I have this exact problem with my Ric. Perfect intonation at 0 vs 12, but all the cowboy chords sound fucked up. It's very likely a defective (read: badly cut) nut. If the slots don't angle "uphill" moving from the headstock towards the fretboard, the string is actually making contact at the back edge of the nut, rather than right at zero. This throws off the scale length by a few mm on the strings with bad slots. But you intonate with the open string so it sounds fine until you fret those first few frets.

Edit: you might be able to correct it with a pro nut file- just file the proper angle into every slot. As long as they aren't already cut too deep on the fretboard edge which could lead to buzzing.

jeff fox wrote: Tue Jan 31, 2023 7:33 pm I have this exact problem with my Ric. Perfect intonation at 0 vs 12, but all the cowboy chords sound fucked up. It's very likely a defective (read: badly cut) nut. If the slots don't angle "uphill" moving from the headstock towards the fretboard, the string is actually making contact at the back edge of the nut, rather than right at zero. This throws off the scale length by a few mm on the strings with bad slots. But you intonate with the open string so it sounds fine until you fret those first few frets.

Edit: you might be able to correct it with a pro nut file- just file the proper angle into every slot. As long as they aren't already cut too deep on the fretboard edge which could lead to buzzing.

Had an Electra Les Paul copy that did this as well.

One thing that someone could try even though I had my doubts when it is a certain degree of "Out Of Whack..."

That Peterson "StoboStomp..." family of tuners. There is a "Standard Tuning..." preset that is calibrated to attempt to get everything about as in tune as it can be all at once.

Never was sure that it could overcome something that was like you are describing, but I was always curious about how much it might mitigate the issue.

andyman wrote: Tue Jan 31, 2023 4:15 pm Are the G and B strings supposed to just naturally be this sharp on a JM?

No. You should be able to play open E to open G and not want to smash the thing. I think this has to be a badly cut nut?

It's not about low action, it's about scale length. Jeff did a good job of describing it above. If the nut-to-string contact point is biased one way or the other (either toward the headstock or the 1st fret), your scale length doesn't divide correctly at the fret. You intonate the open string, but when you fret it near the nut, the fret-to-bridge distance isn't what's required to produce an in-tune note.

That nut is nasty anyway. If it were me i'd cut a new, regular nut and see if that fixes anything.

Yeah, I can actually SEE the gaps under the G and B strings in the nut, so while he might have filed the back edge, there's still probably a hump in the middle somewhere. Should be a knife edge.

Ok then! I'd say try a different guitar then.

Every Gibson guitar I have ever played has had this issue, usually on the G string. It is dead in tune at every other position but in cowboy land it is garbage. Jeffs theory seems to be the most true to me.

Put fanned frets on it.

andyman wrote: Wed Feb 01, 2023 9:36 am Well, fuck, everybody. Fuck.

Can't fix without weird hacks, can't sell. Anybody want to buy a project guitar?

I think it literally just needs a new nut. A nice bone nut would be an improvement anyway. I'd just do that...its like an hour of work.