New Taylor 712ce intonation

[Aqagrl]

I recently purchased the above, and straight away took it to a gig that night. I routinely play with a capo. I was in a bit of a state of shock that the intonation was horribly out. Am I expecting too much?

After playing it, I'm not a fan of the short scale neck, so it's going back regardless. Was just incredibly disappointed and wondering if I needed to adjust my expectations.

I have a Takamine TAN15C that I play routinely, and the intonation is just about perfect. Always has been.

[Dbone]

Originally Posted by Aqagrl

I recently purchased the above, and straight away took it to a gig that night. I routinely play with a capo. I was in a bit of a state of shock that the intonation was horribly out. Am I expecting too much?

After playing it, I'm not a fan of the short scale neck, so it's going back regardless. Was just incredibly disappointed and wondering if I needed to adjust my expectations.

I have a Takamine TAN15C that I play routinely, and the intonation is just about perfect. Always has been.

Which is ironic given that impeccable intonation is supposed to be one of v class’s claims to fame.

Perhaps there is a genuine issue with the guitar of some sort.

Good luck. Sorry to hear. Frustrating for sure.

[Bear Davis]

Without having the guitar in my hands the best I can do is give you the "likely" causes:

- The capo you are using might not be ideal for that guitar or might just be on too tight. Try another.
- Your nut slots might be high
- Might be too much relief in the neck
- Old strings
- Combination of some or all of the above.

[keith.rogers]

Originally Posted by Dbone

Which is ironic given that impeccable intonation is supposed to be one of v class’s claims to fame.

Perhaps there is a genuine issue with the guitar of some sort.
....

OP didn't say if it was a V-class or not. Disappointing, as that's a model I've had on my short list to try, as I'm thinking of moving to an OM size guitar, and looking for a good cutaway. (I was impressed with the V-class 522ce I tried a few months back.) I do see GC lists both the old and new models, or at least they have two 712ce models on their site and only one says "V-class" and is a different price. I suppose both are still in stock at some of the big boxes.

[dodge]

Kinda of hard to pass judgement without any more information.

[Aqagrl]

Originally Posted by keith.rogers

OP didn't say if it was a V-class or not. Disappointing, as that's a model I've had on my short list to try, as I'm thinking of moving to an OM size guitar, and looking for a good cutaway. (I was impressed with the V-class 522ce I tried a few months back.) I do see GC lists both the old and new models, or at least they have two 712ce models on their site and only one says "V-class" and is a different price. I suppose both are still in stock at some of the big boxes.

Yes, it's a V-class.

[Aqagrl]

Tried Dunlop and G7th capos. New strings put on in store.

Originally Posted by Bear Davis

Without having the guitar in my hands the best I can do is give you the "likely" causes:

- The capo you are using might not be ideal for that guitar or might just be on too tight. Try another.
- Your nut slots might be high
- Might be too much relief in the neck
- Old strings
- Combination of some or all of the above.

[Aqagrl]

Agreed, Dbone. It was a shocker for sure. Will bring a couple capos next time I go shopping...

Originally Posted by Dbone

Which is ironic given that impeccable intonation is supposed to be one of v class’s claims to fame.

Perhaps there is a genuine issue with the guitar of some sort.

Good luck. Sorry to hear. Frustrating for sure.

[nedray]

Does it tune properly without the capo? That might help narrow the problem down to something with the nut.

[jpmist]

Originally Posted by Aqagrl

I was in a bit of a state of shock that the intonation was horribly out. Am I expecting too much?

There is a tread on the forum now mentioning that some Taylor saddles are flawed somewhat. Yours could be one of them. The issue is the wound strings have too broad a contact on the back side of the saddle on it's way to the string peg which can cause all sorts of intonation issues. If you're not 100% on sending it back, it's an easy thing to check and fix.

Check out the first pic - https://www.acousticguitarforum.com/...d.php?t=562847

[RalphH]

It's not an issue directly caused by scale length; it's the same scale length as a pretty much all Gibsons (electric and acoustic), and they do ok. Also, my GS Mini is 23.5" and that intonates to within 3-4 cent, open vs 12th fret (just checked for you).

I would guess action too high and/or capo much too tight. Also, what gauge strings are on it? I read somewhere Bob Taylor saying they put 13s on the Mini as they intonate better on a shorter scale length. If you have changed to a lighter string gague this may have caused an issue. I guess it could be the saddle issue I've noticed on Taylors, = but for that to affect intonation the leading edge would have to be doing no work.

[vindibona1]

Have you checked the intonation at the 12th fret to see if the intonation issues are present without a capo? How is the relief on your guitar? If it's too much then the liklihood of pulling the strings out of tune is greater than if it's relatively low.

As far as V-class "intonation"... I think there is a misunderstanding in the interpretation of what Taylor is claiming. The bracing cannot change the intonation as it relates to string length and fret positioning. What Taylor means is that the intonation of the BODY'S resonance is better with V bracing.