I have a Tusq compensated bridge in my dreadnought. Some of my strings are still sharp even when the bridge can't go any further back. How do you fix that?
Just started learning guitar a couple weeks ago and my instructor suggested I get my guitar set up (after I mentioned it's been sitting in its case for 10 years barely used). I wanted to know what was involved in the process before I take it in and this has been very informative.
I've got a Cordoba Mini M nylon stringed guitar, tuned A to A, with a 20 1/8 scale. The 3mm (<1/8) saddle is not compensated and not angled. The intonation is crappy, goes flat well before the 12th fret. My question(s) : 1) Does the short scale make it difficult to mitigate the intonation ? 2) Should I expect to need to make a wider >3mm (>1/8") saddle so I may shorten the scale on the flat strings ?
Hello there, for my D18 (2021) I use 13 gauge. Now I mostly play with fingers including the strumming. What in your opinion should be the numbers at the 12th fret. Note: I often downtune ½ or 1 step. Thank you.
I would suggest a few things before doing this that you didn't touch on. #1 if the neck is bent, that greatly impacts the intonation. Set the neck relief first always. You can't undo a change to the saddle #2 wrong string diameter will change the intonation. Intonation is determined by the mid-point of the string under set tension center point. If someone puts a thinner string than designed for, there is less tension thus flat intonation. #3 bad strings will have bends, fatigue and rust all which impact the vibration energy and produce incorrect tones. Never mess with any adjustment without first having the correct sized set of new strings installed first. #4 are the strings contacting the saddle in the right place? I've seen it multiple times where the slots were cut incorrectly and the string is out of position. #5 check that the frets are in good shape. A poorly dressed fret will not produce the correct note. #6 is the saddle height set correctly? Height at the saddle and nut play a huge part in how the fretted note will sound. Incorrect height makes the notes sharper.
Thank you so much. I have my acoustic on the bench right now and I have experience with my two electrics-1 Floyd Rose and 1 single locking floating trem-but this will be a new experience.
Read this to better understand If your guitar is perfectly in tune, but plays off on 12th string, you have bad intonation, which means, the notes that you play, sound bad. 12th fret is the same notes as open strings, just octive higher, so when you play open string perfectly in tune, the same note is supposed to be played perfectly in tune on 12 fret.. If your 12th fret is high pitched, you need to lenghten the string, which means, filing off little bit of saddle, so you bassicly put more lenght in the string, tune it again, and the pitch on 12th fret should be lower. If your 12th fret plays flat, you need to shorten the string, which means, you need to add to saddle, which is the worse case, in that case, get a new, higher saddle, or just put the guitar to someone, who does repairs on this kind of stuff. Hope this helped
Isn't this guy Dan Erlwine? I thought I recognized him. He's a well-respected guitar tech and has worked on many great players' guitars. He's got years of experience coming up with tips and tricks for everything you can think of. I think he just might know what he is doing when he raises the bridge under tension. From what I've heard, that is only an issue with shitty hardware floyd copies or low-end floyds.
There are some really big egos here criticizing one of the best luthiers in the world. He's Dan Erlewine...have some respect and at least google him before posting "he's doing that wrong". The man can create a guitar from scratch and the majority here can't even intonate properly.
Nice informative video. If a string sounds higher on 12th then we need to increase the length. I will appreciate if you kindly elaborate which part of the saddle to be filed to increase the length, if it is sounding higher on 12th fret, I mean is it the front part or the back part towards the pin, needs to be filed? I will appreciate if you reply and help. Thank you
I'm so sick of every damned instructional video doing things when the camera is 100ft away and the instructor says "There we are". In an age of GoPro and everyone having home video equipment, can't the camera zoom in on what the hell the instructor is doing, instead of a "And there we are." And the camera is on the other side of the room giving a beautiful panoramic view of all the guitars on the wall. This is the 4th instructional video I've been to that socks. And I used to make a very good living training physicians on new medical devices. I know how to teach. This guy, like many, is simply talking to himself as he works on his guitar. That's not teaching. BAD JOB
@@riffsthatkill2180 fair enough but bad advice for people with crappy hardware. He could of at least mentioned it, would of took what 2 seconds. I'd still be be loosening off the tension with expensive hardware as I wouldn't want to risk totalling my expensive hardware. Unless someone can prove its absolutely fine on higher end bridges
@@christiankelly1981 As long as you don't raise and lower your bridge all day long you should be fine doing it under string tension. The blade is pretty sturdy and it has to be be design to withstand all the whammy bar torture it's gonna see in it's lifetime. I think it's a bit of a myth that you have to take off the string tension each and every time. It sure doesn't hurt to do so though if you are afraid :)
@@christiankelly1981 I was wondering the same. Can you press on the whammy to achieve the same thing if the strings are under tension? And how loose should the strings be while raising those 2 screws?
