intonation short question

[mike not fat]

I changed the strings on my Bongo 4, and adjusted neck and saddles height. Using a tuner, it says that the note plucked on the chords and harmonics at the 12 th fret are in tune, but it also shows that for each string, the note at the 12 th fret is a bit higher than the harmonic and the note played on the plucked chord.
Does it mean that I have to correct the intonation ? if so, can anyone telle me the basic rules of it, because I'm not used to that setting ?

I also wanted to point out, that I found heavier gauge strings (50/110) better than the stock ones(45/100) to bring the neck in the proper relief. I could really get a low action without excessive buzz or fret snap, which I couldn't really find with the 45/100.

MNF

 

[dlloyd]

I changed the strings on my Bongo 4, and adjusted neck and saddles height. Using a tuner, it says that the note plucked on the chords and harmonics at the 12 th fret are in tune, but it also shows that for each string, the note at the 12 th fret is a bit higher than the harmonic and the note played on the plucked chord.
Does it mean that I have to correct the intonation ? if so, can anyone telle me the basic rules of it, because I'm not used to that setting ?

If the fretted note at the 12th fret is higher than the harmonic, you need to move the saddle back (away from the neck). You might need to pull the string away from the saddle slightly. Tune up and repeat until satisfied.

 

[Rod Trussbroken]

Jack and Jon can tell you about the Bongo intonation. I think it's done at the 15th or 17th fret. They'll soon tell you.

Re heavier guage strings. I agree. I can get super low action with the heavier. At one time, I was using .115 for the E but settled on .110

.

 

[mike not fat]

Youou....? Can somebody give me a little help on this question ? I promise, that before I post this one, I first checked the FAQ's (nothing very precise about that) and tried the search function (with "bongo intonation" : 11 answers, but nothing that matched this question).

I'm not used to check intonation, and I would appreciate to share your experience.

Thanks in advance.

MNF

 

[Rod Trussbroken]

The subject came up in another Forum. Below is a reply from a tech who used to work at EB:

Compensating the nut takes care of the intonation toward the nut end of the instrument, and intonating the bridge takes care of the bridge end. I did a pretty thorough study, and found that intonation gets pretty screwy, the closer to the bridge that you get.

If you use the 19th fret, you should get better intonation on the high notes. Using the 19th fret has a lot more to do with the fact that it's a 24-fret instrument, than that it has a compensated nut. If you intonate using the 12th fret, you get pretty bad intonation at the 24th.

Without getting really tricky with the fretwork, it's impossible to intonate the entire instrument perfectly (and I'm not entirely sure that you'd want to). Since most people will probably be playing chords up high on the neck, it makes sense for the bass to be intonated there.

P.S. That may or may not help. I believe Jon's on leave. Jack had input into the thread I'm talking about.

He must have overlooked this current thread.

.

 

[bovinehost]

I was ASLEEP.

Even I, Lord Bongo, require a few hours a night.

And the above information from the not-asleep-on-the-bottom-of-the-earth Rod Trussbroken should answer the question in any case.

 

[SteveB]

I believe Jon's on leave.

Yes, he's in New Orleans (or "Nawlin's" as they say...)

I think he's back today (Wed) or tomorrow.

Even then, I'd give him a few days to recover from the Big Easy.

 

[mike not fat]

OK, as Jon is back and :
- rested,
- feeded,
- shaved,
- de-drunked,
- healthy (maybe wealthy)
- and FAMOUS,

I give this question a last bump, with the hope of an answer. Or I'll have to take :
- my hands,
- a screwdriver,
- a tuner,
- a brain (mine's not always working as it should)

and try to get that by myself...

MNF

 

[MingusBASS]

Whoah! Threats now!? Calm down buddy.



Andrew

 

[mike not fat]

rrrrrrrrrrr...the hypodermic chihuahua has to fear the insane angry not tuned Bongo bass player...










