tuning your guitar and bass

[treymonfauntre]

my trick for keeping my guitars in tune was to sell all my guitars that had tremolos

[squeegybug]

I just found about these recently: www.earvana.com

Compensated nut, instead of just the saddle.

Haven't tried them yet but I am going to. Others I have talked to bought one to try, then bought them for every guitar they owned. Seems like a good idea.

Click on the "Technology" tab to see the pitch variations. Different than Buzz Feiten, the Earvana looks to work on every string, all the way up the neck.

Steve

[not_so_new]

I have a Buzz Feiten on every guitar I own...... I will never go back.


Two thumbsup thumbsup

[atropos]

Originally Posted by treymonfauntre

my trick for keeping my guitars in tune was to sell all my guitars that had tremolos

+1

Fixed bridge + Strobostomp pedal.... intonation check on every change of strings, and I'm typically good to go.

Earvana looks neat, but no option for a lefty? booooooooooooooo.......

[klaukholm]

Hm, thats not a bad idea.
I need to have a custom job done on the nut of my main orchestral bass, it has been driving me nuts for a while now (so to speak).

Thanks for the link steve.

[FFTT]

I pay a lot of attention to make sure the strings are properly wound at the tuning posts and I double loop the strings through the hole to make sure they won't slip.
I seem to have the best luck with Markely Blue Steels.

I then play and stretch the strings for at lease 24 hrs before doing any recording or playing an important gig.

You need to at least check intonation after each string change, even with the same brand and if your neck is out of whack, you'll still never get it right.

Tuning before a performance doesn't mean diddly squat if your fighting temperature
extremes on stage.

With a cold empty room, you can have your guitar ready to go an hour before the performance, but then once the guitar starts warming up from your hands and from the stage lights, and a room full of people ( hopefully ) all hell breaks loose.

I always found it smart to plan a 1 minute tune check after the first song.

[Bob Ross]

Originally Posted by lofi

what do ya do to keep em in tune?

I don't have to do anything to my basses to keep 'em in tune. Maybe I got lucky, maybe I got some real nice basses...but I can sometimes not have to retouch the tuning for *weeks*. Seriously.

Guitars are another story. I'm starting tho think treymonfauntre was right about dumping all the guitars with whammy bars; I've got one axe with a Kahler and another PRS with the stock tremolo tailpiece, and tuning both of them -- and getting them to hold their tuning for the duration of a tune -- is an exercise in patience. My hardtail (cheap Yamaha Strat clone) isn't much better.

[orange]

Originally Posted by Bob Ross

I don't have to do anything to my basses to keep 'em in tune. Maybe I got lucky, maybe I got some real nice basses...but I can sometimes not have to retouch the tuning for *weeks*. Seriously.

same here

[lofi]

true. basses are much tighter. i guess thats cos they do play lower notes and usually dont have tremolo... but...i wonder if locking tuners would help even more.plus some kind of compensated and graphite lubricated nut.

gutars are way trickier. mostly problem areas seem to be nut (zero fret seems to be better,tonewise also) and first unwound string in a row. and of course tremolo systems.

strobostomp is on my purchase list. i hope a decent and compact tuner at last.

my nut is compensated (didnt know bout earvana but that is esentialy that) and that changed things for the better considerably

some frends recommend shaller as the only in tune tremolo solution.hmmm. have to try it.

heavier strings help too. at least at lower register.

i wonder how much fanned frets help ?

great info .keep it coming !



thumbsup

[dfarness]

I use the Taylor guitar method outlined in a PDF you can download from their website. It's basically a way to avoid over wrapping the tuning posts. Taylor recommends no more than 4 winds on high strings and 2 on lower strings. The more winds the more the strings stretch out of tune. I also use a Peterson Strobotuner. I just bought a Gretch with a Bigsby and so far it holds tune very well. In the past I have had to change out the factory tuners on my Les Paul Studio and recently installed Sperzels as part of an upgrade on an Epi Les Paul Jr. Very cool!

[tunetown]

The nut can be tuned by filing each string groove to the correct depth. Try this, tune your guitar with a tuner. Then, with the tuner still on chromatic, play the 3rd fret of each string. The notes should still be in tune to what they are meant to be. If they are out, your nut needs tuning. With a well tuned nut and perfect intonation, you will be amazed at the difference.

Don't think if the guitar is new it should be ok. I recently bought a brand spanking Gibson Les Paul and was amazed how poorly this thing was set up.

You could always send it to a luthier if you are unsure.

[octatonic]

I use a strobe tuner, do my own setups and live with the G string being a bitch.

... and I mostly play Tele's with newer 6 saddle bridges.

[max cooper]

Buzz Feiten and always use a wound "G". Korg rackmount tuner.

[Unclenny]

+1 on the wound G.
Sometimes a little graphite (#2 pencil) in the nut will help a sticky situation.

[6dyslexicelephnt]

i have one of those boss TU-2 but a synth works much better

a tuning pedal gets you pretty close, but with a simple sine wave you can HEAR when the string is precisely tuned. It makes my acoustic sound more in tune than ever. Try it!

[doorknocker]

Originally Posted by lofi

done a lot of intonation compensating an still not satisfied fully...(i guess ill never be)

Welcome to the world of even-tempered tuning, we've only been on this path for about 300-plus years!

I recently rented a harpsichord for a recording project and when we went to the workshop they had a harpsichord with 'split' black keys - there were different keys for say g-sharp and a-flat!

It really helps to be aware of how being able to play in all keys is compromising the accuracy of the respective scales and chords. You notice this when singing where you automatically will raise a leading note (say b to c in a C-scale) a tad.

But I think that with string bending and vibrato use (and slide work especially) the guitar has a lot of possibilities to free itself from the tyranny of even-tempered tuning (or the fixed fret) so to say.

Anyway, electric guitars with light strings and reasonably low action are relatively easy to keep in tune, acoustic guitars are a bitch and don't get me started on classical guitars......

[Stevil]

Gibson Self Tuning Guitar-
Gibson shows new self-tuning guitar - Yahoo! News

"Powertune can store custom tunings...
The system consists of three components which can automatically tune all strings according to prescribed settings in less than five seconds."

GIBSON