Intonation adjustment.. never works

WezV

DesWalker said:

WezV said:

DesWalker said:

Tune to pitch at the first fret and then compare to the thirteenth fret to get the saddles right. 

Check the open strings - they will likely be a few cents flat. Either live with this or start tinkering with the nut files....

On electric guitar it’s better to get the fretted notes precise than the open strings as you tend to play more of them. Acoustic guitars are another matter...

the first fret will still be affected by the nut if its too high, hence the suggestion to go 5th/17th to reduce the nuts impact as much as possible

Not in my experience.

that's surprising.   In my experience a high nut affects the tuning on the first few frets more than further down the neck.  but we are essentially suggesting the same approach, to check other reference points if you want to exclude potential nut issues.

thegummy

Barquentine said:

If it's equally sharp across all strings doesn't that make it in tune ?

Not if you want to play with any other instruments.

Adey

I think that if you are obsessing about being perfectly in tune you need a bit more excitement in your life.

pintspiller

You said "open" string and 12th fret harmonic. They will always be be same!

It is the 12th fret harmonic and played note at 12th fret!

The pressure you use at 12th fret affects the note, so only use the same pressure that you'd normally play up at that end.

rossi

I just tune to  first D chord . 2 3 2. sod the rest .when that sounds good its playable .This come from guitars  who were probably never built to have perfect intonation as it hadnt been invented back then .

mart

People don’t seem to realize that intonation is a personal thing - how the saddle needs to be adjusted depends on how you play. If you push the strings down really hard when you play, then the saddles need to go further back. If you’ve a light touch, then not so much. Asking a tech to set the intonation is always going to be a compromise, because they don’t know how you play.

I’m getting the impression that you fret pretty hard, in which case it may be that your guitars do not offer enough room for manoeuvre, to get the intonation where it needs to be for you. In that case you’re stuck between a rock and a hard place - either learn to play more lightly, or move your bridge.

But first of all, check your nuts. Once you’ve ruled out testicular cancer, then check the height of the nut on your guitar -  get the strings in tune and check that they’re still in tune when you fret the first few frets. Don’t bother thinking about intonation until you’ve done that. But if you have, then be prepared, as above, for some unpalatable choices. Factory built guitars are built for the average, and if you differ sufficiently far from the average, I’m afraid life is going to be hard.