Fender Vintage Style Precision Bass, Owner'S Manual

The procedure for setting your intonation is as follows:

1.

  Plug into your tuner and turn the volume full up on the bass. Strike the harmonic, (

see    

Tuning, page 13

), at the 12th fret,and tune the string to the appropriate pitch. 

2.

    Lightly press the string to the 12th fret, and recheck the pitch on the tuner. (If you press   

too heavily it will result in a false sharp reading.)

3.

    If the pitch of the harmonic and the pitch of the fretted note agree, then the string is  

properly intonated, and no adjustment will be necessary. If the two pitches disagree,    

you’ll  need to make on of the following adjustments, using either a Phillips screwdriver or  

a hex wrench, depending on your specific bridge.

4.

  If the fretted note is sharper (higher in pitch relative to the harmonic), you will need to    

lengthen

 the active vibrating length of the string until the two pitches agree. To do this,   

turn the saddle length adjustment screw clockwise, moving the saddle toward the back of  

the bridge, until the harmonic and the fretted note register as the same pitch, 

(

Figure R

)

.  

It’s a good idea to stretch and re-tune the string during the adjustment, as the movement  

of the saddle will affect the pitch. 

5.

  If the fretted note is flatter, (lower in pitch relative to the harmonic), you will need to  

shorten

 the active vibrating length of the string until the pitches agree.  To do this, turn   

the saddle length adjustment screw counter-clockwise, moving the saddle forward, until  

 the harmonic and the fretted note register as the same pitch, 

(

Figure S

).  

Remember to  

stretch and re-tune the string.

Note: You may need to de-tune slightly and manually push  

the saddle forward to complete the adjustment, as the downward pressure from the string  

may not allow the saddle to move forward freely. 

6.

  When these procedures have been completed on each string, your bass should be  

properly intonated.  Perform a final tuning check and there’s only one thing left to do. Just  

plug into your amp and 

Make History™!

25

Set-up