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Post subject: Tuning Woes
Posted: Mon Mar 02, 2015 9:20 am
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Hello, in short, if i tune the G string to sound nice in a C chord then it sounds awful in an E chord and vice versa. i've re-strunbg it and blocked off the tremolo to create a hardtail a'la Clapton. the intonation has been set by a local music shop but it sounds sounds off. i don't know what else to do and it's driving me betty. help!


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Post subject: Re: Tuning Woes
Posted: Mon Mar 02, 2015 10:12 am
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These are just a few thoughts (in no particular order):

Note that blocking the tremolo is irrelevant.

Obviously, your intonation is still off. It could be any one or combo of the following:
- The G bridge (saddle) still isn't right.
- The G nut slot is too high.
- Pickup(s) too close to the strings.
- Warped neck.
- Uneven wear on the first few frets.
- Playing technique issue(s) (absolutely no offense intended).

Of course, there are still more possibilities but somewhere within the above is usually the culprit(s).

Next time, before you leave your guitar shop, play the guitar first.

Rob Adkins wrote:
Hello, in short, if i tune the G string to sound nice in a C chord then it sounds awful in an E chord and vice-versa. I've re-strung it and blocked off the tremolo to create a hardtail a'la Clapton. the intonation has been set by a local music shop but it sounds sounds off. i don't know what else to do and it's driving me batty. Help!

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Post subject: Re: Tuning Woes
Posted: Mon Mar 02, 2015 11:13 am
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Martian, i did smooth/polish the frets all over the neck with a scotchbrite pad and added new string trees on the headstock. would these things affect intonation as well?


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Post subject: Re: Tuning Woes
Posted: Mon Mar 02, 2015 11:15 am
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Martian wrote:
- The G nut slot is too high.

I'd start with this one - although any (in worst cases, all) of the above may be the cause.

Plays fine open , out of tune when fretted on the lowest frets - probably plays better in tune when you go upper on the neck..?


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Post subject: Re: Tuning Woes
Posted: Mon Mar 02, 2015 11:23 am
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Rob Adkins wrote:
Martian, i did smooth/polish the frets all over the neck with a scotchbrite pad and added new string trees on the headstock. would these things affect intonation as well?


Your fret dressing system does not verify the comparative evenness of the frets. The scotchbrite MAY exacerbate a problem, maybe not. As always, it's hard to diagnose the problem without a hands-on inspection.

Although the string trees are beyond the nut, they do play a role in how the strings seat themselves in their respective nut slots (for better or for worse).

So in a direct answer to your question, yes on both accounts.

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Post subject: Re: Tuning Woes
Posted: Mon Mar 02, 2015 11:41 am
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I surely can appreciate your exasperation. I didn't want to mention this before but the more I think about it, the more I really should: Whoever worked on your guitar should have caught this and should have NEVER told you it was finished. This is why I say to ALL, give your instruments a test run AT the shop before you leave. This is important beyond just verifying that the initial problem(s) was/were corrected. It also serves to verify that no new problem(s) has/have popped up while the instrument was in the shop's possession and it being declared completed.

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