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PLEASE! help with terminology

ucsbucsb Posts: 58
edited February 2005 in Musicians and Gearheads
i have no clue what this word means....intonation?? wtf?...and how does a truss rod (i know what this is) adjust the intonation?....explaing....and please DONT be brief...thanks!
Post edited by Unknown User on

Comments

  • mccreadyisgodmccreadyisgod Posts: 6,395
    Intonation can be thought of as an instruments ability to play in tune throughout the fingerboard. When an instrument is not properly intonated the player may feel as though chords in the 1st position sound correct but when moving around the fingerboard, notes are out of tune.
    Why? Every instrument is built to a particular scale length and each strings length must be correct in order for an instrument to play in tune.

    Bridge saddles on acoustic, steel string guitars and basses are angled to compensate (or add to) the strings overall length and allow the instrument to play in tune as you move up the neck. You may notice that the bass side of the saddle is a bit further away from the fingerboard than the treble because the larger, wound strings require more length to avoid playing sharp.

    *http://www.fretnotguitarrepair.com/intonation.htm

    The truss rod is a bad place to adjust intonation. If it's an electric guitar, you should have individual saddle adjustment to correct intonation.
    ...and if you don't like it, you can suck on an egg.
  • who's_pearljam?who's_pearljam? Posts: 2,104
    Each octave of a note on a stringed instrument is cutting the string length in half, so the 12th fret is that exact halfway point on a guitar string.

    It doesn't always work that way because when you press the string down, you're changing the length of the span. If the strings are far away from the fret board, they won't intonate right because it's ,,,,,oh how the hell do I explain?,,,,,,,,, It's just not in tune! :D Play the harmonic at the 12th fret into a tuner, then play the note at the 12th. They should be the same.

    Everything affects everything on a guitar, so the truss rod DOES affect the intonation, as does the string height at the nut and the saddles, and the length of string at the saddle.

    So to intonate a guitar, you do it in this order:

    Change strings. Strings wear where they touch the frets, so it makes a groove, causing it to be farther from the fret. That effects intonation. If you go to a thicker or thinner gauge string, you need to intonate again, too.

    Adjust the neck truss rod and bridge saddle height. You want the strings close to the frets, but if you change the truss rod adjustment, you are affecting the intonation because technically the length of the string is longer if you adjust the neck backwards, shorter when you adjust it more concave, and won't be in tune at the 12th.

    Lastly, adjust the bridge saddles on an electric. If it plays sharp at the 12th, move the string saddle back away from the neck.

    On an acoustic that was right in the first place and isn't intonated properly, and new strings and neck adjustment don't work, you may need to change or file the saddle, change the nut if it's too worn, or a whole host of things on an older guitar.
    Be kind, man
    Don't be mankind. ~Captain Beefheart
    __________________________________
  • mccreadyisgodmccreadyisgod Posts: 6,395
    who's_pearljam? wrote:
    Everything affects everything on a guitar, so the truss rod DOES affect the intonation, as does the string height at the nut and the saddles, and the length of string at the saddle

    ...Adjust the neck truss rod and bridge saddle height. You want the strings close to the frets, but if you change the truss rod adjustment, you are affecting the intonation because technically the length of the string is longer if you adjust the neck backwards, shorter when you adjust it more concave, and won't be in tune at the 12th.


    I stand corrected...

    Of course the truss rod will affect intonation.

    However, if your action is great, but the intonation is off, then you go straight to the saddles. I wouldn't think about a truss rod adjustment for intonation... if I needed a truss rod adjustment, I'd be curing bad action, not bad intonation.

    So I guess I was just following my own logic... ignore me... Bob is right...
    ...and if you don't like it, you can suck on an egg.
  • who's_pearljam?who's_pearljam? Posts: 2,104
    mccreadyisgod wrote:
    I stand corrected...

    Of course the truss rod will affect intonation.

    However, if your action is great, but the intonation is off, then you go straight to the saddles. I wouldn't think about a truss rod adjustment for intonation... if I needed a truss rod adjustment, I'd be curing bad action, not bad intonation.

    So I guess I was just following my own logic... ignore me... Bob is right...

    Hey man,,,,,
    You were right. Most of the time it IS the saddles.

    I was just going for the long winded answer.
    That's all that coffee talking! :D
    Be kind, man
    Don't be mankind. ~Captain Beefheart
    __________________________________
  • mccreadyisgodmccreadyisgod Posts: 6,395
    who's_pearljam? wrote:
    Hey man,,,,,
    You were right. Most of the time it IS the saddles.

    I was just going for the long winded answer.
    That's all that coffee talking! :D


    Well, with guitars, everything affects everything else...

    And if a butterfly beat it's wings in China...
    ...and if you don't like it, you can suck on an egg.
  • who's_pearljam?who's_pearljam? Posts: 2,104
    Ahaaa

    I just posted a guitar picture for neenerbean 30 seconds ago,, speaking of butterflies!

    http://www.daisyrock.com/products/butterfly/bf_ss_fantasy_pop.htm
    Be kind, man
    Don't be mankind. ~Captain Beefheart
    __________________________________
  • mccreadyisgodmccreadyisgod Posts: 6,395
    who's_pearljam? wrote:
    I just posted a guitar picture for neenerbean 30 seconds ago,, speaking of butterflies!

    http://www.daisyrock.com/products/butterfly/bf_ss_fantasy_pop.htm


    Fool me once, shame on you...

    Fool me twice... fool me... you can't get fooled again.

    (and may God help George W Bush...)
    ...and if you don't like it, you can suck on an egg.
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