Has anyone experienced intonation issues with a Froggy Bottom?

[three4rd]

Originally Posted by Wade Hampton

three4rd, any guitar can develop intonation problems with gradual changes in the instrument's neckset geometry or with a move from one climatic zone to another. If the guitar was shipped to you from some distance away, that might have caused the problem. Another way to booger up a guitar's intonation is to use a radically different string gauge than what was previously on it, or tuning a step lower with the same gauge strings.

All of these factors can have an impact.

As for the quality of the instrument itself, many first time buyers of fine instruments assume that buying an expensive handbuilt guitar means that there should never be ANY problems with it. But the more lightly a guitar is built, it can often change with the weather or develop these sorts of problems - high dollar guitars are often more sensitive in this regard than inexpensive guitars, which tend to be more robust.

I would recommend that you figure out what set of strings you like best on this guitar, and once you do that and the guitar's had a chance to acclimate for a week or ten days, take it to a good local guitar tech to get dialed in perfectly for those strings and for the way you play.

Hope that makes sense.


Wade Hampton Miller

Wade...good thoughts and advice. I know that FB generally puts Pearse strings on their instruments. I just bought a few sets and so will try it. What's on now are Elixir nanowebs (put on back in October).

[Gordon Currie]

Originally Posted by three4rd

Earl,
I'd like to believe that using the matching 5th and 7th fret harmonics method works well, but doesn't always seem to. From a technical standpoint, the 7th fret harmonic is a Pythagorean 5th, and the guitar fret at the 7th fret is an equal tempered 5th, so using this method can create some issues.

Best advice I got early on was to completely avoid this method. I've seen people use this onstage and end up spending 5 minutes chasing their tails.

[three4rd]

Originally Posted by Gordon Currie

Best advice I got early on was to completely avoid this method. I've seen people use this onstage and end up spending 5 minutes chasing their tails.

LOL...at least it sounds impressive to audience members though. I've had considerable success using this method with my electric...less so on acoustic.

[Rbutton]

http://www.galloupguitars.com/buzz-feiten-class.htm

Go to the Buzz Feiten link at the bottom of the page. Very tricky stuff.

[Mbroady]

Originally Posted by gitarro

I have noticed that froggy guitars seem to come with an uncompensated saddle from.the shop. They must be virtually the only small shop brand that sticks with uncompensated saddles.

This is perplexing. Why would a quality builder with a reputation for great guitars not compensate their saddles? Is there a reason that is not obvious?

[GHS]

Originally Posted by Haasome

I have 2 Froggies a Custom K and an H12. And as you point out they come with a saddle that is not compensated. When I received the commissioned K I noticed the intonation was slightly off for low E and B strings. I contacted Michael and he sent me to a local tech that performs his warranty work and he slightly adjusted the relief, saddle & nut heights and compensated the saddle. This adjusted the intonation perfectly. The H12 I bought off the shelf has always been good, with no compensation required.. I’ve been told that shorter scale guitars like the H12 I own have less issues with intonation, but to answer your question - another yes here.

You would think that a high end builder, knowing that the type saddle used could pose a problem, would change the design and end the trips to the tech. Really, a low end Takamine has split saddles to take care of this problem.

[BrunoBlack]

Originally Posted by GHS

You would think that a high end builder, knowing that the type saddle used could pose a problem, would change the design and end the trips to the tech. Really, a low end Takamine has split saddles to take care of this problem.

When I called Michael he claimed that when it left his shop, the intonation was corrrect and he said he typically doesn’t see these problems. So I don’t think he believes this type of saddle causes the problem. However he was happy to have it checked out and fixed on his dime. There was about a month between the time when it was completed and me having it adjusted. Maybe the wood moved around a bit? I have no explanation nor could I make recommendations to him about how he can improve - especially since many other guitars he build with un-compensated saddles are so good. But I can say after a very minor side step it’s the best guitar I own. I have had other high end (and not so high-end) guitars that were built with compensated saddles that have needed tweaking, so I suppose it can happen to any guitar. It is curious however.

[dneal]

Originally Posted by Rbutton

http://www.galloupguitars.com/buzz-feiten-class.htm

Go to the Buzz Feiten link at the bottom of the page. Very tricky stuff.

I couldn’t find what you were intending, but I’ve always found this brief description of the problem to be useful.

“When you play a 5th-fret harmonic, it produces a frequency four times (exactly two octaves) higher than the open string note. When you play a 7th-fret harmonic, it produces a frequency exactly three times higher than the open string note. Even though this harmonic SOUNDS like a perfect fifth, it is not...”

Link