Bridge Compensation

[Stephen Perry]

Steveevarino has a great idea. When I'm faced with an odd intonation problems, I simply make a new bridge saddle or whatever the strings go over, string it up, and start playing and cutting back. All the measuring in the world doesn't seem to take into account all the variables that exist. Just gradually cutting back the contact point until each string or pair or whatever we have intonates reasonably well seems the way to go about it. I've done this simultaneously at the nut and at the saddle on a few instruments. If you are a perfectly stable, sane, rational, and methodical person, that type of double ended approach will soon cure your problems. You will rapidly become just as neurotic, homicidal, and suicidal as the rest of us.

A quick web search on compensating at the nut will turn up wonderful articles. This is well worth considering.

One of the problems with working on fretless instruments all the time, and on listening very closely while I do my acoustic work, is that I have become very pitch tuned. These fretted instruments are always badly intonated. And don't get me started on the impossibility of my piano.

[onassis]

Stephen, I'm glad you brought up the subject of intonation adjustment at the nut. I hear of it in the guitar world, but I can't say I've ever seen it on a mandolin. Been on my mind lately because I've noticed a bit of wonkiness in my intonation, and thought the easiest fix might be at the nut. Just a bit of fine work with the Dremel. Of course, you could do the same at the saddle, just seems like much less material to work with.

[Fretbear]

Never had to try it on a mandolin (cutting back the nut point contact) but it was the only cure recently for the high E on a new Recording King R0S-06 guitar. The saddle point had given all it had in it's position, so I gave it a little more on the nut, and voila, it would then play in tune without a capo. I fit some some paper shims under the string before I went after the nut just to be sure.

[mrmando]

Just did a little setup work on a 1925 snakehead. Came here to double-check compensation. The bridge has been on backward for goodness knows how long ... the saddle's even slotted the wrong way. It's already playing better.

[Paul Hostetter]

Gibson employee Ted McHugh invented and patented both the adjustable truss rod and the height-adjustable bridge in 1921. Gibson had a compensated one-piece bridges for guitar and mandolin well before that, of course.