Conference napalm::guitar

    Now Brian.... did you really think that I wouldn't reply to this note?
    Ans no 1.) I do believe that quality does play a part in a guitar
    keeping its tune. Intonation should be checked (on electric guitars)
    every time you change strings. I didn't say that you'll have to
    change it, but should be checked. A simple guitar tuner will do
    nicely. I check mine that way, however I feel (my experience), that
    keeping the same gauge of strings on the guitar helps alot in keeping
    the intonation solid. 
    Ans no.2 ) Gauge vs tone. If you have a guitar that has a thin and
    lifeless tone, (ex. no bottom end etc), you might find that changing
    the gauge string you use to a heavier set may very well do the trick.
    I'm not saying to go from a .008 set to a .013.... that's to much
    of a change, but going from a .008 to a .010 will improve sustain
    and tone to a lifeless guitar, thus MY reason for changing to a
    different gauge of string. I played an old Tele with a set .013's
    and found that guitar not as thin and tinny as one that
    had .008's on it. I never could play those thin gauge strings anyway.
    I have .010's on all my guitars and I like them. Every now and then,
    I'll go to a .011 or a .013 just to get a certain tone, but I haven't
    had the need to do that in some time now. If you change the gauge
    of your strings, you should check the intonation. Hey look it works
    for me !!!!!! (what do I know??)
       You don't have any problems Brian, because you buy excellent
    acoustic guitars, $1000. and up, so for that money you better not have 
    any problems, plus the fact that, "you do buy different guitars every
    year", (I had to get that dig in), but I think that most of the noters 
    that mention these problems are electric guitar players with
    adjustable bridges. It's great to have the option to be able to change 
    the intonation if you need to. Almost as great as sliced bread! 
    Well..... almost. 
         
    Besides.... if you don't like it, trade it in and buy another !
    yea...yea...  that's the ticket !!!!  
    
    Fred-who-loves-his-old-strat  :^)
    
    

    It might well be that your guitars have never needed it.
    
    I am very sensitive to tuning and intonation.  It's rare that
    I go see a band and not cringe once or twice during the evening
    because the guitar is out of tune, or even if the guy is just
    not "bending" in tune (very common).
    
    In fact, listening to my own live tapes produces more cringing
    then listening to other people because of tuning and intonation.
    My guitar has a problem with the neck that causes me to need to
    re-intonate it rather frequently.
    
    It might well be that you just aren't very sensitive to intonation.
    (It's rare that a guitar goes "way" out of intonation.)  If you
    want to find out, it's easy enough to do.  Take an electric tuner
    (those blasphemous things we've been discussing in another note)
    and tune a string.  Then see if the harmonic at the 12th fret gives
    you the same reading as fretting at the 12th fret.  You might find
    it interesting to try this at the fifth fret also.
    
    BTW, if the harmonic doesn't read exactly the same as the open string
    on your tuner (it's happened), that indicates string wear.
    
    	db

    
    	Ya, Dave I also forgot to mention that I change my strings
    everytime I play out. I'm real picky about the sound and after four
    hours of playing out they loose alot of sound. All the sweat from
    one gig kills the strings. And I for one can't stand playing with
    dead strings. Not only do I not like playing on dead strings but my fingers
    seem to stick to them which causes mistakes.
    
     Also as I talked to Fred yesterday he mentioned that setting the
    intonation is usually done mostly on electric guitars vs acoustic...
    
     But I did have a nice Les paul custom (for about 8 months!!!)
    
     And Fred mentioned that using different gauge strings for a more
    bass meatier sound... I use lights but have bass control and eq
    settings on the guitar. Solves that problem...
    
    
    			thanks for your reply...
    
    			b.g.

    	
    	I find it necessary to intonate with the changing seasons 
     because,  changes in the relative humidity affect the wood.
     My style of playing can also dictate frequency of adjustment.
     I pick hard and do alot of note bending,(both finger style and
     whammy) neck bending and, anything else to urge a sound out
     of the thing.
                               Dennis
         
    
    

    My Guild Acoustic has no intonation settings, but usually sounds
    right on anyways, so it's not a big problem with this guitar.
    I believe the angle on the bone bridge is what determines the
    intonation, so if an acoustic is out, there is a slight adjustment
    that can be made. I guess I should specify that mine is non/electric
    and has a fixed bridge. Acoustics with a Bridge pickup (like Ovations)
    have adjustable saddles for each string, and should be checked each
    time you change string, but probably don't require adjustments very
    often.
    
    My Gibson ES345 is always right on. Never have to touch it, since
    I always use GHS boomers (.010) on it. I have an electronic tuner
    and check it occasionally, but it's always right on. Occasionally,
    I pull the entire guitar apart to clean it. Inadvertently, the 
    bridge height adjustment thumbscrews get turned, and the action
    and intonation has to be set up all over again. Once in a while
    I like to give it the old Tres Amigo treatment, and spend an entire
    evening, cleaning, waxing, polishing brass, and etc. Usually I will
    use a precision scale (small ruler ticked off in 64ths of an inch)
    to set the height where I like it. What I do is measure the height
    of the high and low E strings before I start to pull it apart, and
    remember them. Then when I get done, I set the height to that setting.
    The intonation ends up pretty close but never exactly right on,
    so if I have to I make slight adjustments.
                                                        
    I also have a Telecaster, which I am constantly pulling apart and
    playing around with. I have had the neck off this guitar numerous
    times, and recently have been playing around with shimming the neck
    to correct for an adjustment problem (see "Shimming Tele neck" note).
    For this reason I have to reset intonation often. Eventually, I
    will get this guitar exactly the way I want it, and then I won't
    have to mess with it much any more. I recently replaced the stock pickups
    with Seymour Duncan Quarter Pounders, so I find it's plenty ballsy with
    .010 gauge strings on it. I am planning to replace the stock Fender
    tuners with a set of Black Sperzel locking tuners. This is the only
    set of precision tuners that I have found that you can put on a
    guitar without having to drill new holes in the headstock. This
    guitar is finished in a light natural wood grain, with a black anodized
    alum. jack plate, and Black Pickup bobins, so the black tuning heads
    should accent the look quite nicely.
    
    While we are on the subject of guitar repair and adjustments, I
    have always wanted to own one of those padded guitar workbench jigs
    that you see in repair shops all the time. I am sure I could build
    something out of wood, and pad it with vinyl or something, but
    I wonder if you can buy them. The ones that I have seen have been
    made for pretty much standard shaped guitars, and don't appear that
    they would accomidate an axe with a really radical shape like a
    flying V or similar. Lucky for me my guitars are all plain and boring.
    Bill Buckley, what do you do, when you want to work on your guitars?
    Do you put them up on jackstands or what? (Just kidding!!!)
    
    
    						Mark Jacques
    
    
    
    
    
    
    

    I THINK AFTER READING A FEW OF THESE REPLIES THAT THE TERM INTONATION
    SHOULD BE DEFINED, INTONATION REFERS TO THE DISTANCE FROM THE NUT
    TO THE 12TH FRET AND THE 12TH FRET TO THE BRIDGE, THIS DISTANCE
    SHOULD BE THE SAME AND IS A CRITICAL MEASUREMENT.  IF THIS DOES
    NOT HOLD TRUE POSITIONS BEYOND THE 12TH FRET WILL BE OUT OF TUNE.
    
    THEN OF COARSE YOUR SKILL AND EAR FOR MUSIC HAS A GREAT DEAL TO
    DO WITH WHETHER OR NOT YOU NOW IF YOUR AXE HAS AN INTONATION 
    PROBLEM, MOST GUITARS AND BASSES CAN BE INTONATED USING SOME TYPE
    OF GUITAR TUNER USING THE OPEN STRING 12TH FRET HARMONIC METHOD,
    HOWEVER, IF YOU ARE PICKY ABOUT THE PLAYABILITY AND SOUND OF YOUR
    AXE THE ONLY PRECISE WAY OF DOING IT IS WITH A STROBE TUNER, IF
    YOU DONT KNOW ANYONE WHO HAS ONE, MOST REPUTABLE GUITAR SHOPS WILL
    SET YOUR INTONATION CORRECTLY FOR ABOUT $10.
    
                              HOPE I'VE CLEARED UP A FEW THINGS,
           
                              DAN . . .
                                       

    re: .6
    
    To be a little more precise, intonation refers to whether notes
    are played in tune.  Intonation is affected by the location of the
    bridge saddle (where the string breaks over the bridge).  In a simple
    theoretical model, the distance from the 12th fret to the break
    point should be equal to the distance from the nut to the 12th fret,
    but in real life, its a little greater - especially for fatter strings.
    
    Bob