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I have an Eastman 805 with ebony bridge/saddle, only adjustable for height and distance from nut as usual. Came with round wound 12-52, changed couple weeks ago to Chromes flat wound 12-52, done by luthier. Strings 1,2 & 5 plucked open, then at 12th, and harmonic at 12th all tune as near perfect as one can expect. 6th string drops about 4 cents flat when plucked at 12th, not perfect but livable. Problem is 3rd & 4th strings. Open & harmonic are good, but when plucked at 12th fret they each are 10-12 cents flat. I find no fret issues, especially since they would tune sharp.
I am looking into tunable bridges but of course the one Eastman offers on other models comes chrome on ebony only and the 805 is gold trim. This is not a huge issue if it allows more accurate tuning. Stewmac offers a tunable style bridge in gold but it is based on 14" radius and Eastman is 12", and the post width is 3/16" narrower so I can't just change the saddle on existing base. It's been suggested that it may be a string issue but I can't see how & I'm waiting for D'Addario to offer their thoughts.
Has anybody of forum dealt with this or a similar issue before and can offer suggestions on what to do or avoid?
Thanks, Fred
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02-25-2026 06:23 PM
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I really good (real)luthier can strobe cut your wood saddle to intonate properly. Mind you this is done with your strings of choice that you will stay with. He/she will position the saddle just where it needs to be to allow adjustments (chiseling off a tiny bit at one string, a little more or less at another strings point of contact). It can work very well but don't do it until you are sure what gauge and ( being ultra careful) brand of string you use from now on....unless you get another bridge piece cut for different strings.
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StewMac also offers unnotched tune-o-matic bridges. Although they still have a 12inch radius, you can slot them match the radius and string spacing of your guitar. It should be a quick job for a luthier. You may have to get a new base if the post spacing is different but you might be able to find a bridge that matches your base.
Tune-o-matic Bridges - StewMac
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First thing is try another set of new strings. Flatwound should work but who knows. Occam's Razor.................try a whole new set of strings and then try a set of round wounds just to see. The 10 to 12 cents flat is not just the string length at all more going on. Possible use a different tuner and your ear. For me the only tuner to get is a Petersen Strobe clip on they rest pale in comparison.
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A prior owner of my El Rey had the same problem. His luthier solved it with a chrome saddle. It’s not horrible to look at, but I have to admit that I’m still looking for a gold one and will buy it if I ever find it. At least the intonation is excellent.
Originally Posted by FDH
Curiously enough, the jack is also not gold but the tailpiece, strap buttons, and tuners are. Given the odds of finding a gold 7 string saddle that fits, I’ll almost certainly live with it like it is. I love it so much that its cosmetic oddities are just part of its personality. It’s a lovable mutt
But I agree with Mark. It may well be the strings. Was intonation OK with the RW set that was on it?
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If you pluck the string and look at it, it should give the illusion of being two strings. I was told that a defective string won’t do that cleanly. Typically, this is a problem with wound strings , in my experience. If the forgoing is not true, I hope someone will chime in.
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Thanks for the replies. I recall years ago a friend needed a new heater motor for his caddy but didn't want to pay the high price so he bought the exact same motor for a Buick (as I recall) which was about half the price. Point being identical parts used by different cars - not the same (so far) with bridges.
D'Addario pointed out that the two individual strings in question have greater tension as compared to NYXL but stops short of saying this could be the cause of being 10-12 cents flat compared to the harmonic. They are however being gracious enough to send replacement set of strings, they are truly a great group with which to deal.
I've researched multiple sources for a T-O-M style bridge that would be workable for my 805. Everyone I can find has narrower posts so they won't fit on the Eastman bridge base which means fitting a new base, and saddles are 14 or 16 inch radius which won't match the 12" fretboard on the 805. (Did order a TOM from Stewmac and I'll see how much difference there is.) Is 14 a big deal compared to 12? Found another ebony unit that is compensated, but they are recommending a TOM style leading me to believe the compensation on that unit isn't what is needed.
So the best I can do is order a replacement TOM bridge from Eastman for the 605 model which should solve the issue, either ignoring the nickel finish or digging out my airbrush & a bit of car paint. Happy to do that but my dealer says Eastman does not have one at the warehouse as they come already installed on new guitars. Haven't yet heard directly from Eastman on whether I could get one from them.
Does anyone have a guess what company makes these for Eastman? Does Eastman make them themselves? Any thoughts how I can track this down further?
I understand a good luthier can cut the saddle to compensate but it is only 2mm wide at the top and is that enough to raise pitch a full 10-12 cents?
Again, thanks for your responses so far. This 805 is great, the flat wounds are great so it's worth my effort to try to make them match. I appreciate your thoughts.
Fred
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Dont foget the other end...the nut.
My 810 had a zillion problems and all of them were fixed with nut issues. No intonation issues but a lot of other things. If your nut is cut wrong it could be making contact further back from the front, thus giving you longer strings than it appears.
