Guitar Intonation Tutorial from HowAudio.com and Synthesis.n

[Rtmax45]

@woznotstoz I do know what he is talking about, but I have always had a pro tech do it. I have done intonation. I have a digital tuner, and chromatic tuner etc. I just don't want to fool around with the guitar other than keep it in tune. Now, my classical guitar needs the rod to be adjusted. I will take it to my guitar tech to check it, even though I know it needs adjustment. That's just my preference. I've been playing guitar a long time. Pros have messed up doing this.

[woznotstoz]

@Rtmax45 well if thats your preference, then go for it.. all I am saying is that out of anything that you can learn about your guitar, ajusting intonation is one of the simplest things =P

I probably wouldn't adjust my own truss rod, because that is where you can really f@(k up.. but with this, the worse you could do is mess up a string (or if you don't know how to use a screwdriver, mess up your finish.. =P)..

I wasn't trying to judge your experience =)

[smooretogo]

Ehaa...that thar helped a lot.

Need a link showing here tho bro...unless I missed it...lol

Nice Vid

[Zhorellski]

How high is the string has to be on the 12th fret?

[andy25794]

Finally, a video that helped me.

[Caleb5617]

Tune-O-Matic FML

[GoreRotDeath]

I have a Les Paul that needs intonation set-up. I tried doing this, but the tuner always stayed near the same point no matter how much I turned the screw....

[choplass]

@GoreRotDeath

If you figure how to fix that problem, let me know. The same is going on with my Guitar. :(

[qwertyuiop8836]

is this only for electric guitar?

[deadlyfine]

thank you sir.. i think the bad pickup is the one that closest to the frets.. the other one is good.. sir.. can i change my humbucker? i think it's broken inside.. thanks a lot..

[deadlyfine]

sir it's an electric guitar.. cheap guitar..

[deadlyfine]

hi sir.. i have a question.. please answer because i don't know what to do with my guitar cause it's first string and second string (the high e string and the B string) is not sounding loud! i mean, the 4 remaining strings at the top is loud but i noticed that my 2 string at the bottom is not loud.. i don't know whats the problem because i am not a guitar specialist.. don't have idea.. can you help me sir?? i feel that you are the expert! thanks.. god bless.. this video is helpful also..

[RetardedNinjaKitty]

@deadlyfine you have to adjust the height of your pickups. it may be just one pickup that you are having a problem with, so play each string one at a time through each pickup. once you find out which pickup is bad, loosen the pickup's screw that is closest to the high e string. then test to see if it is loud enough. if you hear buzzing, you loosened it too much, so just tighten it a little.

[z3r0sh1ft]

Wow. Gibson Les Paul Deluxe maybe?

[UseTheHanger]

i want to learn how to adjust the nut.

[Jasaxos]

How can I tell my neck is straight. And how can I fix it because my strings never seem to he in tune correctly

[fendergibson154]

1:18 wtf was that noise

[cobraz22]

Expressmalta: actually buddy they do have intonation problems as well as electrics, your thinking of bare acoustics, you know classic ones. He means the electric acoustics.

[crazyfool710]

I'm looking for a video to show me how to shave threads down at the bridge for easier palm muting on a strat. does anyone know what this technique of modification is called?

[dpapaioannow]

that stopbar is way to high,the posts take a lot of pressure from the strings...i prefer mine to be all the way down and feed the strings the opposite way,from the front of the stopbar and over it,the strings have a more elastic feel this way too even with 11's

[pontikas]

I understand that when the 2 lights are on, on a standard tuner - the string is in tune. However, how many cents +/- is acceptable ?

[HeilTheOperator]

@pontikas Depends of your patience and love for your instrument (although it may sound weird.). I've just finished the intonation job on my Hamer. It took me one and a half hours to complete the task with almost 0 cents of tolerance. You can't never ever achieve a perfect intonation because depends of many variables, but you can make an extra effort to do a job that no guitar tech will ever do for you, because it's not HIS guitar...

