Intonation?

robgilmo

G string, Tuned perfectly open, smack on on twelfth fret, on third fret its a little sharp, whats that all about, high fret?

Bridgehouse

robgilmo said:

G string, Tuned perfectly open, smack on on twelfth fret, on third fret its a little sharp, whats that all about, high fret?

Nut slot?

ICBM

High nut.

UnclePsychosis

The classic test is to fret it at the third fret and then see how much space there is between the first fret and the string. Much more than "naff all" space and your nut is probably too high.

robgilmo

Thanks guys, Ill have a look, I noticed my open D chord wasn't sounding too cleaver and I think this is why. If I go really lightly with my fretting fingers it isn't too bad but its still there if you know what I mean.

Bridgehouse

robgilmo said:

Thanks guys, Ill have a look, I noticed my open D chord wasn't sounding too cleaver and I think this is why. If I go really lightly with my fretting fingers it isn't too bad but its still there if you know what I mean.

If it changes as you fret harder then definitely nut slot too high

Jack_

Voodoo.

robgilmo

Ive had lots of VooDoo to deal with lately, I wont dismiss it.

ICBM

Maybe it's like the nut on this (admittedly cheap) uke I just repaired…



That is not a camera trick, the end of the fingerboard really was cut at that angle!

Bridgehouse

ICBM said:

Maybe it's like the nut on this (admittedly cheap) uke I just repaired…



That is not a camera trick, the end of the fingerboard really was cut at that angle!

Started a fan-fret and gave up after the nut?

robgilmo

I hope not, the thing is its fine on the 12th fret.

ICBM

It will be, because that's adjustable. If it's fine up there and sharp near the nut, it's a near certainty that the nut is too high.

AndyR

I'd be checking the nut... but if that looks ok... it could also be a dud string.

WezV

ICBM said:

Maybe it's like the nut on this (admittedly cheap) uke I just repaired…



That is not a camera trick, the end of the fingerboard really was cut at that angle!

I didn't realise PRS had started to make Uke's  

WezV

Can't find the PRS slanted nut examples,maybe i dreamt them.  PRS have always compensated the nut by moving it slightly closer to the first fret.  This has happened on every PRS since the early 80's

I am sure I remember them going with a slanted nut at one time

I did find other examples of the purposely slanted nut:



And no, it wouldn't work on the Uke with its skinny string on the bass side

rico

It seems the g slot on one of my guitars is a bit shallow. Can I run a d string back and forth through the slot to remove a bit of material? 

robgilmo

Mine sits a little proud from the rest, not really noticeable at the nut but holding the string down in the 3rd fret I have 0.5 - 1 mm at the first, a little higher than the rest, if I press it onto the 1st fret there is a noticeable gap, I reckon it could drop a little.


Thing is these are new strings, 9s and I was thinking about trying 10's next, thicker strings wont help much will they? Would it be prudent to wait and sort this with the next string change?


How do you go about removing material from the nut anyway? Is it best left to a tech?

Bridgehouse

robgilmo said:

Mine sits a little proud from the rest, not really noticeable at the nut but holding the string down in the 3rd fret I have 0.5 - 1 mm at the first, a little higher than the rest, if I press it onto the 1st fret there is a noticeable gap, I reckon it could drop a little.


Thing is these are new strings, 9s and I was thinking about trying 10's next, thicker strings wont help much will they? Would it be prudent to wait and sort this with the next string change?


How do you go about removing material from the nut anyway? Is it best left to a tech?

If you're unsure/worried/clumsy (no offence) then book in for a setup and a decent tech will sort it quickly.

Ancient_Mariner

If you want to learn then consider ordering a set of nut files from StewMac - and a spare nut.

The cheap option is the needle files used to clear welding tips of built up material (used to be a couple of quid on ebay - I have a few at home still) but they're tricky to use and it's necessary to guesstimate size.

ICBM

robgilmo said:

Mine sits a little proud from the rest, not really noticeable at the nut but holding the string down in the 3rd fret I have 0.5 - 1 mm at the first, a little higher than the rest, if I press it onto the 1st fret there is a noticeable gap, I reckon it could drop a little.

That's way too high, especially if it's closer to 1mm than 0.5mm. It should be about a quarter of the string diameter, maximum - ie about 0.1mm or less. Any more and you're noticeably bending the string to get it down to the fret, which will pull it sharp - the G is the most affected, the same as when you intentionally play a bent note.

robgilmo

Speaking of bent notes, I have also noticed lately that trying to bend a full step isn't easy, I mean It just doesn't seem to want to go there, its as if the string is playing catch up with my fingers and as a result I over shoot the bend and end up higher than a full step, it could be down to my fingertips being soft as I haven't played an electric for years and didn't really bend strings on my acoustic, or could it be something else? Scratchy frets maybe?


I think it will have to go to a tech to have the nut done, Id probably balls it up on a first attempt at something like this.