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Yes, that's what I'm doing. I just subtract the .030" from the high and low E compensated lengths but the effect is to move the centerline of the saddle back .030". Same geometry.

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Steve Smith
"Music is what feelings sound like"

Lar's you were looking good. I had that look years ago when working undercover and for seveal (5.5)years rode with a well known outlaw biker gang and running the bar they hung out at in LA. I hadn't seen my kis or family for about 9 months and when showed up at house once two of my daughter cried and didn't know me. Hard to go back, but I did. Yea, on the intonation thing. I have seen varios guitars from really good makeres and put one of the scale things or fretboard from vendors things ended from front of bridge, to front or back or center of saddle.

I do the center of saddle but as Micheal says sometimes that is off a few thou. I use a very consistant saddle thickness and bridge slot though and have it down pretty well

First; using Stewmac’s calculator the treble e compensation is + .089" the low E compensation is + .214" half way between there at the center of the saddle would be + .155". That said, the diagram Fric posted is a bad way to measure. As I replied to his post you can have the center of the saddle measure at scale length + .155" but you can maintain that position and have the bridge rotated and the ends can be way out of proper compensation. Measure along the line of the E & e sting to set the saddle compensation is the only way to get it right.

You can certainly measure to the leading edge but if using Stewmacs' calculated data you must subtract half the thickness of your saddle to find the desired leading edge positions.

In my opinion you should set the compensation so that it is correct at the centerline of the saddle to allow you room to intonate in either direction. Keep in mind that while both are related to proper playable pitch that compensation sets the acceptable open (non-fretted) string length compensation from E-e. Intonation on the other hand corrects the pitch relationship of the open pitch to it’s half scale node for each individual sting. One is the basic length over all and the other is the finely tuned length. Because of this, you give your self the most leeway to fine tune by setting the compensation in the center of the saddle at 1st and 6th string positions.

Michael: this last explanation got me understanding it better, Sometimes the easiest things are the hardest to figure out.

Stan: you wrote "you WERE" looking good what do you meen ... HAHAHAHAHA. . My son tells me I look great, what the (/&%&&() .

Lars

HI Lars, here is something I picked up which doesn't require much calculation.

Maybe others can comment on this method.

This will be in inches, you will have to convert to metric.

When your guitar is strung up to pitch mark the location at which the string contacts with the saddle. An easy way to do this is to take a strip of paper maybe 2"x1/2" place this under the string and pull the ends of the paper up like you are trying to lift the string with the paper. Slide this up the string towards the saddle until it stops. This is where the string leaves the saddle. Mark this location on the saddle. Take a good tuner preferably a strobe and strike the harmonic at the 12th fret. Tune exactly to pitch. Now fret the string at the 12th fret and note how many cents the intonation is off. Most tuners bounce around so you will have to repeat a few times to get an accurate number. Ideally ajustable tuners work better because you can adjust the cents in steps until it you have neutralized the difference between the 2 notes. This will give an exact number of cents off and you don't have to estimate. Each cent is about .010". Now adjust your pencil mark at the nut to compensate for this distance. For instance if your 6th string is 3 cents sharp move the pencil line for the 6th string back .030" and file to that mark

Richard

This is good info for intonation but Lars question was on saddle slot compensation location

This is great info. Allthough as Kent everett explined in his intonation video - if we intonate the guitar in "perfect pitch" then it will not be in pitch while we play it due to the way we play a guitar, fingers tend to bend the strings a tad, and this will make the intonation out of pitch, so he said to intonate the guitar just a tad flat "i think" I will re-watch it. But I am pretty shure this is what he said. The human ear tends not to hear flat as out of tune as much as for sharp. so if intonated a tad flat , then while the hands press down the strings it tends to be in tune. So the question stands, as to is I do it the way you just explained Richard, then it would be in perfect tune and then while I would play it with the strings pressed down in a cord be a tad sharp ! ?

Lars.

That's true. I learned long ago to adjust the tuning on guitars that are not well intonated by leaving the affected strings a bit flat. Real common for the B and sometimes the low E even on decent models.

_________________
Steve Smith
"Music is what feelings sound like"