intonation issues

[esandes]

two of my three guitars have intonation issues. i recently had one of the bad ones set up by a professional, supposedly, and it still has issues.

i'll explain what i mean:
-spend alot of time tuning the guitar to open E
-finally tuned but when playing chords up higher in the frets it just sounds out of tune
-the open chords sound ok

i used my tuner to check if the notes higher up on the fretboard are in tune and some of them are up to almost half a step off.

i'm thinking this could be more of an issue than a truss rod adjustment. or is it simply a bad truss rod adjustment? i'm almost ready to get a couple of new necks.

 

[aleclee]

Re: intonation issues

What kind of guitar? Is the bridge adjustable for intonation? If so, a "proper" setup shouldn't be that far out of tune. Nearly all guitars will have minor tuning issues as you go up the neck but nothing nearly that severe.

 

[esandes]

Re: intonation issues

What kind of guitar? Is the bridge adjustable for intonation? If so, a "proper" setup shouldn't be that far out of tune. Nearly all guitars will have minor tuning issues as you go up the neck but nothing nearly that severe.

yamaha pacifica (strat copy) from the lae 80s and a fender strat plus deluxe from the early 90s. the yamaha bridge has fully adjustable saddles (height and length). the strat saddles don't seem to have adjustability. here is a similar bridge..

 

[rts99]

Re: intonation issues

Pick up an acoustic at your nearest guitar shop, tune it and see if you think it stays in tune. On your guitar or on the in-store acoustic the strings could be "fresh" and need stretching before they'll stay in tune but I'm assuming this is NOT the case. I'm assuming both guitars will stay in tune if intonated correctly after an initial tuning.

If you think the acoustic, with a fixed bridge & properly aged strings, also isn't in tune you are probably suffering from a "good musical ear". This just means you can hear the unequal temperament inherent in the instrument. I'm not so good. On any acoustic I can tune it and, assuming the strings have sufficient age, it stays in tune all over the fret-board once tuned. If by some miracle I happen across an electric with a fixed bridge (like the PRS SE models) or an electric with a PROPERLY intonated bridge it also sounds in-tune all over the fret-board once tuned. But if the bridge isn't intonated quite right all I hear is out of tune electric guitar all over the place. I can't get 3 notes without a primal urge to re-tune.

I have no solutions to this problem. I have 2 electrics that I struggle to intonate. I've never gotten either of them right despite lots of trying. And lots of attempts by so-called "professionals". My last instructor did the best job but I left the guitars with him for several weeks each where he went over everything on the guitars. He never came to any earth shattering revelations but just kept working & re-working the bridge saddles and the tuning got progressively, but slowly, better. I'm following along by making very small changes to a single string on 1 guitar and 3 strings on the other. If I live long enough I'll eventually get it right.

Good Luck

 

[esandes]

Re: intonation issues

my brand new jazzmaster has excellent intonation compared with these two problematic guitars. if endless adjustments don't fix the intonation i'm inclined to think the neck has been damaged or warped. my brand new jazzmaster has fantastic intonation. it was setup at the factory perfectly. who knows what kind of abuse used guitars go through.

 

[Funkfingers]

Re: intonation issues

My experience of all but the absolutely rockbottom cheapest Yamaha electric guitars and basses is that they are well built and easy to intonate. I would like to see photographs of your particular guitar before commenting further.

The Fender Floyd floating vibrato is adjustable in much the same way as a regular Floyd Rose. (Slacken the string. Slacken the lock screw. Adjust the saddle. Tighten everything up. Test. If necessary, adjust again.) Full instructions would have been supplied with the guitar. These should still be available to download from Fender Support.

On guitars with a Gibson Tune-o-Matic inspired bridge, intonation problems can arise from the bridge being installed incorrectly - either in the wrong position or drilled at the wrong angle to match the neck pitch.