Sometimes when you've tuned your guitar, you may find that somehow it still sounds off-tone. The most likely reason for this is that the intonation is out. To solve the problem, you will have to correct the guitar intonation setup.
With correct intonation, your guitar should play in tune in every fret on the neck. If it is out, the instrument is usually in tune in the first few frets. However, as you play down along the neck towards the body of the instrument, it starts losing pitch.
You can solve the problem by moving the bridge saddles. The bridge saddles are located on the body of the guitar. You fix the strings onto the guitar at the bridge saddles. Moving the bridge saddles will basically change string length to improve tonality.
Before you can do this, however, you should replace the old strings with new ones and tune your instrument. When you tune the strings, use the tuning that you normally use. In other words, if you don't normally play in standard tuning but with for example a drop D tuning instead, use that instead of standard tuning. Instead of trying to tune by ear, you should use an electronic tuner if you can, because the reading will be more accurate.
Once you've tuned the strings, you can start checking them for intonation. There are different ways of doing this, but using the harmonic will give you the best results. The harmonic is the almost tinkling sound you get when you don't press the string down but only lightly touch and release it. If you don't get this sound on the first try, touch the string in a slightly different position.
When you've got the hang of playing harmonics, do this at the twelfth fret. Then play the twelfth-fret note in the regular way. The twelfth fret is the point where there should be a one-octave difference between the note as played in the regular way and its harmonic.
Using your tuner and proceeding one string at a time, compare the reading you get when you play the note in the twelfth fret and the reading you get when you play its harmonic here too. A flat note will have a lower pitch than the corresponding harmonic. To fix this, you need to move the bridge saddle forward, in other words, in the direction of the head. A sharp note will sound higher than its corresponding harmonic and you need to move the bridge saddle backward. Every time you adjust the position of the bridge saddle, check the reading of the twelfth-fret note and its harmonic again until the harmonic is exactly an octave higher than the note.
On an electric guitar, there are separate bridge saddles for each string. You can adjust each one individually. On an acoustic guitar, however, you can't move the bridge and you will need a luthier to help you with your guitar intonation setup. Once it's done, you may find that you can't stop playing.
With correct intonation, your guitar should play in tune in every fret on the neck. If it is out, the instrument is usually in tune in the first few frets. However, as you play down along the neck towards the body of the instrument, it starts losing pitch.
You can solve the problem by moving the bridge saddles. The bridge saddles are located on the body of the guitar. You fix the strings onto the guitar at the bridge saddles. Moving the bridge saddles will basically change string length to improve tonality.
Before you can do this, however, you should replace the old strings with new ones and tune your instrument. When you tune the strings, use the tuning that you normally use. In other words, if you don't normally play in standard tuning but with for example a drop D tuning instead, use that instead of standard tuning. Instead of trying to tune by ear, you should use an electronic tuner if you can, because the reading will be more accurate.
Once you've tuned the strings, you can start checking them for intonation. There are different ways of doing this, but using the harmonic will give you the best results. The harmonic is the almost tinkling sound you get when you don't press the string down but only lightly touch and release it. If you don't get this sound on the first try, touch the string in a slightly different position.
When you've got the hang of playing harmonics, do this at the twelfth fret. Then play the twelfth-fret note in the regular way. The twelfth fret is the point where there should be a one-octave difference between the note as played in the regular way and its harmonic.
Using your tuner and proceeding one string at a time, compare the reading you get when you play the note in the twelfth fret and the reading you get when you play its harmonic here too. A flat note will have a lower pitch than the corresponding harmonic. To fix this, you need to move the bridge saddle forward, in other words, in the direction of the head. A sharp note will sound higher than its corresponding harmonic and you need to move the bridge saddle backward. Every time you adjust the position of the bridge saddle, check the reading of the twelfth-fret note and its harmonic again until the harmonic is exactly an octave higher than the note.
On an electric guitar, there are separate bridge saddles for each string. You can adjust each one individually. On an acoustic guitar, however, you can't move the bridge and you will need a luthier to help you with your guitar intonation setup. Once it's done, you may find that you can't stop playing.
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