How to Intonate a Guitar
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- Опубліковано 22 кві 2019
- If you've ever experienced tuning problems as you play up the neck, you have problems with your intonation. In this video Aaron shows you some easy ways you can intonate your guitar at home without taking it to a shop.
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Precision Straightedges
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Peterson StroboStomp Classic Pedal Tuner / Active DI
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Snark Sn-5 Guitar, Bass, and Violin Tuner
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Petersonson StroboPlus HD
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Why can't people explain like this short sweet and to the point. Man this is the way to teach amd explain he even had a nice chill vibe which was nice 👌
James Fontana agreed I had no idea what it was before This video
StewMac always have the best vids for guitar maintenance, alot of them have Dan Erlwine which is the best person to learn from. I've learned so much just from these videos and Dan's books.
I've played guitar for 15 years, but I've always been around someone who could do these adjustments for me. With coronavirus I'm stuck at home and finally need to figure this out cuz my strat is playing like shit. This is BY FAR the best explanation I've ever received. I'm probably going to watch every video on this channel. Great stuff.
@@mikeromano9697 Before the last 10 years ago, EVERY single video on youtube would show you nearly nothing and would recommend you to purchase the tutorials in order to watch the whole videos. This one video saved my life :P
True
well that explains why my G sounds like a dying mule on the higher frets. lol
WTF are u even talking about
@DH Bonniville
that’s actually bc you probably have a warped fretboard. might want to have a luthier adjust your trust rod
@@motomav6964 'Actually because you Probably..." Absolutely Almost
@DH always make useless comments just because.
Important thing to note for any type of string-thru bridge, loosen the string significantly before moving the saddle or it can bind the string where it goes through the body and snap it. Happened more than once.
Does that apply with the tune-o-matic? Thanks.
Thanks in advance
Glad this helped some folks. The reason is, if the saddle is moved under tension, the tension of the short section of string between it and the holes on the back will increase dramatically and snap right at the edge of the saddle.
Everyone mentions this, but nobody has ever explained it. Thank you, I appreciate this.
Timmy Spencer I get it now. It should improve my white guy sings little red rooster like howlin wolf.
My tactic is: If the tuner shows righter, turn the saddle screws to right. If it's lefter, turn the screws left.
can artunç thanks
If its flat, dive and if its sharp, retreat.
Your welcome.
you tube sir yes sir
Now that is what i call a proper tutorial video.
Short, informative, right to the point.
Thanks!
Easy tip if it’s flat push it foreward
Flat=Foreward
FF
If it is sharp, run away from the nut
Rudiger LOL
Sharp= Backward -> Shackward
All good tips-thanks! I can never remember...
@@rudiger1337 If its sharp, keep your nut away from it ;)
This finally makes sense to me. Thank you!
Thanks Chris Pratt, that was very helpful!
Thank you for this video. I haven’t played my Ibanez hollow body in years. Just changed the strings, set it up and intonated it and it sounds and plays so nice.
I prefer to intonate to the 5th fret. Example- open E should be a perfect A on the 5th. The best place for intonating varies depending on the guitar, but the 5th is usually a good place to start. I find this to be more important, as most playing for most people is below the 12th fret. Also, I believe the ear can better distinguish the variences in pitch on the lower frets. Usually, if you intonate on the 12th, then go to play open chords, the intonation across different chords is rarely perfect. I have 2 American Strats, and this makes a clear difference. Just my personal preference
So do I
I really appreciate you and your comment. I'm a noob when it comes to guitar adjustments, so this helps a lot! I'm trying to learn as much as possible!
Thank you, this video is exactly what I needed. I'm a cellist/pianist who is just getting into guitar seriously for the first time. This has really helped me a lot.
I love the backward and forward visual aids at 0:19.
youtuber Actually it’s just backward and forward visual HIV.
@@BobV97 There is no such thing as ‘HIV.’
Platinum Black tell that to your mom
BROWN22 SUGAR Yeah!
This video was short, sweet, and to the point. Thanks for uploading it.
The best video I have seen on intonation. Wish I'd seen this 2 years ago. Thanks for making this video.
All of a sudden there’s 5-6 new videos! Love it!
Thank you so much for this tutorial, very easy to understand even for a person holding a guitar for the first time ever. Keep up the awesome! Subscribed.
Ah, so that’s what those little screw thingies are. 🤣
This is me rn😂
Me too 😂😂😂
Been playing guitar for 25 years and never knew what they did, lol
Yeah. I always knew that they had a purpose, but never bothered to learn what it was. I was just messing with my tuner and decided to see how off the notes were up the fret board, which brought me here.
The things that screw you over when you’re trying to fix the bad notes
Absolutely spot on tutorial. This is how they should be done. Thank you!
