Our first task is to explain what intonation is, which does involve understanding the concept of scale length and how guitar fretboards work. James skillfully and expertly guides us through these concepts to give a complete understanding of exactly what intonation is.
Intonation is basically scale length compensation. The guitar is an unevenly tuned instrument (unlike a piano for example which is perfect) which means that as you play across the fretboard some notes are slightly flat and some are slightly flat. To adjust this, and get the whole guitar as in tune as possible, we adjust the saddles on the bridge which shortens or lengthen the scale length (length of the string from the nut to the bridge).
In terms of when you should adjust the intonation, it is very much the last thing you do in your set up. It is the only process that won't have a knock on effect, and therefore we do it last. Once your neck relief and action is sorted, only then do you adjust the intonation.
Ready to move on? Remember to check out every lesson in this unit first – then try the next unit...
Adjusting Intonation on a Strat
In our first demonstration we show you how to adjust intonation on a Fender style bridge. The process doesn't require any fancy tools, just a tuner and a small screwdriver. You can easily do this at home to your own guitars.