Just Yank on it...

Dom Franco

Dom Franco

New member
I have been playing stringed instruments for over 40 years now, and one thing continues to surprise me, is that many otherwise great players don't know how to re-string and tune a guitar! :confused:

1. Just two or three winds around the tuning peg are plenty! (NOT 10 winds all over-lapping and bunched up)

2. After seating the string and slowly tuning up to pitch the first time, gently YANK ON THE STRING, all up and down the neck.

3. Now you will notice the string is 2 or 3 notes lower in pitch... Re tune and repeat a few times until the string stays at pitch even after pulling.

4. IF YOU DONT YANK ON THE STRINGS YOU WILL HAVE TO CONSTANTLY RETUNE THE GUITAR FOR THE FIRST SEVERAL HOURS YOU PLAY IT!

5. This is especially important on an electric guitar with thinner strings and in particular the unwound 3rd ("G"string). :o

6. New strings sound awesome in the studio, the recordings are crisper and clearer, (AS LONG AS THE INSTRUMENT IS IN TUNE)

Thank you in advance for indulging one of my pet peeves.

Dom Franco :D
 
I thought everyone yanked on the strings.

I like the sound of 2 week old strings. I'm so picky i have one of my friends play the strings for 2 weeks before giving them back to me.


kidding.
 
Yeah, I was at a concert just this passed weekend and the front man started playing the acoustic that he was handed. It sounded a tad bit out of tune, he said "that sounds ugly." then he yelled for his tech to come and get the guitar rather than just tune it up really quick so while his guitar was being tuned we had to listen to him talk for a few minutes.

IF YOU CAN'T TUNE A GUITAR, YOU'RE A POSER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
 
fretwire3d said:
I like the sound of 2 week old strings. I'm so picky i have one of my friends play the strings for 2 weeks before giving them back to me.
Click to expand...

i find that as long as i use fast fret on them pretty regularly, i don't have to change strings often. apply once, scrub all the grime off, apply again. they're not as shimmery as brand new ones, but they're not bad, and i don't run into tuning trouble as frequently. i also don't leave my main guitar out collecting rust on the strings-i keep it in a gig bag. works for me.
 
g string?

I must add that the "B" string is also a very common tuning headache. This is often noticed when playing open chords and comparing the "E" chord to the "D" chord. The 2nd string fretted at the 3rd fret sounds sharp making the chord out of tune. The guitar's intonation (Bridge) must be set correctly and the player must be careful not to inadvertently push or pull the string sharp.

Even with the finest guitar and best setup possible, it often becomes a compromise to tune the "b" string slightly flat and allow the fretted note to be slightly sharp

Try this using a tuner with a segmented meter d1splay. (idiot red/green lights wont give you fine enough indication of the actual pitch).

Dom ;)
 
Last edited:
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top