[expressmalta]

He said that he uses the same technique for acoustic guitar!!!! Thats bull.. and you know it! Acoustic guitar do not have a o cromatic tune bridge like LP, SG etc. If your acoustic guitar has bad intonation its a no fix job! You should return it back to the manufacturer if still under warranty. The 12th fret should always be the middle distance of your string.

[GuitaristEliKing]

what should i do if the saddle is in the edge and its still flat??

[silentcypher]

@GuitaristEliKing

Hmm I guess you have to adjust the action (the thing that holds the saddle).

If all fails, send to someone who knows how to do it.

[TheBognordave]

@GuitaristEliKing Is the saddle assymetrically bevelled? should work to take it out and reverse it, thereby gaining a little more play. .

[HeilTheOperator]

@GuitaristEliKing You must consider that setting up a guitar it's a step-by-step procedure. First ensure that the neck is flat by adjusting the truss rod if neccesary. After that, adjust the bridge height to avoid excessive string tension, or fret buzz. And then, finally try adjusting the intonation. If the steps above were done right, you shouldn't have any problem doing any correctly. Try moving the saddle backwards and forwards, sometimes the string gets stuck.

[legolas35653]

some one help the saddle is moved to its maxim and it still says it s flat what shuld i do

[TempestCustom1]

@legolas35653 what guitar is it?

[legolas35653]

@TempestCustom1 les pual

[silentcypher]

@legolas35653

What's a Les Pual? :P

[wisesatyr72]

what does it mean when a string's intonation stays sharp and wont move no mattered if you adjust it back or forward?

[oleoleo2]

@wisesatyr72 It can mean several different things:

1. You are adjusting the wrong string

2. The screw is trashed up, and therefore doesn't move the sledge

3. The fretboard is too short/the frets is not well placed

4. The saddle is placed to close to the fretboard

5. Your tuner doesn't work correctly

(If it is sharp you got too move it backwards)

[wisesatyr72]

@oleoleo2 yeah its a Gibson Explorer w/tune o matic bridge, the darn Low E string just stays sharp no mattered if I go back or forward, the screws are not stripped, it does move, it could be the low action or the tuner you're talking about. it is a old tuner but and Ive noticed my high E string kinda does the same thing, but all the other strings corresponds and my other guitars intonates well, yeah this is pissing me off, I dont know what to do, thanks anyway..

[upinfection]

I watched this and grabed my Rotor EXP and copied him. My guitar has never sounded better! 10/10

[figger48]

Sweet now I know how to set my Gibson flying Vs intonation.

[JohnHelgeK]

read the manual, don't get ripped off!

[elliotdeware87]

Masturbation techniques? 

[deathshade73]

I'm trying this now with my guitar but there is a problem. No matter how much i shorten the string it eventually pops the saddle off and, never fixes the problem. What can i do to fix this??

[daxweb]

e una madonna s'è brutto il tastierista

[TheBigMclargehuge]

Your website doesn't work anymore. If you have no product or service to offer, you should pull down your advertisement.

[undryoasis]

good now i know more about intonation..

[carlosroj]

Thank you so much for posting this video.

[uh0hSpaghettio]

i've got a major problem with the intonation on my stratocaster!

the fretted 12th note on my high e string is extremely flat compared to the 12th harmonic

so i've done the right thing and moved the saddle forward (towards the neck). But, i've moved the saddle as far as it can go and the fretted 12th note is still majorly flat!

what can i do? any help would be appreciated

[handman4646]

@uh0hSpaghettio then the entire bridge might have to be adjusted by a proffesional, thats pretty common on cheap guitars...im guessing its a mexican strat, not american?

[wannabeeguitarproo]

Hey, I got a problem. I've intonated the guitar so that every string is in balance between open string and 12th fret, but lets take the A string as an example. When I play it open, it's a perfect A, but when I play the 3rd fret it's a sharp C. the D is olmost perfect and the 12th fret is perfect. Get my problem? Please help me!

