Intonation

[LSMFT6]

When setting-up your guitar, do you check it at the 12th or 24th fret? Why?

[frankiej]

i check all around the neck.

 

12th and the whole tuning at the 5th fret thing i mostly do.

[skitzy]

12th

[melx]

why???

 

Because when I play a chord further up the neck I'd like it to be vaguely in tune!!

[melx]

p.s. what's a 24th fret??!!

[TheGareth]

 

i check all around the neck. 12th and the whole tuning at the 5th fret thing i mostly do.

 

 

I check it at the 12th fret only but I'd like to hear about this whole tuning 5th fret thing......

[frankiej]

 

I check it at the 12th fret only but I'd like to hear about this whole tuning 5th fret thing......

 

 

its just to make sure every string is in tune with the others. Relative tuning. Like if you dont have a tuner, they may not be dead on but the strings are in tune with eachother so it wont sound that bad. Its not really an intonation thing, its just a habit of mine.

 

The 5th fret on the E string is A. The 5th on the A string is D. The 5th on the D string is G. The 4th fret on the G string is B.

 

So basically play the E string on the 5th and the A string open to see if they are in tune then repeat steps for the other strings.

[TheGareth]

 

its just to make sure every string is in tune with the others. Relative tuning. Like if you dont have a tuner, they may not be dead on but the strings are in tune with eachother so it wont sound that bad. The 5th fret on the E string is A. The 5th on the A string is D. The 5th on the D string is G. The 4th fret on the G string is B. So basically play the E string on the 5th and the A string open to see if they are in tune then repeat steps for the other strings.

 

 

Ahh yes, I get you now!

[Headlow]

p.s. what's a 24th fret??!!

 

You get them on those pointy guitars mostly.:poke:

[zygoat]

12 fret.

[Kikaruu]

 

I check it at the 12th fret only but I'd like to hear about this whole tuning 5th fret thing......

 

 

For instance, with a true low "E": hit the harmonic at the fifth fret on that string and the harmonic on the seventh fret on the "A" string. Tune the A to match the E. Repeat this process for D and G, but B is slightly different; hit the ninth harmonic on the G string and then the fifth harmonic on the B string. Then, fifth on B and seventh on E again.

[TheGareth]

For instance, with a true low "E": hit the harmonic at the fifth fret on that string and the harmonic on the seventh fret on the "A" string. Tune the A to match the E. Repeat this process for D and G, but B is slightly different; hit the ninth harmonic on the G string and then the fifth harmonic on the B string. Then, fifth on B and seventh on E again.

 

Thank you for this explanation.

[Kikaruu]

 

its just to make sure every string is in tune with the others. Relative tuning. Like if you dont have a tuner, they may not be dead on but the strings are in tune with eachother so it wont sound that bad. Its not really an intonation thing, its just a habit of mine. The 5th fret on the E string is A. The 5th on the A string is D. The 5th on the D string is G. The 4th fret on the G string is B. So basically play the E string on the 5th and the A string open to see if they are in tune then repeat steps for the other strings.

 

 

Oh, that's different from what I do. I took too long typing and checking my facts. Not trying to undermine your words, I posted after you did. Stupid lag...

[melx]

You get them on those pointy guitars mostly.:poke:

 

aahhh, I see.

[LSMFT6]

why??? Because when I play a chord further up the neck I'd like it to be vaguely in tune!!

 

Why one would use the 12th vs. 24th fret, not why one would intonate their guitar

[kpd78]

 

For instance, with a true low "E": hit the harmonic at the fifth fret on that string and the harmonic on the seventh fret on the "A" string. Tune the A to match the E. Repeat this process for D and G, but B is slightly different; hit the ninth harmonic on the G string and then the fifth harmonic on the B string. Then, fifth on B and seventh on E again.

 

 

i admit that i do use both of those methods from time to time - just to check tuning in a hurry on my acoustic, or if i know one string is out of tune - to get 'close enough'... but i do slightly different to how Kikaruu described with the harmonic... for the B string, i play that open against the 7th fret harmonic on the low E.

 

HOWEVER, this isn't an accurate way of tuning...

even starting with the low E perfectly in tune, if the A is then tuned a even a few cents out, then the D may then be out of tune (as the A is it's reference), then the G and so on...

 

another quick tuning method is tuning to one reference note: for example the high E...

if the high E is in tune, then use that as the reference so you tune the

B with it's 5th fret harmonic (or fretted),

G fretted at the 9th fret ,

D fretted at the 14th fret

A with 7th fret harmonic and

low E with 5th fret harmonic.

[frankiej]

HOWEVER, this isn't an accurate way of tuning... .

 

It isnt the proper way to tune but if you have a decent ear you can get it close enough so people dont notice it. Plus im lazy, id have to find my tuner which would could take a couple of mins

 

That being said thats why i called it Relative Tuning, im not sure if thats its true name but ya it just makes the strings in tune with each other.

[kpd78]

It isnt the proper way to tune but if you have a decent ear you can get it close enough so people dont notice it. Plus im lazy, id have to find my tuner which would could take a couple of mins That being said thats why i called it Relative Tuning, im not sure if thats its true name but ya it just makes the strings in tune with each other.

 

no worries. like i said, i do use those methods on occasion myself - when i first started playing guitar that's how i always tuned; it wasn't until several years later that i found out it was 'wrong'. but yeah, it definately does get close enough.

 

having said that, the method i described where you tune the lowest 5 strings against the high E is better.

[Lanefair]

12th fret, bu there's a harmonic you can do above tha too, i forget which one now, 17-19 something like that. If the harmonic is in tune, then the note on that fret is a fifth above I think, but it should still be in tune on the tuner, just a different note, like f sharp on the b strig etc.

 

I can tell if any strings are out of tune just by strumming all open strings at once. It's all down to ear memory. Like if I want to tune the d string, I imagine a song that starts in D

[Kikaruu]

Now, I have a question: why are the two highest strings tuned to B and E? it seems more like you'd use C and F. I do, but that's just me...

[LSMFT6]

To reaffirm that guitar is inferior to bass. I'm not a fan of basses with more than the standard 6-string range (BEADGC), but they're always tuned in fourths.

[MegaTom]

Why one would use the 12th vs. 24th fret, not why one would intonate their guitar

 

Because my guitars only have 22 frets...?

[Mind_Riot89]

Quick intonation question: My G string is perfectly intonated at the 12th fret but is sharp at the 2nd fret. Why is this? Will it require neck adjustment?

[kyrreca]

I use the 12th fret, even on my 24 fret guitars. It just seems logical, since it's the exact middle point of the string.

[melx]

 

Quick intonation question: My G string is perfectly intonated at the 12th fret but is sharp at the 2nd fret. Why is this? Will it require neck adjustment?

 

 

because no guitar string is perfectly in tune at every fret.

 

Buzz Fieten has tried to solve this, the problems and 'why' they exist are outlined here.

 

http://www.guyguitars.com/eng/guyguitars/feiten.html