intonation hassle

[Vella]

Got a new guitar recently. It plays fine and sounds fine.
Apart from the bottom E string. Tune it to open string no problems. Fretted notes sound SHARP. I have lengthened the strings scale length as much as it is physically possible.
Notes fretted still sound sharp.Could probably get away with this......but my Status Quo riffs sound awful!!!

[finger_cruncher]

Intonation is a very messy thing and I suggest you get your guitar professionally intonated. Unless you're very experienced with calibrating your intonation, you're just going to mess it up worse.

[Vella]

.............but aren't these people who set up guitars
a little on the pricey side? Like car mechanics, they look
at the car,assess how much the owner knows about mechanics,
and overcharge accordingly,(only the situation is regarding a guitar......I'm a bit of a beginner).
If I take the guitar back to the shop who sold it,it could
imply that it wasn't set up on purchase OR that I might have"tampered" with it!

[Lordathestrings]

Any of the good guitar techs I've ever dealt with are in that line of work because they love guitars. If your tech behaves the way you describe auto mechanics, you need a different tech. And you should shop around for a new mechanic too!

[Pantallica1]

I agree, I'm an auto mechanic, and I don't ever charge people like that. Unless they have Caddies. (j/k)

Stupid Stereotypes.

And about the intonation, take it to a tech.

[Lordathestrings]

Originally posted by Pantallica1
I agree, I'm an auto mechanic, and I don't ever charge people like that. Unless they have Caddies. (j/k)...I'll have you know, sir, that I resemble that remark! :D

[Vella]

If you think that I am stupidly stereotypical then you should meet my grand mamma. She hates Germans because they dive bombed Valletta harbour in their Stukas during WW2.

grazzi hafna,

[Karma In The South]

the strings could be old, you dont know how long it was in the shop for. I only change my strings, roughly, every 200,000 years and i often get problems with intonation.

[Edited by Karma In The South on 01-04-2004 at 04:31 PM]

[Lordathestrings]

Originally posted by Vella
If you think that I am stupidly stereotypical ...I think you misunderstand... Pantallica1 and I have an ongoing joke, because he's a mechanic who does not like to work on Cadillac cars, and I drive an old Cadillac.

It is always a good idea to shop around. If you suspect your guitar tech is being mercenary in his approach, you should seek out a competent artiste.

[concrete chaos]

i have no idea what your trying to do...hehe

but since its a technical problem i dunno and im from malta too... maybe we can compare technician validity
the price can be reasoned with but i want to make sure that i have gotten the work done properly...

have you ever tried techs at knight music ? i have to get my guitar checked as well. and i did once before and had to take it to a technician after i got it from a technician so i dont like it when ppl mess about not getting the job done.

so........... do you know of any really reliable techs in malta...?

[Vella]

None whatsoever.

[noticingthemistake]

Yeah intonating is a hassle!! I asked a technician once how to do it and he explained. It took me like 4 hrs to get everything set but I haven't had to intonated it since. Here's what I did, download a guitar tuner software program off the net that gives you the freguency at which your string is ringing at. That is a must, a regular little pocket tuner isn't enough. Also look up what each string's freq. responce would be.

To start you tune one string at a time. Once the string is in tune, play the 12th fret. It should be double the number as it would be for an open string. If an open string read 440 hz then the 12 fret should read 880 hz. It will never read exactly cause it will fluctuate, but get it as close as you possibly can. You do this by adjusting the bridge. Once that is done check the 5th fret, it should equal the freq. of the string below (remember tuning: 5th fret, open string). If it doesn't you need to do some more adjusting, and once you have the open and 12th strings in tune, and the 5th fret reading the frequency of the string below, that string is done. Go on until you have all your strings in tune. Hopefully you can find someone to do this for you cause it is a B#tch. Good Luck otherwise.

Depending on how well you take care of your guitar, or if you ever change strings (brand or gauge), or change the tuning of your guitar. You probably won't have to re-intonate. This is a pretty fail safe method (not perfect). So if something does slip out, re-adjusting open string and 5th fret should be all you have to do. The 12-fret is just to make sure the string is long enough so each fret hits the string where it needs to. Alot of people only do open and 12th, results will vary and most of the time the string will be in tune with itself. But not with the other strings which is why you should check the 5th fret also. It's an excellent extra precaution.

[Vella]

Thanks for that.Problem sorted. Only the one string (Bottom E) appeared out of tune compared to the fretted notes on the other strings. I have lowered the action of this string
and it sounds a lot better tuning wise. A bit of fret buzz but hey......near enough for jazz as they say!!