He doesnt even explain where to set the saddles 5:20. He just says "ill set the rest of them to a certain look that i know in my mind". How does that help?
Well done!
What about the nut and the first fret after the 12th fret is made right? I slot each string to give me proper intonation at the first fret!
You are the Yoda of Luthiers. Thx
I have a Tusq compensated bridge in my dreadnought. Some of my strings are still sharp even when the bridge can't go any further back. How do you fix that?
Definitely worth a like and a subscribe!
something i've been experimenting with and have had good luck with is using an ebow when I intonate to keep the string from detuning due to attack
the best
Great video, thanks for sharing!
Bob Ross of the guitarworld.
But your not explaining anything.
Now I need a cheap acoustic that I can ruin while trying this.
Loosened the strings in like 1/64th of a second.
Sitarring is such an excellent word for that phenomenon
I have no idea what's going on with that tuner.
look up strobe tuner
@@everbetter8590 Yes, it's a strobe tuner, but it's not picking up the notes very well.
Just started learning guitar a couple weeks ago and my instructor suggested I get my guitar set up (after I mentioned it's been sitting in its case for 10 years barely used). I wanted to know what was involved in the process before I take it in and this has been very informative.
Thx a lot
I've got a Cordoba Mini M nylon stringed guitar, tuned A to A, with a 20 1/8 scale. The 3mm (<1/8) saddle is not compensated and not angled. The intonation is crappy, goes flat well before the 12th fret. My question(s) : 1) Does the short scale make it difficult to mitigate the intonation ? 2) Should I expect to need to make a wider >3mm (>1/8") saddle so I may shorten the scale on the flat strings ?
One thing these videos fail to inform is tell you how the nut, 12th fret, saddle position is calculated. Nice job though.
Have you written a book on this yet? I'd buy it
Thank you! Great video, very well explained. You're like the Bob Ross of Luthiers.
Does Anybody Know Who He Is?His Brilliant At What He Does
Good ol' grandpa Dan Erlewine
How can you sand the compensated saddle?
This is the best tutorial I have seen on guitar setup the difference between a good and bad teacher
Hello there, for my D18 (2021) I use 13 gauge. Now I mostly play with fingers including the strumming. What in your opinion should be the numbers at the 12th fret. Note: I often downtune ½ or 1 step. Thank you.
Thanks, Awesome...
Was anyone else's life just changed when he trimmed the end of the string by just winding it a bunch?
Very professional.
I would suggest a few things before doing this that you didn't touch on. #1 if the neck is bent, that greatly impacts the intonation. Set the neck relief first always. You can't undo a change to the saddle #2 wrong string diameter will change the intonation. Intonation is determined by the mid-point of the string under set tension center point. If someone puts a thinner string than designed for, there is less tension thus flat intonation. #3 bad strings will have bends, fatigue and rust all which impact the vibration energy and produce incorrect tones. Never mess with any adjustment without first having the correct sized set of new strings installed first. #4 are the strings contacting the saddle in the right place? I've seen it multiple times where the slots were cut incorrectly and the string is out of position. #5 check that the frets are in good shape. A poorly dressed fret will not produce the correct note. #6 is the saddle height set correctly? Height at the saddle and nut play a huge part in how the fretted note will sound. Incorrect height makes the notes sharper.
Thank you so much. I have my acoustic on the bench right now and I have experience with my two electrics-1 Floyd Rose and 1 single locking floating trem-but this will be a new experience.
is the strewmac floyd rose original legit, it’s cheaper?
