And I know it’s general knowledge but in this context I think it’s worth reminding people to use some pencil graphin (or special nut slot lubes) in the nut slots when restringing to help avoid this problem. this can also happen when changing to a higher gauge set of strings, the solution is to (very) gently widen/file/sand the nut slots until the strings move through without getting pinched. This happened to me and I was starting to lose my mind until I found the problems: It was a very cheap guitar and the nut slots were not wide enough for the strings and so the strings were getting pinched and released at every press of the finger creating an awful out of tune experience. So for example: while setting up the guitar everything including intonation is perfectly fine but when you play the guitar it just sounds completely out of tune, so you re check the intonation and it appears ok but the guitar still sounds like out of tune garbage.
I can think of two examples that happened to me where I mistakenly thought intonation was to blame but it was actually unrelated. However, sometimes unstable tuning can be mistaken for bad intonation. You may need a friend to help you with this maneuver. If the neck feels like it wants to slip back the other direction before you can tighten the bolts, hold it in the correct position with one hand while tightening the bolts with the other. To fix this, loosen the strings till they’re almost slack, then slightly loosen the four neck bolts–just enough that the neck will move, and then pull it sideways till it’s straight. If you notice that your high E or low E seems too close to the edge of the fretboard… or even tends to slip off the edge of the frets while you play… then your neck is probably a little crooked (angled to one side) in the pocket. This issue is actually very common, and the good news is that it’s easy to diagnose and fix. If your neck is a bolt-on, it can be angled too far to one side or the other in the pocket, which can affect intonation. Thank you to reader Boris for reminding me about this next one… Your neck is crooked (too far to one side) in the pocket I’m just throwing this one out there for those of you frustrated with intonation issues.ġ2. I think it’s perfectly fine in most cases. You are welcome to continue using the 12th fret harmonic if you’d like. Ever since then, I’ve used the open string and fretted 12th fret note to set intonation.
Dan said something about the 12th fret harmonics being unreliable, but unfortunately he didn’t elaborate. The same adjustment rules apply, you’re just using the open string as the reference rather than the harmonic. In other words, get your open string perfectly in tune, and then see whether the fretted note at the 12th fret is sharp or flat. Then I heard guitar repair guru Dan Erlewine recommend a different way: don’t use the 12th fret harmonic as the reference note, use the open string instead. You’re using the 12th fret harmonic as your reference, rather than the open stringįor years I set intonation the way most of us are first taught: by comparing the fretted note at the 12th fret with the 12th fret harmonic.