4. Turn the MCK counter-clockwise until the b# symbol shines blue. The Display Matrix dots will
also shine blue, because Dark Fire is in the Blue Bank.
5. Press the MCK's Display Matrix momentarily and the Display Matrix dot's will shine green.
Now Dark Fire is in the Green Bank.
6. Turn the MCK to the Peg position.
7. Press the MCK's Display Matrix, and hold it in the pressed state until the LED symbols E, A, D,
G, B and e shine red. The Peg LED will shine magenta.
8. Pluck the open A string until its LED turns green. This confirms the reference frequency has
been measured and registered.
9. Now strum all strings, and the remaining LED symbols will behave as during a normal tuning
operation. Dark Fire will tune to the selected tuning with respect to your new reference pitch.
10.When tuning is complete, the string LEDs will turn off.
You can store your changed reference tuning as a custom alternate tuning preset. Push the MCK all
the way in, and perform the procedure described in the previous section (“Creating Custom Alternate
Tuning Presets”), including the procedure for storing the tuning in a preset position.
Note: An alternative method to use a reference other than A=440Hz is to change Dark Fire's
calibration, as described in Chapter 7.
Intonation Mode
Dark Fire's built-in Intonation Mode allows setting or checking string intonation. Note: You will need
a small screwdriver to adjust the bridge's saddle adjustment screws. Gibson recommends first
doing a standard tuning to A = 440Hz, then pushing the MCK in, before adjusting the intonation.
Note: You can easily change a fretted string's pitch by up to 10 cents by applying different forces, and
the position where you press down on the string affects pitch. Please use a consistent force and
position. Also, during intonation the tuning precision is set to maximum automatically—you may
notice that it takes a little bit longer to detect the pitch.
1. Pull the MCK out, and turn it counter-clockwise until the b# symbol shines blue. The Display
Matrix center will also shine blue (Dark Fire is in the Blue Bank).
2. Press the MCK momentarily 2 times, and the Display Matrix center will shine red. Dark Fire is
now in the Red Bank.
3. Turn the MCK to the Peg LED position. Press the Display Matrix and hold it in until the Peg
LED shines orange. All the String LEDs will now shine red.
4. Strum the lower E string gently. When the E String LED shines orange, fret the lower E string
at the 12th fret then gently strum it again.
5. If the Piezo saddle position needs changing, the MCK will display the number of half-turns to
apply to the intonation screw. Turn the screw 1/2 turn clockwise for each LED shining red, or
1/2 turn counter-clockwise for each LED shining green.
6. After making an adjustment, strum the open string again until its LED turns orange, then re-
check by fretting the 12th fret again and strumming gently. Once a string's intonation is correct,
its LED will shine solid blue—proceed to the next string.
7. When all strings are properly intonated, they will all shine blue for a moment, then turn off.
Intonation is now complete.
Gibson Dark Fire 4.0 manual, page 25