Tuning driving me crazy

[andy_hamilton]

Hi all,

Finished my XB1 build, looking sharp and cool, however ive come across a problem
when its tuned to a digital tuner perfectly, b and top e are out of tune on chords.
im hoping its something simple, i trust some of you will probably know what this is already

Hope you can help

Cheers

Andy

[jugglindan]

You should wait for someone with more experience to answer, but my suspicion would be that the action or the nut slots are too high, causing the strings to go sharp as you fret them.

But don't start filing the nut just yet. I haven't reached that stage on my build yet and don't have solid experience. It's just a hunch.

Sent from my moto g(7) using Tapatalk

[Sonic Mountain]

Have you set the intonation? Ie if you open tune the B and E and then fret them at the 12th do you still get B and E (within a couple of cents is acceptable, closer the better)?

If that's correct it's almost certainly what Dan said, the action is probably a bit high and you are pulling them sharp when fretting.

Correct setup takes a while to dial in. I always ball park it and then creep up on the final setup using small adjustments, normally a bit of nut filing is the last thing I do after I'm sure the truss rod is holding adjustment and everything else is as close as possible.

[andy_hamilton]

Hi ill do this tonight, most likely fix the problem, would you unscrew them first then start?

Thanks for the help

[Sonic Mountain]

Not sure I understand? To adjust your intonation you should release a bit of tension on the string, move the saddle, then re tune the string. Just move the saddle a little bit at a time. If the string is sharp when you fret at the 12th, then it's too short and you need to move the saddle backward to increase it's length slightly.

Adjusting the nut is a bit more finicky. Unless you have some nut files or other small filing tools, the best approach is to remove the nut an have a bit of sand paper on a flat surface. Then very carefully sanding the bottom down, regularly checking it. This means having the strings sloppy enough to put the nut in and out, tune it up, check the action/playability and then repeating that process until it's right. The nut should come free with a gentle tap on the front edge (I think it's a gibson style on these kits?) Good Idea to run a blade along the back edge and side of the nut to break the finish cleanly there or it might chip.

I aim for around about .5mm for the low e and around .4mm for the high, measuring between the bottom of the string and the top of the 1st fret. Feeler gauges are good for this, but a credit card is close enough to use as a gauge and do the last little bit by feel if needed. It's best to do it a little at a time, you might not be able to get it that low without discovering other buzzing.

Dont worry too much if you muck it up. Nuts are cheap and it's one of those things you need to practice a bit.

[andy_hamilton]

Right I'm back
I've tuned again and did what you said and played 12 and all strings are way out
After adjusting the sadle ive sanded it and got it to about the right height . adjusted the sadle up and down
No difference still way out on 12
Any other ideas what may be wrong here?

Ps sanded nut down too far, just ordered a new one

Sigh ......

[Sonic Mountain]

Are you adjusting the saddles on the bridge or just adjusting the nut? Your terminology is confusing.

[andy_hamilton]

Hi again sorry new to this

So I've sanded back the nut at the top
That didn't make any difference
So I turned to the ajusting screws on the bridge
No differentt either have however noticed that the neck is sat high in its socket
I wonder if I've got that wrong
Pic attached

[JohnH]

Hey Andy,

When you say you sanded the nut at the top, do you mean the literal top of the nut (above the slots) or you sanded the slots down to be deeper than they were?

If you've just sanded the top surface you won't have done anything to adjust the intonation, as the strings will still be sitting the the nut slots at the same position they were before.

[andy_hamilton]

No I took the nutnoff and sanded the back of it down making it lower
I think im getting you now
The slots need to be sanded down further?
I've trashed this one then then.
Will have to wait for the new one

Is the neck sitting right as pictured?
Thanks again for the help