I can't tune my D28

bothyhead

My head is starting to melt, as I can't seem to tune my beloved Martin D28 any more. If I tune the open strings in STD tuning, all seems fine for most chords until I go to play a D chord - the high E string (F#) sounds horrible - (though I think it's actually the B and G strings that are out). The strings are only on it a couple of weeks, maybe it's a dodgy string - I'll change them tomorrow. There is quite a bit of wear on the the first 5 or 6 frets; perhaps I need them changed. Can anyone recomend someone decent who can do this, preferably in the South East? It might need some truss rod adjustment and some saddle/nut adjustment as well.

Thanks all.

Trevor Kent

Fret wear can affect intonation alright. Truss rod adjustment wont help you here. Any damage to the sadle?

bothyhead

Trevor Kent wrote: »

Fret wear can affect intonation alright. Truss rod adjustment wont help you here. Any damage to the sadle?

No, it seems fine. I got an under-saddle pickup installed by the shop when I bought it 14 years ago, and apart from the adjustment done then, it's as goods new. Fret # 2 is has a depression of perhaps 0.5 mm on the high E string. There is a similar depression on fret # 3, but that's still in tune.

Trevor Kent

bothyhead wrote: »

No, it seems fine. I got an under-saddle pickup installed by the shop when I bought it 14 years ago, and apart from the adjustment done then, it's as goods new. Fret # 2 is has a depression of perhaps 0.5 mm on the high E string. There is a similar depression on fret # 3, but that's still in tune.

So the string is in tune when fretted on the third fret but not second, yet all the rest of the strings play fine? It points at the fret wear on that e sring second fret messing up your intonation imo.

bothyhead

Trevor Kent wrote: »

bothyhead wrote: »

No, it seems fine. I got an under-saddle pickup installed by the shop when I bought it 14 years ago, and apart from the adjustment done then, it's as goods new. Fret # 2 is has a depression of perhaps 0.5 mm on the high E string. There is a similar depression on fret # 3, but that's still in tune.

So the string is in tune when fretted on the third fret but not second, yet all the rest of the strings play fine? It points at the fret wear on that e sring second fret messing up your intonation imo.

Yeah, it's just the one note on the fretboard that's out. It looks looks like a worn fret alright.

Thanks a mill.

Ravelleman

Nobody likes to see a D-28 in distress. Not much that can go wrong with them!

bothyhead

Ravelleman wrote: »

Nobody likes to see a D-28 in distress. Not much that can go wrong with them!

Yeah, she's normally a babe.

feylya

Plug it into a tuner. Play all the notes on all the strings individually and in sequence. Does the tuner match what the note should be?

bothyhead

feylya wrote: »

Plug it into a tuner. Play all the notes on all the strings individually and in sequence. Does the tuner match what the note should be?

No, they don't. I'm using a Peterson VS1, which I have been using since 2001.

Playing a normal first position D/F# chord, the perfectly tuned open strings go sharp as follows:

E +7c
B +7c
G +5c
D +0
A +0
E +2c

These figures are quantative, and may provide some useful information, but the most important factor is that my ear hears the chord as being out of tune.

nickcave

bothyhead wrote: »

No, they don't. I'm using a Peterson VS1, which I have been using since 2001.

Playing a normal first position D/F# chord, the perfectly tuned open strings go sharp as follows:

E +7c
B +7c
G +5c
D +0
A +0
E +2c

These figures are quantative, and may provide some useful information, but the most important factor is that my ear hears the chord as being out of tune.

So you're playing that F# on the E string and the tuner says it's +2c sharp? Hard to tell - if 'c' means 'half step' then that would make sense. But I guess it doesn't from looking at the other readings. Sounds to me like intonation is your problem. It does look like the fretted top strings are sharp. Any damage to the bridge? Could it have come loose or slipped?

Here's an idea: play all the strings at the 12th fret and see what your tuner says - I'm guessing they'll all be sharp.

Dublin Guitar

A cent (c) is 100th of a semitone. If the frets look worn then this is most likely the problem. I had my guitar fret dressed recently and had a new nut and saddle fitted to my acoustic which has solved a lot of intonation and tuning problems on both guitars. A saddle cut specifically for your guitar will greatly improve intonation and a correctly cut nut will also help. Judging by your tuner readings this is what the guitar needs.

PM me and I can let you know who did the job for me. Remember, when you've got a guitar like that, it needs a regular service, just like a car, so fret dressing can postpone or save the hassle of a refret a few years down the line.

bothyhead

For those interested, I ran another test over lunch. Here are the tuning offsets (in cents) relative to the open string played at the 12th fret:

12th fret harmonic
E +0
B -2
G +0
D +0
A +0
E +0

12th fretted
E +7
B +5
G +0
D +0
A +2
E +4

Trevor Kent

Wow,

The D28 has a compensated sadle ya?

Could you have put it in the wrong way around when you changed your strings?

With the above, you have to be looking at sadle and nut issues and not just fretwear.

bothyhead

No, mine doesn't have a compensated saddle. However, I've just been up with a friend who bought a D28 about 3 years ago, and his does have one - it sounds sweet too. His bass E, B and high E are slightly longer than the rest.