Sabtu, 01 Desember 2012

Correct Guitar Intonation Setup Is Vital

By Brandie Montgomery


There could be several reasons why a guitar intonation setup could be out of sync with the rest of the instrument. It is fairly complicated to correct, but it is possible. One should understand however how the mechanisms work and how to test it.

One will notice that the pitch is not correct when the chords sound wrong even if the instrument has been tuned. The note could be higher which means that it's sharper or it could be lower which means that the sound is flatter. In order to establish if the pitch is correct, one should play the E note at the 12th fret.

The bridge is a thin bar at the base of a guitar which is what holds the strings in place over the main body just over the space of the hollow part within the contraption. Within the bridge, the strings are held there by means of bridge saddles and each string should have a single saddle to it. In some instruments, the bridge could be a floating one which is held together by means of tension on the strings.

This is normally adjustable in classical and electric implements. The nut is the little bar situated at the top of the neck just after the frets on the mechanism. The frets are the spaces between the thin bars that run across the length of the neck on the instrument.

If the nut slots haven't been made deep enough, this could impact the tone the instrument gives out. It is also then necessary to send it back to the maker or to a repair man who will then file the slots down to the correct depth. If on the other hand the slots are too deep, it means that the nut has to be replaced and this also requires a professional.

In this example, the string's harmonic note would be sharper or higher than the note played at the 12th fret. One should then take a screw driver and adjust the bridge saddle at the bridge. There should be a bridge saddle for each string. This should be done carefully and at increments to ensure that one should make further adjustments.

When lengthening the string, one should use the screwdriver to move the bridge saddle back. Once that is done, one should tune the note against an electric tuner that will make sure that it is done correctly. If the tone of a harmonic note is lower than the fret note, the bridge saddle should be moved forward which will shorten the string.

When adjusting the guitar intonation setup, one needs to adjust the strings to either be longer or shorter at the bridge saddles. If the sound made at the 12th harmonic fret note is higher than the actual fret note then the string needs to be made longer. If the harmonic note of the 12th fret is lower than the actual note then the string needs to be made shorter. The lengthening or shortening of the string is done carefully at the back of the bridge saddle by means of either an Allen key or a screw driver.




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