Sometimes your guitar just will not sound right. Since guitars are usually made out of wood, it is affected by changes in temperature and humidity. A guitar that is not periodically adjusted properly will never live up to its full potential.
Intonation: Poorly adjusted intonation can cause a guitar to sound out of tune. It will make your guitar to sound messy when playing open chords, or sound slightly out of tune when you play higher up on the neck. Once you develop a good ear, this will drive you crazy. You can easily find a repairperson on Repairfinders.com to fix this for you quickly.
Intonation on a guitar should be adjusted if you ever change the gauge (thickness) of strings you use, if you change the action (distance between string and fret board) and at least twice a year (winter/summer). Some people suggest checking every time you change strings, although this is probably not necessary.
Intonation on an electric guitar is adjusted by moving its bridge saddles forward or backward. A bridge saddle is the piece of metal on the bridge that the string rests on. These can be adjusted with a small screwdriver (some guitars use an Allen wrench.) Your goal when setting the intonation is to make an open string sound exactly the same as the 12th fret on that string. In order to do this you will need an electric tuner.
In theory, the distance from the nut to the 12th fret should be the same as the distance between the 12th fret and the saddle. The 12th fret is supposed to be the halfway point. In reality, when we press down on the 12th fret, the string stretches, so it will generally sound a slightly higher pitch. To offset this annoying bit of physics we must adjust the ‘length’ of the string by moving the bridge saddles. If you move the bridge saddle back, you will increase the length of the string, therefore the guitar will sound less sharp when you fret notes.
If you are confused, forget about what I told you for a second, and follow the simple directions below or hop onto Repairfinders.com and have a qualified professional look at this for you.
Hit the 12th fret harmonic on your Low E-string. (You do this by lightly touching -not pressing- the string just above the fret. Chances are you probably knew that already.) Then press your finger down and play the 12th fret naturally. Your tuner (or your ear) will probably tell you that the two notes are (at least) a little out of tune.
THE BASIC RULE FOR SETTING INTONATION
If the 12th fret (pressed) sounds sharper (higher in pitch) than the harmonic, move the saddle back (away from the neck and pickups) and turn the screw clockwise.
If the note sounds flat, (lower in pitch) compared to the harmonic, move the saddle forward (toward the pickups)
Very Important: Remember to tune the string back to E each time you make an adjustment, before checking the intonation again. Often enough, the screws need to be adjusted very little. A tiny turn can make a big difference so start slow. Once you have properly intonated one string move to the next, until you are done with all six strings. The whole process rarely takes more than a half hour once you get used to it, but it may take a little longer at first, so hang in there. Once you are able, you will be proud of yourself.
Also, remember that the guitar, by its very nature, is an imperfect instrument. It is impossible to adjust intonation 100% perfectly. This might be obnoxious if you have an incredibly good ear, but you will just have to get used to it or give up the guitar.
It will be easier to get good intonation from your guitar if you use heavier gauge strings. If you use anything below, gauge .010 strings you may have problems. Personally, I use gauge .011 stings. Some people have trouble playing with heavy strings, but I swear, once you get used to them you will never go back. I strongly recommend using at least gauge .010
Also, do not adjust the action of your guitar or the truss rod after fixing your intonation. You would just have to do it all over again. If you need to adjust these things, do it first. These are other factors that affect the intonation of your guitar. If you use light strings, you may need to move the saddles back further, the same holds true if your strings are far from the fret board.
You must always keep your instrument finely tuned if you wish to receive many years of wonderful music from it. This is only an example of how easily someone in your area can assist you. However, no matter what kind of instrument you have, or whatever problem you may be experiencing, do not fear! On Repairfinders.com, it will take you only a couple of minutes to find a local business in your area to fix your guitar, piano, flute, saxophone, or any other instrument! So what are you waiting for? Jack is over and out.
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