How to: Set Proper Intonation

Intonation refers to a guitar’s ability to stay in tune in different positions.  As you move up the fretboard on your guitar, the spaces between frets become narrower, and occasionally the notes will not be in tune like they are on the lower frets.  This is a telltale sign that your intonation is off. Adjusting intonation can be  a little tedious at first, but with some patience and practice, it will save you money not having to go to a repair shop, and build your confidence with repairing guitars.

Some guitar players  just notice when their guitar sounds “off” even though it has been tuned. If you are like me, and do not have perfect pitch, you have to grab your favorite tuner to tune your guitar. Tune the guitar however you like, and then check the pitches at the 12th or 14th fret. If you see that the notes are perfectly in tune, your intonation is good, but if the notes become sharper or flatter as you move up the fretboard, you have to adjust.  The reason this happens is because the distance between the nut and 12th fret is not the same as the distance from the 12th fret to the bridge. Ideal intonation exists when these two spaces are equal. If the higher notes are sharper, distance to the bridge needs to be increased, if the notes are flatter, distance needs to be shortened. This is most commonly done by adjusting the saddles on your guitar’s bridge.

Here I will be showing how to adjust a Tune-O-Matic bridge. These are equipped on most Les Pauls, SG’s, some Fenders, and nearly all Schecters.  Although you may not have this bridge type, the same principle applies.

If you take a closer look at the bridge, you will see that each saddle sits independently, and can be moved closer or further with a simple Phillips head screwdriver.

This is what your bridge should look like, and since my intonation is too flat, I have to bring my saddles closer to the head of the guitar.

Once your guitar is in tune, and you know if the higher notes are sharp or flat, it is time to adjust the bridge. To do this you are going to have loosen one string so that you can reach the screws on your bridge. It is easier to do this one string at a time.

Take the screwdriver and move the saddle closer or further depending on what you need. Once you have done that, place the string back on the saddle and tune it back up. Check the higher frets to see if they are in tune. Be aware that it may not be exact, so you will have to loosen the string and adjust the saddle again. Keep doing this until your tuning gets as precise as possible. For your first time, this may take about half hour to get t done, but once you are familiar with adjusting intonation, it can be done as quickly as 10 minutes.

Now you can play your guitar without hearing certain chords and notes sound dissonant and out of tune.

How to: Adjust a Truss Rod

As seasons change, the wood in your guitar will respond to differences in humidity and temperature, causing the neck to become misaligned and not as straight as the day you bought it. Some of the symptoms of a crooked neck  are; poor intonation, trouble staying in tune, excessive fret buzz, or the strings resting uncomfortably high off the fretboard. It is a good idea to check your neck’s alignment a few times a year, or whenever you change the string brand or gauge.  If you always use the same strings, and the guitar is kept in a climate controlled environment, you will not need to adjust the neck as frequently.

To avoid costly maintenance at repair shop, and if you are confidant in your skills, here is a simple way to adjust your guitar neck.

The first step is to identify if your neck is bowed backwards, causing the strings to rest too close to the fretboard resulting in buzz; or if the neck has too much relief, where the strings are too far off the board. The way to do this is by pressing down the low E string down at the first and last fret.  I usually use a capo on the first fret to make this easier.

Next, look at the side of your fretboard and see how close the string is to the frets. The string ought to move away from the board as you get closer to the area between the 7th and 12th frets. If the string touches all of the frets, your neck is back bowed.  This can also mean that your neck is perfectly straight, but if you encounter buzzing when you play, a little adjustment is in order.  If the string is too far away from the fretboard, noticeably more than .012”, and its hard to play chords, your neck has too much relief.

In the case of my guitar, the neck is back bowed. Notice how the string touches all of the frets.

The next step is to remove the truss rod cover on the headstock of your guitar and insert the Allen wrench/Hex key into the hole.

To increase relief, turn the key to the left, or towards the high strings. To increase tension, turn the key to the right, or towards the low strings.  If you are increasing tension, it is  a good idea to loosen the rod a little bit before tightening. 1/8 of a turn at a time is the safest way to make sure you do not mess things up.  After adjusting the rod, press down on the first and last frets like before to check how the strings are now resting.

After giving my neck some relief, the string is no longer touching all of the frets.

Replace the truss rod cover on your neck, and you are ready to play again.