Terrible D

I suspect it's your intonation. Have it looked at by a pro. or if your a hands on kind of guy check here Nils Basic Setup

I'll agree with the intonation. Another possibility would be the string height if the action is to high, then when you fret a string it stretches causing it to go out of tune. maybe check the saddle height to.

Guitar Setup Info

Joe

I agree with both thoughts. It could be something as simple as one or more of the strings are not properly intonated. You can check that by comparing the tuned open string to the same string fretted at the 12th fret with your tuner. If they don't agree then it is off and needs to be adjusted.

It could also be the string height (action) which will seriously impact the intonation as you move up the neck if it is very high due to stretching.

I would first check the intonation, then the neck relief, then the string height. If you have to adjust relief or height you will probably need to adjust the intonation again.

Agree with above, but also check the string height at the nut. This is often overlooked and is frequently the problem with out of tune first and second fret notes, as commonly noticed in open chords.

Signs of a badly cut nut (too high) are:

* A barre F in first position requires a lot of barre force and is difficult to play
* Some open chords sound out of tune, but barre chords in the region of the fifth to eight frets all sound in tune
* When fretting the strings just in front of the thrid fret (not behind), the strings show visible clearance over the first fret. If the nut is cut to the correct height, that clearance should be so small, one has to tap the string over the first fret and hear it strike that fret to know it wasn't actually touching.

BTW, when bridge compensation (intonation) is off, it's usually more noticeable in higher position chords -- especially if one uses a tuner and tunes open strings.

Hope this helps.

I don't know if this has been overlooked or not, but make sure that you are playing the chord the right way, like this:
2
3
2
0
0
x

Make sure that you don't strum the low E string, or else it will not sound right.

I don't know if this has been overlooked or not, but make sure that you are playing the chord the right way, like this:
2
3
2
0
0
x

Make sure that you don't strum the low E string, or else it will not sound right.

I've always been told the D is
2
3
2
0
X
X

though on a boom chick strum pattern you would hit the D string every other time.

Thanks for your help guys, I will check as per Nils basic setup.
If I can find some imperial measuring equipment, if not I will convert to metric and measure.
Adrian

You might try this: Assuming you have a chromatic tuner, tune the open strings. Then, check your intonation on the 3rd fret on the 1st,2nd,3rd and 4th strings. The 3rd fret of the first string is a G, 2nd string is a D, 3rd string is an A#(Bb) and the 4th string is an F. Sometimes your fretted note will be a bit sharp compared to the open string. Try striking a happy medium so that both the open string and the fretted note are relatively in tune. This might help temporarily if your intonation is off. Actually, if you do this on all six strings, all your chords might sound more in tune.

Is there no possibilty it could be in a different octave.... i suppose you should notice cause the string would either snap trying, or be flapping around lol