Tks StewMac; never paid attention to string height having done the initial intonation adjustments; I always trusted the bone or brass saddle and nut, and bridge to be "stable".
Love this video! Intonation is extremely important!
Thank you so much for this video. This helped me get my guitar sound 20x better
Thanks for the simple explanation
This is really great content! Thank you for sharing!
Great video! It finally makes sense to me. Very well explained.
Fantastic lesson -thanks
Very well explained. Thank you!
This really helped me, thank you.
Thanks so much for this video! I thought it'd be complicated, but that is pretty easy!
Perfect. Short and all info i need. Well done sir
Much appreciated!
fantastic video, thanks so much for this
Great video, thanks!
Each time I change my guitar's strings I have to check video and everytimes its a freaking 15min video for 1 step with crap quality of sound and video.. and there's you over here with the perfect video, all the step, short video, good quality of both image and sound. Well done sir and thanks you!
Thank you for making that so clear and understandable!!!
Glad it was helpful!
On your action height video was Straight to the point & well executed on your verbal commands as you showed what you were doing. It was refreshing and easy to understand, thanks for keeping it shorter than this reply I added….You’re AWESOME!
Sincerely, Stevie G
Best explanation for intonation yet, great video.
There are other details that probably should be addressed perhaps in a part 2 video. Maybe some examples of people doing it and making mistakes. Also addressing the idea that not everyone likes perfect 12 fret on point intonation accuracy
love this channel!
Thanks, very helpful!
this is awesome brother thanks a million!
Is there a chance Stew Mac can make a video on how to adjust string height & fix fret level on a compound radius neck...... 12 to 16 radius...........how to approach the problems and fix them. Thanks for the great vids & tools.Cheers Rodney
Excellent instruction.👍
this helps me a lot... thanks man for this tutorial...
Best video for this out their! I finally get it
Good video,,,very informative. Thanks.
Awesome video
Thanks for best explanation
Very helpful thank you
Love all your videos, I got my last Stewie shipment just today.
Just did it last night with the help of this clip.
very very very good tips ♥️
If the guitar has been played for any length of time the frets are going to flatten in spots, and this will cause that particular fret to be flat in relation to all other frets. The result of only relying on this one fret are that all other frets on the guitar will be slightly sharp, not good.
1) Never trust any single open string or single fret, play the open, first second & third frets making certain they all agree on a relative average value. Compare this average with the average reading of the 11th, 12th & 13th frets.
2) When playing the open string you must realize that the nut and/or nut slot that the string sits in may itself be off. The way you check for a nut that is off is by intonating with my method & then by comparing the open string with the first, second & third fret. If you find that the nut is off you will never be able to fully tune the guitar without first correcting this problem.
3) If the frets surrounding the 12th fret average out to being sharper than the frets near the open string, you need to increase the distance between the 12th fret & the bridge saddle. The opposite is true wen the frets near the 12th fret are lower in pitch.
Well explained, thanks!
Thank you🙏👍
Thank you so much, your comment helped me a lot.
Helpuly tips my friend..👍👍
I am a beginner with Electric guitar. I am gonna give this a try.
It can only benefit my ears.
Thanks :)
Wow. That was a great, well organized and explained video. Very helpful! Thank you so much!
Glad it was helpful!
after using intonation at 12 th fret ,strum a low E major chord with some open strings then the E at the 12th Fret it is sounds damn near perfect..you are good to go. ,ust setting up the A on the fifth fret with a perfect pitch V 440 is a great reference point. Guitar necks are unstable and hell to deal with using heavy strings for Jazz..None of them stay in tune and need slight adjustments eventually. The guitar is a very imperfect instrument!
Right on, thank you.
Thanks I’ve been studying setup for a while, I liked ur explanation,gonna look for more of ur vids, btw any luthier schools out there ?
THANK you. I knew something was wrong because I always sounded out of tune with a capo, but thought I was gonna have to pay the $75 that the local spot charges for a setup...turns out this was all I needed.
thank you so much! stuck in lock down with a guitar with dreadful intonation!!
Very helpful, a good ear is helpful as well
Man you guys with electrics are in heaven, man the intonation of the g string on my acoustic is so flat that every time I play any note on the g string it feels like a kick in the balls🥵 and there's not much I can do bout it!!
Great, thanks
I wish I had this kind of information 35 years ago. I gave away guitars I couldn't get in tune up the neck. I didn't know anything about intonation.
Some tunamatic bridges have the screws in the front which is a still doable, but a pain. As a personal preference I like to shift the saddle too far forward and adjust rearwards, so the screw is moving into higher tension reducing the chance of jamming or slippage ..On a later check If the intonation is out, the fifth fret tuning will start to behave like there is a tuning key that slips, always giving too high or too low pitch
Changing the gauge of your strings ( going higher or lower ) can really mess up the intonation on your guitar I've noticed, especially going to a higher gauge.
