If, however, there’s a tuning discrepancy between the fretted 12th-fret note and the 12th-fret harmonic, the string is not correctly intonated and requires adjustment. If, using an accurate tuner, the string is found to be in tune both when fretting it at the 12th fret and when sounding its 12th-fret harmonic, the string is correctly intonated and you’re in good shape. The bridge saddles over which each string passes can usually be moved forward and backward that is, closer to and farther from the nut (the saddles can also be moved up and down in order to adjust string height, often referred to as action).
Intonating a guitar puts it in tune with itself by slightly shortening or lengthening each string, which is done using the adjustable string-length mechanisms found at the bridge. Even under normal circumstances, periodic intonation is usually necessary, and it is in fact one of the main elements of a setup, which is perhaps the single best maintenance procedure you can have performed on your instrument.Ĭonstant fluctuations in intonation are exactly why most guitars are designed with adjustable intonation mechanisms. Your guitar is subject to environmental conditions and occurrences that continually mess with its intonation. Guitars are machines, after all, and machines require maintenance. This effect is often slight rather than dramatic, but even slight intonation imbalances are noticeable enough to be annoying and demand adjustment.
If your guitar still sounds noticeably out of tune even after you’ve tuned the open strings, the intonation is off-that is, the instrument is out of tune with itself. When an instrument is properly intonated, all the open strings and every note on the fretboard sound at their correct pitches. Intonating a guitar or bass can be a meticulous and time-consuming maintenance procedure, but the basic principles behind it are actually pretty simple.
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