raising or lowering strings w/ allen wrench

[rich7196]

hi all:

question? does raising or lowering the strings with allen wrench affect the intonation?

the guitar is a bluesboy with the ashtray bridge.. it has 2 screws per string.. i had some buzzing with all the humidity and i adjusted each string according to touch.. i could always go get a pro set up.. thanks for replies.. Rich

[Philby]

Hi Rich. Raising/lowering the strings should have virtually no impact on intonation. Moving the saddles backwards and forwards definitely does though.

For humidity related buzzing, subtle adjustment of the truss rod usually gives better results than raising or lowering your action. It's easier to do as well, though you might have to wait a day or so for the adjustment to settle in.

[blargfromouterspace]

Phil is right.

When you're adjusting the saddle height up be sure to loosen the string about a turn of the tuning key to prevent breaking them.

[rich7196]

got it, thank you!

[Alp]

It was my understanding that raising/lowering the string height WOULD affect intonation a little, at least in theory.
When you fret the string (12th fret) you have to stretch the string from where it sits above the fret down until it touches the fret.

If the intonation is "perfect" and you lower the string height, this distance gets shorter, so the string does not have to stretch so far. The effect should be that the fretted note (at 12th fret) will be a bit flat compared to the harmonic.
I guess the key is how much you lower the strings and if the amount you do lower (or raise) is enough for you to hear or measure.

Alp

[KenC]

I'm with Alp, but if intonation is being judged solely by the 12th fret harmonic being at the 12th fret I would also agree with Jamie and Phil. The harmonic's location shouldn't change perceptibly, but the tension on the string would be different when fretted. Of course, this will depend on how high the action is before and after the adjustment. If you're just raising the saddle a hair to get rid of a buzz, you probably wouldn't notice the difference in pitch. I set the action on my electric basses pretty high, and changes in saddle height have definitely affected the intonation.

Ken

[bassman]

Theoretically, it will always affect the intonation. It may not be enough for you to notice, but it will always change.

[JonL]

I find that changing the string height with the saddles always requires an adjustment to the intonation. A guitar that is properly intonated sounds much better than when it's off, even a little bit. I played only one guitar for most of my life... a vintage Strat I've owned since 1973. I never have to touch anything on the guitar and the action and intonation stay rock solid and the guitar hardly goes out of tune. The benefits of well-aged wood I guess. When I started getting and playing other guitars (mostly G&Ls) a couple of years ago I was surprised to find the necks moving around with the seasons. When the seasons change, I notice the action getting too high or too low. A small twist of the truss rod gets me back to normal, and very little work on the intonation is required.