Official Luthiers Forum!

Like most of you I angle my saddles and set them back for intonation.
When intonating each string do most of you use....

A) 12 fretted vs 12th harmonic
B) open vs 12th fretted
C) another combination of both fretted notes. 2/14 or 3/15 etc
D) something else.

I know of some pros and cons but I would like to hear it from some more
experienced luthiers.

Thanks

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Andy Z.
http://www.lazydogguitars.com

12th fretted versus harmonic. Why....its the way I was taught and it seems to work.

Andy I typically use some combo of A & B.

Also I have a jig that very precisely locates the bridge from the nut, not the 12th fret like every else. I made my jig probably 10 years ago on a cnc mill prior to SM havng the one from the 12th fret, so I didn't even think of doing it that way. I use a nut compensation of .012 and set the bridge back .150.

Light gauge strings (Daddario ), 25.4 scale, and a medium low set up and I hardly have to compensate the saddle at all, usually just cutting the B back a little.

I was too dumb to know I was actually using a compensated nut until I went to Mike Doolins talk at Healdsburg last year. Where the zero fret would be I just cut the fingerboard through there, not really giving it much thought but this actually compensates the nut by 1/2 the fret slot, which turns out to about the magic number for nut compensation.
Sometimes, all the stars just line up

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Jim Watts
http://jameswattsguitars.com

12th fretted vs. 12 harm. first.

Once that is set I always check 12 fretted against open position just as a reference check. If the open is flat in relationship to the 12 fretted I can adjust the nut.

Thanks
I thought it was Mike Doolin who said not to use 12fret/harmonic but use
some combination such as 2/14    3/15 so you are comparing fretted to
fretted. I could be wrong.

_________________
Andy Z.
http://www.lazydogguitars.com

That is a good system as well. maybe better for playing up the neck than 12th/12th harm.