We all have been tuning our guitars wrong

guitarfishbay

joeyowen said:

It's a great channel, I've followed him for a while

He recently posted a video saying he is leaving his full time guitar teaching job to do YT full time, so I guess he needs the views more than ever

He has built up a decent fanbase on Patreon. It’s likely he makes more from that Avenue than from views alone, but it’s hard to tell as you can’t see what percentage of his Patreons pay more than the minimum. 

https://www.patreon.com/pauldavids

bingefeller

I got a Peterson Strobe tuner a few months ago and it has a Sweetened tuning for guitar and that does make a difference that I can't put my finger on.  The chords do sound a bit more musical.  

The offsets are:

E1 = -2.3 cent
B2 = 0
G3 = 0
D4 = -0.4 Cent
A5 = -2.1 Cent
E6 = -2.3 Cent

Having said that, it's extremely hard to get the strobe to stop exactly at those pitches because it's so accurate!  

Voxman

I think this tuning approach is aimed more for acoustics where the bridge is fixed and you cannot adjust intonation.  Another approach is to tune half way down the neck to average out variations. With an electric guitar that is set up properly for neck, nut, intonation I would think there is greater overall tuning accuracy but I'm certainly willing to try the Taylor tuning method on my electrics to see if there is any noticeable improvement. 

Just out of curiosity does anyone know exactly how the Earvana nut 'work's to help tuning accuracy ... I wonder if it might be based on the Taylor tuning differentials with tuning adjustments made by adjusting physical scale length to give equivalent fractions of cent adjustment to give similar results as used in the Taylor method?


 

guitarfishbay

The biggest difference to me was the piece at around 3 minutes and I preferred standard tuning. The Taylor tuning in that piece sounds a little out of tune to me.

Otherwise without another instrument to reference against its not really conclusive that there’s an improvement from deviating from standard tuning. 

Tuning and intonation varies by playing style, position on the neck, and guitar setup. In short they’re a pain in the backside if you want to use them like a keyboard where the notes are actually what they should be. But that’s part of the sound, and it sounds good in a lot of cases as long as the player is good, and the strings and scale length are suitable for the tuning.

Most guitars are able to played well enough in tune in standard tuning if the setup and player is decent that it’s not worth thinking about for live performance IMO.

joeyowen

I remember watching an interview with Eric Valentine where he talking about recording Slash and he showed the G string differences

Also, the Tim Pierce video about Black or White discusses tuning off a bit on purpose

I might just bin my tuners ha

guitarfishbay

joeyowen said:

I remember watching an interview with Eric Valentine where he talking about recording Slash and he showed the G string differences

Also, the Tim Pierce video about Black or White discusses tuning off a bit on purpose

I might just bin my tuners ha

If you watch what some of the modern metal guys are doing they record a complete performance and then retune per chord for anything that sounds out then punch in. Sometimes individual notes are tuned using software such as Melodyne. It’s a lot of work, but tuning lower increases the fluctuation in pitch typically, as there’s a point where the low string ends up being fairly floppy on a standard scale unless you use a big string, which brings its own set of issues.

This is why a number of people who drop tune use evertune bridges these days. It’s a more efficient way of getting an ‘in tune’ aesthetic if that’s what’s desired.

Phil_aka_Pip

As Mr Tech said to me: "Stop whingeing, and just play the f__king thing!"

Danny1969

joeyowen said:

I remember watching an interview with Eric Valentine where he talking about recording Slash and he showed the G string differences

Also, the Tim Pierce video about Black or White discusses tuning off a bit on purpose

I might just bin my tuners ha

I haven't seen those but maybe it's the same solution to the reason I tune slightly flat on the G and B

A guitar is an equal 12 step per octave instrument but that effectively means some notes you fret will sound slightly sharp compared to the harmonics ringing on the other strings .... an obvious example is hit the 4th fret harmonic on the A string and at the same time fret a C# on the B string ... they will be slightly out due to the compromised 12 step ET tuning of the guitar. 

This can cause nasty overtones when playing distorted chords with major thirds but slightly backing off the pitch on the B string will help. 
This early VH song is a classic example and where I got it from  

mbe

I think I will carry on playing my guitar unwrong. 

bingefeller

Danny1969 said:

joeyowen said:

I remember watching an interview with Eric Valentine where he talking about recording Slash and he showed the G string differences

Also, the Tim Pierce video about Black or White discusses tuning off a bit on purpose

I might just bin my tuners ha

I haven't seen those but maybe it's the same solution to the reason I tune slightly flat on the G and B

A guitar is an equal 12 step per octave instrument but that effectively means some notes you fret will sound slightly sharp compared to the harmonics ringing on the other strings .... an obvious example is hit the 4th fret harmonic on the A string and at the same time fret a C# on the B string ... they will be slightly out due to the compromised 12 step ET tuning of the guitar. 

This can cause nasty overtones when playing distorted chords with major thirds but slightly backing off the pitch on the B string will help. 
This early VH song is a classic example and where I got it from  

Check out Eddie's tuning offsets here.  Garbeaj is an expert on EVH.

rico

I don't know how it does it but the earvana nut on my LP makes everything just sound 'right'

Rocker

Kinda depends on the music you are playing. Distorted, hardly noticeable but clean chords are very much more in tune (especially if you use a Peterson Strobe tuner).

I always use my StroboStomp as I think it works very well and I like the sound of the open chords a StroboStomp tuned guitar gives you. 

Clarky

I finally got around to seeing the vid...
I couldn't hear much of a difference until the 3rd piece they played..
the A string of the Taylor tuned guitar sounded a gnats flat to me [which it was cos it was tuned that way]

I understand the whole 'tune a little flat' thing.. and I agree it works
especially on electrics with skinny strings that'll sharpen when you lay into them a bit..

on stage I'll tune my guitars normally without flattening..
under the lights and with playing the strings will heat up and flatten a little naturally..
so during the gig I tend to find that at the start the tuning is usually pretty good..
after about the 3rd song it feels to me like it improves a little and then stays that way..
after the gig, I'll sometimes check the tuning of the guitar and it'll be miles out

in the studio I'll tune normally but allow the G to be a gnats flat
and that seems to have worked for me

Chalky

guitarfishbay said:

joeyowen said:

It's a great channel, I've followed him for a while

He recently posted a video saying he is leaving his full time guitar teaching job to do YT full time, so I guess he needs the views more than ever

He has built up a decent fanbase on Patreon. It’s likely he makes more from that Avenue than from views alone, but it’s hard to tell as you can’t see what percentage of his Patreons pay more than the minimum. 

https://www.patreon.com/pauldavids

I started watching him back in his early days and interestingly there was a link on one of his videos when it was first released that I clicked on and it showed his total Patreon Income as $2,036 per month! Needless to say the link was removed quickly.  But that is a good income even for a Dutchman!