Setting the Intonation on a Faber Bridge
Now that you’ve chosen your new Faber bridge to upgrade your guitar with, you need to set the intonation. Faber guitar bridges are fully intonatable. Our ABHR, ABRN, ABRM and Tone-Lock™ bridges all intonate in the same way.
All you will need to work through this process is an electronic tuner and a small flat blade screwdriver that will fit into the screw heads of the bridges saddle adjustment screws.
• Restring your guitar with the string gauge of your choosing.
• Tune up to your desired pitch. It is recommended that you always check your intonation, and adjust if needed, each time you change tuning or string gauge.
• Once the guitar has been tuned to your desired pitch, stretch your strings so that they hold tune correctly.
• To check the intonation, using your electronic tuner compare the pitch of the open string against the fretted 12th fret and the 12th fret harmonic on your Low E string. If the pitch of the 12th fret is sharp compared to the open string you will need to add some length to the string. This is achieved by loosening the saddle adjustment screw to move the saddle further away from the nut. Due to the increase in pressure at the back of the bridge, your strings pitch will go sharp. Retune and check the intonation again.
• If the 12th fret is flat compared to the open string, you will need to move the saddle towards the nut by tightening the saddle adjustment screw at the bridge. Moving the saddle towards the nut will make the overall string pitch become flat. Retune after adjustment and check again.
• When making intonation adjustments, make small adjustments and regularly check your tuning. It is easier to correct minor adjustments one way or the other.
• If you have upgraded your bridge with a Faber ARBN bridge, you may notice the adjustment travel of the saddle is slightly less than our other bridge types and you may find that you cannot achieve the correct intonation. These bridges are designed with reversible saddles to compensate for the reduced travel. Loosen the string so it pulls away from the bridge saddle and completely loosens the adjustment screw to allow you to remove the saddle. Turn the saddle around and put it back onto the bridge. You should now be able to obtain perfect intonation.
• Once you have set the intonation on one string, you can then proceed to replicate the process across each string.
Remember, when the bridge saddle adjustment screw is at the end of its travel, do not force it to turn more than it can. This can break the screw, and risk damaging the thread on the saddle.
Our Wraptonate™ bridge is fully intonatable in the same way our ABR bridge selection is. The bridge has a series of screws on the pickup facing side which adjust the travel of each saddle.
If you have a wraparound bridge equipped guitar, intonation setting is limited but still possible.
• If you have a plain Wraparound style bridge, the intonation cannot be set on a string by string basis, but you can broadly set the intonation across the whole bridge. This is achieved by adjusting the small Allen key screws located on the bridge post contact points either side of the bridge. Rather than moving each saddle individually, you will move the bridge as a unit.
• If the 12th fret note/harmonic is sharp, as with individual saddles, the string length will need to be lengthened. This will be achieved by tightening the Allen key screw to push the bridge away from the nut. As there are only two adjustment points for wraparound bridges, the intonation adjustment will not be as accurate so aim to get the intonation on both E strings correct and the rest of the strings should be close enough to not be noticeably out.
• The same rules apply if the intonation is showing flat on the 12th fret note, the bridge will need to move closer to the nut by loosening the Allen key screws.
Faber also offers the Tone-Bar™ Compensated Wraparound bridge and the TPWC Compensated “Lightning Bolt” style bridge. The bridges will not offer perfect intonation adjustment, but they will allow for a more accurate adjustment across the bridge as a whole due to the tone bar or lightning bolt style fixed saddles.
