Re: Phiew.... guitar intonation - hard work!

[van Sinn <vansinn@post.cybercity.dk>]

Per Boysen wrote:
> I had my daily share of frustration today when fine tuning the string
> length intonation on my fretted drop-B guitar. With the thicker
> strings it seems the stings need to be just a little bit longer. Five
> strings are good now, but for the G string (or D as this instrument is
> tuned) the mounting of the stratocaster style bridge/tailpiece/whammy
> does not allow the sting length needed for correct intonation. What a
> disaster! I need to look for a smaller string slider block (or
> whatever you call them...) to get the extra need millimeter string
> length. Boy, do I enjoy the sweet relief of plugging in my fretless
> for while after two hours of desperate intonation work!
> 
> Is this "a known fact" that thicker strings need to be longer? The
> action and string pull is the same as before - but the intonation is
> just a different universe compare to the previous normal tuning.
> 
> Greetings from Sweden
> 
> Per Boysen
> www.boysen.se
> www.perboysen.com


Oh yeah, just search for intonation on sevenstring.org ;)
This is why many opt for 27" and beyond when downtuning: Longer scale 
means more tension, so thinner strings can be used, resulting in better 
intonation and a crisper tone with more piano-like attack.

It gets even more interesting with 8-stringers and beyond :D
Then the problem with too thin upper strings pops up.
The natural cure is to use multi/compound scale AKA fanned frets, which 
of course doesn't help anything on your Strat..

-- 
rgds,
van Sinn