any of you guys know of any sites that can help me adjust my bridge and to suit lower tunings ie, Drop A, etc?
and yes this is a noob question
and yes this is a noob question
guitar tech q's! how to intonation & bridge set-up
- Thread starter antiheroinc
- Start date
Ionei
Member
Heavier strings.
Saddle forward is sharp(shortening string) I think....
Easy enough to figure out atleast.
What are you stringing it with(gauge)
And what was it in before?
Before did it get set up in a lowish tuning or is it coming from E?
Floyd or TOM?
Neck adjustment may be in order.
Once you've done it once you realize how ridiculously easy it is.
This stuff is easy enough to Google bro.
I learnt everything i know about guitar set-up from Google.
Saddle forward is sharp(shortening string) I think....
Easy enough to figure out atleast.
What are you stringing it with(gauge)
And what was it in before?
Before did it get set up in a lowish tuning or is it coming from E?
Floyd or TOM?
Neck adjustment may be in order.
Once you've done it once you realize how ridiculously easy it is.
This stuff is easy enough to Google bro.
I learnt everything i know about guitar set-up from Google.
Torniojaws
They call me Juha
Just some basic things to do:
- Truss rod
- New strings
- Action (string height)
- Intonation (relative tuning)
1) Truss rod
With it, you adjust how much bow it has:
Back-bow |(
Up-bow |)
Too much back-bow, and the strings will hit the fretboard at around the 12th fret, creating string buzz and lowering sustain. Too much up bow makes the guitar harder to play, just like too high action. In extremes, it can also crack the neck.
You adjust the truss (usually) from below the nut. On some guitars, you adjust it from near the pickups. Be careful with the adjustment, and only make 1/8 of a turn per day. Let the neck settle overnight before making another 1/8 turn. How much is an 1/8 turn? Think of it as a clock. 1/4 turn = 15 minutes, so 1/8 turn is halfway between noon and 15 minutes to/past. You can check the amount by watching the neck with your eye next to the pickups and watching towards the tuners. See how it looks like, is it dropping down in the center (up-bow), or arcing like a bridge (back-bow)? Check google for which way to turn the rod in your guitar, as it changes between various guitar types.
2) New strings
The lower you tune, the thicker the strings should be to retain the same feel. Going from E standard to drop A, you should increase the string thickness by 2 "steps" at least. For example, if you use a .010 set in E standard, then you should use a .012 set in drop A.
3) Action
This is for adjusting how high the strings are from the fretboard. The higher up they are, the harder you have to press. The lower they are, the "faster" the action is - but the downside is increased string buzz (that extra scraping sound). Adjust the action to your feel, but only as low as you can without string buzz. If the string buzz only happens in the first few frets, then you have to adjust the nut of the guitar (the straight bar where all the strings end, before the tuners). That one is much more difficult to do, and usually requires you to change the nut completely, or do some creative things.
4) Intonation
This is quite simply just adjusting each string from the bridge (hex key or screwdriver, depends on the bridge), so that the pressed 12th fret (use a tuner for accurate adjustment, preferrably a very accurate tuner) plays in the same relative tuning as a natural harmonic from the 12th fret (lay your finger on the string at exactly the 12th fret, but don't press it down. Play the string). The point is to make your guitar be in tune with itself when you play in the higher frets (leads with rhythm).
- Truss rod
- New strings
- Action (string height)
- Intonation (relative tuning)
1) Truss rod
With it, you adjust how much bow it has:
Back-bow |(
Up-bow |)
Too much back-bow, and the strings will hit the fretboard at around the 12th fret, creating string buzz and lowering sustain. Too much up bow makes the guitar harder to play, just like too high action. In extremes, it can also crack the neck.
You adjust the truss (usually) from below the nut. On some guitars, you adjust it from near the pickups. Be careful with the adjustment, and only make 1/8 of a turn per day. Let the neck settle overnight before making another 1/8 turn. How much is an 1/8 turn? Think of it as a clock. 1/4 turn = 15 minutes, so 1/8 turn is halfway between noon and 15 minutes to/past. You can check the amount by watching the neck with your eye next to the pickups and watching towards the tuners. See how it looks like, is it dropping down in the center (up-bow), or arcing like a bridge (back-bow)? Check google for which way to turn the rod in your guitar, as it changes between various guitar types.
2) New strings
The lower you tune, the thicker the strings should be to retain the same feel. Going from E standard to drop A, you should increase the string thickness by 2 "steps" at least. For example, if you use a .010 set in E standard, then you should use a .012 set in drop A.
3) Action
This is for adjusting how high the strings are from the fretboard. The higher up they are, the harder you have to press. The lower they are, the "faster" the action is - but the downside is increased string buzz (that extra scraping sound). Adjust the action to your feel, but only as low as you can without string buzz. If the string buzz only happens in the first few frets, then you have to adjust the nut of the guitar (the straight bar where all the strings end, before the tuners). That one is much more difficult to do, and usually requires you to change the nut completely, or do some creative things.
