I need of help! The intonation on my guitar is a bit out, however, the problem is; I can't adjust the saddles any further because there is not enough screw left to hang on to them. Would a truss rod adjustment remedie this? Any help would be much apreciated.
So, your intonation is still slightly flat?
You could go to a hardware store, maybe even a guitar store, and get a longer machine screw.
Adjusting the relief through the truss rod might help, though it would not be preferred if you have a good adjustment already. The truss rod should be used to set the necessary curve, not the intonation. If your fret board was flat, or back curved it might be enough to throw off the intonation, but if that was the case you would be asking about fret buzz.
Bridge height can slightly affect intonation, but I cant figure out or remember which way. I think when I lowered my stings I might have had to move my intonation back slightly. Though, when the strings are high, you have to stretch them more to get down to the fret board, so you would think this would tend to make them more sharp when higher.
Changing to a thinner guage string can move the intonation back slightly as well. I'm pretty sure I have this one right, as each string moves forward by approximately the thickness of the previous string (starting at low E). Are you playing with 11's? If so, you might want to try 9's or 10's.
You did not mention what kind of guitar it is or the type of bridge. If it is a Tune-O-Matic type bridge you might be able turn the individual saddles around to get more distance out of it. This is depending on which way the angle is sloping. If the slope is towards the tail you can turn it to gain more distance.
All of this is assuming that the string height and neck relief are correct.
Also, if you have recently adjusted or impacted the pickup height make sure they are not too close to the strings since the magnetic pull can throw intonation out and make it impossible to adjust.
Thanks for the help. I'm using a Fender-style vibrato bridge, and as far as I know, the string height and truss relief was fine the last time I adjusted the action, and there is no string buzz; its just the intonation that remains the problem.
There is another possibility, so I'm going to take a stab in the dark on this -- please ignore if I've guessed wrong:
This is a floating trem bridge? If so, the trem spring tension is probably wrong, and the bridge plate is not at the correct resting position angle with respect to the guitar body. In your case, it sounds as if the bridge is tilted too far back. You need to loosen the trem string tension and allow the bridge plate to float parallel to the body under normal string tension (in tune). This will probably move all the saddles forward and back into proper adjustment range. You will also have to re-adjust the string heights as these will rise when the bridge moves forward into proper position.
Usually, when setting up a floating trem bridge, it is easiest to block temporarily the rear of the bridge place with a wedge of wood so the bridge plate is parallel to the body (does not apply for vintage style Strat trems, as they will not be parallel -- see the Fender site). This may also require temporarily tightening the trem springs to pull the bridge against the block. Now one is ready to do a setup -- height and intonation (assuming neck relief and similar are proper). Next remove the block and readjust the trem spring tension so the strings are back in tune and the bridge floats to the same position as when it was blocked. Done.
Good luck -- Greg
-=tension & release=-
