Flat Topped Frets Creating Intonation Aomanlies??

[DonP]

When intonating we should use the same fretting pressure we would normally use when playing to get it right. I imagine your Peterson is like my Planet Waves, showing how much fretting pressure, or a slight sideways movement of the string affects pitch. Mine even register's the pick attack of a decent pick stroke as slightly sharper than the actual note. Cheers

Pick attack is interesting. When you pull the string sideways with the pick, you increase its tension, sending the note sharp. The average tension in the string drops away as the amplitude of movement reduces, flattening the note back to its resting frequency. The movement is quite big. So what do you tune to? The initial sharp note or the flattened tail? Depends how you play, probably. If you play fast all your music is in that first fraction of a second, so tune the attack. For more legato playing with few notes, probably better to tune the tail. But there really isn't any such animal as "tuned".

 

[ivan H]

That's a good description Don, & exactly what the tuner shows. I tune like the instructions recommend, tuning to just after the initial pick stroke sharpness, where it settles into the note. Cheers

 

[Inspector #20]

Pick attack is interesting. When you pull the string sideways with the pick, you increase its tension, sending the note sharp. The average tension in the string drops away as the amplitude of movement reduces, flattening the note back to its resting frequency. The movement is quite big. So what do you tune to? The initial sharp note or the flattened tail? Depends how you play, probably. If you play fast all your music is in that first fraction of a second, so tune the attack. For more legato playing with few notes, probably better to tune the tail. But there really isn't any such animal as "tuned".

Good point...I check the initial strike and the sustainable note both. On my Gibson SG, both moved around a lot, like i was trying to intonate a spaghetti noodle. On my Les Paul Custom, the tuner hardly moves at both positions...

 

[Inspector #20]

That's a good description Don, & exactly what the tuner shows. I tune like the instructions recommend, tuning to just after the initial pick stroke sharpness, where it settles into the note. Cheers

Exactly.

 

[flatrockmobile]

Owning 4 Gibson scale guitars, 3 Gibsons, 1 Epiphone, the one that sounds the best intonated has the flattest fret tops of all. A very close second has the shortest frets. On all of these, an "E form" barre chord can be in tune bat the B string on an "A form" barre chord will be a tad sharp. I usually intonate and tune to a compromise.
Disclaimer...the SG with the flattest fret tops also has 18:1 Grovers, so tuning in general is easier to get accurate.

 

[Inspector #20]

Owning 4 Gibson scale guitars, 3 Gibsons, 1 Epiphone, the one that sounds the best intonated has the flattest fret tops of all. A very close second has the shortest frets. On all of these, an "E form" barre chord can be in tune bat the B string on an "A form" barre chord will be a tad sharp. I usually intonate and tune to a compromise.
Disclaimer...the SG with the flattest fret tops also has 18:1 Grovers, so tuning in general is easier to get accurate.

+1 for the 18:1 tuners. I had the tint 6230 fretwire put in my Les Pauly because I tend to clamp down really hard when I get to playing live and that helps me stay in tune.

I find the SG is harder to intonate than the LP and the SG has a neck pickup wolf tone on the G string around the 15-17th frets that the LP does not have. Perhaps neck pickup placement???

I can't tell you why, but this LP is so excellent at pitch its scary. I was playing it last nigh unplugged with just my Korg Pitchblack plugged in and its on the money everywhere I play it, but my 2016 Gibson SG has a number of places where its off....