To be kind to Eastman I think the nut was cut when it had been refreted by a previous owner...but I cant say for sure.
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The one nut issue that could affect intonation like this is a broken or crumbling piece between the 3rd and 4th slots. If the strings are sitting on the “back” edge of the nut, the scale would be lengthened, placing the 12th fret a bit closer than halfway to the bridge. But that would sharpen the fretted note compared to the harmonic. Originally Posted by Sigmund451
I don’t know of a nut slot issue that would cause the fretted note to be lower than the harmonic, as long as the string is contacting the front edge and the nut is properly located.
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I am dumbfounded to say but the issue has been resolved. I finally had a chance to put new 3 & 4 strings on and both are now in tune with the harmonic and up the fretboard. D'Addario offered new set and pointed out the tension is greater with flatwounds but stopped short of saying it was a string problem. Regardless I swapped them out and things are back to normal. I hope it lasts.
I've never had a bad experience with D'Addario, their customer service is exceptional.
I would appreciate someone explaining what exactly can be "bad" with a string to cause this. The only thing I can figure is the core was at it's limit and when fretted it stretched beyond the ability to vibrate at the proper frequency. Other than that I can not figure it out.
Thanks for all responses, Fred
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I think the most common cause of intonation errors in new strings is a manufacturing defect that results in one or more tiny areas in which the diameter is a bit off spec (usually thinner, as I recall reading a long time ago). I assume it's the core that's affected, and the wrap is just following the skin of the core wire. Thinner string means lower mass in that length. Originally Posted by FDH
The determinants of the fundamental vibrating frequency of the string on the instrument are length, mass, and tension. If you fret between the thinner area(s) and the bridge, there will be a bit less mass than there should be in the vibrating section, which will raise the frequency at the same tension and make it a hair sharp compared to the harmonic. if you fret between the thinner area(s) and the nut, the mass of the vibrating portion will be a bit higher than it should and it will intonate a bit flat. The thinner area(s) will affect the entire string, but they're a smaller percentage of the total mass than they are of the vibrating part. So if the thin area is close to the bridge, it will throw each successive fret off by a very tiny bit more as you fret toward the bridge.
Non-uniformity of any structural parameter of a string can cause intonation problems. An occasional new string comes with physical damage that affects uniform vibration - a tiny kink, notch, indentation etc can do this. Nonuniform winding could also do it.
The other factor that can cause intonation problems is aberrant stiffness. A string could be stiffer than its spec for many reasons, e.g. a defect in the composition of the alloy (steel is an alloy), exposure to temperature extremes, accidental bending and straightening, nonuniform wrapping tension. Changes in stiffness affect how the string bends over the nut and saddle. Increased stiffness makes higher order harmonics sharp, so notes may sound "off" and intonation may be nonuniform.
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Im glad you got it fixed. Its nice to have a TOM bridge as an option but it would be a bummer to be stuck with the decision due to a flaw.
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I'm not the OP, but your information is very impressive and well thought out. Many ,many thanks for all your very informative posts. Originally Posted by nevershouldhavesoldit
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I got several sets of chrome 12s and put them on 3 guitars. They all had issue with the g string not ringing "true," or sounding a bit like a sitar. It was suggested to me that the strings could be "bad." Sure enough, I changed them out and the issue was gone. I should have emailed d addario!
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Fred, I told you that the strings I thought were the problem. I knew this when you mention 10-12 cents. That is huge and way more than any error because of string length. I am not an expert on strings, but I can tell you they are not always good out of the box. Sometimes in the manufacturing they make errors that show up when you string the guitar and play it. I do agree with one poster that the nut also play a role in the process as a string can bind on a winding and produce a false pitch. I can be the string but also the nut. The nut has to be smooth and lubricated for the string to glide over and come up to pitch. A bit of graphite pencil marking can stop this, but they also make nut sauce. Originally Posted by FDH
You really need to see the whole set up of the guitar at the nut and saddle as one big forest with some trees that need to be addressed. At any point one of the trees get in the way the forest because less predictable in cover. As I said the nut has to be correct with proper height, string insets, and lubrication. As the string breaks over the saddle this too needs to be smooth and sometimes a string can have winding issue and get caught even at the saddle. The top of the saddle is not supposed to be wide almost a point but not quite.
I have never found generally a TOM bridge that was really much better than a properly compensated rosewood or ebony staddle. I carve them so that there is a gradual compensation from high E to low E that roughly put about 5/32 more string length on the bass E string. Remember getting the intonation correct depends on the player and how they play because guitars will never be exactly in tune and we must be in tune the best where we normally spend our time.
I have said these many times, A bluegrass rhythm player on a D style flattop has a whole different need for intonation that jazz bebop player who spends most of the time between the 3rd and 14th fret.
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