Hey Mitch, Leave the strings at pitch for action, intonation and truss-rod adjustments. As you make adjustments, you'll need to re-tune.

[quote="nm83396":1k2sfdh9]ps. took my Ric and my dingwall to a gig last week. The Ric did'nt even make through one song at sound check. Your basses are da "bomb"!![/quote:1k2sfdh9] Looks like Mitch's Ric's Licks Were Nixed, so the headlines read. My other ordinary basses have the same problem. They still make great decoration, though. Mark

Hi Sheldon, Do you have a set of instructions on the procedure to adjust intonation? Since I have gone to the flat wounds all but the E string are sharpe at the 24th fret. The E string is basicaly spot on. Any chance of having the Mach II upgrade kit for my 2007 PA at NAMM? Look fprward to meeting you there. Best regards and Happy Holidays to you and your family. David

alot of intonation guides out there. basic idea is you need the 12'th fret harmonic to be the same pitch as if you fret the 12'th fret. if the fretted note is too high, you need to move the bridge piece a bit back (the 12'th band is supposed to be right in the middle of nut and bridge, so if its too high it means its closer to the bridge than nut.

Got this from Sheldon a few years back when I asked him the same question about adjusting on an AB I. I hope it helps you: "On each saddle there are two locking set screws. Loosen both by one turn and slide the saddle fore or aft to adjust the intonation. Tighten the locking screws, re-tune and test." Good luck, Rob

Hi Sheldon, I've had my ABII for several years and gig with it every night. I've been having some odd intonation problems. I've intoned it perfectly when changing strings(open, harmonic, fretted 12th). It is still almost 10cents sharp when fretted on the 3-6th fret on the G & D string. After that and above the 12th fret it is fine. What the....?

[quote="suncatcher":29x26nnr]Hi Sheldon, I've had my ABII for several years and gig with it every night. I've been having some odd intonation problems. I've intoned it perfectly when changing strings(open, harmonic, fretted 12th). It is still almost 10cents sharp when fretted on the 3-6th fret on the G & D string. After that and above the 12th fret it is fine. What the....?[/quote:29x26nnr] Check to see if your frets have flattened out. What happens w/nickle is that the crown gets worn down and shifts the intonation of the neck sharp, on the flattened frets. Unfortunately the nut doesn't shift too. If your 12th fret still has crown but the areas you're talking about are flat that would be one of the reasons it could be sharp after strobing. I would suggest capo strobing your bass either on the 5th or 7th fret to split the difference. A fretted instrument is the most imperfect of all the instruments. When you tune and strobe your bass do you pluck gently and carefully, and then start playing more aggressively live? That'll do it too. Also check too see if your PU's are a little too close to the string. The magnets will pull the string sharp if too close in the first couple of frets.

[quote="suncatcher":2x21onet]Hi Sheldon, I've had my ABII for several years and gig with it every night. I've been having some odd intonation problems. I've intoned it perfectly when changing strings(open, harmonic, fretted 12th). It is still almost 10cents sharp when fretted on the 3-6th fret on the G & D string. After that and above the 12th fret it is fine. What the....?[/quote:2x21onet] That sounds like it could be a combination of nut wear and fret wear. To check the nut, wiggle the string back and forth across the 3rd fret while watching the string closely in the nut slot. Does it move back and forth in the nut slot? Ideally it shouldn't move in the slot, it should just start to move at the edge of the slot. Funkshwey covered the fret aspect as well as I could. Send me an email and if you can a close up photo of the lower frets. I'll be back in the shop on Monday.