Original Articles

The method for adjusting intonation on electric guitars is fairly simple so long as you follow the correct procedure. In the case of acoustic guitars getting the intonation correct is a little trickier.

 Once you have established that the intonation needs to be corrected you will need to adjust the bridge of your guitar. The only thing you can do with acoustic guitar set up is change the action until the intonation is as near as possible. You do this by increasing and decreasing the bridge height. This has to be done by experimentation. In the case of electric guitar set up you will need to change the position of the string saddles using a screw driver or hex spanner. The screws you need to turn are the ones that move the string saddle position either towards the neck or away from it. Always make sure that the action of your guitar is set correctly before you make changes to the intonation. If you do it the other way round you will have to repeat the intonation changes. Always make sure you adjust the intonation using new strings.
 
The easiest way to set the intonation of your electric guitar is to use an electronic tuner. However, if your sense of pitch is good then you can of course do the adjustments by ear alone. The basic technique is to take each string in turn and adjust it until the intonation is correct. You will need a screwdriver to adjust Gibson style saddles and a small hex key for fender style guitars. In both cases make sure that the correct size and style of tool is used as the screw heads can easily be damaged. 
 
Start with the bass E string and work across to the high E string. The first thing to do is to tune the string up accurately. You should then play the harmonic note at the 12th fret. This should be the same note as the open string but an octave higher. If it is not then you will have to tune the string again. Once this is correct, you need to play the actual note at the 12th fret. Make sure that you fret carefully. Don’t fret too hard or bend the string up or down as this will change the note slightly making the intonation judgment difficult. Light, even pressure is needed when fretting the string. The harmonic note and actual note at the 12th fret should be exactly the same.

For the E string they should both be accurate E notes. If the intonation on that string is out, you need to use the screw driver or hex key to move the string saddle one way or the other. Move it just a little way and then check the harmonic and 12th fret note again. You will have to re tune the string to do this. You should notice that the 2 notes will have either moved closer to each other or have gone more out of tune. If they are nearer to being in tune then you are screwing the saddle screw the correct way. If the notes are further out of tune than before then you are turning the screw the wrong way. You need to start turning the screw in the opposite direction.

You should therefore continue to turn the screw a little at a time in the correct direction and check the two notes each time until they are identical tuning. The intonation of that string is therefore set and you can move on to the next string which is the A string. You should repeat the procedure until the intonation of each string is set. At the end, you can have a quick check through all of the strings to make sure that they are all still set correctly.