Read this to better understand If your guitar is perfectly in tune, but plays off on 12th string, you have bad intonation, which means, the notes that you play, sound bad. 12th fret is the same notes as open strings, just octive higher, so when you play open string perfectly in tune, the same note is supposed to be played perfectly in tune on 12 fret.. If your 12th fret is high pitched, you need to lenghten the string, which means, filing off little bit of saddle, so you bassicly put more lenght in the string, tune it again, and the pitch on 12th fret should be lower. If your 12th fret plays flat, you need to shorten the string, which means, you need to add to saddle, which is the worse case, in that case, get a new, higher saddle, or just put the guitar to someone, who does repairs on this kind of stuff. Hope this helped
Thank you. This helped me quite a bit. It's a great video, but I lack the foundational knowledge to put it in context.
What kind of bridge was the second one, never seen any Floyd Rose like that? Hmmm. 🤘🏻🎸
Great video! Can I ask how sharp the B string was? I 'd like to know how far off intonation can be before you need to get the saddle moved.
Why a tuning fork and not an digital tuner?
Isn't this guy Dan Erlwine? I thought I recognized him. He's a well-respected guitar tech and has worked on many great players' guitars. He's got years of experience coming up with tips and tricks for everything you can think of. I think he just might know what he is doing when he raises the bridge under tension. From what I've heard, that is only an issue with shitty hardware floyd copies or low-end floyds.
I've watched quite a few set up videos and this one is truly the best so far.
Hi, i would like your service for my martin acoustic guitar. Can I know your location and how I can contact you?
Sie Wissen schon das die Leere A Saite 110 Hz hat und nicht 440 Hz? 440 Hz hat z.B. Die Dünne E-Saite 5. Bund!! Das ist a der 2gestrichenen Oktave
I just fired my luthier
3/32s = 2.38mm
If you play guitar but don't know how to change a string properly then you are a disgrace to the guitar world and don't know how to play guitar.
THIS IS WHAT A GREAT TEACHER SOUNDS LIKE 👍🏼
There are some really big egos here criticizing one of the best luthiers in the world. He's Dan Erlewine...have some respect and at least google him before posting "he's doing that wrong". The man can create a guitar from scratch and the majority here can't even intonate properly.
"One of the best." You've got two too many words in that. "The best." Who else could keep Trigger playing?
Nice informative video. If a string sounds higher on 12th then we need to increase the length. I will appreciate if you kindly elaborate which part of the saddle to be filed to increase the length, if it is sounding higher on 12th fret, I mean is it the front part or the back part towards the pin, needs to be filed? I will appreciate if you reply and help. Thank you
The D looks real good
I'm so sick of every damned instructional video doing things when the camera is 100ft away and the instructor says "There we are". In an age of GoPro and everyone having home video equipment, can't the camera zoom in on what the hell the instructor is doing, instead of a "And there we are." And the camera is on the other side of the room giving a beautiful panoramic view of all the guitars on the wall. This is the 4th instructional video I've been to that socks. And I used to make a very good living training physicians on new medical devices. I know how to teach. This guy, like many, is simply talking to himself as he works on his guitar. That's not teaching. BAD JOB
"I'm raising the bridge" whilst at the same time wrecking the knife edges
I think that's only an issue with really crappy hardware
@@riffsthatkill2180 fair enough but bad advice for people with crappy hardware. He could of at least mentioned it, would of took what 2 seconds. I'd still be be loosening off the tension with expensive hardware as I wouldn't want to risk totalling my expensive hardware. Unless someone can prove its absolutely fine on higher end bridges
@@christiankelly1981 As long as you don't raise and lower your bridge all day long you should be fine doing it under string tension. The blade is pretty sturdy and it has to be be design to withstand all the whammy bar torture it's gonna see in it's lifetime. I think it's a bit of a myth that you have to take off the string tension each and every time. It sure doesn't hurt to do so though if you are afraid :)
@@christiankelly1981 I was wondering the same. Can you press on the whammy to achieve the same thing if the strings are under tension? And how loose should the strings be while raising those 2 screws?
He doesnt even explain where to set the saddles 5:20. He just says "ill set the rest of them to a certain look that i know in my mind". How does that help?
literally 5 seconds after there is a photo of a guitars bridge that is intonated. use your eyes.
Ive playing for a number of years and you taught me things i did not know. I thank you for your help.
You got to wonder about intelligence of someone taking a blowtorch to a Jem