Can putting on flatwounds change intonation?

[Thom Fioriglio]

Hi all, I just added flatwounds to my Fender Player P Bass and it looks like the E and G string are now slightly out of intonation. My question is can flatwounds or a change of strings cause that? I had Fender 7250 nickel roundwounds on it with gauge 45-65-85-105. I put on Fender 9050 steel flatwounds gauge 45-60-80-100. Would that make a difference in intonation? Thanks for any help.

Thom

 

[shawshank72]

Yes.

 

[michael_t]

Every string change should include three basic things after the strings are installed and tuned up to pitch.

1. Amount of relief - adjust by tweaking the truss rod.
2. Action - set by adjusting the saddle height for each string.
3. Intonation - adjust as needed by tweaking the saddle positioning.

In that specific order, and especially when changing brand/type/gauges of strings.

 

[Killed_by_Death]

I put on Fender 9050 steel flatwounds

Those are stainless & yes any change in the string construction will affect the intonation, even hex-core vs. round-core.

 

[Thom Fioriglio]

Thanks all!

 

[michael_t]

My question is can flatwounds or a change of strings cause that?

To answer your question more directly... Yes, it's perfectly normal for any string change to require intonation adjustments. Just make sure to do steps 1 & 2 mentioned above before doing step 3.

 

[SteveCS]

...and don't forget to set witness points. Even a new set of the same strings will not intonate properly with the old setup until the witness points are set on the new strings.

 

[SteveCS]

@Thom Fioriglio In case you are not sure about witness points, they are set by simply pressing down on the string where it passes through the nut and over the bridge saddle to make sure that the sounding length is as straght and short as possible with no curvature in the string. See the image below. Viewed from the side, the string passing over the saddle should look like the green one, not the red one...

 

[JRA]

Thanks all!

is this a great place or what!?!

 

[Thom Fioriglio]

@Thom Fioriglio In case you are not sure about witness points, they are set by simply pressing down on the string where it passes through the nut and over the bridge saddle to make sure that the sounding length is as straght and short as possible with no curvature in the string. See the image below. Viewed from the side, the string passing over the saddle should look like the green one, not the red one...
View attachment 3917396

Thanks! I had heard of this but did not know what it was called or seen a diagram or why it was done. Very helpful. At what step do you witness the strings? Is that done before or after intonation is set? Does that in a sense lock in the intonation?

Thom

 

[Thom Fioriglio]

Every string change should include three basic things after the strings are installed and tuned up to pitch.

1. Amount of relief - adjust by tweaking the truss rod.
2. Action - set by adjusting the saddle height for each string.
3. Intonation - adjust as needed by tweaking the saddle positioning.

In that specific order, and especially when changing brand/type/gauges of strings.

Just curious, if I set the action and then move the saddle for intonation, say for example forward, won't that slightly change the action?

 

[michael_t]

Just curious, if I set the action and then move the saddle for intonation, say for example forward, won't that slightly change the action?

No. When we're talking about intonation adjustment, it usually involves moving the saddle one way or the other by a very small amount, as in mm's. This shouldn't affect the action. But if you were to set the intonation first, then decided to adjust the action by either raising the saddles or lowering them, you may end up having to adjust the intonation again.

 

[JW56789]

Yes. Unless your new strings to install are the same set you're taking off, you will generally always have to fine tune your intonation.

 

[Silky Johnson]

Ya

 

[JeezyMcNuggles]

Hi all, I just added flatwounds to my Fender Player P Bass and it looks like the E and G string are now slightly out of intonation. My question is can flatwounds or a change of strings cause that? I had Fender 7250 nickel roundwounds on it with gauge 45-65-85-105. I put on Fender 9050 steel flatwounds gauge 45-60-80-100. Would that make a difference in intonation? Thanks for any help.

Thom

Putting on any strings changes intonation. Taking your strings off and then putting them back on does too sometimes.

 

[Tim Skaggs]

Any string change can & usually does change the intonation. Even different brands of strings in the same gauge can have very different intonation settings due to different core wire & different winding wire.
Some brands of strings will have such different intonation setting requirements, your bridge will run out of adjustment range before you get the intonation set properly

 

[maturanesa]

Yeah sure. Even the same type of string can cause that.
All strings are slightly different gauge even when the package say its the same...

 

[micguy]

I'll second (or fourth) the yes. For a bunch of reasons.

 

[Lava]

Any string change could possibly throw the intonation off, even just a bit.

 

[Drumdialogue]

Hi all, I just added flatwounds to my Fender Player P Bass and it looks like the E and G string are now slightly out of intonation. My question is can flatwounds or a change of strings cause that? I had Fender 7250 nickel roundwounds on it with gauge 45-65-85-105. I put on Fender 9050 steel flatwounds gauge 45-60-80-100. Would that make a difference in intonation? Thanks for any help.

Thom

I agree with other posters that a setup is necessary after any string change. Aside from that, a co-worker at my old job at Yamaha once told me that flatwounds should be have more precise intonation than roundwounds overall due to the contact point of the string and the fret being more consistent. Whether this is true or not is up for debate. Interesting point though.

Mikey
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