Sounds out of tune...

[Myriad_Rocker]

I was jamming with some guys last night and my guitar sounded out of tune for some reason. I check it and it's in tune. So...the other guitar player lets me use his (sounded fine through his amp) and I get the same problem.

Any ideas? Strange....

 

[Ed Dixon]

Some players have a very heavy touch. The result is the chords go sharp because of this, even though it test in tune with a tuner and open strings.

YOu might have to have the guitar setup adjusted for your playing style.

Ed

 

[Myriad_Rocker]

Some players have a very heavy touch. The result is the chords go sharp because of this, even though it test in tune with a tuner and open strings.

YOu might have to have the guitar setup adjusted for your playing style.

Ed

Yeah, but the same guitar sounds fine through another amp with me playing it.

I'm pretty much just grabbing for a reason...can't figure it out.

 

[Myriad_Rocker]

I haven't played standing up in about 3 years...that could be it...I might be pulling down on the strings and don't know it....?

That's a shame if it's true...

 

[tarnationsauce2]

You could have a bowed neck (improperly adjusted truss rod), or intonation could be off.
Or your tuner is not calibrated with your other band mates.

 

[Myriad_Rocker]

You could have a bowed neck (improperly adjusted truss rod), or intonation could be off.
Or your tuner is not calibrated with your other band mates.

All good suggestions...however, two guitars did it on the same amp. That and I checked the intonation and it was spot on. I also checked the neck.

And the tuner was another band mate's. And a quite reliable one at that. Korg DTR2000000000000000 or whatever.

 

[Ed Dixon]

Yeah, but the same guitar sounds fine through another amp with me playing it.

I'm pretty much just grabbing for a reason...can't figure it out.

So if I understand, it sounds out of tune through one amp but fine thorugh another amp?

Ed

 

[scrubs]

Clearly, sir, you are a freak of nature.

 

[tarnationsauce2]

Do you have a chorus effect on your amp?

 

[scrubs]

Maybe you're just playing the wrong notes?

 

[Myriad_Rocker]

So if I understand, it sounds out of tune through one amp but fine thorugh another amp?

Ed

Yep. My amp at home sounds fine with it. However, my "live" amp sounded bad.

 

[Myriad_Rocker]

Do you have a chorus effect on your amp?

Nope. I was running direct from Guitar --> Amp

Maybe you're just playing the wrong notes?

Uh, yeah...not likely. It was open chords that seemed to be the problem.

 

[Ed Dixon]

This sounds more like an amp/cab problem than a guitar issue. Does the problem occur for all chords, or only for specific things (like A). If a cabinet has a tuning problem, it can sound strang for certain notes and OK for others.

Do you have a separate cabinet to test with your amp? If so, try that and see what happens. It may tell you whether this is an amp or speaker issue.

Ed

 

[FALKEN]

sometimes on a mix i'll be struggling to figure out which guitar is out of tune...they both sound in tune, but in the mix they don't, whats going on....then it hits me.....its the bass that's out of tune.

 

[Myriad_Rocker]

This sounds more like an amp/cab problem than a guitar issue. Does the problem occur for all chords, or only for specific things (like A). If a cabinet has a tuning problem, it can sound strang for certain notes and OK for others.

Do you have a separate cabinet to test with your amp? If so, try that and see what happens. It may tell you whether this is an amp or speaker issue.

Ed

A cab can be "out of tune"?

 

[Ed Dixon]

Not out of tune, but might produce odd sounds for specific notes. However something like this would likely be there all the time and not just one night.

If a cabinet has a resonant frequency in a guitar range, then that note would cause problems. Most cabinets are designed so this never occurs.

Someone else also commented about the tune of the other instruments, expecially the bass.

Ed

 

[Myriad_Rocker]

Not out of tune, but might produce odd sounds for specific notes. However something like this would likely be there all the time and not just one night.

If a cabinet has a resonant frequency in a guitar range, then that note would cause problems. Most cabinets are designed so this never occurs.

Someone else also commented about the tune of the other instruments, expecially the bass.

Ed

Well, it better not. It's an $800 cab.

 

[Ed Dixon]

Then it's probably something else. As someone else suggested, check tune of bass.

Ed

 

[PhiloBeddoe]

Were you playing loud? If so, sometimes acoustic phenomena like room modes and comb filtering can mess with your mind.

Bass is especially susceptible to these things.

 

[Lt. Bob]

It sounds to me like you were 'pulling' the strings out of tune without realizing it. I've seen it many times.
And you might do it in one setting but not another, as in when you go home.
Also, it's not impossible that when you started trying different amps to see what the problem was, you quit pulling the strings because you weren't playing the same as if you were just playing a song. Your attention and efforts were focused differently than they were when you were just playing.

I can't really think of anything that would make one amp sound out of tune for one particular player but not another one.