FastRedPonyCar
11-17-2004, 07:03 PM
I'm making this post because I believe this is something that goes largely unchecked by the majority of the guitar playing world.
Of about 15 guys I hang out with that play that I asked if they checke their intonation, 5 of them said no and all but 1 other said they had no idea what that was. And these aren't ametures. They've been playing for 5+ years so they know their stuff (somewhat).
Anyways, I've always tried to keep mine decently intoned because once you go above fret 12, it can make a WORLD of difference. How much difference? If it's bad enough, noting a 12th fret note on a poorly intoned guitar can produce a note almost 1/2 step flat or sharp or MORE depending on how bad it is. I've played guitars with awful intonation. I could play an e chord down low and it sound perfect but when I went up and played the same chord 1 octave higher it was like fingernails down a chalkboard bad. :o
If you change sring gagues in particular, intonation is something that should be checked. SO, without further ado, here's a quick run down on how to set your intonation. It doesn't apply to acoustics so electrics only.
First, I'll talk about how to set it on the standard tremolo style bridge. This applys to all axes with the fender tremolo, wilkinsons, floyd rose styles and the hard tail bridges (not the les paul style).
- Grab your tuner and tune all strings to the correct pitch. If it's a new set of strings, play for a while and stretch the strings out really good. Bend hard on all the strings, pull up on them, do lots of whammy'ing etc.
- Once they're stretched out and re-tuned, start on the high E string and play a 12th fret E and check the tuner.
* If it reads SHARP, then loosen the screw holding the saddle and slide the saddle BACK just a tad. You may want to apply pressure to the tremolo arm to loosen the string tension on the saddle to help it slide. Release the trem arm and tune the open string back up to the correct pitch and then check the 12th fret tuning. When you move it, move it in teeny increments (mabey the thickness of a dime or about 1mm.)
* If the string reads FLAT, then you'll want to slide the saddle TOWARDS the neck.
- Once you've gotten that string perfectly tuned in both open and 12th fret, tighten the screw to secure the saddle and move on to the next string.
- The strat and fixed saddle bridges have a screw that you can tighten or loosen to move the saddle forwards or backwards.
- Wilkinsons have a small hex bolt in the center of the saddle that requires a small hex wrench (I'm not sure of the size.) My carvin uses a wilkinson and they supplied the hex wrench to adjust it.
- The Floyd Rose trems also have a hex screw that is in front of the saddle that is loosened to slide the saddle. When adjusting this, you might have to loosen the string at the peg to take some string tension off along with bending the tremolo arm down to slide the saddle. If it's not in floating mode where the tremolo goes up and down then all you'll have to do is loosen the string to slide the saddle.
- For you guys with the tune-o-matic bridges (the les paul style) you'll have to use a flat head screwdriver to adjust the screw that the angled string saddle is mounted to. Simply loosen the string and twist the scew in the proper direction to move the saddle forwards or backwards.
It takes a while to do this but the rewards are greater than many expect. It's one of those "I didn't know it could make this much of a difference until I actually heard it" things.
The standard tuner is fine but if you have access to one of the rack mount tuners use those. They're very acurate.
Good luck guys and gals! :cool:
Of about 15 guys I hang out with that play that I asked if they checke their intonation, 5 of them said no and all but 1 other said they had no idea what that was. And these aren't ametures. They've been playing for 5+ years so they know their stuff (somewhat).
Anyways, I've always tried to keep mine decently intoned because once you go above fret 12, it can make a WORLD of difference. How much difference? If it's bad enough, noting a 12th fret note on a poorly intoned guitar can produce a note almost 1/2 step flat or sharp or MORE depending on how bad it is. I've played guitars with awful intonation. I could play an e chord down low and it sound perfect but when I went up and played the same chord 1 octave higher it was like fingernails down a chalkboard bad. :o
If you change sring gagues in particular, intonation is something that should be checked. SO, without further ado, here's a quick run down on how to set your intonation. It doesn't apply to acoustics so electrics only.
First, I'll talk about how to set it on the standard tremolo style bridge. This applys to all axes with the fender tremolo, wilkinsons, floyd rose styles and the hard tail bridges (not the les paul style).
- Grab your tuner and tune all strings to the correct pitch. If it's a new set of strings, play for a while and stretch the strings out really good. Bend hard on all the strings, pull up on them, do lots of whammy'ing etc.
- Once they're stretched out and re-tuned, start on the high E string and play a 12th fret E and check the tuner.
* If it reads SHARP, then loosen the screw holding the saddle and slide the saddle BACK just a tad. You may want to apply pressure to the tremolo arm to loosen the string tension on the saddle to help it slide. Release the trem arm and tune the open string back up to the correct pitch and then check the 12th fret tuning. When you move it, move it in teeny increments (mabey the thickness of a dime or about 1mm.)
* If the string reads FLAT, then you'll want to slide the saddle TOWARDS the neck.
- Once you've gotten that string perfectly tuned in both open and 12th fret, tighten the screw to secure the saddle and move on to the next string.
- The strat and fixed saddle bridges have a screw that you can tighten or loosen to move the saddle forwards or backwards.
- Wilkinsons have a small hex bolt in the center of the saddle that requires a small hex wrench (I'm not sure of the size.) My carvin uses a wilkinson and they supplied the hex wrench to adjust it.
- The Floyd Rose trems also have a hex screw that is in front of the saddle that is loosened to slide the saddle. When adjusting this, you might have to loosen the string at the peg to take some string tension off along with bending the tremolo arm down to slide the saddle. If it's not in floating mode where the tremolo goes up and down then all you'll have to do is loosen the string to slide the saddle.
- For you guys with the tune-o-matic bridges (the les paul style) you'll have to use a flat head screwdriver to adjust the screw that the angled string saddle is mounted to. Simply loosen the string and twist the scew in the proper direction to move the saddle forwards or backwards.
It takes a while to do this but the rewards are greater than many expect. It's one of those "I didn't know it could make this much of a difference until I actually heard it" things.
The standard tuner is fine but if you have access to one of the rack mount tuners use those. They're very acurate.
Good luck guys and gals! :cool: