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Location: Latitude 39.56819, Longitude -105.080066 | I found these two alternate (at least to me) ways of tuning the guitar. I have tried them both and I am very impressed by how they seem to correct the inherent tuning issues that guitars have. Try them out and let me know what you think about them.
The first one came from a Nashville session guy.
Low E -- tune using the 3rd fret, G
A ------- tune using the 3rd fret, C
D ------- tune using the 3rd fret, F
G ------- tune using the 2nd fret, A
B ------- tune using the 3rd fret, D
E ------- tune using the 3rd fret, G
The next version came from an unknown source who said his way was better....you decide:
Tune the high E (Then turn the tuner off)
Tune the 5th fret of the B string to the high E
Tune the 9th fret of the G string to the high E
Tune the 2nd fret of the A string to the high E
Tune the 7th fret (or 7th fret harmonic) to the high E
Tune the low E (or the 12th fret or the 5th or 12th fret harmonic) to the high E
RECHECK THE TUNING
There are numerous reasons why this works so well:
1) It references the same pitch so that any error or deviation on a string is not compounded.
2) It tunes notes throughout the neck so that you don't get the "why does my guitar only sound in tune when I play these 3 chords" syndrome.
3) You use your ears to tune the octaves in stretch tuning, so it actually sounds in tune. (Octaves from a tuner do not actually sound in tune.) :eek:
I anxiously await the comments of the masses. :cool: |
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Location: Tychy, Poland | I am always tunning with flageolets.
it doesnt't matter which string i start, if i have tuner i usually start with low E and then:
flageolet on 5th fret on E to flageolet on 7th on A, then 5th on A to 7th on D, then 5th on D to 7th on G, then i'm not using flageolet and trafitionally compare sound on 4th fret of G string to B string, and then flageolet again - 5th on a B to 7th on a E.
and that's all. |
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Location: Boise, Idaho | Too lazy. Just pick one that's in tune. Play it. Go to bed. Good night. |
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Location: Keepin' It Weird in Portland, OR | Got a Chinese Tuna with my Chinese Pseudo-Strat. Works fine!
Obviously I am a true virtuoso! |
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Location: Sunshine State, Australia | Steve, I don't get it :confused: |
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Location: Earth·SolarSystem·LocalInterstellarCloud·Local Bub | Stephen said: I anxiously await the comments of the masses. .
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Location: Converse, Texas | I'm confused |
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Location: CT | If you have a guitar thats waaay out of tune, or in an alternate tuning, and you tune the high E 1st, then start wrenching all the higher tension lower strings, won't it put just enough stress on the neck (or take some off) to make that little string change pitch? |
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Location: Colorado Rocky Mountains | I've finally reached the point where I don't trust my own ears. I always use an in-line tuner, and never those built into the Ovation preamps. |
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Location: Yucaipa, California | ...sheesh... I play banjo and now you tell me I'm supposed to tune my guitar? I never had to tune the banjo! |
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Posts: 972
Location: PDX | For my acoustic guitars:
I use a 440 tuning fork and start with the low E string harmonic on the 5th fret and tune the other strings to that harmonic.
5th string open and harmonic on the twelveth fret
4th string seventh fret
3rd sting second fret
2nd string tenth fret
1st string 5th fret
And then hit an open positing D chord and adjust if required
then hit an open position A chord and adjust
then an open position E chord
For my electric guitars i just use a tuner.
Works for me.
_____
gh1 |
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Location: Latitude 39.56819, Longitude -105.080066 | muzza, Don,
On the first set, you hold down the string at the third fret and tune it to the corresponding note. (3rd fret of high E is G so your tuner should center on the G note, etc).
On the 2nd set, you tune off the high E at the "corresponding" E note on the other 5 strings....5th fret on B, 9th fret on G, etc...
GH1...try tuning it as I listed above and see if you still feel the need to adjust the D,A,and E chords. This is partially what the above tunings correct.
Brainslag...that's why you RECHECK the tuning after you get all 6 done. |
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Posts: 15680
Location: SoCal | Tune guitars???? Sheesshh, 12 strings cured me of wanting to do that. On 12's, it's not hard to find the one string that's out of tune, it tuning the other 11 to it that's hard...... |
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Location: Phoenix AZ | I just play a 200232 D chord and adjust as necessary. Given my own personal hearing characteristics, that D chord is the one easiest for me to hear any issues with.
Dave |
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Location: East Tennessee | Question: How long does it take to tune a 12 string guitar?
Answer: No one knows. :D
I just stick with My Intelli Tuner. |
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Posts: 1138
Location: CT | Originally posted by stephent28:
Brainslag...that's why you RECHECK the tuning after you get all 6 done. ..I know.. And this is probably a better way to do it. Just like making 100 copies of something from an original, rather than the previous copy. But in the real world, rather than putting the tuner away after the high E is done, tune all strings, plug the high E BACK into the tuner, tune if necessary, then make sure all the other strings are still in tune with it, then play your open chords and make sure all is well. rather than tuning from the bottom up, and checking the open chords. The only time I play 'out' anymore is church anyway, and that piano isn't even in tune with itself, so it won't matter if I drop my guitar, then pick it up and keep going. |
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Posts: 1126
Location: Omaha, NE | Originally posted by brainslag:
If you have a guitar thats waaay out of tune, or in an alternate tuning, and you tune the high E 1st, then start wrenching all the higher tension lower strings, won't it put just enough stress on the neck (or take some off) to make that little string change pitch? My Taylor certainly does that. The neck on that is incredibly sensitive. In fact, just going from standard tuning to drop-D will throw the whole thing off.
On the plus side, the harmonics on that guitar ring like a bell. |
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Location: Omaha, NE | Originally posted by Tupperware:
that D chord is the one easiest for me to hear any issues with Same here. If the D is in tune, then the guitar is in tune (at least to itself).
One of the reasons I stick with an electronic tuner is that I often find myself tuning a guitar perfectly to itself, but somehow in the process I set the whole thing a smidge sharp. |
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Location: NJ | Gimme an "A" . . . |
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Location: Yucaipa, California | ...hmmm, I seem to remember Country Joe sayin "gimme an F".... ???...musta been an alternate tuning. |
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Location: Campbell River, British Columbia | "Eh!" |
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Location: Tampa, FL | Tune a guitar? Heck, I tune a guitar so I don't have to tune a fish.
Oh come on! Noone thought about this one? Who can forget REO Speedwagon?!!!
In all seriousness, I lazily tune using an electronic tuner using standard tuning on open strings.
Boring I know, but I'd rather spend time playing than tuning...as long as the guitar is tuned.
Regards,
Mark |
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Location: Campbell River, British Columbia | How do I tune a guitar?
Hand it to the lead player, he bitches the most about it.... |
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Posts: 3145
Location: Marlton, NJ | I just spent an inordinate amount of time trying to tune my son's electric guitar. The intonation is off and the bridge is not adjustable. I ended up just ratcheting up the overdrive until it didn't matter if it was in tune. He was happy... |
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Location: Colorado Springs, CO | You Can Tune A Guitar, But You Can't Tune-A-Fish. |
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Posts: 1900
| I tune for harmonics at the 5th, 7th and 12th frets, basically tuning the guitar to itself. Then I fine-tune with octaves. It works out better than using the Sabine tuner, because it allows for the differences in fret height. (I also need new Schallers...wonder how much that's gonna set me back..) |
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Posts: 604
Location: Tampa, FL | I've recently noticed a peculiarity with tuning my instruments. For the most part I use a Sabine tuner to tune the open strings. When I play in the first position, everything sounds fine. I've recently learned some music that I play mostly above the 5th fret, often around the 12th fret. At the higher fret positions, the notes would start sounding off. Again checking with the Sabine, the open strings indicated they were in tune but the high fret positions would still seem off. When compared to each other, e.g. playing a C at the 12th fret, everything sounded reasonable. But leave some strings open and things got relatively nasty. So I check my tunigs by fretting the 'high' positions and my Sabine indicated things were off. I corrected the tuning at the 'high' positions and the open strings still indicated correct tuning. So here's what I do now: I tune the open strings to get close. If I'm mostly playing first position stuff or will be playing strictly barre chord/strumming stuff, this is usually good enough. If I'm going to be playng fingerstyle then I'll have to be a little more meticulous and maybe fine tune at the higher fret positions.
Here's a question - Assuming that your guitar has perfect :rolleyes: intonation, do you think tuning the ocatve harmonics yields more accurate tuning than simply tuning the open strings? |
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Posts: 4081
Location: Utah | I've read that tuning using harmonics isn't quite perfect by a few cents here and there. For me, harmonics are easier to hear when not matched. I can hear the beat frequency. Fretting on the 5th fret and trying to match to the open string is harder to hear accurately. If I don't have an electronic tuner, or for a quick fix in the middle of practice, I use harmonics since I am better at them, even though they are technically less accurate.
These days for initial tuining I use an electronic tuner and it does pretty darned well. I like to check octaves, E to E, A to A, C to C, D to D, E to E, G to G. This repairs bad intonation. Apparently normal nuts are not correct for intonation.
FWIW, an eNut made a big improvement in the intonation of my electric. The daughter's Elite T has pretty good intonation out of the box. It doesn't take nearly as much fiddling around to get a guitar in tune when it has good intonation.
Tuning the 12 string is a bit more complicated but the same octave checking is the final step. |
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Location: Budd Lake, NJ | I start with the on-board tuner, and then tune from the overtones at the 5th, 7th, and 12th frets, and occasionally the overtones way up the neck (don't know which frets, but you're almost out of fretboard.) I never have any problems with Gertrude (the Ol' Lady of Balladeers), no matter where I play her, but Jewel (the blingy LX) is the equivalent of a temperamental two-year-old sometimes to tune. "When she is good, she is very, very good, but when she is bad, she is horrid." When that happens, I just get Gertrude out instead.
--Karen |
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Location: big island | tuna guitar |
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Location: big island | tuna guitar
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Location: 6 String Ranch | I usually just go with a tuner and go the regular way. Then check the E, A,D and G strings with harmonics. Then check the D note, B string 3rd fret with the open D string, then the B string and high E with harmonics. It gets me close enough. Some guitars are worse than others.
Also depends on what tune you're playing. Ones with E and A shapes are one way. Lots of G and C shapes might need a tweek another way. |
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| So why don't we all use Buzz Feiten (however you spell it)?
There's a music shop here will convert any acoustic to the BF method for about $250.
Bill - did the factory ever experiment with changing to the BF tuning system? |
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Location: Latitude 39.56819, Longitude -105.080066 | Schroeder, an enut will get you 95-100% of the way there (depending on guitar) for under $20. |
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Location: Townsville, Australia | You all have it easy untill you tune a Gretsch with Bigsby and enter the world of diminishing iteration; coz every time you ater tension on a string, the spring moves, be it ever so slightly, and all the others vary. So it comes down to the best approximation.
Ovations stay in tune way better than most; less wood to move with temp and humidity I guess.
I have a bad "ear" so am generally happy with anything within 1/4 tone, and factor in playing ability, and the brains capacity to enhance what sound I make and it gets even better.
But I admire and envy people with good ears and sense of what is right in the way of tuning. |
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Posts: 4081
Location: Utah | Originally posted by stephent28:
Schroeder, an enut will get you 95-100% of the way there (depending on guitar) for under $20. The Korg DT-7 tuner has the Buzz Feiten offsets built in (or you can use standard tuning). With the 12th fret notes on the DT-7 you can adjust the intonation if your bridge is adjustable. With an eNut and the DT-7 you can get darned close to perfection. |
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Posts: 51
Location: Arizona | Originally posted by Lanaki:
tuna guitar
But back to the tuning...usually I just open-tune everything with the electronic tuner (not necessarily the pre-amp one, but those aren't bad by my estimation). If I need to check something quickly I'll use the harmonics just to see where things are.
I recently got one of those little LED strobe tuners that you can use as a pick and I *really* like it. Takes very little time, it's very accurate, and you can tune an acoustic in a noisy environment without any trouble. |
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How Do You Tune A Guitar