When you are satisfied with the reading, record the cents off, set the tuner cents back to zero, and then perform the same cents control process on the other test fret pitch, recording the second pitch cents off. Lastly, press the string firmly, close to the nut (to insure that the tuning will not slip during the measurements.) Then advance the cents control of the tuner, up or down, until you see the very least rotation of the strobe. Tune the first note on the guitar as well as is practical (within 6 - 8 cents). Keep in mind that, for intonation work, it is pitch differences that matter, not absolute pitch. In other words, do the final precision pitch adjustments on the tuner, not the guitar. Therefore I recommend measuring the cents-off of both notes, by adjusting the tuner cents control, and then calculating the difference, which is equal to the intonation error. The process is just a little complicated, but the extra effort will give you the most accurate results. To get the most accurate readings for Intonation work, the strategy is to tune the guitar string to within a few cents, and then use the cents adjustment on the tuner to most accurately determine the cents off of the guitar. (A reader suggested using an e-bow instead of a pick. To minimize the attack/decay disturbance, don’t pick too hard, and pick with a regular cadence, a little faster than 1 pluck per second. It's best to assume a natural playing position when testing pitch, and to try to use the same finger pressure as you (or your customer) would normally use. Depending on the tuner, you can often get faster, clearer readings by changing from chromatic mode to an instrument mode or to a particular note. I find it best to pick the string near the 12th fret. Someone who normally plays very fast may want to tune to the attack. Normally, it's best to read the tuner after the attack has died down, but not too long into decay.
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That tells you what must be done, but the detail of how to do it is follows here.īe aware that, when plucked, the pitch will momentarily go high (attack) and then die down lower (decay). In the various instructional areas of this website I simply say to measure the cents-off of two specific notes. Lubricate the slots with a tiny drop of fretboard oil (olive oil is fine - I use mineral oil) right over the string and slot.Ĭentral to nut intonation, is the ability to accurately measure the pitch error differences between two notes. Nut slots should be smooth and wide enough so that the strings don't bind. When the guitar is more perfectly intonated, it allows slight pitch changes while playing for a reasonable length of time, to still be within pleasant limits. Intonation work should be done much more accurately than daily tuning. Besides that, there may be a variation of up to a few cents from attack and decay of a plucked note. Worse than that, it is difficult to tune a guitar string even to within 1 or 2 cents. Measuring the Intonation Difference Between Two NotesĪlthough the internal accuracy of strobe and virtual strobe tuners is 1/10 cent, it is difficult to actually see the difference of a few cents by the minimal rotation on the strobe screen. Strobe tuners usually have a control to adjust pitch by cents, and that feature is needed for the most accurate intonation work.
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Electronic tuners will only give you a rough measurement of cents-off, but strobe tuners or virtual strobe tuners, including software strobe tuners, can provide much better measurements.Ī real strobe tuner has an actual rotating disk freeze-framed by flashing lights synced to the input signal pitch, whereas a virtual strobe tuner uses electronics and/or software to emulate the real strobe. Translation Notes Tuners and Tuning Musical Instrumentsįor intonation work, or even for determining the need for intonation work, it is important to be able to measure the cents-off when comparing any two notes.
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