[unome07]

would go to the website but it dosent exist anymore :L

[littlewing62]

i was changing my strings the other day and i've accidentally changed the height of the stopbar. can anyone tell me if there's a recomended height for it? i'd apreciate the help. cheers!

[dpapaioannow]

that stopbar is way to high

[JazzHendrix]

WISHFUL324

these arent normal humbuckers

they are MINI humbuckers

they are different

hope i helped :)

[Gitmann1]

I have a 77 Standard, when my top E sting is in tune, open and on the 12th fret, my 3rd fret G is sharp. I appreciate any feedback. Thanks.

[wishful324]

wait why are his humbuckers so short/thin...? or is that just the camera angle

[GibsonKLO]

@wishful324 The guitar is a Gibson Les Paul Deluxe with mini humbuckers. It is hard to find this kind of guitars these days.

[davidmmcg]

The intonation should be set in standard playing position. The intonation will change slightly from horizontal to vertical, especially if the weight of the guitar and the pressure from the player's hand is pushing the neck forward as shown here (i.e. his fretting hand thumb is not counteracting his fretting pressure). If you have a strobe tuner you can watch the tuning change as you move the guitar in different orientations from horizontal to vertical or if you press the back of the neck.

[Stringprodigy]

Doesn't make a lick of difference on a Les Paul. No floating bridge for gravity to affect.

[JulianTheGuitarist]

ah i have a questiion, i change my tunnigns a lot, if i fix my intonation i must only stay in one tunning?

[JulianTheGuitarist]

I AM HAVEING A HUFE PROBLEM! my saddles are towards the head stock, should i turn it around by taking it out and backin the other way? because its a big pain in the ass to put a screw under ur pick up thats in the way.

[hankfletcher]

Yes, flip your saddles so they're facing the right way. I've seen many guitars hanging in shops with the saddle the wrong way. It might be because staff throw new strings on, without thinking about what they're doing when they put things back together (because it's easy to flip the saddle the wrong way).

A flipped saddled = instant screwed intonation, 'cause the strings have the wrong saddles, AND they're the wrong way around. Loosen the strings, flip it back, and re-adjust as required.

[JulianTheGuitarist]

k thx ill do that the next time i change my strings :)

[Despotes518]

ok im ticked, i have the g string's saddle all the way as far away from the neck as possible but the 12th fret is still sharper than the harmonic. is my only option to take the bridge off, and move the whole thing back a little more?

[GuitaristEliKing]

in my Tune O Matic bridge the screws is in the pickups direction.. it is ok??

[hmorris94]

@GuitaristEliKing that's how mine are. i think that's how most (modern?) ones are

[GuitaristEliKing]

@hmorris94 then its ok?

[hmorris94]

@GuitaristEliKing yep!

[StannSSS]

Are Epiphone guitars set up and intonated at the factory or will i have to do it myself or get it done??

Please reply somone (:

[diveplane]

WATCH THIS CLIP

[Shyuum]

@StannSSS

Hahahaha, intonated at the chinese factory, with chinese "luthiers"

What you think buddy?

[AussieBoyX]

It depends but most of the time they're not, just check yourself.

[hmorris94]

@StannSSS i think technically theyre supposed to be itonated, but i would definitely double check. mine were horribly off

[dadspornomag77]

Really great...I never knew how simple it was to intonate.....great job on the video....Thank You for saving me a trip to my tech........

DW

[uncoveredyouth]

question, why do u have the tune o matic bridge flipped around? should'nt the screws face the neck?

[rockonnable]

tanx

[juaollla]

One question about this,

The tone of the fretted note on the 12th fret should match the tone of the harmonic (light touch on the string at the 12th fret). In my guitar it doesn't, on some strings...

So maybe the open string is in tune, one octave up is a little flat BUT the harmonic (light touch) is a little sharp.

What should I do in these cases?

