uncle psychosis Posted January 14, 2013 Share Posted January 14, 2013 Hi guys I recently changed stings---went from .45 rounds to 0.40 flats---and now I'm fairly sure that my intonation is out: I think all of the strings are sharp roughly the same amount at the 12th fret. 1. Changing gauge is liable to change the intonation, right? 2. Should I adjust each saddle or would tweaking the truss rod be sensible? 3. How accurate a tuner do you need to do this "properly"? I've got a Korg Pitchblack... Yours technically-incompetently, etc etc Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
~tl Posted January 15, 2013 Share Posted January 15, 2013 1. Changing the strings in general is likely to change the intonation slightly as the bridge saddles can move about. I check/adjust the intonation every time I change strings! 2. That depends. Normally you should adjust with the saddles, but since you've changed string gauge the neck may have moved slightly. If the neck relief is still OK, I would just adjust the saddles. Otherwise tweak the truss rod until the relief is good and then correct the intonation and string height with the saddles. 3. The more accurate the better, obviously, but a Korg Pitchblack should be OK. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EssentialTension Posted January 15, 2013 Share Posted January 15, 2013 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cIzV9462xeE Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EssentialTension Posted January 15, 2013 Share Posted January 15, 2013 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D4MdWzN_100 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
uncle psychosis Posted January 15, 2013 Author Share Posted January 15, 2013 Thanks guys The Lakland videos were really helpful---just followed through them and used the Yamaha Bass Guitar Manual as a starting point for the string heights etc. Was able to lower my action quite a lot without getting string buzz and make the intonation better (its not perfect, but I think its as good as I'll get without a better tuner). Its definitely better than it was. I guess moving to a much warmer house and changing strings had a much larger effect than I'd anticipated! Cheers Sam Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lettsguitars Posted January 15, 2013 Share Posted January 15, 2013 Just for the record. Heat has very little effect on wood. Moisture, or lack of, is our enemy. The house having a different humidity is the problem. Strings will change things for sure and everyone should have the balls to adjust their truss rods. It's a very simple affair. Use the rod to adjust action when necessary. A dead flat neck is not always best either. A little relief is fine. String height should increase gradually up to the 12th fret and the level out all the way up to the end of the board. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigRedX Posted January 15, 2013 Share Posted January 15, 2013 Every change of strings should be followed by a check of the intonation, either due to manufacturing tolerances of the strings or simply because the saddles have moved during the process. That's irrespective of whether the new set of strings are the same brand and gauge to the old ones. You might well need to adjust the truss rod if the new strings are a different tension to the old ones, but this won't fix the intonation, just the relief. You might want to wait a day or two for the neck to settle to the new string tension first. Adjustments in order: 1. Check the relief. Adjust the truss rod as required 2. Check the action. Adjust the height of the bridge saddles as required. 3. Check the intonation. Adjust the saddles to make the 12th fret and it's harmonic the same. The first two adjustments will affect intonation, but are not fixes for it. That is why the saddle position for intonation is always done last. If the intonation is a long way out you may have to do more height adjustments to the saddle to compensate for the amount you moved it forwards or backwards. Finally your Korg tuner should be accurate enough for this purpose. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EssentialTension Posted January 15, 2013 Share Posted January 15, 2013 This one might come in handy too: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k8qFpcsg-0A Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bret Posted February 27, 2013 Share Posted February 27, 2013 [quote name='lettsguitars' timestamp='1358251900' post='1935484'] Strings will change things for sure and everyone should have the balls to adjust their truss rods. It's a very simple affair.[/quote] After putting heavy guage strings on my new bass I finally worked up the balls to do it myself. It was super easy just intimidating. Now that I know I can do (like everything in life) it's not an issue. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gjones Posted February 27, 2013 Share Posted February 27, 2013 (edited) [quote name='uncle psychosis' timestamp='1358206729' post='1935037'] Hi guys I recently changed stings---went from .45 rounds to 0.40 flats---and now I'm fairly sure that my intonation is out: I think all of the strings are sharp roughly the same amount at the 12th fret. 1. Changing gauge is liable to change the intonation, right? 2. Should I adjust each saddle or would tweaking the truss rod be sensible? 3. How accurate a tuner do you need to do this "properly"? I've got a Korg Pitchblack... Yours technically-incompetently, etc etc [/quote] Take it back to Tesco and DEMAND a refund! Edited February 27, 2013 by gjones Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
uncle psychosis Posted February 27, 2013 Author Share Posted February 27, 2013 [quote name='gjones' timestamp='1361989426' post='1994136'] Take it back to Tesco and DEMAND a refund! [/quote] erm...ok? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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