Setting intonations - and Subjective Voodoo

[TBurst Std]

I’m curious if you’re just enjoying the “sweetened tuning” aspect of Peterson.  I’ve been using it for over a decade.

 

[Steve_Karl]

Hi there,
Just occasionally "enjoying" because it was a recent new discovery.
EQU is going to be my go-to for recording.

 

[Steve_Karl]

And then for manual fine tuning ...

The Guild of American Luthiers recommends this method

http://drkevguitar.com/2012/04/04/tuning-data-sheet-45/

I remember doing something very close to this back when the only thing we had was a harmonica or a tuning fork,
but my fork was an A 440 so I'd start with the A and work a very similar method.

Getting this new Peterson clip-on has been interesting and is surely good enough for on stage and recording but I'm really starting to remember that if I really want it in tune the way it sounds good to me, and for the guitar I'm using, I've got to do the final tweaks by ear.

The Guild of American Luthiers method is very close to what I'm doing for final tweaks.
It's also good to know not to trust the harmonic at the 7th fret.

I still haven't set my intonations using the 5th / 17th < or > 3rd / 15th fret method.
I've always been doing open string then 12th fret.
It'll be interesting to see how this effects the overall tuning.

 

[TBurst Std]

Myself, I have a Peterson strobo stomp for my serious work. For intonating:
I start with open and 12 and set it.
I then check harmonics at 5 and 17 noting how many cents they are off

The I set it using 5 and 17.  Then check it open and 12 and note how many cents off.

I split the difference and set it there. 

Basically I set it so it’s as far off from open/ 12 as it is 5/17.  Your normally talking 2-3 cents.

 

[Steve_Karl]

Myself, I have a Peterson strobo stomp for my serious work. For intonating:
I start with open and 12 and set it.
I then check harmonics at 5 and 17 noting how many cents they are off

The I set it using 5 and 17.  Then check it open and 12 and note how many cents off.

I split the difference and set it there. 

Basically I set it so it’s as far off from open/ 12 as it is 5/17.  Your normally talking 2-3 cents.

Sounds like a good method, but, there is no harmonic at 17th that's worth mentioning.
There's one on the 16th that's a major 3rd from the root one that's on the 5th ...
Even so, if you are using harmonics they're a division of the open string so I'm gonna guess you mean ?
Do you mean to say you check the fretted noted at 5th and 17th?
Thanks!

 

[Steve_Karl]

So I just tried the 5th / 17th method as described by the Peterson article.
https://www.petersontuners.com/beyond/?p=1163

And it helped on the Low E and A - I also took an average against the harmonic at 12th and fretted at 12th,
but it didn't work on the other strings,
so I went back to harmonic on the 12th and fretted on the 12th for D, G, B, and hi E.

With the 5th and 17th method on those top 4 strings everything at every fret was radically sharp to the open strings
and I do a lot of open ringing strings against fretted notes so back to 12th and maybe going a little flat there, as in moving the saddle
back more than the tuner wants me to.

 

[TBurst Std]

Myself, I have a Peterson strobo stomp for my serious work. For intonating:
I start with open and 12 and set it.
I then check harmonics at 5 and 17 noting how many cents they are off

The I set it using 5 and 17.  Then check it open and 12 and note how many cents off.

I split the difference and set it there. 

Basically I set it so it’s as far off from open/ 12 as it is 5/17.  Your normally talking 2-3 cents.

Sounds like a good method, but, there is no harmonic at 17th that's worth mentioning.
There's one on the 16th that's a major 3rd from the root one that's on the 5th ...
Even so, if you are using harmonics they're a division of the open string so I'm gonna guess you mean ?
Do you mean to say you check the fretted noted at 5th and 17th?
Thanks!

I should have clarified. I use fretted notes as well as harmonics for each location as possible.