Learning to play a guitar is a lot easier than tuning one, more so when it is guitar intonation setup you have to deal with. It involves so many factors that need to be understood and if not done right, may cause some injuries and more damage to your instrument. Before you get started, here are some pointers you might want to familiarize yourself with.
A higher action or more distance from the string to the fret will produce a sharper than flat sound. This is so because the cords are stretched farther. The problem you will encounter here is a difficulty in getting in tune, sometimes you have it, the next time you do not. What you need to do is to set up your instrument all over again to get just the right height and make sure you have the desired length.
Neck relief or the bowing in the guitars' neck is next to being examined. If the string is too tight, it will shorten the space between the saddle and nut. Another effect is you will be raising the height of the cord farther to the frets. This set up will lead you to press harder than normal, if done softly it will be out of tune. Truss rod should be adjusted to obtain the suitable relief.
You need to check how the saddle leans. What you should be after is a saddle that is sitting firmly on the bridge. The moment you see it leaning forward only means it is loose, thus shortening the string making the intonation sharper. If you have a problem here, then you have to replace the saddle to get a proper fit.
The saddle crown is up after that. The usual troubles here are profound indentations. What this creates is an alteration in the measurement lengthwise of the cord making it virtually unworkable to get the right tune. This situation leaves you with only two options. You either re-surface it or total overhaul of the saddle.
One very widespread predicament to tackle is the wear and tear of the fret caused by long term use. This has a straightforward effect on the distance end-to-end of the cord impacting the intonation produced. Damaged frets can still be salvaged by repairs but some extreme cases will have to be entirely changed by a new set.
Fret height was mentioned earlier as a result of some issues. String quality and gauge is a very important aspect when it comes to guitars. Always go for well known brands as they have been tested and proven. Cheap ones may save you some money but they have been an on-going issue when it comes to intonation.
As you can see, there are so many factors to consider. Working on your own is not impossible but it will take a lot of time to practice. Just be patient and do not ever forget to ask for some advice from experts. After working on some guitars, you will get the hang of guitar intonation setup and you will be more confident doing it yourself.
A higher action or more distance from the string to the fret will produce a sharper than flat sound. This is so because the cords are stretched farther. The problem you will encounter here is a difficulty in getting in tune, sometimes you have it, the next time you do not. What you need to do is to set up your instrument all over again to get just the right height and make sure you have the desired length.
Neck relief or the bowing in the guitars' neck is next to being examined. If the string is too tight, it will shorten the space between the saddle and nut. Another effect is you will be raising the height of the cord farther to the frets. This set up will lead you to press harder than normal, if done softly it will be out of tune. Truss rod should be adjusted to obtain the suitable relief.
You need to check how the saddle leans. What you should be after is a saddle that is sitting firmly on the bridge. The moment you see it leaning forward only means it is loose, thus shortening the string making the intonation sharper. If you have a problem here, then you have to replace the saddle to get a proper fit.
The saddle crown is up after that. The usual troubles here are profound indentations. What this creates is an alteration in the measurement lengthwise of the cord making it virtually unworkable to get the right tune. This situation leaves you with only two options. You either re-surface it or total overhaul of the saddle.
One very widespread predicament to tackle is the wear and tear of the fret caused by long term use. This has a straightforward effect on the distance end-to-end of the cord impacting the intonation produced. Damaged frets can still be salvaged by repairs but some extreme cases will have to be entirely changed by a new set.
Fret height was mentioned earlier as a result of some issues. String quality and gauge is a very important aspect when it comes to guitars. Always go for well known brands as they have been tested and proven. Cheap ones may save you some money but they have been an on-going issue when it comes to intonation.
As you can see, there are so many factors to consider. Working on your own is not impossible but it will take a lot of time to practice. Just be patient and do not ever forget to ask for some advice from experts. After working on some guitars, you will get the hang of guitar intonation setup and you will be more confident doing it yourself.
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