MY perfectly tuned and intonated Tele

MetalManiac

Li'l Junior Member
All of my Guitars, or an overwhelming majority, are out of tune and not intonated.They sound like hell.
I just got my Tele intonated and tuned by a pro, but the action is too hihg, and I dont like the standard tuning- I like to down tune ( which means downtuning all the strings so my 10 gauges feel almsaot as slinky as 9's).
When I do this though, becasue my tuning by ear isnt precise, and I can't use a tuner to do this, all my guitars run out of tune, and it screws up the intonation.
Anyway, I'll probably try 9's , to try and get them as loose as I want without having to downtune by ear, and be able to use a tuner and have the guitars intonated by a tech, even though I much prefer 10's downtuned
As you can tell, im pretty messed up.
So i had my Tele tuned standard and intonated, but the tech raised the action./ I dont like action as high as it is now, but the tech said not to mess witrh it, or ID screw up my intonation.
Well, can I lower the action, stick on 9 gauge and then have it retuned witha tuner and re-intonated?
 
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Re: MY perfectly tuned and intonated Tele

All of my Guitars, or an overwhelming majority, are out of tune and not intonated.They sound like hell.
I just got my Tele intonated and tuned by a pro, but the action is too hihg, and I dont like the standard tuning- I like to down tune ( which means downtuning all the strings so my 10 gauges feel almsaot as slinky as 9's).
When I do this though, becasue my tuning by ear isnt precise, and I can't use a tuner to do this, all my guitars run out of tune, and it screws up the intonation.
Anyway, I'll probably try 9's , to try and get them as loose as I want without having to downtune by ear, and be able to use a tuner and have the guitars intonated by a tech, even though I much prefer 10's downtuned
As you can tell, im pretty messed up.
So i had my Tele tuned standard and intonated, but the tech raised the action./ I dont like action as high as it is now, but the tech said not to mess witrh it, or ID screw up my intonation.
Well, can I lower the action, stick on 9 gauge and then have it retuned witha tuner and re-intonated?

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Re: MY perfectly tuned and intonated Tele

Jesus.

How do I even begin.

If you get a guitar set up for 9s in standard tuning, shifting to 10s in some sort of non-specific down tuning is OBVIOUSLY going to have different intonation/tuning parameters. You cannot expect it to be in tune if you use strings and a tuning that it wasn't set up for.

Next time, get it set up for 10s in whatever tuning you want. And start using a goddamn tuner Jerry.

Also, learn (PROPERLY) how to do your own setups, have some patience and do it properly. Don't get pissed off and break your instruments because you didn't have the patience or knowledge to fix a simple problem.
 
Re: MY perfectly tuned and intonated Tele

It sounds like you should have had it setup and intonated at D rather than E. If you have something intonated at E and then down tune to D you are compromising the intonation because the tension and saddle position won't be the same at D as E.
 
Re: MY perfectly tuned and intonated Tele

SO I can go ahead and lower the saddles, and it can still be re-intonated properly? The whole reason for getting a new neck on this Telel and putting the new bone nut was so I could get lower action wihtout fret outs on bends than the old neck.

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Re: MY perfectly tuned and intonated Tele

Lowering saddle height will mean you will need to reset the intonation.
 
Re: MY perfectly tuned and intonated Tele

SO I can go ahead and lower the saddles, and it can still be re-intonated properly? The whole reason for getting a new neck on this Telel and putting the new bone nut was so I could get lower action than the old neck.

Yes. Bear in mind though, that if you are down tuning, the string tension will be lower (for a given gauge of string), so the neck relief 'may' need adjusting also. This will have an effect on the lowest usable action you can get without buzzing.
 
Re: MY perfectly tuned and intonated Tele

If you play downtuned, then that is how you should set up and intonate the guitar. And string height should be set, the truss rod set, and the strings stretched and broken in before setting intonation. I always do intonation a day or three after setting up a guitar, and playing it a bit. You want everything to settle and be just right before tuning each saddle.
 
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Re: MY perfectly tuned and intonated Tele

Doesnt matter. Another waste of a hundred and a half.I had thought this Allparts neck, Made in Japan was `12" radius, but it frets out like crazy, can't get low enuf action for a discriminating player par-excellea'nce such as myself.
Its a crummy neck I guess, or at least has the wrong specs.
Off with the damn neck, and now i know I'll never waste time on a cheap neck again, although Ive made many work fine. Warmoth all the way
 
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Re: MY perfectly tuned and intonated Tele

Intonating a guitar is easy. Get your guitars playing the way you like them, then intonate them so every note reads dead center on a tuner, and you're done. Then, don't mess with them.
 
Re: MY perfectly tuned and intonated Tele

Doesnt matter. Another waste of a hundred and a half.I had thought this Allparts neck, Made in Japan was `12" radius, but it frets out like crazy, can't get low enuf action for a discriminating player par-excellea'nce such as myself.
Its a crummy neck I guess, or at least has the wrong specs.
Off with the damn neck, and now i know I'll never waste time on a cheap neck again, although Ive made many work fine. Warmoth all the way

Is this going to lead to another pic of splintered wood ?
 
Re: MY perfectly tuned and intonated Tele

Doesnt matter. Another waste of a hundred and a half.I had thought this Allparts neck, Made in Japan was `12" radius, but it frets out like crazy, can't get low enuf action for a discriminating player par-excellea'nce such as myself.
Its a crummy neck I guess, or at least has the wrong specs.
Off with the damn neck, and now i know I'll never waste time on a cheap neck again, although Ive made many work fine. Warmoth all the way

I love reading Jerrys threads...
 
Re: MY perfectly tuned and intonated Tele

Doesnt matter. Another waste of a hundred and a half.I had thought this Allparts neck, Made in Japan was `12" radius, but it frets out like crazy, can't get low enuf action for a discriminating player par-excellea'nce such as myself.
Its a crummy neck I guess, or at least has the wrong specs.
Off with the damn neck, and now i know I'll never waste time on a cheap neck again, although Ive made many work fine. Warmoth all the way

This is because Allparts doesn't dress their frets, which is why it frets out even with a 12" radius. Warmoth doesn't dress their frets either, just installs them, so getting a Warmoth with the same or larger radius won't solve your problem.

Very sorry to say, but you did waste your money for a setup, without telling the tech what you want. You should tell them what gauge, tuning, brand of strings, action, and a fret dress. A bone nut won't change anything in bends fretting out if the frets aren't properly dressed. Explain your mistake to the tech and he may just change this for you at a reasonable price instead of a full new setup.

Also, why no tuner? Never tune by ear until you accurately memorize the pitch you need to tune to.

Oh yeah, just a word of advise, the money spent towards all the nice guitars and amps would be better used fixing up all of your guitars if you don't/can't do it yourself.
 
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Re: MY perfectly tuned and intonated Tele

Doesnt matter. Another waste of a hundred and a half.I had thought this Allparts neck, Made in Japan was `12" radius, but it frets out like crazy, can't get low enuf action for a discriminating player par-excellea'nce such as myself.
Its a crummy neck I guess, or at least has the wrong specs.
Off with the damn neck, and now i know I'll never waste time on a cheap neck again, although Ive made many work fine. Warmoth all the way

This is great stuff. Helps immensely doesn't it when you can blame the gear for your short comings.
 
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