Tuning before/during recording

[StevenLindsey]

I tune mine initially using the harmonic at the 12th and then the 5th and 7th across. Then starting at the low E 12th harmonic comparing it with the lower fretted note on another string...then doing the same with all the other 12th fret harmonics listening for the difference between the notes. I just tune until the wavering stops at any position. Gets it about as close as you can get. I've probably not used correct technical terms..I don't know them - but my guitar is in tune. Experts disagree all over the place on the "correct" tuning method. But while experts argue, somebody else is playing the guitar. You cannot "perfectly" tune a guitar or a piano. Just get it as close as you can without obsessing over it and play some music. Most people can't hear 3-4 cents anyway.

 

[tjohnston]

Where is LT. BOB? This is his area of specialization!

 

[stonepiano]

ABSOLUTE MOST IMPORTANT THING EVER POSTED ABOUT TUNING....

If you have an epiphone, make sure you at least have grover tuners. My Casino and my Gib LP both came with those Damn Gibson Deluxe things and it would never (I mean never) stay in tune. If you love the axe, get Grovers or locking tuners.

 

[Light]

I usually tune before recording and am good to go. Both of my guitars have horrible intonation issues (I guess that's what it is) and I find myself playing AROUND the song, as opposed to how I would like to play it. On my guitars, the higher the fret, the worse it sounds.

Hope I could be of service (which I doubt).

Your guitars have intonation issues. You should bring them to a good repair shop. With electrics, they can be made 100% better, and even with acoustics there are things we can look at. Intonation should not be such a problem that you have to "play around" the issues.


Light

"Cowards can never be moral."
M.K. Gandhi

 

[cellardweller]

At least in Chicago, you have a good chance of finding a good repair shop. I'm down the river a bit from you, and ALL of the instruments go to the same guy... Likewise, all elecronics go to the same guy (different guy though).

So if guy A or guy B are particularly swamped, you can end up with crappy work that takes forever to get back, and then even longer to get looked at again...

I can't tell you how many sites I've seen that say "all you need to set your intonation is a tuner and a screwdriver",

it's probably one of the "one horse town" repair guys website...

that bastard...

 

[Lt. Bob]

The guitar intonation could be off but it could be the way you play. I often see players pull the guitar out of tune. Plus, as someone already mentioned, a guitar can be in tune in one area of the neck and out in another.
Intonation does not make a guitar go out of tune however. If it's in tune and then goes out......that's something other than intonation. Also, tuning keys don't usually cause that either......it's usually the nut. Strings get caught in the slots when you stretch them. I always put a little bit of lubricant in each slot when I change strings.

I'm a piano tuner as a living ...... been doing it 28 years.
Not that it totally applies to guitars.

IMO.......guitar tuners are sufficient for basic intonation setting on a guitar. After all......it doesn't matter in absolute terms whether the tuner gets it dead-on.....it only matters that it is consistant.
First......many tuners now do use strobes. Granted, you have to do the majority by ear.......the unisons have to be done by ear and you do have to 'stretch' the tuning at the ends of the piano......sharp to the right and slightly flat to the bass side. This varies tremendously from piano to piano.

The best inexpensive tuner out there ($200) is the Peterson Virtual Strobe. It is accurate to 1/100th of a semi-tone plus it has different temperments.

 

[philboyd studge]

Agreed, being in tune doesn't mean it'll always sound right. I usually tune just a hair south of pitch and often yank on the B and G and sometimes low E strings on the fly.

 

[LI_Slim]

How do you like the Intellitouch tuners which you clip onto the head and sense the vibrations through the wood? Mine seems to work well.

 

[Lt. Bob]

Sure.......look, none of those tuners are as accurrate as a strobe but they are good enough for all practical purposes. Now....to tune a piano? No way.........but they are certainly sufficient for general guitar use.

 

[cellardweller]

So what does a decent strobe go for? This is the only way to accurately intonate an instrument?

 

[Lt. Bob]

See above post where I suggested a Peterson Virtual Strobe. You can get one from Musician's Friend for $200.
And actual strobe would be a Peterson too and they would run about $400.

But I repeat........I think that you can do a perfectly acceptable intonation job with a good guitar tuner.......plus, your problem, as you described it, doesn't neccessarily sound like an intonation problem to me.