Thanks (sorry about my English)

Juanjo (Valencia)

[faxonpr]

Tune the 2nd fret and the 14th fret. That made the difference for me. Your finger stretches a string at 12, but not open, so check the 2nd and 14th because both will be stretched by your finger.

[allen764]

Im getting a 404 error message when I try to log onto the HowAudio home page....is this happening to everybody....help!?

[dontobeay]

i got the same thing too!!

[Ibanezalltheway]

@allen764 same here man..

[pentorasus]

thanks,,, it really helps a lot......

[Texasredfish5114]

wow,, i dont know how to thank you i felt i would never get my pauls intonation in order thank you so much!!!

[Stevecon6]

i feel like a moron for never doing this all these years...

[EVILWS666]

Sweet, thanks!

[Afflictionband69]

wow all these vids saying blah blah, and THIS VIDEO RIGHT here just stated simply, if the note on 12th fret goes flat the string is too long, and if short its too short, boom thats it this guy explaned it great, a bunch of other vids i saw they just go on and on and i have no idea what they are saying, so thank you so much for all the help THIS video really helped out

[SuperGeek67]

For those of you wondering, its fine tuning a guitar

[jackassunit22]

no matter what i cant get my b and e strings to intonate properly.. i have a strat, all the other strings intonate fine.. but these two just wont... what can i do?

[alexfheind]

thanks it helped

[amast3rMind69]

yea I no I shoulf do it the right way lol

[amast3rMind69]

I looked at a picture of jimmy pages guitar on google and just copied his saddles

[rickyjshiznit]

that normally wont work

[amast3rMind69]

whatever at least it looks like it

[rickyjshiznit]

looks the some but doesnt sound the same ;)

[masterpockets211]

hahah do yourself from now on

[TheRealChacho]

I know, I thought that as funny too... "Fix your own damn guitar!!"

[TimeLordGuitar]

a capo at the first fret helps when using the joe barden method. it can be done without it though...

[TimeLordGuitar]

i always intotnate in playing position...otherwise things go a little out-of-wack on my ibanez (strat-style) guitars.

also- joe barden (of joe barden pickups) says to use the 1st fretted notes and the 13th fret harmonics for some advantageous reason.

[inkey2]

to TimeLordGuitar: good move.....always set intonation in the "playing position". I have worked on many guitars since 1974. It makes no sense to do it any other way. Even laying the guitar flat on a table with the neck hanging off the table will read wrong on the meter because the weight of the neck hanging will pull the strings and make it read sharp.

[Daali94]

i intonated my bass and now the saddles are in a vory weird position, 3 of them are i a row and 1 is about 5 mill forward...

[ellusionist22]

thats standerd its not suppost to be even

[TheLivingDeadOne]

I didnt know this was an infomercal,. Sheesh

[lilpatty619]

lol why im i watching this when i dont have a guitar?

[ZZchaz]

Me too. o_o

[obliviontb]

Im going to have one !!!! (electrick got acc already ^^)

[joeyxl3456]

@lilpatty619 hahahaha

[reviewsnake]

@lilpatty619 lol why am i watching this vid when my guitar has no strings

[lazlo696969]

lmao as they say.. reading the manual sucks!! haha

thanks this was really helpful!

[mastergorilla]

10 seconds of information in the middle of a 2 minute commercial for their web site.

[tensago]

Welcome to Earth!

[audienceofone167]

@mastergorilla but I just figured out what's wrong with my guitar! :D

:p

[silencedmessage]

@mastergorilla A commercial for a website that no longer exists?

[HotXRock]

@silencedmessage Exactly :)

[funkin182]

@mastergorilla and for gibson lol, like theyre the only guitars with a tuneomatic

[TuftyTheDuck451]

BULLSHIT!!!

[Shredeath]

can the bridge saddle be put on anyway? as in the screws facing either the neck or the bottom of the tailpeice.

