Intonation - the 12th Fret Harmonic vs. the Open String

The question I tried to answer today is, "Which is more better?"

• Comparing the note at the 12th fret with the harmonic at the 12th fret, or
• Comparing the note at the 12th fret with the open string

Today I set the intonation on my new guitar for the Xth time.  I have a Peterson Strobostomp, which is good because neither my ear, nor a needle tuner, has ever helped me intonate a guitar.  And I couldn't tell see much difference between the two methods.  I think the reason is that if the intonation is already close, the harmonic and the open string are converging somewhat.  Who knows?  It's such an inexact thing.  My favorite E-form barre chord sometimes sounds good to me, and sometimes sounds horrible, when played up the neck.  That can change from day to day.

I tried hacking the G string compensation a little by increasing it arbitrarily, because it seems like the G is the primary culprit in spoiling my perfect chord.  I've heard of studio musicians doing that when they know exactly what intervals, and where on the neck, they're planning to be.  I think experienced luthiers, guitar techs and musicians consciously or unconsciously "sweeten" their intonation, and they're not telling me how it's done.  I've read that experience musicians of the fretless persuasion (eg violin) adjust their intonation dynamically, like magicians.  

I'm trying to work up a system for hacking intonation that works reliably, and when I do, I'll post it.  It'll be something along the lines of:

1. Play your chord or group of notes where it needs to be
2. Strum repeatedly and silence different strings in turn, looking for the one that's ruining it most for everybody
3. Use the regular guitar tuners to nudge that string up or down a little at a time (basically make it out of tune) until it plays better with others
4. If you sharpened it, decrease compensation for that string beyond what is normal, and if you flatted it increase compensation beyond what is normal

Also I just realized that I might be able to do something using just the tuner:  hold the chord up where I need it and, in effect, see how far from equal temperament perfection each note is.  That's basically simple intonation, but maybe it changes the equation when all the strings are fingered?

I am a monkey.

Strange High E String Failure Mode

I've heard it said of tremolo use and Kahlers in particular, that guitar string windings at the ball end should be soldered.  I always wondered what the heck that was about.  From what I have discerned, Kahlers have fixed saddles and wrap the string ball ends around a semi-circular rotating stop, similar to Bigsby tremolos and, in a way, to some wrap-around TOM (Tune-O-Matic) fixed bridges.  And there, I thought, was the crux:  something about turning a corner with the wrapped end perhaps caused problems.

Now maybe I understand.

I lost the ability to maintain tuning on my high E string on my new homemade guitar.  Every time I did a bend, it came back low - and it's a fixed bridge.  It happened over and over and over.  I even loosed the Steinberger gearless tuner at the headstock, unclamped the string, grabbed the free tail and reclamped it with the slack taken up.  It kept happening.  Here were my theories, in descending order of probability:

1. string clamp mechanism slipping - but I didn't see any less tag end than I remembered having after the initial string installation
2. string stretching like all getout - but I couldn't imagine a string stretching that much without breaking
3. tuner shifting in the soft basswood of the tuner hole - but i saw no visual indication of it
4. adjustable saddle moving of its own accord - but I checked the compensation screw head and it was against the rear of the bridge
5. bridge moving - but the other strings were great

Then I measure the wrapping at the ball end where it comes through the rear of the bridge.  I measured 19/64ths, worked the string by bouncing the guitar on it repeatedly.  I measured 16/64ths, but I didn't believe it.  I stretched the string again and it became clear:  the high E string was getting pulled around the ball end and  smooshing the wrap toward the ball end.  In this picture you can see it:

Imagine for a moment that I had a camera made after about 2003, that could take a picture worth a damn.  You would see that the green arrow is approximately where the final wrap used to be, and the yellow arrow is where it is now.  Between the two is kinked-up string, unwrapped wraps that have wriggled out of the wrap zone.

From now on I will solder my strings, I guess.

The Guitar with the Finish (but not the Finished Guitar)

After weeks of applying thin coats of wipe-on poly I got enough layers on there.  The poly is not mirror smooth - that happens later, after the poly has cured (2-4 weeks, and/or until the smell disappears), when it's wet-sanded and buffed.  Who knows if I'll even bother doing that?  In the photos that follow, you can see the ripples in the poly.

The headstock with the Steinberger gearless tuners and Fender LSR nut. I've been slacking the strings, adjusting the neck relief with the truss rod, and re-shimming the nut each time.  What a pain in the sack.

The battery is wrapped in blue electrical tape, both to prevent it from shorting any contacts, and because CVS batteries are Not Very Metal.

Six-bolt neck attachment:

I still haven't figured out how to bend the 1/2" aluminum rod. I'm working on that.  It may involved annealing the metal with a propane torch (until the carbon in a Sharpie line fades out).  I've located a machine shop very near my house, but I haven't given up yet; I've managed to do just about everything by myself so far.