Notes get sharp (original post said flat) as move up neck????

[duganderson]

Originally Posted by darylcrisp

Definitely get the setup, use gauge of strings you prefer for the setup.
Not sure where your skill level is, but you don’t need to push the string to the fretboard, fret right behind the fret and all you need is to push the string to the fret, you will just about be touching the fret on the backside-that close. Going to the board can definitely make a note go sharp.

A properly setup Martin(any guitar) frets easy and fast, and clean. Players technique is a huge part of this as well.

A proper dialed in nut/slots will be a huge factor in your ease of playing. Fret levels, amount of relief, string height(action) at the 12th, complete the guitar part. The rest is the players skill of using the instrument.

Best of luck, every one of us has been where you are at some point.
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Thank you for the great information AND encouragement. I also appreciate many of the post here and on the forum. More precise fretting helps with this but the notes still go a bit sharp. I'm in the process of finding someone for setup. Most have a 2-3 week wait and I'm bummed about my guitar being gone that long.

[Bobby1note]

Originally Posted by duganderson

I have a Martin 000 Jr. As I move from the open notes up the frets for the first several frets, the notes get increasingly sharp (I accidentally said flat in the original post). Is this likely a setup issue? Suggestions?

Try tuning accurately at the 12th fret first,,, then,, see how your chords sound when played at the normal position.

[warfrat73]

Getting sharp is the much more classic situation with guitars.

There are a number of reasons that this can happen (assuming that the frets are in the right spot... which I'm sure they are), the saddle compensation might need to be adjusted slightly. This is not at all uncommon, especially when switching to different strings.

High action can also cause it to go sharp, because as you fret the note, you are increasing the tension in the system from your finger to the saddle, effectively pulling the note sharp. Too much neck relief can also create/exacerbate this problem, particularly in the middle frets.

Going sharp can also be the result of user error. Specifically, using too much force when fretting a note can also effectively pull it sharp. This is more likely with lighter strings and bigger frets. The solution to this is to fret the note with the minimum force needed to create a clean tone, and to fret as close to the fret as possible.

Also, overly worn frets can cause a note to sound sharp... though this seems unlikely if it's a reasonably new guitar.

It's likely that what you're experiencing is some combination of these things.

[doctone]

Originally Posted by abn556

That sounds like the usual kind of nonsense that I have heard in guitar stores my whole life. Intonation is a function of the saddle and the nut being set at the correct length for the string to produce the correct pitch on an open string and at the 12th fret. Unless there is something structurally wrong with bridge bracing that allows excessive movement, I can’t see how this is accurate.

I disagree. In the video, Chris is not talking about the correct basic pitch, which a tuner would measure, but intonation, which includes the overtone spectrum.
A soprano saxophone, for instance, will always sound slightly off to our ears, even when every note is played perfectly in tune, because (due to its basic design) its overtones are not perfect.

[EZYPIKINS]

Saddle height affects intonation, just as much as string length.

Just as too shallow nut slots will force you to stretch the string too much, to hit the first fret.

Too high bridge saddle will force you to stretch the string too far as well. Causing sharp notes.

[Nama Ensou]

Originally Posted by EZYPIKINS

Saddle height affects intonation, just as much as string length.

Just as too shallow nut slots will force you to stretch the string too much, to hit the first fret.

Too high bridge saddle will force you to stretch the string too far as well. Causing sharp notes.

Points one and three are both true, but they're also the same point!

Point two is incorrect though. Just like the saddle, too much height will affect playability, but shallow slots in the nut don't affect the action at all, only their height will do that.

In other words, too much height at either end of the strings will both make a guitar harder to play and sharpen notes at the same time. Since he already said that the guitar plays well, it's possible that this is not the problem.

[phavriluk]

Guitars aren't ever in perfect tune all up and down the fingerboard. With enormous care, the worst of it can be pushed back out of earshot.

Comments on tempered tuning, copied from comments by Paul Guy:

"In tempered tuning all chords are slightly "out", but all by the same small amount. Remember that the tempered scale is a compromise that enables us to play all chords and intervals, in all keys, with the same relative accuracy. It therefore follows that there is not one chord on the guitar that tunes absolutely pure."

[Nama Ensou]

Originally Posted by phavriluk

Guitars aren't ever in perfect tune all up and down the fingerboard. With enormous care, the worst of it can be pushed back out of earshot.

Attempts have been made to minimize it though...

[duganderson]

I got a professional setup and all of the intonation issues are resolved. Love how it plays more easily too.

Thanks for all of the great information in this thread.