Re: Is The Note On The 5th Fret Of Your Mando’s “A” String a “D”?
Raising the bridge will exacerbate the problem. Most likely you have to move the bridge back a bit.
When you press down on a string, you stretch it a little. Fretted strings are a little sharper than non-fretted. The best way to set intonation is to make sure the octave fret (12th fret) is exactly halfway between bridge and nut. You can do this with a ruler, but ultimately you want to hear it's correct. You should slacken your strings so you can move the bridge easily, and then tune up one string - not necessarily all the way, but enough so it's making a good tone. Fret each half of the string at the 12th fret, and adjust the bridge so that both notes are the same.
Someone with more expertise than me will be able to explain how a compensated bridge affects this (where there is a bit of offset built in) and which string to use to get the best overall result. But this will get you closer. Using a tuner is also very helpful in all this.
Another thing to keep in mind is that it is nearly impossible to have your intonation be perfect all the way up the neck. Since one tends to do most playing in the first seven frets or so, that's where you really want to get the intonation right. This will require a tuner. Once you've gotten the intonation close via the above method, fine-tune things by fretting in this area, say from the third to seventh frets.
Sounds like a bit of a pain? Yup. This is why some folks bring their instruments to a shop for a set-up. You can do it yourself, and it's an act of love. But so is shelling out a few bucks to a pro. That said, search here for Rob Meldrum's free online set-up guide. I haven't, but many people have and say nothing but good things about it.
In answer to your question, yep.
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