I totally destroyed the sound of my strat by messing around with the bridge setup. I have tryed to restore the intoanation by following the many guides on the internet yet I just can't seem to fix it right. Prior to posting this I took my guitar to Sam ash but they forgot to fix the intonation or just never did, even thought I asked. The tuner method for fixing the intonation doesent seem to work for me. Is there any hope?
With your instrument in the same position as you normally play (playing position), not lying on a table, check the tuning of the natural harmonic at the 12th fret (gently touching the string above the 12th fret while picking). Compare either the open string or the octave harmonic at the 12th fret with the fretted octave at the 12th fret.
If the fretted note is sharp, move the saddle away from the pickups and fret board; if it is flat, move the saddle toward the pickups and fret board. It takes some practice to get it right. The more you do it the easier and more accurate you'll be.
Joe
I'm a relative newbie and no expert on this so actually what I'm going to mention is probably pretty useful to you, as it's been helpful to me.
What Joe is saying is exactly right, and the way I think about it, which helps me keep my bearings is this:
If the fretted octive is sharp you need to make the length of the string from the 12th fret to the bridge LONGER so you move the saddle to make the string longer.
If the fretted octive is flat you need to make the length of the string from the 12th fret to the bridge SHORTER so you move the saddle to make the string shorter.
I like thinking of it this way because it makes intuitive sense to me - tension and wire gauge being equal, shortening a string makes the pitch go up, lengthening it makes the pitch go down....
