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J45 Tuning


oakgrovesound

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i currently own a guitar that had the bridge placement 1/4" too close to the neck. this resulted in every note on every string pulling sharp when fretted. my techguy reslotted the bridge and moved the saddle back and now the intonation is fine. i've noticed on a lot of vintage, old and used (same word?) items that there are telltale signs of this having happened to them as well - bridge filler, outline of old bridge location, xtra wide saddles.... i dont know how it can happen to one string, though. is the string sitting too high at the nut? or at a different point on the nut? i would imagine someone else will weigh in on that. ksd perhaps?

btw...the B sharps. wasn't that homer simpson's barbershop quartet? i digress, sorry!

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well, HOW to repair would depend on the individual guitar. you might need a new nut. he may just be able to file it. the filling/refiling works, but isn't really best.

 

think of it like this. normally, when you set intonation you are assuming the open string is correct in relation to the frets. so, if it's off you move the bridge... closer if the 12th fret is flat, further back if the 12th fret is sharp. if you have to work on the other end, then it's similar. one way is to tune the guitar and adjust the bridge so that every fretted note is good to each other. then, if the open string is sharp in relation you need to move the string's takeoff point from the nut further from the bridge or the other way if it is flat. now, in reality the orientation that direction isn't the sole problem. generally, it's the slot being too low or too high. so, fixing the problem at the nut end is generally a bit more complicated.

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Sometimes all that is wrong is that the slot has worn on the very edge and eventually the "break point" (the very point where the string loses contact with the nut slot) is eroded back just a tiny bit. Therefore the 'zero fret' point is off and any notes fretted will in fact be sharp. I usually assess these with a 10x loupe. I look under the string at the nut slot to look for any space there. I will also fret the string to see if there is excess movement there. Finally (and probably the most telling) is removing the string from the slot and closely looking at the slot to see where the string has been contacting, usually shown by a shiny spot. If that spot isn't right on the edge I will dress the slot.

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