How would going to a higher guage cause more change than going to a lower guage? Think about it....
@@hueysharapova7175 i have 0.60 gauge for low E now , tuned to drop c. I cant intonate my low e string no matter how much i push the saddle back, nothing happens
@@hueysharapova7175 never had that problem with nines or tens, i have twelves now
@@notoriusdrifter40 Yea I guess a non standard tuning might push past the limits of your guitar. You could try adjusting the truss rod to straight and that would lengthen the string more, if it has any curve in it.
@@hueysharapova7175 the funny thing is when i tune up to D, the intonation becomes normal
Thanks a lot for the hint
I did it!Guitar flies now! This rly isn't something to be afraid of. Thank you very much!
Thank you for this amazing concise helpful video
This was really helpful, thank you! literally searched so much for an answer to this. People need better SEO!
Glad it was helpful!
You'll never be PERFECTLY in tune no matter what you do! Sad fact. Something else to consider IF you have some fret wear (which most used guitars do), is that since fret wear definitely affects intonation as well, you may want to try to hit a happy medium between 12th fret intonation and intonation on the notes that are fretted at where you have the most fret wear. Generally speaking the 2nd and 3rd frets have the most wear so that is where I also check the intonation on each string. If for example you just set the intonation perfectly at the 12th fret, then the notes will be sharp when fretted at the worn fret locations. On my electric guitar that means I have to set the 12th fret intonation a bit flat because I would rather my first position chords sound sweet vs higher up the neck where I normally play less chords and also where I usually am bending or using vibrato on single notes which makes perfect intonation there less important to me. Make sense?
WOW , you read my mind, that's EXACTLY how I set the intonation on my guitars. Well said sir. 🤘👍
@@billrudolph8185 Thanks Bill! I find it funny that I never see anyone address this fact when they talk about how to properly intonate an electric guitar. It is always about getting it perfect at the 12th fret for some reason.
good shit my boy
I played a VERY long time not understanding how to set up a guitar or even why. None of my teachers ever told me about it and it wasn't something my fellow guitar players ever talked about. I only understood that my guitars were always WAY to hard to play for other players and it wasn't until my cousins now ex-bf told me i needed a set up at a thanksgiving many many years ago. I was defensive at first because i'd always played my guitars with the bridge way to high and the action was always set too high but my hands were so strong plus i played .13's back then so i just assumed all guitars played that hard. SRV plays with huge strings and super high action so i just assumed that's what i was doing. Once i learned (thanks to youtube) how to set up my guitars they are dreams to play and sound great. I only play .09's now and everything plays in tune and i enjoy my action low and string tension low but now i get killer tones. If i could go back to some of my students WAY long ago my best piece of advice other than dedicating yourself to practice would be to set up your guitars. Do NOT pay someone $50 to do something that is really not hard to do at all once you get the hang of it. You're gonna make mistakes along the way but as long as you don't break anything by going slow then you'll be fine. If you ever feel like something isn't right while doing this then stop and read or watch videos to explain it to you or go to a professional if you have to. just use common sense
if you have super high action, like higher than SRV's, your guitar will always be out as playing at the 12th fret is effectively like a string bend.
Very nice. THX, I'll tell my assistant.
Helpful😃👍
Im having a peculiar potentiometer problem.. depending how tight I have the volume pot attached to the pickguard it will work fine but only if its barely hand tight. If I loosen/tighten more it gives a weak output or none at all. Ive tried replacing the pot and pickup with same result. It only works if it's barely tight and keeps going loose and stops. Any ideas?
wow thank bro, other videos i watched so far only mentioned the open strings and 12th frets, but to me it's too hard to tell if it's an octave on the dot that way, was about to check for videos sounding both of each strings to compare...😅 but thanks for that harmonic trick, it's way easier to tell for me!!😁i wondered for so many years why using a capo on certain guitars pass a certain point on the neck would sometimes sound so out of tune when i know it is and that i was careful not to bend any string on clamping... now i know!! XD over the last year i started having fun learning how to tune every little aspect i can on my acoustic, and now electric guitars too, and i can say it's worth the time i've spent learning so far, because each little adjustments will make the guitar either easier to play, or make it sound that much better!!! Also, one day i'd like to try my hand at making my own, so i guess knowing how to make it feel and sound the way i want is a good thing to learn!!!😂🤘🤘
Thank ya
Curious to know what would happen if, instead of open string & 12th fret, we use the 3rd & 15th? Still an octave apart. But instead of normal tension and straight length compared to slighty more tension and length of a fretted string, it'll be in both cases fretted. I admit 3rd & 15th might take an extra hand or a capo. Do any big guitar pros do their intonation unconventionally like this or some other way not using open strings?
