Setting Up an Electric Guitar : Adjusting Guitar Intonation
The intonation on a guitar means a lot in its playability. Learn about all the facets that you can modify to adjust your guitar‘s action in this free video clip.
Expert: Dan’L Terry
Bio: Dan’L Terry is an award-winning artist/designer whose work has been exhibited in national juried shows and museums, on the covers of books and magazines, and in feature films.
Filmmaker: MAKE | MEDIA
Duration : 0:3:3
From Joe Barden’s …
From Joe Barden’s website- “the usually recommended intonation method of the12th fret octave with the 12th fret fretted. This will never work, as the nut, being parallel to the first fret, is going to always leave the guitar out of tune somewhere on the fingerboard, unless you use all 6 strings of equal diameter. An infinitely better method of intonation adjustment is to fret each string at it’s 1st fret, and compare that to the same string fretted at it’s 13th fret.”
dont get mad at me …
dont get mad at me for asking but does intonating the guitar do?
JOE BARDEN WAS AN …
JOE BARDEN WAS AN ELECTRICIAN!! The man is grows his grains wiring pickups…. why do you think he knows more than us luths? AND the nut is parallel to EVERY fret including…. thats right kids, the 12th fret. There is a reason every tech/luth that works for every major guitar manufacturer does their setup with this style intonation adjustment. It is the natural way. If your worried about your guitar going out as you pick it up, buy a better guitar.
you do not NEED to …
you do not NEED to use natural harmonics to intonate a guitar. do you think intonation has something to do with “harmonics?” intonation is based on measurement.
let me try again. …
let me try again. you have no point of reference if the harmonic note doesn’t match the fretted note…….. thats why this has to be done at the 12th fret… the only place on the neck where the harmonic and fretted notes are the same. (common sense)
obviously, you can be a half-way decent musician, and not know dick about the physical nature of your instrument. not an insult- just a fact
if you read more …
if you read more carefully, you will notice that i never said that harmonics…i said 1st and 13th “frets” implying fretted notes. (use common sense.) this is joe barden’s suggestion,not mine. i’ve never tried his method. you may not be able to notice the bad intonation of guitars intonated on tables,but most good guitarists can. that is not an insult- just a fact.
lol dumbass the 1st …
lol dumbass the 1st and 13th?? that defeats this whole purpose because the harmonic note at both the 1st and the 13th fret is different than their respective fretted note. the change in intonation from ‘table’ to ‘playing’ (lol, like thats even terminology) is very minute.
I’ve got cheap …
I’ve got cheap guitars that I intonate like this and they have perfect intonation. Patience counts also.
This is the way I …
This is the way I intonate my guitars.
The type of …
The type of construction (I.e.- bolt-on,neck-thru,set-neck) makes a difference in how the instrument reacts to being rotated from “table” position to “playing” position. The intonation of bolt-on necks almost always changes slightly when rotated to playing position. Neck-thrus and set necks tend to be more solid (but not neccesarily higher quality of “better”) and often intonate well on a table. Also- Joe Barden suggests using the 1st and 13th frets instead of open and 12th.
One of the reasons …
One of the reasons I don’t post videos on Youtube is because of all the idiots who drop by to tell me what an idiot I am.
Using an electronic tuner, make sure that the open pluck on any string matches that of the string when fretted an octave higher (12th fret). Figure on redoing this if you change string gauge, or raise/lower the bridge.
A string too sharp needs to be lengthened, while a string too flat needs to be shortened.
That’s it.
I’ve found that to …
I’ve found that to be true with inexpensive guitars. Quality guitars seem to hold their intonation when rotated 90 degrees.
you should do this …
you should do this in playing position or you risk having shoddy intonation. in other words- a guitar that is “perfectly” intonated while flat on a table,will often be out-of-wack when in normal playing position.
Holly molly, When …
Holly molly, When you turn that screw, you gotta retune the total string first, then check the harmonic and 12th fret. This is why I’m a DIYer, do you see how he lacks care with the screw driver? Last video he tapped the fret surface every time he used the crowning file, then used steal wool on the entire fret surface, wood, inlays and all,. I’m gonna scream!
you would need to …
you would need to take it into a shop and get the bridge moved, it means that the length is messed up
hey i have a …
hey i have a problem. I have been trying to get my low E string to match the low E on the 12th frett and its sharp. So i keep moving the bridge back untill it is as far back as possible and it is still sharp. Any suggestions?
In addition, when …
In addition, when you change to a lower or higher guage / thickness string on your guitar, it effects intonation, and you will have to go through this procedure to get your guitar back in tune. Move the Saddle forward if the note is flat, back if it’s sharp. Matching the sound on the open string with the note on the 12th fret.
Complaints about …
Complaints about this video is he doesn’t explain that if the note is “flat” the string is too long, so the saddle needs to be moved Forward to shorten the string. And if it’s too “sharp” the string is too short and needs to be lengthended by bringing the saddle back. And the goal is to get the “open” note the same as the “12th string” “Fretted” note. Then you’ll be in tune throughout the neck.
Try a different …
Try a different thickness/ Guage String. Also some saddles can be raised / lowered. I found in a Fender, when I couldn’t pull it back enough, that raising the height a wee bit (which also raises the action) was able to compensate and get the string intonated.
a doctorate never …
a doctorate never hurts though…
what if a note is …
what if a note is sharp, and u set the bridge sattle backwards into the base of the bridge but it is still not in tune correctly even when the sattle is all the way into the base and it cant be moved any more. what do you do?
it does what says …
it does what says its going 2 do this vid would probably help a master guitarist and thats not me in a way it hurt me and take time from my life i will never get back hes a time thief lol haha he stills time damnnn father time i was up at 3 am trying 2 get my guitar to sound right and i end up striping the g string fuck!!! so take care and please make better vids
damnnn but u see …
damnnn but u see what im talking about right
yeah yeah he might me ur boy friend but its like making a video on how to do some thing
and end um just hearing ur own voice…dud look up how to ae86 coil overs that’s a good vid
kewl guitar…I …
kewl guitar…I wanted one as a kid but they were more than I got for allowance! I bought a Ferrington about a year ago, and dig it a bit. As for your russ rod issue. There is a range that it works within. Provided there isn’t a mechanical failure, which would probably require a luthier by the sound of your knowledge level, if you have the tool to turn your truss, you will find there is a range of travel. I’m sure you could google your Pacer and adjusting the truss for more on that.
What a lamer …
What a lamer comment. This video didn’t spend a lot of time discussing the background or different types of guitars…what if you have a floating tremolo…but step back and think about it. This person took the time to make a video to break something down for people that don’t understand a fundamental. Perhaps it didn’t help you, but it didn’t hurt you either…so you lost nothing. How about you do a little work on your own and research instead of blasting someone else.