Search VideosPG

Tuning issues can drive you nuts if you don't understand what's really happening when you try to tune or intonate your guitar. Here's part I of our conversation with Chris Labriola of Peterson Tuners.

Comments

(5 comments)

display by

Username	Comment
bob@WCguitar s on 02/04/2013	Also, if you intonate to the fretted octave, it puts you in the middle of the range of the pitch change that results from bending the string to the fret. Lower frets will be somewhat flat and higher frets will be somewhat sharp but at least you are in the middle.
bob@WCguitar s on 02/04/2013	If you are checking the harmonic, you are not bending the string to the fret which changes the pitch of the string. You should intonate to the fretted note to take this into account. The harmonic will always be in tune to the open string. The location of it may not be exactly on top of the fret but it will be damn close. If you only play cowboy chords and never venture to the higher frets you could intonate to the harmonic pretty successfully.
Manuel Vasquez on 05/07/2011	When I write I actually am thinking music as i wold be performed live anyway. not so much intonation . Yeah its irritating at times but sonicly speaking, most ears average out all the archaic enamalies and overtones and algorythms together at once etc etc... You can go on and on. Manni Vasquez
Manuel vasquez on 05/07/2011	Myself I don't worry too much about the trivial stuff. Heavy handed or not it's all a matter of artistic expression. If this is one of the many areas artists worry most about then I don't know brother! Don't get me wrong intonation is vital. Sometimes being off a bit actually add character and feeling to the song. just play with what you have or experiment with things a little less maybe you'd actually write something worth the trouble. I'm just saying. Maybe it's just me. I don't know. As a writer I find that you can really lose things like time your original idea and even your mind. Kind of like Einstien.
AnTennA on 05/10/2009	What about the 15th, 17th, 19th, etc. frets? How does just checking the intonation at the 12th fret compensate for the amount of bend the string will experience at the higher frets? My suggestion is that the intonation be checked at the highest fret possible where a usable harmonic exists. For example: if you've got 24 frets, then obviously check the harmonic and the fretted intonation there. If you've got an ax with 22 frets, use the harmonic at the 19th fret. This way, the string is checked for the maximum bend due to fretting pressure --- unlike just checking at the 12th which by nature does not require the string to move as much when fretted.

Your Comment:

All comments are subject to editing or deletion by the Premier Guitar staff.

Your Name:

Please enter the text you see in the image: