String Intonation: In tune across the neck | Guitar Tech Tips | Ep. 6 | Thomann

If you want to make sure that your guitar is in tune all over the neck, you need to check the intonation and adjust it if necessary. Here's a pretty much complete guide to help you with it.
Before you adjust the intonation on your guitar / bass, you wanna make sure it's set up properly with the string gauge and the tuning you are planning on using on the instrument.
Here are our 3 setup videos. Take a look at them before you proceed with the intonation adjustment:
Neck: • How to adjust the trus...
Nut: • How to check your guit...
Saddle height: • How to set up a guitar...
Gear used: tho.mn/8pty2
We use Triad-Orbit stands for our cameras, lights and mics: tho.mn/triad
Recorded and mixed with Universal Audio: tho.mn/xuad
Interesting bits and pieces:
0:00 Introduction
0:44 What is intonation?
1:02 How to adjust the intonation?
2:10 This is how you do it
3:07 remember: Flat - Forward
3:30 Intonation on Floyd Rose bridges
4:05 Vintage style Telecaster bridge
4:55 Compensated Tele saddles
5:27 Wraparound bridges
6:01 Evertune bridge
6:21 It's time for a test ride :)
7:15 Outtakes
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[@MyNameIsMel2007]

Your videos are very informative with very simple explanations. Awesome and thanks!

[@DCS21O562]

Thank you for a simple, concise demonstration of how to set intonation., especially for a Floyd Rose tremolo. I bought a used guitar with a Flyod Rose tremolo. Played around with the setup, then installed new strings. It sounded great, but I did not know how to do the intonation. Well I know now. A little bit of extra work required, but still easy enough and it only took a few extra minutes and it was done with correct intonation. And I like the "Flat=Forward", I will remember that.

[@byroncjohnston1]

Wonderful video. Calm to the point. not a lot of jamming.

[@Mati05jp]

Love this guy :) is like he is always Smiling !

[@ThomannsGuitarsBasses]

I'm smiling right now as I'm reading this. 😂 Cheers! //Kris

[@austinsandefer649]

Very enjoyable instruction on intonation. Thank You... 🎸 👍👍 🇺🇸.

[@martiruhay]

Thank you for this videos!

[@oldmanzen6682]

Really leaning into the Joe Miller (from The Expanse) look, aren't ya! ;) Great video as always. A perfect resource for folks wanting to setup their own guitars and basses.

[@ThomannsGuitarsBasses]

Yeah man, it's Miller time! :D Happy to hear you like the series. //cheers, Kris

[@horschy4856]

Hi Kris, great video, I always wondered what's the thing about the intonation. And such a sweet bassplaying in the test ride, what is this song called? Cheers, Max

[@b1akn3ss93]

What’s a good starting point for the screws and machine heads (say they were removed but didn’t remember how they went proper?)Half way? Fromthe loosest position?

[@gusdog436]

Great job but I still have an issue intonating the high E-string. I have a Fender American Strat. It has two bolts / screws in front of and securing the bridge. My strobe shows the high E string slightly flat and I cannot shorten the string anymore because the saddle mechanism is right up against the bridge bolt. Neck relief and string height are set to spec. Do you have a solution? Thanks.

[@trianglerecords]

IMHO Just handling with the 12th fret is not precise enough. I tune first with your method and when right I fine tune by comparing the fretted note in 19th fret with the harmonic at same place. It gives very good results both in bass and guitars.

[@stevebozkurt3478]

hi firstly thanks for video.. i have one problem example the 6th string i tune to E and when i put my finger on the 12 fret it reads D i screwed the saddle all the way forward and back trying to get the E wont work.. all 6 strings are 1 tone back.. is there another way to tighten the strings... thanks

[@dhirenjazz8100]

Great information, I'm getting problem in 6th string, I changed string but string 6th not getting intonated tuner getting fluctuated , why ????? I'm getting only problem on 6th

[@18allthaway]

Hello Kris, You should buy The Key from FU-Tone. It will save you a ton of time intonating a floating trem.

[@sabognaako363]

should i tune all strings and tune the fine tuners before doing the intonation?? ( im using floyd rose)

[@JuanG2020]

I was having a lot of trouble with the intonation. I don't have a tuner as I use Guitar Tuna, but it is quite impossible to get it to detect the 12th fret notes correctly.

[@pisiprkl7913]

Did I miss something? How about tune-o-matic bridge? Same principals apply I guess. I have a HB TE-40 and the metal bits that you can fine tune with those screws are one way around in lower strings and another way on the high ones. I´m sure it´s not window dressing, what is a point do it like that?

[@bluwng]

One thing no one mentions is string height, if the action is to high it will always read high regardless of your intonation.

[@craftswithcrow]

Omg thank you that's what's happening

[@JuanG2020]

Well that solves why I was having such a difficult time.

[@elektrar9620]

Hi Kris, what about the intonation at the 24th fret? I have just bought Music Man Majesty guitar and with the new strings I get perfect intonation at the 12th fret but at the 24th all the strings are way too sharp between 5 to 15cents depending on the string. And this is a 7000Eur guitar. On my 1000 Eur LTD I get perfect pitch at 12 and 24th fret. Is my new Majesty badly made?

[@backandfour]

What if I intonate the guitar with the open string and at the 12th fret, but the intonation is off when pressing the first frets (too sharp)? do the nut slots need to be lower? Will increasing the string gauge help to reduce the sharp notes ?

[@TitaniusAnglesmith]

To answer your second question, yes, assuming the nut is cut correctly, but if it's too high then it won't help much. You might also just be pressing to hard, I know I have a hard time with that.

[@PooNinja]

Ok now that’s done ✅ how do I make my frets True temperment? Just bashing them higher or lower with a tiny acrylic mallet has had disastrous results. Maybe I should just leave that to Anders.

[@ThomannsGuitarsBasses]

Haha! All you need is a few beers and your frets will instantly look "true temperamented". :D Jokes aside, have you played a guitar with those frets? It's a really weird and awesome experience. //cheers man, Kris

[@PooNinja]

I’ve never even seen one in person but that combined with the Strandberg neck contour seems like the next obvious evolution and guitar. Of course intuitive total manipulation computing seems like it’s just a neural net away🤖🤘🏽

[@linkinworm1]

just come across this, I've managed to do 5 out of 7 strings, but now im on my low E and B string and im pretty much out of room on the saddle to move it back anymore. any ideas on how to correct this? i've left them for now till i can work out the answer, its an ibanez RG7421

[@GuilhermeSantos2003]

how did u fix this?

[@linkinworm1]

@@GuilhermeSantos2003 never did, I think it just needs a restring and a saddle reset to set up from scratch. so im not sure how to fix it tbh

[@linkinworm1]

@@GuilhermeSantos2003 finally sorted my ibanez out, turns out that its important to set the stright height correctly in order to set the saddle depth correctly, so set stright height 1st then screw the saddles

[@andyguitar3805]

Hi Kris, does it make a difference whether you adjust the guitar horizontally or in the playing position? Btw Great video - as always!!!

[@nectarandice]

I know I'm not Kris, but I think that adjustments to the bridge wouldn't be affected by the heft of the instrument or the force of gravity in the same way that adjustments to the truss rod and tuning the strings are. So, while it's best to first tune the instrument to perfect pitch before making bridge adjustments, the fine changes made are relative to a precise scale length which shouldn't fluctuate between a playing position and a flat position. 🤷🏻‍♀️

[@andrewharacidi]

​@@nectarandice I had a Gibson SG with slim taper neck, and the difference between playing position and flat position was fairly noticable. Even string height was different. I was very surprised to see this for the first time! After that I make all the fine tuning in playing position. But this is a thin-neck mahogany guitar. Maple neck is much more stable.

[@GabrielSkolderblad]

On a guitar you should definitely tune it in playing position.

[@andyguitar3805]

@@GabrielSkolderblad Thank you for your answer!

