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Intonation. How is it possible that over time, while playing, my tuning goes sharp rather than flat?
- Thread starter Vonnegut
- Start date
This happens after playing even just several minutes without leaving the room! I mean, my bass generally stays in tune for long periods of time, but since I'm very anal about tuning, I find myself making micro adjustments every so often. Maybe my tuner is temperamental, or just super sensitive. I have a tc electronics polytune 2, which are supposedly super accurate.
I have seen the screws on the saddles creep towards the pups due to vibration and the tension of the string on the back side of the saddle.
Every time I tune, my bass is sharp across all 4 strings. I have been wondering the same thing as the OP. This must be common and surely there must be a physicist out among us.
Maybe the neck isn't stable. Humidity and temperature changes can make the neck backbow a tiny bit, adding tension to the strings.
A tiny tiny amount of neck change can make several cents' worth of difference in your tuning.
A tiny tiny amount of neck change can make several cents' worth of difference in your tuning.
I would check the nut. It's also not a bad idea to check the tuning on a bench, I also check my neck screws every so often.
Means2nEnd
Supporting Member
Lowphatbass is right. 99% of the time this happens is because as we tune our instrument usually we tune from flat to sharp until in pitch. There is actually more tension between nut and tuning peg than nut and bridge because the string isn’t sliding through the nut channel. There is a product made for this called nut sauce it is brushed in the channel before re stringing the instrument decreasing friction allowing the tension to even out easily. Many old dudes like me simply use a pencil tip in there before we restring I believe the nut sauce is a graphite product anyway. This is one of the selling points of a Graphtech nut actually.
There is a second reason I have experienced in my studio. When I’m playing in a colder place as I’m playing my hands and fingers bring temperature of the strings up and they expand slightly. Band takes a 10 minute piss break in a cold room the strings actually can contract slightly as they cool off. I actually feel them as cold after a break and start playing again. JM2C
There is a second reason I have experienced in my studio. When I’m playing in a colder place as I’m playing my hands and fingers bring temperature of the strings up and they expand slightly. Band takes a 10 minute piss break in a cold room the strings actually can contract slightly as they cool off. I actually feel them as cold after a break and start playing again. JM2C
I had this same problem. It was the tu-2 tuner. Chucked it and got the polytune and stayed right on the money from then on.
... is this on the newer AmStand you just got and have been considering returning?? .. are the strings broken in ?? .. did you set your witness points ?? ... strings sliding free thru the nut slots? (as mentioned)
... sounds like a good quality strobe tuner would be a good investment for you .. I tried more than a few pedal tuners (including your Polytune), but finally decided to bite the bullet and get another strobe tuner ... I got spoiled by my antique Peterson from years ago, but sold it a couple years back due to its size ... Sonic Research Turbo Tuner is what I picked up to fill the void ... I am sure there are plenty of good ones out there if you are willing to spend the $$, but I haven't seen a pedal or a pocket tuner more precise than this one ... JMHO
Hey thank for the replies. Yeah, That's the one. I'm new to the bass though, so I think I'll just keep it, because it's likely it's fine. I am not sure what witness points are, or what you mean by strings sliding free through the nut slots. I get the impression that the strings are actually kind of old. I have been meaning to get some new ones and get my bass set up properly by a pro.
.. witness points are the high point of the saddle, and the leading edge of the nut ... to set witness points, press down slightly on both sides of each point on the string after you have it tuned to pitch ... this creates a sharper bend in the string at the contact point, and aides in setting intonation also ... usually more important on larger diameter strings, but do them all ...
.. strings can 'bind' in the nut slots if not sized properly (side to side) ... usually simply running a short section of the string thru the slot a few times before installing will be adequate to assure this doesn't happen ... you will see mention of 'rubbing a pencil' and graphite above, that is kind of an 'old school' way of assuring smoothness as the string moves through the slot, I have not done that for years ... also, if you ever detect a string 'buzz' or vibration, check the nut slot as it may be cut too wide for the gauge of string (along with break angle) ... while talking about the nut, it should also be 'angled back' slightly as it is cut, so that the 'leading edge' of the nut is the contact point .. otherwise you could be all over the place on your intonation ...
... get that puppy in tune and play her ... unless you are performing on stage with other instruments, a few cents off here and there are not going to upset a practice session, or time in the shed ... if you are playing with others, of course adjust as needed .. but with all due respect, it is easy to stress out too much and get distracted with little details... tune it up and work on the chops, lots more fun too ..
.. strings can 'bind' in the nut slots if not sized properly (side to side) ... usually simply running a short section of the string thru the slot a few times before installing will be adequate to assure this doesn't happen ... you will see mention of 'rubbing a pencil' and graphite above, that is kind of an 'old school' way of assuring smoothness as the string moves through the slot, I have not done that for years ... also, if you ever detect a string 'buzz' or vibration, check the nut slot as it may be cut too wide for the gauge of string (along with break angle) ... while talking about the nut, it should also be 'angled back' slightly as it is cut, so that the 'leading edge' of the nut is the contact point .. otherwise you could be all over the place on your intonation ...
... get that puppy in tune and play her ... unless you are performing on stage with other instruments, a few cents off here and there are not going to upset a practice session, or time in the shed ... if you are playing with others, of course adjust as needed .. but with all due respect, it is easy to stress out too much and get distracted with little details... tune it up and work on the chops, lots more fun too ..
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Why do people complain about posting something again? Are we running out of room on here? You would think posting on talkbass is sacred.
Right up there with Gorilla Snot for people that drop their picks."Nut Sauce". Ya gotta love this product name...
this happens to 2 of my spector basses alot, it happens more often on the brass nuted one than the graphite nuted so im thinking it's related to the nut friction ishu
