how does one go about learning to intonate a guitar?

[maskedman72]

it would be great to know how to set-up and intonate a gtr myself. just wondering how complex of a process it is? should it just be left to a tech?

[Windtaken]

are you talking about electric guitars? it's not hard, it's just turning the saddle screws until the 12th fret harmonic is the same as the 12th fret when pressed down

first time through may take you a couple hours and a lot of frustration (assuming you're fixing intonation cause you're adjusting the neck, and adjusting the neck cause you're using a different gauge. (though changing strings shouldn't really make that much of a difference on electrics)

In the end, it may be worth it to save $50 and not have to wait a week for your guitar to come back.

[Barish]

If you are asking this question, I suggest you stay away from rod adjustment. Unless you have far too many guitars to mess up.

For intonation adjustment, get a good tuner and do as suggested above.

B.

[Schmacko]

Truss rod adjustments aren't all that tricky. There are just a couple rules of thumb to follow. One is to always make adjustments with tension on the neck, and second, you shouldn't make adjustments of more than 1/4 turn.

Another thing which helps tuning and intonation is to lube the nut every time you change the strings. (sorry, no other way to word it!)

Nonetheless, if you have forward or backward bow on a neck, you'll need to correct this before adjusting the bridge to properly intonate the guitar.

[James 'LA' Lugo]

F F F = Fretted note Flat move saddle Forward

Tune the guitar up. Hit the 12th fret harmonic on the E string and tune it, then press the 12th fret, if the Fretted note is Flat move the saddle Forward. If it's sharp move it back. Do that to all the strings with the guitar on your leg in playing position, don't lay it on a bench it can give you a bad reading. The B string is tricky, if you intonate it perfectly bar chords usually sound a little out of tune, intonate it till the fretted note is slightly flat.

It also depends on how hard you play with your left hand, the harder you press the sharper the note is. It also helps if the neck is adjusted properly and the action is set good. High action usualy makes intonating very hard.

This is the good stuff, I worked for years with a guy who worked at Kramer and teched for Eddie, Ygnwie, Springsteen and Maiden. I actually worked on Maidens guitars for the Powerslave tour. I have set up thousands of guitars!

[mltamisin]

It's easy. Make sure you're truss rod adjustments are made first and the neck is left alone overnight in case you've overadjusted and the neck hasn't settled yet (bent completely). You should move in 8th of a full rotation turns and check it. Doesn't take much. Back to intonation...get a tuner ready because it's very accurate. Tune the E string. Make sure the 12th fret harmonic is registering that it's indeed in tune. Now press down on the 12th fret and see if the tuner is saying it's sharp or flat. If it's sharp you'll need to move the saddle piece towards the back of the bridge (right on a right handed guitar). If it's flat, move the saddle piece towards the neck. You may need to loosen the string alot (until it flaps very loosely) before you move the saddle piece so you don't strip the the threads in the saddle piece. I've stripped them before and they suck to try to find replacements. So to be safe just loosen the string. Retune and repeat until the 12th fret is in perfect tune. Do this with all the other strings.
Good luck - Matt

[the1Hub]

there is no "this is how its done" as the varibles between different guitars/player/playing style will change how it should be setup for each sitution. i have been setting up my own electric guitars for many years. i know how i like it and what works for me so i get better results then if i were to give it to a tech. as for a starting point each guitar maker has a sugested setup that includes string hieghts, spacing, string tensions ect. there usually on there websites. its not a bad idea to learn how to setup a guitar by returning it to factory specs. then tweak from there to your liking. thats how i learned.

as for intonation that a little more tricky. a guitar will never be perfectly intune with its self. but to do a basic job what you can try is this

with a really accurate tuner tune the 12th fret harmonic. then actual fret the same string if the tuner still shows that its perfectly in tune then your intonations going to be pretty good. if the tuner show that when you fret the 12th fret that it goes sharp then you need to move the bridge saddle out. if it shows flat then the bridge saddle needs to be moved in. make sure you retune to the 12fret harmonic before each time you check a fretted tuning. also make sure you have your string hieght/spacing and neck adjustments done before you try and intonate the guitar as it will through your intonation out if you do it first. now thats a pretty basic way to do it. i have found other ways to do it that work a little better for each of my guitars. and above all dont forget to use your ears.

now if you have a buzz fetten tuning system on your guitar things will work a little differently as well.

hope that helps

[js1]

Great book on the subject: http://www.amazon.com/Make-Your-Elec.../dp/0879306017

js

[Windtaken]

oh, as someone mentioned above, wait a day after adjusting the neck cause it'll keep moving once morning comes around. It may save you some frustration. However, this comes from my knowledge of adjusting acoustic guitars. someone correct me if it doesn't really matter with electrics.