[@countblue]

I dont know but I think you forgot to mention that between moving the bridge forward and the next test on the 12th fret you have to tune the open string again. So its: if you have to move the bridge you have to then retune the open string and only then check again the 12th fret. ;-) Amateurs might overlook that otherwise.

[@WarriorofChaos20]

What if the intonation doesn't seem to be changing as I move the saddle? It says it's flat, I adjust it, it still says it's the same level of flatness after retuning...

[@ThomannsGuitarsBasses]

Glad you wrote that you tuned the string again after the adjustment, since that's super important. So it's not that. The only explanation that makes sense is that the intonation is so off, that those slight adjustments don't really get you closer to you goal. This can have a few reasons: you are using significantly thicker strings than the regular 9's or 10's. Another possible reason for the intonation being so off is having a pretty high string action. In that case the strings have to go a long way until they touch the fret and with that the tension increases to a point, where it's a struggle to adjust the intonation with the saddles. I hope that makes sense and helps you with your guitar. Cheers //Kris

[@miguelquevedo553]

What kind of tuner can a use for intonation?

[@Cyclobomber]

Chromatic is probably the best choice, it's more precise. Plug the instrument through the jack for more accuracy and turn all pots to the max.

[@miguelquevedo553]

@@Cyclobomber thank you very much!!

[@KaiDown]

I know it makes for a great neck exercise, and it looks good on video, but the main thing I took away from this is to put the tuner in front of me. Great video though

[@ThomannsGuitarsBasses]

Haha! Fair enough. //cheers, Kris

[@brettdiaz]

You’re a mind reader. I just put a new bridge on my Les Paul and I need to set the intonation.

[@ThomannsGuitarsBasses]

Way to go man! Have fun with setting up your new baby. //cheers, Kris

[@nickchalk]

nice haircut!

[@ThomannsGuitarsBasses]

Thanks man! If you don't have a lot of hair it sort of forces you to be a little creative. And brave. Haha! //cheers, Kris

[@shagybis4958]

How to float a six saddle strat bridge like Jeff Beck

[@misanthropfi]

Jaguars are the worst to Setup. Do a vid about it

[@yetimatzenightcat8702]

Beim setip mach ich mir gar keine sorgen, ich hab hammer und säge im keller Rock on 🙃

[@andyguitar3805]

First😊🤘

[@shipsahoy1793]

For centuries, masters of stringed instruments learned how to overcome the instrument’s harmonic imperfections, and you lazy bums want intonation heaven ?! Haha, Man Up! 😮😉 Yes, why make it more difficult than it is already, so learn your instrument (and music) well !!!

[@Drtydeeds]

This is like saying you shouldn’t do maintenance on a car but rather drive it better to fix what’s broken.

[@shipsahoy1793]

@@Drtydeeds that wasn't what I was saying at all there's no way to make every interval perfect in music and you have to play along with other instruments that are constructed differently, so acoustic pianos, guitars and other intruments all have an approximate tuning, but at least on a stringed instrument like guitar you could correct the pitch with slight pitch bends, just like you can lip up on a saxophone or blow differently through a flute to get in tune, so no matter how perfect you try to make those instruments, you're still gonna have to do some pitch modification if you want to play in tune with other people; that was the point. Go read and learn about pure intervals, equal temperament, and tempered tunings, etc.

[@Drtydeeds]

@@shipsahoy1793 thanks for the soliloquy but not you’re just walking back what you said initially. You called people wanting to learn to intonate their instruments (as best as is possible) lazy bums and recommended that they “man up” instead of learn how to properly care for, maintain, and setup their instruments. And who the hell are you to tell me that I don’t already know about the imperfections of instruments as a whole.

[@shipsahoy1793]

@@Drtydeeds first of all, you don't seem to know what a facetious comment is ..second, you responded to something that was from three years ago, and third, you keep reinterpreting my statements in your own way, and you're way off base. You seem to be hyper-sensitive about instrument setup. I would never advocate that someone should play an instrument that's not set up well.