One reason I watched this video....AND U hit it right on the head....was to check and adjust the intonation in the playing position.I come to find out how much difference there is in intonation when adjusted lying on bench as opposed to the playing position.My Peterson strobe tuner shows quite the difference....!!!
Cheers....!!!
This goes for the neck relief as well. I've seen some guys measure everything with the guitar body lying flat, and then readjust as they go as if that's easier. No way, do it all like you said. It only make sense.
Hi there I was thinking of buying a jay turser Strat vintage. The neck feels pretty good, but the intonation is not very good. I tuned it up, and it sounds horrible on the first and second frets of the low E and D string. Do you think adjusting the intonation will fix this? For example playing the E octave low E string and then the octave on the d string is out of whack right there on the second fret.
JUST LIKE my leftie streamliner but without the bigsby, cant stand the things,,,good upload.
Do not adjust your intonation right after you put on a new set of strings- especially if they are the same stings as before.
Instead play the guitar one or two days and then check. You will find that its fine or not out nearly as much at it was right after you put them on.
This may be for weather change.
umrasangus No, if that was correct then your intonation would be in and out all the time.
Well wherever you have your guitar (more than likely in your house) you have to let the strings get adjusted to the temperature
@@mayfieldgage The wood in your guitar has a much larger coefficient of thermal expansion than steel (strings).
If u play with thicker strings is it ok if the neck is straight I get buzzing sometimes, should u raise the action or should u bow it a little, an donu have to loosen the strings before turning the truss rod
my 3 bottom wound strings are still sharp at the 12th fret but im already as far back as it goes on the bridge. is that a known tune o matic problem?
Some tune-o-matic bridges have the intonation screws in front, some if back. Does it make a difference which side they are on?
Stew: got an issue. pretty much all my strings sound good and "together", except my low E string. It keeps sounding off and sounds REALLY off on the 12th fret. No amount of playing with it gets it to sound right. Any idea what the issue is and how I can fix it?
Got a one piece wrap around and it is still flat even after putting it as close as it’ll go to the headstock. It almost getting there but still flat and would bother me. Would a lighter or heavier gauge help me out? I’m using 10s so do I need 9s to help compensate or 11s? Much appreciated
I have my B string saddle the furthest back into dhe bridge and my 12th fret is an E note. What do I do? Its so not in tune. I have set the string at max length and it still is super sharp.
My guitar is tuned half a step down, does this mean I have to tune it back to standard and then ajust the intonation? Or can I use the same half step down tuner to ajust it?
So I bought a new neck for my Squier Jaguar and the 12th fret is just 1 more mm further away from the bridge. All the notes on the 12th fret are a half step to high, so I tried to adjust the saddles. Turns out even when I put all saddles as far away from the neck as I could, they're still sharp. Any tips what I could do?
I can't tighten my damn low E on my PRS anymore and it's still a bit sharp. I'm using a 52 on the low end.. does this mean these strings are too thick of a gauge for my hardware??
what if I've finished the space to move the saddle backwards? This is on my low E string, which is still sharp on the twelth fret
How do you intonate a Chiquita when you’ve maxed out the adjustment?! It’s frustrating I love this little thing!
Thank you... living in the Philippines lacks ability to buy good guitara. Got a chinese strat...great action but the G string was way off....now its right thanks to this vid
My lowest string is sharp but the saddle is pretty much as far away from the nut as it can go, what are you supposed to do if that happens?
Thanks so much for this video!
I’ve honestly been playing for quite sometime and I’ve never really messed with doing my own intonation, always took it to the shop but not anymore. A lot simpler than I thought. At least for electrics lol
Even if you take it to a reputable repair shop the 12th fret intonation may not be that accurate but in my opinion, it’s not a big deal as long as it’s close enough
Can you please or send me a link on how to fully set up a Strat?
Just spent over an hour intonating my ESP and I feel stressed out but worth it sounds good
How about a complet Floyd Rose Tutorial so that people lear why they shound't be so affrad of doing a set up on them?
Iv been a Floyd Rose guy for most of my adult life, and love it... Even if i dont use the bar that much it's still a nice bridge.
If you do it correcktly the'll stay in tune.
Martin, I love em, too. I put a Floyd Rose FRX on my SG Standard. Works superbly.
@@john564holloway
Awesome dude...
Can you pull up on thouse or they just for divebombs???
@@Martinroot Up & down. It also has a Trem Ball Post that when adjusted, can alter the sensitivity of the 'up & down' action...Check out the following video with Floyd Rose restringing an SG with the FRX: ua-cam.com/video/hPc6fOYoNTY/v-deo.html
@@Martinroot you can also block them if you want to control your dives/pulls
@@BlutigeTranen Correct. There's a Trem Stop Thumbscrew on the FRX that adjusts so there's only dive bombing in case you like to rest your palm on the trem...