Set up, what is acceptable?

[Henning]

Hello, when doing the set-up, what do you please find acceptable in discrepancy (in perhaps %) between the open string and the fretted 12th position?
Recently I´ve been setting up (here I by set-up mean fine tuning of the 12 th position to the open string, not only string height etc.) ukuleles.
Kind regards

[mirwa]

No discrepancy.

The more accurate the tuner the more accurate my intonation setup.

I personally use a peterson strobe tuner for setting intonation, i use a snark clip on for general string change

Steve

[Skarsaune]

Originally Posted by mirwa

I personally use a peterson strobe tuner for setting intonation, i use a snark clip on for general string change

Steve

Can you expand on this? By the time you get strung up, the last modification available is tweaking the saddle, right?

[mirwa]

If doing a setup or saddle replacement I use peterson tuner, if i am simply replacing the strings on a guitar, no setup, I use a snark clip on tuner.

The peterson unit is far far far more sensitive and accurate than the snark clip on.

On my setups, i do nut first, relief second, string height and intonation 3rd

Steve

[Henning]

Thank you, assume a perfect fretboard and well setup instrument with a set of quality strings, how much deviation would you expect from the ideal (0%) with those quality strings?
Or perhaps rather just, what deviation is "built in" the strings?
As for instance when you change set of strings to a new set, same gauge same manufacturer but just new strings.

[charles Tauber]

There are string brands, particularly of classical nylon strings, that do not play “true”. I avoid those to use string brands that are consistent.

Through setup one can then get the intonation “arbitrarily close “ to perfect as one wants, stopping when one has reached “close enough “. Given that most people cannot distinguish between pitches less than two cents apart, that provides some practical guideline.

If you want the best intonation, you should look beyond simply having the 12th fret note an octave higher than the open string. Look at all of the notes and optimize them to produce the overall minimum amount of deviation. You decide when they are close enough.

You can plot the deviation measured at each fret one one string along the y axis and the fret number on the x axis. A best fit straight line can be drawn through the points. Changing the amount of compensation at the saddle/bridge alters the slope of the line while changing the amount of compensation at the nut changes the abscissa. Ideally, you’ll have a zero abscissa and zero slope. Repeat for remaining strings.

On very short scale lengths, such as on a ukulele, low string tension can cause variations in how a note is fretted to distort the pitch inconsistently.

[redir]

Even on a long scale guitar it depends on how much pressure you use to fret the string on the 12th fret.

It's a nice general test to see if a guitar comes close to being intonnated but take it with a grain of salt.

[mirwa]

Originally Posted by Henning

Thank you, assume a perfect fretboard and well setup instrument with a set of quality strings, how much deviation would you expect from the ideal (0%) with those quality strings?
Or perhaps rather just, what deviation is "built in" the strings?
As for instance when you change set of strings to a new set, same gauge same manufacturer but just new strings.

Unless you are having intonation issues or after a new saddle, it pretty well left alone.

When being paid to do a setup, i adjust as required.

Steve