[maskedman72]

i would never even attempt to adjust the truss rod.

[midnightsun]

First of all get someone to show you how to intonate. You really can't hurt anything. The next step is to do your own neck adjustments. I can't imagine not being able to totally set up my guitars and basses. I think that is all part of getting a certain sound-- far more important that whether I have a 500 dollar mic vs a 5000 dollar mic. Adjusting truss rods is not vodoo; but, it is true that you can ruin the neck if you don't understand what you are doing. You can also kill someone else or yourself driving to the grocery store but you do it regularly.

All of the music stores in my community have knowing folks who are happy to teach there customers how to set up guitars. If the customer buys the guitar from the discount house for 30 dollars savings the stores aren't so happy to tutor the newbie.

[The Byre]

It's all here -

http://fretnotguitarrepair.com/default.htm

[matt_l]

1. Buy a Strobostomp

2. Follow the directions included with it

Peterson recommends that you tune each string at the 5th and 17th fret, moving the saddle away from the nut if the 17th fret is sharp relative to the 5th fret, and (obviously) toward the nut if the 17th fret note is flat.

I did this to my LP Historic, took me a half hour, and the difference was stunning. And the Strobostomp is insanely accurate, far more sensitive than needle-based tuners. Check the specs before you buy, it is interesting how coarse some tuners are.

Of course, YMMV.

Matt

[SeanG]

Originally Posted by James 'LA' Lugo

It also depends on how hard you play with your left hand, the harder you press the sharper the note is. It also helps if the neck is adjusted properly and the action is set good. High action usualy makes intonating very hard.

Flat toward fingerboard / Sharp toward strap button.

[3rd world order]

Originally Posted by maskedman72

i would never even attempt to adjust the truss rod.

it's simple.

you hold down a note on the 1st and 22nd/24th fret of the low E string.

you eyeball the midway point looking at how much of a gap between the fret and the string... i usually go for about 1.5-2mm.. i'm not crazy about measuring tho.. it's a FEEL thing...

tighten the screw in the headstock to put in more neck curve and increase the gap...

loosen the screw if the gap is too big... the neck will flatten out.

don't turn it more than 1/8th to 1/4 turn at a time...

give the neck a half hour or more to settle down between adjustments.

this is something you'll wanna do over the course of a day or so, making very small adjustments and seeing what happens to the gap... it's not rocket science.. as long as you dont twist that nut around like crazy you wont break anything.

P.S. i invariably turn the screw the wrong way the first time...

DAMMIT NOW I WANT A STROBO STOMP

[mhartman]

Originally Posted by 3rd world order

DAMMIT NOW I WANT A STROBO STOMP

Me too. I bought the Strobosoft software a while back and, while it does what it is supposed to do, it is such a PITA to load a program and have a connection to it every time I want to tune my guitar. Go with a hardware unit.

[GPl]

Originally Posted by James 'LA' Lugo

F F F = Fretted note Flat move saddle Forward

Tune the guitar up. Hit the 12th fret harmonic on the E string and tune it, then press the 12th fret, if the Fretted note is Flat move the saddle Forward. If it's sharp move it back. Do that to all the strings with the guitar on your leg in playing position, don't lay it on a bench it can give you a bad reading. The B string is tricky, if you intonate it perfectly bar chords usually sound a little out of tune, intonate it till the fretted note is slightly flat.

It also depends on how hard you play with your left hand, the harder you press the sharper the note is. It also helps if the neck is adjusted properly and the action is set good. High action usualy makes intonating very hard.

This is the good stuff, I worked for years with a guy who worked at Kramer and teched for Eddie, Ygnwie, Springsteen and Maiden. I actually worked on Maidens guitars for the Powerslave tour. I have set up thousands of guitars!

Good info Get the book and do the neck adjustments first(if really needed). It's not hard, just have to follow a process somewhat. Get a feeler gauge/allen wrench and you're good to go.

[maskedman72]

thanks guys! i think a good engineer should be able to set up and intonate gtrz and tune drums.

i cant do either! gotta start somewhare though.

[RPM]

you'll be one step ahead then,


seeing as most guitarists can barely tune, let alone set up a guitar..

and as for drummers tuning?



I'm only half joking