(holly sh**, I'm really crap ; gonna get banned of the forum)

 

[bovinehost]

Okay, everyone by now should know that my therapist has prohibited me from taking part in any discussion about set-up, but he's passed out drunk in the back yard so let's see what's going on here.

"I changed the strings on my Bongo 4, and adjusted neck and saddles height. Using a tuner, it says that the note plucked on the chords and harmonics at the 12 th fret are in tune"

This leads me to believe that you have no real problem, although homey don't play no chords. Using your ears, does open E/A/D/G sound the same as when you play the same notes on the 12th fret? Using a tuner, are the values pretty close? I mean, if the 12th fret notes are not terribly flat/sharp, then you're in the right neighborhood.

You should also check intonation at the 19th fret if you play up there a lot. This is, depending on what tuner you're using, not going to be exact. It's a fretted instrument and it will never be "dead on" and, as Hans said, maybe you wouldn't want it to be.

The main thing is to make sure that notes way up on the neck are as close to in tune as they can be.


"...but it also shows that for each string, the note at the 12 th fret is a bit higher than the harmonic and the note played on the plucked chord."

You mean sharp? Remember that intonation is just getting the string in tune with itself. Sometimes a bit too much pressure when fretting will cause you to get a sharp reading. Give it just enough meat to pluck the note cleanly. If the note is flat, the saddle must move forward. (Flat Forward is how I remember this.) If it's sharp, and I'm not sure that you aren't worrying about nothing, you need to move the saddle back a bit. MAKE SMALL ADJUSTMENTS.

If you're a normal bassist and don't play much about the 12th fret, this should get you fixed up. If you're constantly above the 12th fret, then you're a wanker. I mean, um, you need to intonate further up (IE, the 19th fret) to make sure you're in tune up there in La-La Land.

If you have any EASY questions, I'll try to answer them even though I really shouldn't be in here doing this.

Jack

 

[Fuzzy Dustmite]

If you're a normal bassist and don't play much about the 12th fret, this should get you fixed up. If you're constantly above the 12th fret, then you're a wanker. I mean, um, you need to intonate further up (IE, the 19th fret) to make sure you're in tune up there in La-La Land. Jack

Whew! While I was pretty sure I wasn't a wanker, this solidifies my claim to non-wanking (on the bass) status.

Thanks to Jack for giving me the boost in self-confidence and positive mental image I needed.

 

[jongitarz]

rrrrrrrrrrr...the hypodermic chihuahua has to fear the insane angry not tuned Bongo bass player...


Well lets get a couple of things straight here. First, I am not in fear of you. Second, it is not my job to be here and answer everybodys questions. I am here because like you all, I am a guitar freak. I do this on my own time(like now).

Jacks responce to this thread was exactly what I would have said, but Jack says it better than I ever could. Are you hearing the difference, or are you staring into the hypnotic strobe tuner and seeing it?

 

[francric]

Listen to the sound of my voice..uhh no, read these words intensely...Look deep into the tuner...concentrate on the light...your eyelids are getting heavy....you are getting sleepy....snap my finger....your bongo is in tune!

 

[AnthonyD]

Two great take-aways...

Flat-forward (this is HUGE - right up there with Left-Loose, Right-tight!), and...







I'm not a wanker...

 

[midopa]

Flat foward, eh? That's nifty! I just move the saddle in the direction that the little pointer thingy on the tuning thingy would point to when intonating.

Tuner: "Move the saddle forward, foo!"
Me: "Uh... OK."

 

[Rod Trussbroken]

Ditto what Jack says

.

 

[jongitarz]

Jack rocks \m/ \m/

 

[bovinehost]

Well, I got involved in a setup thread so I had to drink vodka last night to try to counteract the stress.

Or something.

 

[cgworkman]

Well lets get a couple of things straight here. First, I am not in fear of you. Second, it is not my job to be here and answer everybodys questions. I am here because like you all, I am a guitar freak. I do this on my own time(like now).

I still appreciate you Jon.