particular tool. Not sure if there are others like it available. The issue with the bridge pickup comes in because the ball is on the "long" arm, not the short one. No idea why Line6 chose to make them that way. 

 

I've seen the tool...same one comes with the 69, don't ask me why. I have no idea what the ball end would be for on the 69, but I digress...

 

In any case, if the ball is only on the long arm of the wrench (as it is on the one they sent me), and that's the end that's needed to turn those screws, then I really don't understand how anything could possibly be hitting the pickup... isn't the rest of wrench sticking a couple of inches above the guitar at that point? The pics I've seen of the bridge look like regular hex screws to me...but I guess not. I'm officially out of ideas.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I've seen the tool...same one comes with the 69, don't ask me why. I have no idea what the ball end would be for on the 69, but I digress...

 

In any case, if the ball is only on the long arm of the wrench (as it is on the one they sent me), and that's the end that's needed to turn those screws, then I really don't understand how anything could possibly be hitting the pickup... isn't the rest of wrench sticking a couple of inches above the guitar at that point? The pics I've seen of the bridge look like regular hex screws to me...but I guess not. I'm officially out of ideas.

No, the adjustment has to be made from the side, not from above. This means that the long part of the wrench is actually resting on the top of the pickup and the short part hits the strings while you are turning it.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

No, the adjustment has to be made from the side, not from above. This means that the long part of the wrench is actually resting on the top of the pickup and the short part hits the strings while you are turning it.

 OK...well that's officially ridiculous then. Are they trying to aggravate people?

  • Upvote 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 4 years later...

For anyone who gets down this far, I had the same problem and found a set of Allen wrenches with a shorter arm and a knob on the long end that works perfectly (I just finished fixing my Variax intonation using the long side of the 3/32 wrench).   

It's "Bondhus 20599 0.050-3/8-Inch and 1.5-10mm Stubby Ball End Hex Key Double Pack"

found on Amazon here https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0006O4AII/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
 

Hope that helps.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

On 4/15/2014 at 12:19 PM, cruisinon2 said:

 

I've seen the tool...same one comes with the 69, don't ask me why. I have no idea what the ball end would be for on the 69, but I digress...

 

I thought the only reason for the ball end was to make it easier to get it into the nut.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

 Share

×
×
  • Create New...