 

[spankenstein]

I understand the accuracy of a strobe tuner, but I've had really good outcomes with using a decent tuner and setting intonation. Even taking the time by ear can help depending on how far out of whack the guitar is when you got it.

I will say that it's better to have NO tuner than a really cheap tuner. If it's cheap and a tuner it's going to suck. I really like the Boss TU-2 Chromatic tuner and has been doing great for me.

 

[Light]

See above post where I suggested a Peterson Virtual Strobe. You can get one from Musician's Friend for $200.
And actual strobe would be a Peterson too and they would run about $400.

But I repeat........I think that you can do a perfectly acceptable intonation job with a good guitar tuner.......plus, your problem, as you described it, doesn't neccessarily sound like an intonation problem to me.

My comments on intonation where in response to FattMusiek's saying

On my guitars, the higher the fret, the worse it sounds.

Which is absolutely an intonation issue. I would never try and set intonation without a strobe tuner. I have heard it done, and I can hear the difference. I will grant that I probably have a better ear than most, but not that much better.

As to the nut sticking, if it is right you do not need lubrication, but if it is a little tight, you can use pencil graphite to lubricate it until you can get it setup. Tell your repair guy that you are having a problem, and it should be taken care of.

The truth is, there are literally hundreds of little things it could be. I would never even try to evaluate a guitars specific problems without seeing it. Well, I had no problem with the guy who called me last week trying to figure out why the guitar wouldn't play in tune. He had put a neck from a Japanese Les Paul copy on a Silvertone archtop guitar. That is, however, one of the only times I have ever diagnosed over the phone.


Light

"Cowards can never be moral."
M.K. Gandhi

 

[faderbug]

i've been using the AP software tuner for quite a while now and even had a chance to compare it to a strobe tuner : it gave the same readings (unfortunatly it only has a one cent scale division). it's very easy to use.

http://www.cerlsoundgroup.org/


and check out the continuum fingerboard (it's $5000 btw)!!!

 

[alientelegraph]

I'd agree with Lt.Bob , the strobe tuner is by far the most accurate. Peterson's VS-1 Virtual Strobe Tuner can be had for about $150. at musican's friend, it even features a special tempered intonation option for guitar.
Though as has already been pointed out your problem may have more to do with the guitar itself or it's strings.
On some guitars it is best to make several passes with a tuner....that is tune each string and then go back and check the tuning again as sometimes the changing of tesion on one string will slightly alter the tension on the others due to flexing or movment of the neck or body of the guitar. A good practice is to first play, or at least rub your hand along the strings for a few minutes, to warm them up to "playing temperture"before attempting to tune the guitar.

 

[zipperhead]

While I was in a Barnum and Bailey rock band, at the end of each set I would give the strings a quick wipe, and tune quickly, while the heat of the lights was strong on the instrument. Then you're as ready as you can be for your next mental set.

And hey I've learned many things about tuning. Hey Light, good stuff. Thank you.

Go get 'em.

 

[EpiSGpl8r]

c'mon people when ur guitar goes out of tune then its ur guitar maybe u need new tuners. i can't believe some of the question u people have on how to tune ur guitar

 

[Lt. Bob]

c'mon people when ur guitar goes out of tune then its ur guitar maybe u need new tuners. i can't believe some of the question u people have on how to tune ur guitar

LOL....tuners are about the last thing that causes a guitar to go out of tune. They can be a reason for not getting one in tune in the first place, but if it goes out once it's tuned......then it's almost surely something other than tuners.

 

[Light]

LOL....tuners are about the last thing that causes a guitar to go out of tune. They can be a reason for not getting one in tune in the first place, but if it goes out once it's tuned......then it's almost surely something other than tuners.

Yeah, the tuners are rarely the issue. If there is a problem in that area, it is probably operator error (the owner doesn’t know how to string a guitar). The nut is probably the biggest reason for a guitar not to stay in tune, unless there is a trem (which are always impossible to keep in tune). None the less, there are many non-mechanical reasons for a guitar to go out of tune, and the only real way to figure out exactly what it is, is to take it to a good repair shop. Only someone who does this every day knows exactly what to look for.


Light

"Cowards can never be moral."
M.K. Gandhi