Tone Report Weekly Issue 138 | Page 41

Firstly, as anyone who does their own intonation adjustments knows, it’s quite impossible to get even the finest guitar perfectly in tune for all positions and keys up and down the neck. The whole operation is one big, often frustrating, compromise. If cowboy chords sound tuneful and harmonious, there will be some spot higher up on the neck where things sound a little wonky, and vice versa. Every adjustment that achieves tuning perfection in one area inevitably throws some other area just slightly, noticeably out of whack. Thus, tuning and intonation adjustments are much more black art than science, and over time most players that handle this sort of thing for themselves learn to tweak the tuning of their instruments to suit their playing style and preferences. We all make do. ToneReport.com 41