Tips for Intonating A Rickenbacker
Moderator: jingle_jangle
Tips for Intonating A Rickenbacker
Mark: I would be interested in your comments with regard to intonating an instrument. I typically see a need to make adjustments in the spring and again in the fall or early winter or in those occasions in which I change the gauge of the strings that I am using.
Life, as with music, often requires one to let go of the melody and listen to the rhythm
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The WHOLE issue of correct intonation is first centered around the setup of the instrument.
all of the set up adjustments must be checked and after ALL of them okayed ,then the intonation can be set/adjusted.
If you blindly adjust intonation without the check list for set up .....start over.
In the fall and the spring the world (for the most part) goes through the largest changes in temperature and humidity .
I will assume that everyone has found the brand and gauge of string that is to their liking .This does not apply to those still on the search of the ultimate gauge and string brand.
Lets assume that you like a .010 to .046 gauge by the Phnortner String company(this is 100% fictitious)
That being the case new strings are in order to set your intonation ,so get one set of them.
Restring and then check your truss rod(s).Make any adjustment that needs to be done.Now you will need a STROBE TUNER.
The small quartz tuners are not accurate enough for this task.
The Strobe can 'see' the open ,the 12th fret and see how many cents off the note is.A cent is one hundredth of a note.
If you strobe using worn strings then the next time you change strings you will be out of tune.
To check this ,roll over the wound strings .Check for a depression in the windings.If this exists ,then your intonation CAN NOT BE SET! The scale length will be off by how ever much the string is worn and where it 'leaves' the fret when fretted.
Also if you have an iron fisted left hand technique you must also have the guitar intonated that way.(MY 2 cents on this....lighten up on your touch! All the great players have a really light touch.The bashers aren't so concerned.I'm not knocking their style ,but if you want to emulate the bashers,then don't pay any attention to my advice.
For all your players who want to get the most out of your instrument,heed my advice.
In spring and fall the neck can move the greatest amount.After you adjust this then the stobing can begin.
Also the wear and tear on the frets must be taken into account.If they are not level and crowned then this is a waste of time.
The placement of the frets is critical to playing in tune and the condition is also critical.
When I get older instruments in the shop that players say were perfect until they woke up this morning ,I realize they just noticed how bad the instrument really was.They usually are shocked that their frets are worn and the truss rod needs adjuting.I refuse to only strobe tune guitars when all of these factors are not taken care of.
This holds true for electrics,acoustics ,basses and mandolins.
If you change brands of strings and gauges you change the tension of the neck ,and depending on how the nut and/or saddles were notched (with a V file or a round edged file) this will change how the string rides in the slot.
A 'V' file will always find the string seeking the bottom of the 'V' slot and the round edged file cut will ALWAYS have the same bottom.Even with a different size string.This is why I stopped using 'V' files to cut nuts and saddle slots.
all of the set up adjustments must be checked and after ALL of them okayed ,then the intonation can be set/adjusted.
If you blindly adjust intonation without the check list for set up .....start over.
In the fall and the spring the world (for the most part) goes through the largest changes in temperature and humidity .
I will assume that everyone has found the brand and gauge of string that is to their liking .This does not apply to those still on the search of the ultimate gauge and string brand.
Lets assume that you like a .010 to .046 gauge by the Phnortner String company(this is 100% fictitious)
That being the case new strings are in order to set your intonation ,so get one set of them.
Restring and then check your truss rod(s).Make any adjustment that needs to be done.Now you will need a STROBE TUNER.
The small quartz tuners are not accurate enough for this task.
The Strobe can 'see' the open ,the 12th fret and see how many cents off the note is.A cent is one hundredth of a note.
If you strobe using worn strings then the next time you change strings you will be out of tune.
To check this ,roll over the wound strings .Check for a depression in the windings.If this exists ,then your intonation CAN NOT BE SET! The scale length will be off by how ever much the string is worn and where it 'leaves' the fret when fretted.
Also if you have an iron fisted left hand technique you must also have the guitar intonated that way.(MY 2 cents on this....lighten up on your touch! All the great players have a really light touch.The bashers aren't so concerned.I'm not knocking their style ,but if you want to emulate the bashers,then don't pay any attention to my advice.
For all your players who want to get the most out of your instrument,heed my advice.
In spring and fall the neck can move the greatest amount.After you adjust this then the stobing can begin.
Also the wear and tear on the frets must be taken into account.If they are not level and crowned then this is a waste of time.
The placement of the frets is critical to playing in tune and the condition is also critical.
When I get older instruments in the shop that players say were perfect until they woke up this morning ,I realize they just noticed how bad the instrument really was.They usually are shocked that their frets are worn and the truss rod needs adjuting.I refuse to only strobe tune guitars when all of these factors are not taken care of.
This holds true for electrics,acoustics ,basses and mandolins.
If you change brands of strings and gauges you change the tension of the neck ,and depending on how the nut and/or saddles were notched (with a V file or a round edged file) this will change how the string rides in the slot.
A 'V' file will always find the string seeking the bottom of the 'V' slot and the round edged file cut will ALWAYS have the same bottom.Even with a different size string.This is why I stopped using 'V' files to cut nuts and saddle slots.
So you too want yours "ALAPWOB"?!?!