[RantVideos]

Hi and thanks for the info BUT how about a mention about the hieght of the bottom bridge behind the saddle bridge? I noticed it is pretty high and not flush with the guitar. How do you kinow when to rise that up as well? Is it making the strings longer or shorter when you do that? Answer soon please . I am wasting so much time on set up and intonenation. I like my chords to sound like chords on my Gibson ES333.

[bottle2lip]

I Was finally able to get my Epiphone SG 400 fully intonnated after seeing this video, he makes it simple and tugging the string does wonders, it's nearly perfect now on the 12fret and harmonic, raised the pick ups a bit..and it screams.

[Hejj10]

The only GOOD video on adjusting Gibson bridges I can find on YouTube! Thank you! The expert village one sucks ass!

[Harrysound]

Totally!

[potofgrass]

on my les paul the g string is tuned right, but on the 12th fret its sharp so i was going to lengthen the string like in the video, but its already as long as it will go, what do i do?

[Clumpygreen]

try turning the saddle for the g string the other way around, this may give you alittle more room to lengthen the string

[potofgrass]

on my les paul the screws

[71MARTIND28]

Keep in mind, ANY stringed instrument will NEVER have perfect intonation. Too much depends on the pressure applied to the string by the musician, regardless of fret location.

The goal is to find the BEST intonation. There is no perfect setting.

[javiyamaha01]

what if a note is sharp, and u set the bridge sattle backwards into the base of the bridge but it is still not in tune correctly even when the sattle is all the way into the base and it cant be moved any more. what do you do?

[rosswaa]

get a better guitar :p

[CoreyJNc]

Lol

[bluesman249]

great video it really helps I have a epiphone casino all but the 4th and 5th string are now fine my problem is on the 12th fret they are flat but there is no adjusment left on the screws to shorten these two strings any Ideas what I can do Thanks

[WannaBeatle]

sometimes raising or lowering the action might help just a tiny bit. or you may want to find a different gauge of string for those two.

I'm just learning about all of these things myself, so don't take my advise as gospel, but the best I can tell you is trial and error.

[9964joe]

unlock the knowledge and your pocket

[ultimateinfinite]

I have a floating bridge. This is going to be a bitch, plus I have lost my allen keys.

[TobbeTelecaster]

I have a Ibanez ArtCore who also have a floating bridge. I change string by string and not loose all of them at once...

[TobbeTelecaster]

That was supposed to be an answer to "ultimateinfinite"...

[turantulaguru11]

does this aly to all guitars i got a 1967 lemetid edition stock fender jaguar and i want to take care of it the most i can

[wesselbindt]

Can you just move the saddle while in tune?

[yeti60]

when you move the saddle you detune the string while fixing the intonation... so after making bridge adjustments, you have to retune the guitar afterwards.

[blackparade316]

the nut that you turn to adjust the saddle on my guitar is on the other side of the bridge, facing toward the neck instead of being on the other side facing outward. i also have a les paul? does the fact that they nut faces in toward the strings make a difference?

[C0SMICP0PE555]

i believe it only makes adjustment more difficult, and also when your changing the harmonic/12 fretted note to neither sharp or flat you'll want to turn the opposite way as described in this video. hope it helps

peace!

-pope

[pwned21]

The guy tuning sounds like kevin costner rofl

[ESP4thaWin]

ouv nice video!

5 stars, helped me alot

[viletantrum]

This heelped my with my intonation on my Dean zx.

[devils666tongue]

thank you i applied this to my guitars and banjo

extremely helpful

[Philtertip]

Good video...thanks. I think it is valuable how Steve shows that you should stretch the string after moving the saddle because it could have gone out of tune again.... sometimes strings bind in the saddle....

[whonut]

You must always detune the string a bit before adjusting the saddle.

[guitartec]

Great... another "pro" guitar tech showing how to do intonation half-assed.

You forgot to mention all the "other" things that need to be correct BEFORE setting the intonation. A true master guitar tech knows how to account for ALL the variables when setting intonation. Ya don't just "set it".

