Nut / saddle compensation / tricky verification

[edvinguitars.fi]

I completed a short mini-project and created new saddle-nut compensation for my low action setup by using Greg's excellen spreadsheet.

I encountered a positive problem: the perfomance is probably better than my measurement equipment! namely, I tested 5 different mobile/PC based tools and got quite different results.

For the sake of simplicity, I recorded a short video of Peterson products I have. To my surprise, the E string result varies 0..-14c using these tools. Makes me ask a question how can I validate my setup if the measurement accuracy is so bad?

As a computer / digital design engineer, I assume the processor load/ oscillator variance / windows / Android etc peculiarities may affect the results, and I am thinking the most accurate one is the dedicated portable Peterson tuner. Which, unfortunately, does not show any cent scale differences

What do you use to validate your intonation?

https://youtu.be/ryqI5HT07CI

Jani

[Dave M]

I use AP Tuner running on Windows. I like it for the large display and it does give you cents. It does do some other clever stuff which I don't use.

I don't think I have seen the variation that you refer to except when fretting notes where all sorts of havoc breaks loose.

[kiwigeo]

+1 for AP Tuner

[lamanoditrento]

I have have a folder of apps I've downloaded over the years and spent a bit of time comparing them to a bunch of tuners I have. Of the tuners hanging around, I looked a polytune pedal, an over priced peterson clip-on that claimed 0.1 cent accuracy, a korg with 1/4" aux or wired clip-on and a d'addario soundhole one. By far the polytune and korg aux'd were the most accurate and consistent with each other, followed by the d'addario soundhole tuner. The korg clip-on got better if I clipped the sound hole rather than the headstock, which may explain the d'addaro.

The best of the app was Cleartune which was consistent with the aux'd tuners and is easy to read the cents especially in landscape. Although AP Tuner was close. I also dislike the strobe a bit as I find it harder to ignore/truncate the attack and decay when Im watch it (but that may be a me problem rather than the app's).

Screenshot 2024-05-24 at 3.10.28 AM.png (196.26 KiB) Viewed 8204 times

https://apps.apple.com/au/app/cleartune/id286799607