Optimal intonation with Harmonic Tuner Guitar Setup for Android

Demo clip of the new Harmonic Tuner Guitar Setup & Harmonic Tuner Intonation Expert apps for Android.

Video sections:

  • 0:00 Check nut / bridge adjustment of a guitar (Example: bad intonated guitar)
  • 0:48 Check nut adjustment for all strings of an electric guitar (Strat type)
  • 2:11 Check bridge adjustment (some strings on a Strat type guitar again)
  • 5:07 Measure string inharmonicity for intonating an electric guitar in proper stretched tuning (Les Paul type guitar, Intonation Expert app)
  • 6:49 Check intonation error at the bridge (using the stretch tuning, LP guitar)
  • 7:28 Re-check intonation with the now corrected bridge intonation (LP guitar)

Get Grain Apps on Google Play.

Update 1.14 of Harmonic Tuner app family now on Google Play

Sustain Analyzer and Guitar Setup: new features in the first common update of the Harmonic Tuner apps as a family of 7. Visit Grain Apps on Google Play.

The new instrument bridge/nut adjustment features of Harmonic Tuner Guitar Setup app are now also a part of the most versatile tuning tool Harmonic Tuner Intonation Expert. Use it here with stretch tunings (suiting your guitar’s inharmonicity, easily measured with Intonation Expert) or use it to adjust intonation even of unusually fretted instruments of unequal temperaments.

Sustain Analyzer now has some new useful features:

  • Compare several stored sustain measurement protocols directly
  • Display the initial levels of the measured harmonics at note attack (as additional bar diagrams or intuitively as brightness of the sustain bargraphs)
  • Configurable unit of sustain (Seconds or dB/s)
  • New curve-style protocol look
  • Improved sustain / decay measurement for more accuracy

Example: Similar dead spots of first harmonic (fundamental) on two “Tele”-style electric guitars (new curve-type plot):

The same dead-spot measurement data in the conventional dot-style diagram.

Initial levels of harmonics displayed in the sustain bargraph module if activated in app settings – now displaying decay time T60 in seconds.

 

NEW on Google Play: Harmonic Tuner Guitar Setup

Easily set up guitar & bass intonation: Detect bridge and nut errors & adjustments with Harmonic Tuner Guitar Setup.

Harmonic Tuner Guitar Setup is a novel tuner app for easy and quick intonation assessment & setup of fretted instruments like guitar, bass, mandolin, ukulele etc. Only a well-intonated instrument sounds perfectly in tune along the whole fretboard.
The app shows how much bridge and nut of a guitar should be adjusted to get optimal intonation on your instrument based on only a few automated tuning measurements of your string’s notes. If string length is too short or too long at bridge or nut, the errors are shown as millimeter or inch values.
Use the app to perfectly set up your own instrument or to compare instruments in the shop, checking if the nontrivial task of nut adjustment was properly done by the luthier / manufacturer.

Get Harmonic Tuner Guitar Setup on Google Play.

The protocol diagram shows the tuning difference of fretted notes to the open string. Use the Zoom Button and Intonation Table for a detailed view. Adjustment of bridge and nut is usually only needed if average tuning deviation exceeds a 1 cent tolerance significantly.

Harmonic Tuner Guitar Setup eases the precise intonation assessment and correction of guitar setups. Compared to the conventional intonation setup method, this app does not require the string being precisely tuned +/-1 Cent to reference, because only the tuning difference is relevant here. Harmonic Tuner has the advantage of evaluating multiple notes to calculate a more precise adjustment error. Furthermore the amount of error is displayed, so time-consuming trial-and-error adjustments can be skipped.

More tuning protocol features (storing, comparing protocols, …) are available in Harmonic Tuner Intonation Expert. The upcoming next version of Intonation Expert will have the new Guitar Setup features as well, supporting even stretch tuning adjustments and adjustments for special unequal temperament fret/nut layouts.

See how significant the degrading effect of  worn strings on intonation and adjustability is: Worn vs. fresh strings, measured with Intonation Expert for Android.

Worn vs. fresh guitar strings

Compare string sets with Harmonic Tuner Intonation Expert for Android – Worn (left) vs. fresh (right) guitar strings – strong effect on intonation, tuning and adjustability

The two tuning protocols show the high E string (0.010″) of an electric guitar and the tuning at each fret. The worn string (left) leads to significantly lowered notes at middle frets an too high notes at higher frets, this string can not be set up for proper intonation. The fresh string on the same guitar and bridge setup gives nearly perfect intonation.