jdougan Posted May 11, 2009 Share Posted May 11, 2009 Hi folks, I've registered to these forums because of this issue, though I think I'm gona have to go find a luthier somewhere who can assess it 'in the flesh'. Think I might stick around though. Especially to get some advice on a new bass... Anyway, my E string tunes up fine when strummed open, but it become apparent that it was going out of tune higher up the fretboard. I noticed this when sliding up an octave and noticing that the notes disn't sound the same ha. I used my tuner to check and it was going more and more sharp the higher I fretted it. Even the first fret was registering as slightly sharp. The other strings are fine, so that leads me to believe that the whole neck is not warped, but I, being a bass novice am stumped as to what the problem may be. Any advice? Cheers in advance. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest MoJo Posted May 11, 2009 Share Posted May 11, 2009 (edited) Two possible reasons [list=1] [*]The intonation needs setting (most likely). If the string is going sharp as you play higher up the neck, the overall string length needs to be increased by adjusting the position of the saddle [*]The action is quite high. A high action results in a slight stretching of the string as you fret, causing it to go sharp [/list] Worth checking both Edited May 11, 2009 by bassman2790 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jdougan Posted May 11, 2009 Author Share Posted May 11, 2009 [quote name='bassman2790' post='485470' date='May 11 2009, 11:05 PM']Two possible reasons [list=1] [*]The intonation needs setting (most likely) [*]The action is quite high [/list] Worth checking both[/quote] errr being a novice and all... how would i go about changing the the intonation? and wouldn't the action affect all the strings? and could i change it anyway? sorry to be a dunce. cheers for the help. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest MoJo Posted May 11, 2009 Share Posted May 11, 2009 [quote name='jdougan' post='485472' date='May 12 2009, 12:07 AM']errr being a novice and all... how would i go about changing the the intonation? and wouldn't the action affect all the strings? and could i change it anyway? sorry to be a dunce. cheers for the help.[/quote] You will need a good tuner. Tune the open string as normal, then check it at the 19th fret. If it's sharp, you need to move the saddle that the string sits on back by adjusting the screw that holds it in position. Once you have moved the saddle, check the tuning of the open string again and then at the 19th fret once more. Repeat this until the tuning is in on both the open string and at the 19th fret. Do this for all your strings and you're good to go Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr. Foxen Posted May 11, 2009 Share Posted May 11, 2009 generally there is a screw next to the ball end of the string that moves the saddle back when you tighten it. Depends on what sort of bridge you have. Basically you want to lengthen the string to compensate, till the high notes are in tune. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hamster Posted May 11, 2009 Share Posted May 11, 2009 Theres a step by step guide here - [url="http://www.tunemybass.com/bass_setup/setting_bass_intonation.html"]http://www.tunemybass.com/bass_setup/setti...intonation.html[/url] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jdougan Posted May 12, 2009 Author Share Posted May 12, 2009 [quote name='Hamster' post='485484' date='May 11 2009, 11:15 PM']Theres a step by step guide here - [url="http://www.tunemybass.com/bass_setup/setting_bass_intonation.html"]http://www.tunemybass.com/bass_setup/setti...intonation.html[/url][/quote] Perfect. Cheers guys, did not imagine I was two minutes and one screwdriver away from having a usable bass again! Problem Solved. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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