4) Intonation
This is quite simply just adjusting each string from the bridge (hex key or screwdriver, depends on the bridge), so that the pressed 12th fret (use a tuner for accurate adjustment, preferrably a very accurate tuner) plays in the same relative tuning as a natural harmonic from the 12th fret (lay your finger on the string at exactly the 12th fret, but don't press it down. Play the string). The point is to make your guitar be in tune with itself when you play in the higher frets (leads with rhythm).
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DanLights
Santa Hat Forever
Jevil
Pro Evolution Fucker
Eschatologist
Member
Great post above, but I would adjust the truss rod before string action and intonation (do last step right after re stringing, then action, then intonate...FWIW)
guitarguru777
Member
Also make sure your strings glide through the nut easily. Sometimes moving up a few gauges the slots in the nut aren't big enough! If they bind up in the nut you will have all kinds tuning issues 
Notuern
Bloody vaginal belch
- Oct 20, 2007
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Another thing about action is that while higher action makes it harder to play(fast at least.), you get more sustain.
And yeah, always adjust the truss rod FIRST.. otherwise intonation and action will have to be readjusted afterwards(Since you change the distance from the nut to the 12th fret, and the bow of the neck.).
Also, you mixed up back/up-bow in the example segment.
Should be:
Back-bow |)
Up-bow |(
Back-bow means that the string will be closer to the fret around the 8th fret then on the top or bottom of the neck(Causes buzzing.).
Up-bow means that the string will be further from the fret around the 8th fret then on the top or bottom of the neck(Increases the sustain, causes intonation errors across the neck, bad for the wood.).
And yeah, always adjust the truss rod FIRST.. otherwise intonation and action will have to be readjusted afterwards(Since you change the distance from the nut to the 12th fret, and the bow of the neck.).
Also, you mixed up back/up-bow in the example segment.
Should be:
Back-bow |)
Up-bow |(
Back-bow means that the string will be closer to the fret around the 8th fret then on the top or bottom of the neck(Causes buzzing.).
Up-bow means that the string will be further from the fret around the 8th fret then on the top or bottom of the neck(Increases the sustain, causes intonation errors across the neck, bad for the wood.).
Torniojaws
They call me Juha
In my diagram, the | means the strings And the ( is the neck. So back-bow is |( like in the picture you posted
One trick is to rub a lead pencil on the nut holes It helps especially with tuning the guitar. But of course, if the strings are too big, you need to file the nut holes to make them bigger. This can lead to some problems later, if you want to go back to thinner strings.
And the ( is the neck. So back-bow is |( like in the picture you posted Also make sure your strings glide through the nut easily. Sometimes moving up a few gauges the slots in the nut aren't big enough! If they bind up in the nut you will have all kinds tuning issues
One trick is to rub a lead pencil on the nut holes
It helps especially with tuning the guitar. But of course, if the strings are too big, you need to file the nut holes to make them bigger. This can lead to some problems later, if you want to go back to thinner strings.
Machinated
Member
DanLights
Santa Hat Forever
I decided to bump this thread instead of making a new one cause I have a question, probably a stupid one. I'm intonating my bass, after goofing around and lots of research I finally figured how to move the saddles (yay!), but now I have a bit of a problem. If my 12th fret is sharp in relation to the 12th harmonic or the open note, I should move the saddle back to make the string longer, cool, but what if I ran out of space in my bridge to move it further back and it's still not quite there?
crillemannen
Member
^
Yeah i would like to know that to. Hehe happened to me a while ago when i was testing super-thick strings. ran out of intonation space.
Yeah i would like to know that to. Hehe happened to me a while ago when i was testing super-thick strings. ran out of intonation space.
::XeS::
Member
It's a problem because it means that the tuning doesn't fit the scale length. You can try to adjust a little the truss rod to make the scale a little longer, but in my opinion sometime it's building problem.
My C1 has the same problem also with a "large" bridge with flipped saddles: the 6th string is always a little sharp.
My C1 has the same problem also with a "large" bridge with flipped saddles: the 6th string is always a little sharp.
OneDaySky
Clint
On some tune-o-matic style bridges you can flip the bridge around to get more play on the low E. Done this on a 4-5 different guitars that guys brought in. A few times I've still not had enough play with it, just have to settle with it and make sure you do ALL your rhythm guitar tracking with that guitar to avoid intonation issues. Sucks but it worked out alright in the end.
Could be a faulty string too. I had the opposite problem with one string but could get it decent with the saddle all the way in. Bought a new set with the same brand and size and had no issue.
Loren Littlejohn
Lover of all boobage.
I have that issue with my cheapo bass because they pretty much took a 4 string and made it a 5 string. Kind of sucks, but in all honesty I just try not to play above the 5th fret on the B string more than necessary.