[asurfingalien]

Can you give us a more thorough explanation of what needs to be done first? I've had intonation issues with a guitar of mine for a long time, but never had the nerve to start fiddling with things that I didn't have a good understanding of.

[guitartec]

I'd be happy to, but YouTube only allows 500 characters.

If you explain EXACTLY and precisely what the intonation problem you're having is, I may be able to help via this blog. It's much more helpful to have you and the guitar in front of me.

FYI... Many times, intonation issues are caused by high (meaty) frets, an improperly cut nut, and too hard playing style-the left hand. This is a recipe for disaster.

Hit reply with your answer

[Philtertip]

Steve... agreed! I assume that you should just "gently" fret the note at the 12th fret when you check the fretted note. You are so right. People should try this: tune their guitar, play the high E string at the 12th fret lightly so it's in tune, then vary how hard they dig in on the same note.... and watch the tuner. It will deflect all over the place! Specially with light gauge strings....

[snapascrew]

i really wanna set my guitar up prefect, what do i do first, truss rod, intonation, bridge height,? yada yada yada...

[guitartec]

Okay, 40 years of experience in 500 characters...

First, check for any fret wear, as this could affect how you set your truss rod adjustment. Level and re-crown if necessary. If the frets are okay, do the truss rod adjustment first. Adjust it for proper relief (help the rod do it's job by physically helping it bend). Adjust bridge height and saddles (if adjustable) for proper radius to fingerboard. Once you're happy w/this, cut the nut properly, then tune to pitch and do the intonation. Gd Luck

[richardwad1]

intonation. You may not have any other problems after that. If you have fret buzz, truss rod.

[letdownjohnny]

I am completely out of adjustment on one string. Doesn't appear to be the truss rod. Any other suggestions?

[likewhoaitsjustin]

I had a fret buzz on my 11th fret bottom E string, and this helped out a ton! Thanks :DD

[adajensen]

never do any fine tuning with the guitar in that "flat" position. it pulls the strings out of tune.

[seasonedtoker]

Agree! Strings should be always tuned and the guitar finetuned for the correct intonation in your conventional playing position. If you lie on your bed with the guitar then do it this way. If you stand with it hanged then do it this way. And always loosen the string before the intonation setup.

[leamog]

your A dickhead

[xxmaTRockxx]

pende de war bi tane ama çalmaya zaman yokq :D

[lambofgodlk]

I have a problem with my bc rich avenge. When I play it i get dead sounding notes like sort of twangy sounding. So i tried raising my bridge and it sounds better but the strings then get lifted off the fretboard about a half inch from the 12th fret up. If i lower it it sounds like crap from the 7th fret down. does any one know what i can do to fix it?

[Enforcer6]

first get a new set of strings and slap em on ur guitar, lower the bridge as low as it can go then proceed to raise it about half an inch tune your guitar up and chromatically run up ur guitar neck trying to find notes that buzz or those "dead notes" from then raise your bridge in half tunes remember to keep the top of your bridge parallell to your guitars body. after you raise the bridge more tune your guitar and again run up chromatically checking the notes.

[MichaelBradus]

Your neck might have an overbow.

[burningashes2]

damn this reminds me, i should really start practicing again haha

[daianamacedo]

Omg I always wanted to fix my intonation problems but never did it right!!

[synthesismagazine]

well now this should help you a little bitVideo Matt:-P

[synthesismagazine]

Happy Holidays

Video Matt:-P

[blacksstrawberry]

actually this was pretty cool... I'm going to learn to play the guitar...

[synthesismagazine]

Happy Holidays and good luck learning send video when you have something together

Video Matt:-P

[wabouli24]

i don't understand what this is for and why we should do it?

[bruhxlilku]

i'll never learn a guitar.. =(

[synthesismagazine]

Yeah you will try it at least k?

Video Matt:-P

[briannalove13]

I never knew that, that was actually really interesting.

[synthesismagazine]

Well thanks for watching

Video Matt:-P