Intonation

[freakezoid]

Been trying the intonate my guitar, seems like only the high E string is fine on my tuner.

The 12th fret on the rest of the strings is sharper by one bar on the tuner then the open string.

I tried to move the saddles back and forth but it seems like when i got the note of the 12 fret right the open note becomes one bar flat. So i don't think it makes sense to meddle with the saddles because it would always be one bar difference between the open and the 12th note.

Is there other areas i should look into?

Using a strat, with a floating trem.

 

[thor666]

one bar as in 1 cent?

if it's one cent it's more or less ok since yes - open strings will sound slightly flatter than fretted ones on guitars with no zero fret. guitars are after all tempered instruments

do factor ur playing style when adjusting intonation as well. remember if you often palm mute heavily near ur bridge ur bass strings are likely to be slightly sharper.

 

[SpaTanS]

u know there's this 2 small screws on the saddle ? try raising or lowering it a turn or 2 ... it helps for me ... :lol:

oops, sorry ... yours a floating trem ... erm there's 2 stud on the bdg ? play ard with that ...

 

[GC]

Hi,

Are you strings old and rusty? If they are they won't intonate properly. If you float your trem, intonation can be a little tricky because when u move the saddle backwards, the balance between the spring tension and the string tension is altered slightly thus chaning the angle of the float sometimes. With this in mind it should help you set the intonation more accurately.

Another thing to note is, try not to tune the guitar using the 5-7 harmonics method. Read the following article. It will help you understand the guitar as an equal tempered instrument.

http://www.affiliatetip.com/instrumentproblog/archives/how_to_tune_your_guitar_to_perfection.html

 

[GC]

I think I know where the problem lies. After you move the saddle back or forward, you have to tune the open string pitch, then u check the 12 fret. If you move ur saddle backwards, the open string will be sharp and vice versa for moving the saddle forward

 

[thor666]

+1 to GC. it is 100% accurate as far as i know.

i still don't understand why people tune their guitars/basses by harmonics. sigh.