intonating an ibanez guitar with .009 to .042 string guage

[mbengs1]

how does the bridge of an ibanez guitar look? i have some intonation problems but what i usually do is the 6th string saddle is the farthest from the nut and the saddles of the other strings get closer to the nut as they go down. can someone post pictures of how the saddles are setup with .009's?

[onelife]

When the intonation is correct the pitch of the fretted note at the twelfth fret will be the same as the pitch of the twelfth fret harmonic. If the fretted note is flat then the string needs to be made longer by moving the bridge saddle back.

 

A properly setup bridge for a guitar with a plain third string will usually look something like this...

 

 

 

[badpenguin]

".....Something like this." is right, but each guitar is different. Don't go by visuals, go by tuning. Set the intonation with a good tuner, and don't pay attention to how it looks.

[Freeman Keller]

".. Set the intonation with a good tuner' date=' and don't pay attention to how it looks.[/quote']

 

You don't even need a good tuner if you have a good ear.

 

[1001gear]

The correct spelling of gwaj is g a u g e. Gives you a better shot at good intoniontion.

[Freeman Keller]

no, on an Ibanez its "goo ag"

 

My spell checker flags it when I type it wrong, but I'm thinking I'm one of the few people who owns a spell checker

[badpenguin]

Ummm, who are we talking about here?

[badpenguin]

If it wasn't for spell checkers, I would be considered illiterate. Or a drummer.

[WRGKMC]

Use the Fender Action guide and follow the directions step by step. It tells you what you need and how to do it. http://www2.fender.com/support/artic...r-setup-guide/

 

The first step is roughing it out which works on all guitars with unwrapped G strings.

 

Only intonate with new strings. If the strings are beat you're simply pissing into the wind trying to intonate worn strings. .

 

INTONATION (ROUGHING IT OUT)

 

You can preset the basic intonation of your guitar by taking a tape measure and measuring from the inside of the nut to the center of the 12th fret (the fret wire itself; not the fingerboard). Double that measurement to find the scale length of your guitar. Adjust the first-string bridge saddle (High E) to this scale length, measuring from the inside of the nut to the center of the bridge saddle.

 

Now adjust the distance of the second-string saddle back from the first saddle, using the gauge of the second string as a measurement. For example, If the second string is .011" (0.3 mm), you would move the second-string saddle back .011" (0.3 mm) from the first saddle.

 

Move the third saddle back from the second saddle using the gauge of the third string as a measurement. (if the third string is .016 move it that far from the 2nd saddle

 

The fourth-string saddle should be set parallel with the second-string saddle. Proceed with the fifth and sixth saddles with the same method used for strings two and three. using the 5th and 6th strings as a thickness gauge.

 

After a rough out you want to be sure the string heights and relief are correct. From there you use an electronic tuner to fine tune tweaking them a little at a time. Most guitars will come out with the saddles looking like the picture One Life posted. The exception will be if your fret tops are worn flat which sharpens the strings and pushes the saddles farther towards the tail.

 

If you wind up with erratic saddle positions I'd definitely look at fret wear, especially on the 12th fret. You can use a tuner to get that string intonated at the 12th and be off on other frets. I commonly wear my frets in the middle of the neck making those notes sharper then usual, plus I keep my relief higher for string bending so I may have to tweak things a bit to get relatively in tune strings along the entire fret board.

 

 

As an added note, I also check my very last frets using a chromatic tuner. I can have my 12th fret dead on and those last frets can be almost a semitone high. So long as I can pull on the string lengthwise to get them in tune I'm usually OK.

 

Run through that guide in the same order several times until you no longer have to make adjustments. One adjustment effects another. If you find tune before setting height or set relief that fine intonation is shot down the tubes and you have to start over. By cycling through the adjustments the tweaks get smaller and smaller.

 

Be sure when you're done to check the 12th fret harmonics to the fretted string by holding three or more strings at a time. I usually chime three strings and then compare them to the same three fretted strings and listen for one out of three that might be a tad sharp or flat then tweak it in by ear.

 

Setting single string intonation is fine for playing leads. It doesn't help you with sharp notes holding down entire chords. I like having my chords well intonated so when I slam a barre chord it sounds like a single note with no beating between strings.

 

It takes a little give an take to get this just right sometimes. The third string for example sometimes has to be lengthened a tad because it tends to bend sharp playing chords but you don't want it to be flat playing single notes.

 

By holding down multiple strings and comparing it to those same 12th fret harmonics you can equalize the effects of string tension. Thin strings are real sensitive to finger pressure. You can even sit back in a chair and have the neck flatten out and throw the intonation off from the weight of the neck. doing the multiple string chime check will get your chords to play in tune when holding multiple strings down.

 

Once you think you're close jam to some recordings and see of the overall tone is a close match. Just beware not all recordings have instruments tuned to concert pitch and also properly intonated.

 

[Grant Harding]

You guys think the OT is coming back to add some more awesome?

[Freeman Keller]

Does that stand for Original Troll?

[Grant Harding]

Nice work!