Who the hell sells it????

[Subvamp]

That piece! [img]/images/graemlins/mad.gif[/img] Ya know, that little tool that helps you set the intonation on a Floyd. (or similar trem)I had one forever, and I lost it and can't remember where I got it. I couldn't find it at the usual suspects (Stew-Mac, etc)
Anyone know?

[L]

Re: Who the hell sells it????

axcessories.com

[Subvamp]

Re: Who the hell sells it????

Ah, that's it! L comes through! [img]/images/graemlins/toast.gif[/img]

[necrotechno]

Re: Who the hell sells it????

Stew-Mac also has them.

[Newc]

Re: Who the hell sells it????

StewMac always says Sold Out.
I got mine from a guy on Ebay - can't recall the name off hand - BadMan Guitars I think. May have been procamaro69 or something.
Anyhoo..

[vwall]

Re: Who the hell sells it????

I have these available.

[mhalsey]

Re: Who the hell sells it????

How does it work?

[Number Of The Priest]

Re: Who the hell sells it????

[ QUOTE ]
How does it work?

[/ QUOTE ]

It clamps the saddle and fine tuner, allowing very minute intonation adjustments to shifting the saddles back or forth with the built-in screw, I believe. I remember wanting one about a year or so ago, then determined I can do just as well with a little finger pressure gripping the locking clamp screws on the Floyd, so I saved myself some money. But the little things are a pretty cool idea, and Stew-Mac used to sell a set of three (one for OFR, one for Ibanez Edge, one for low-profile Floyd designs).

[mhalsey]

Re: Who the hell sells it????

Thanx NOTP. Sounds like something that's useful but not necessarily needed. Along the same lines, I've never had to reset the intonation on a Floyded guitar yet and I've seen articles on several different methods, i.e., doing the strings in a certain sequence, rinse.. repeat etc. What method works for everyone here?

[Number Of The Priest]

Re: Who the hell sells it????

There's methods? [img]/images/graemlins/laugh.gif[/img] All I do is make sure all my strings are stretched properly and in open tune, then I check the 12th fret harmonic to the 12th fretted note. If intonation needs to be done, I just loosen that one string, shift the saddle by pulling/releasing the locking clamp screw, retune, and check again. If there's another way, I'd like to hear it. [img]/images/graemlins/laugh.gif[/img]

[Anders]

Re: Who the hell sells it????

Does anyone know if the one that fits OFR fits the Schaller trems as well? (I know they're both made by Schaller, but the design is slightly different...) [img]/images/graemlins/scratchhead.gif[/img]

[Newc]

Re: Who the hell sells it????

I have not seen one to fit the Schaller poles [img]/images/graemlins/frown.gif[/img]
I wish they would [img]/images/graemlins/frown.gif[/img]

Anyhoo, NOTP is mostly right - it clamps onto the OFR string-lock bolt out the back of the trem and braces itself against the top of the trem where the fine tuners sit. The fine tuners still spin freely, though, it doesn't clamp them down.

Anyhoo, you just loosen the intonation set screw for the saddle, tune (because the Key unit lays the saddle down flat), then check your 12th fret notes (harmonic and fretted), then sdjust the Key as needed.

It's a real handy device, especially if you do parts mutts, but mostly if all I'm doing is swapping a lesser-grade trem for a new OFR or Schaller (i.e. one that isn't intonated), I just eyeball the saddle positions and go from there.

One thing I'd like to find is a dead-on photo of a Floyd that is perfectly intonated (straight from the top) that I can use as a visual guide for intonating, although I've seen quite a few people with their saddle evenly spaced and they claim it's intonated. Joe has also posted a few pics of guitars that had "odd" intonation, but he swears it's good [img]/images/graemlins/scratchhead.gif[/img]

Maybe that'd make a nice thread - everyone post a pic of your Floyd saddles [img]/images/graemlins/laugh.gif[/img]

[Chuckracer]

Re: Who the hell sells it????

I thought I needed one once upon a time, bought it, and wound up giving it away. It's not a necessity. I don't even think it's handy. I can do it by hand quicker and easier, and the act of locking down the saddle moves the saddle slightly, enough to mess up the setting you just had in many cases.

I set intonation on different frets or areas of the fingerboard depending on the string in question. Here's my theory: The low E string is the thickest string (most sensitive to changing pitch by fretting it, streching the string down to the fret) and the furthest away from the fingerboard (changing the pitch even more). Now, the further you go away from the 12th fret towards the nut of any guitar, the more out of pitch (sharper) the fretted string will ring. This is an inherent design flaw of the guitar. I'd explain why, but I can't type that long!
Anyhoo, I and probably you, don't spend much time fretting the A string, for example, near or above the 12th fret, so the string being intonated up there means little to me. Oh sure, you may use the C at the 15th fret in a solo, but it's all by itself and played very fleetingly most likely, so it's pitch is fine for that use. It's way more important to have that string ringing in tune for lower register chords, wouldn't you say? Plus, unless you're Steve Vai, you will be playing more rhythm than lead, so this importance gets even greater.

Setting the intonation at the 12 fret is close to useless. Grab a chromatic tuner and see for yourself. Play an open A string. Now play the 12th fret harmonic. Then play the 12th fret note. All the same A, and your intonation is all set, right?
Play the C at the third fret. Play the B, the D flat, D, etc. Sharp, huh? Now stand up and play those notes like you do when your rockin out, ie; throttle that thang. Look at your tuner. Way off, huh?

Intonation is hardest to set, in order, on the low E, G, A, B, D, then high E strings. For this reason I set the intonation on my low E at the Fifth fret, A at the seventh fret, D at the tenth, G at the third or fourth (depending on the guitar), B at the tenth, and high E at the twelveth. This system gets me a lot closed to in tune chords. These are not chisled in stone fret specs, and I change it depending on the guitar, specifically the nut height. Your mileage may vary, but for me, short of a full Buzz Feiten set-up, this works pretty well.

You guys with super low the-strings-hardly-sound-out-cause-they-are-wacking-on-the-frets set ups may not need this extreme measure, but everybody with normal on up actions will benefit from some variation on this theme.

Try it!

BTW: There is No Such Thing as a "perfectly intonated guitar". The guitar is what's called an "even temperd instrument", meaning it's close enough for gummant work.

[Number Of The Priest]

Re: Who the hell sells it????

Here's my intonation on my Jackson:




It seems to vary from guitar to guitar, with the most common look being the "three-stairstep" look with the low E, A, and D forming one staircase going up, and then the G, B, and high E forming the second staircase going up.

[dg]

Re: Who the hell sells it????

Chuck, that makes a hell of a lot of sense! Thanks for posting that. I'm gonna give it a try.