Guitar intonation setup generally only becomes an issue when a player starts to play chords or notes closer to the bridge of the instrument. A well tuned instrument will generally play fine within the first 5 frets of the nut at the tuning peg end of the neck. Most intermediate or advanced players however will want to move out of this fret range and so correct intonation for the instrument is essential.
If notes or chords played on the instrument sound out of pitch, sharp or flat, when played up the neck then the intonation probably needs seeing to. One way to test this is to play an open string then play the same note an octave higher on the same string at the twelfth fret. If the two notes are off pitch then this string will need adjustment. This method is then applied to all the strings.
This adjustment is most commonly achieved by altering the length of the string between its two pivot points. These are the nut and the bridge with the bridge being most commonly the point that is altered by moving it toward or away from the nut. This is not easy on an acoustic instrument as the bridge is usually fixed so that it may need to be reshaped or replaced completely and so is normally a job for an expert. Most electric guitars however have adjustable bridges and can be altered by using a screwdriver or Allen key.
Electric players are diverse and varied lot. They might be playing smooth jazz chords or manically shredding notes at breakneck speed at ear splitting volume and everything in between. There are a number of devices on the instrument so that it can be easily set up to enable these different styles to be played. The electric guitar being a more modern instrument also doesn't have the styling restrictions of the more traditional acoustic equivalents.
The electric guitar however has much less restriction and a diverse array of shapes and construction methods. It therefore employs a number of adjusting mechanisms to allow for diverse range of players and playing styles. One of the main adjustments to accommodate a range of diverse playing techniques is string height.
This adjustment is found on most electric and steel string acoustic instruments. This is usually achieved by the provision of a neck tension screw. Once this adjustment has been made the instrument pitch then has to be checked and if necessary fine tuned by the bridge adjustment.
Sometimes it is not possible to achieve perfect string height and pitch. This is more the case on a cheaper instrument. In this situation the setup may need to be a compromise between intonation and the desired string height. A more expensive instrument should be able to be set up to the players satisfaction with near perfect pitch.
Simple guitar intonation setup should be able to be carried out on an electric guitar by the player if they have the correct tools. However if the user also wants to substantially alter the string height this could further complicate the process. Simple neck adjustments can be made by the owner for an acoustic steel string instrument but intonation adjustment to these and classical acoustic instruments would be best left to an expert technician.
If notes or chords played on the instrument sound out of pitch, sharp or flat, when played up the neck then the intonation probably needs seeing to. One way to test this is to play an open string then play the same note an octave higher on the same string at the twelfth fret. If the two notes are off pitch then this string will need adjustment. This method is then applied to all the strings.
This adjustment is most commonly achieved by altering the length of the string between its two pivot points. These are the nut and the bridge with the bridge being most commonly the point that is altered by moving it toward or away from the nut. This is not easy on an acoustic instrument as the bridge is usually fixed so that it may need to be reshaped or replaced completely and so is normally a job for an expert. Most electric guitars however have adjustable bridges and can be altered by using a screwdriver or Allen key.
Electric players are diverse and varied lot. They might be playing smooth jazz chords or manically shredding notes at breakneck speed at ear splitting volume and everything in between. There are a number of devices on the instrument so that it can be easily set up to enable these different styles to be played. The electric guitar being a more modern instrument also doesn't have the styling restrictions of the more traditional acoustic equivalents.
The electric guitar however has much less restriction and a diverse array of shapes and construction methods. It therefore employs a number of adjusting mechanisms to allow for diverse range of players and playing styles. One of the main adjustments to accommodate a range of diverse playing techniques is string height.
This adjustment is found on most electric and steel string acoustic instruments. This is usually achieved by the provision of a neck tension screw. Once this adjustment has been made the instrument pitch then has to be checked and if necessary fine tuned by the bridge adjustment.
Sometimes it is not possible to achieve perfect string height and pitch. This is more the case on a cheaper instrument. In this situation the setup may need to be a compromise between intonation and the desired string height. A more expensive instrument should be able to be set up to the players satisfaction with near perfect pitch.
Simple guitar intonation setup should be able to be carried out on an electric guitar by the player if they have the correct tools. However if the user also wants to substantially alter the string height this could further complicate the process. Simple neck adjustments can be made by the owner for an acoustic steel string instrument but intonation adjustment to these and classical acoustic instruments would be best left to an expert technician.
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