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→Intonation
== Intonation ==
Intonation is basically how in tune the guitar is at different frets and strings. If a guitar is intonated poorly, it will '''sound out of tune ''' when playing notes higher on the fretboard. Chords will be notably dissonant when they shouldn't be.
Most people don't pay much attention to intonation, yet it is ''absolutely crucial '' to sound good, especially in a band or recording environment. It's also a fairly simple and risk-free adjustment, although it may take a little time.
The easiest way to intonate the guitar is by '''comparing the pitch of the 12th fret harmonic vs. the fretted note'''. If the fretted note is sharper than the harmonic, the string must be lengthened, which usually involves moving the individual bridge saddle away from the nut. If it is flatter, then the string must be shortened by moving the saddle closer to the nut. Be sure to re-tune the guitar after each adjustment - this is ''especially'' important with a floating bridge, where string tension affects action. Once all your strings are intonated, tune up your guitar. Youyou'll notice it will sound much better across the fretboard, especially for chords.
Note that '''intonation is also dependent on the rest of your setup''', particularly your action. If you have a high action, you have to press the string down a significant distance to fret it, which is adding tension (and possibly length) to the string. This is why it is difficult to intonate a guitar with high action. You can match the 12th harmonic to the 12th fretted note, but other spots on the fretboard may not be consistently in tune. The same principle applies to a guitar with a high nut height. You have to exert more tension on the frets close to the nut to properly fret them, causing them to be sharper than other areas of the neck.
Thus, I like to '''intonate using at least 2-3 comparisons'''. I'll start with the 12th harmonic vs 12th fret, then I'll try the 7th fret vs. 19th fret. If that's off, maybe I need to lower my action a little. Then I'll try the 2nd fret vs. 14th. If there's a discrepancy there, it tells me how much impact my nut height is having on getting a proper intonation. If I can't get all of these 3 tests perfect, I'll '''compromise ''' and get all 3 as close as possible rather than have one perfect and the other 2 way off.
Keep in mind that lower quality instruments might have issues with the nut or possibly even with the fret spacing. Unlevel frets can also throw off intonation, making it impossible to intonate. Technically, perfect intonation is impossible - the best you can do is a compromise to get all the notes as close to in-tune as possible.
== Pickup Height ==