Dodgy Guitar Tuning...

Hi all.

Anyone know why this may happen?

I tune my guitar (Hohner ‘the blonde’ electric)…everythings fine, I play C…fine…I play E and the G string goes way out of tune.

Every time I hit the G string, no matter which fret, it goes out of tune, yet when I adjust it to sound correct whilst playing chords, it’s out of tune in the open position.

It’s ruining my recordings!!!
(please no witty quips about my G string :( )

sounds like you need to make sure it’s not slipping by tightening your tuner adjustment - or your intonation is flat out messed up at the bridge. Do you know how to set intonation?

Nope!!

how to set intonation :agree:

Excellent…thanks for that!

Yep. Sounds like intonation. The G string is a pain. You’ll never get it PERFECT (no beats) at all positions, but it can get close enough for guitar music.

Some guitars (very few) not only allow setting intonation at the bridge, but also at the nut. On those guitars you notice that the G will be the one that rarely lines up with the other strings.

In other words, most guitars when tuned best for them will have an open G that’s a little off, but will sound close enough when fretted.

…so it’s a matter of playing around and getting the best ‘average’ sound then?

pretty much Craig - I go as far as staying with one size/brand of string once I get one set up the way I like it.

and make sure you have a new set of strings too when ya do go through all the trouble of setting the intonation!!!

Quote: (wozz @ Mar. 16 2008, 1:38 AM)

and make sure you have a new set of strings too when ya do go through all the trouble of setting the intonation!!!!!

And... make sure you stay with the same strings! If you MUST try a different brand, make sure all the strings are of the same gauges as the other brand to avoid trouble.

D - been using EB Slinky Pinks for eons...
Quote:

D - been using EB Slinky Pinks for eons...


Me too on my electrics - I like Elixir Light Nanoweb for my acoustics. They are crispy and airy.

Oh and don't forget to wash your hands before EVER touching a string. You'll more than double the life of 'em.

Don't forget to brush your teeth.

What else..............

Hi Poppa W,

I like the Nanowebs… but my son is a bit heavy-handed on the acoustic and he plays it more than I sooo… the Nanowebs get all hairy and fuzzy. It doesn’t matter really, his girlfriends mom has an endorsement deal with D’Addario. He gets acoustic strings cheap. (As in free…) :)

I want to get my own acoustic someday… the one he plays all the time was supposed to be a Fathers Day gift for yours truly. He ain’t a father yet… and better not be for a long time to come! :p

Anywho, I got my eye on a Taylor or a McPherson. My wallet says NO!

D

Yea I know what you mean D - my kids have literally beat most of my acoustic to the wall hanger - sadest loss was my Fender gut string I got in ‘69 for graduation.

I have a Doyle Dykes Taylor on my wish list… It hangs on the wall too (the list that is).

My most used acoustic is my Talman. After a year or so of tweeking the truss rod I finally got it where it plays sweetly. It sounds tinny but I’m actually starting to like the sound of it even.

Don’t look now but I did some forum snoopin’ and noticed we now have another guitar maker with us and I’m sure he’d love to make us both a nice guitar… for FREE even !!! :O :;):

and… in addition to all the good advice here (I also use EB pinks, and Elixir Nanowebs btw)…

make sure that your guitar is strung properly with nice neat windings of sufficient quantity on the tuning pegs so that you don’t get string slippage. It’s a technique worth learning - I’ve seen many a poor tuning blamed on faulty tuners that would probably have gone away with proper stringing. I have, and have had, loads of guitars over the years, both cheap and expensive and have never felt the need to change tuners. Anyway…

oh, and when you put those new strings on to set your intonation, don’t forget to stretch them first.

Plenty of stuff on the wwweb about this.

I’ve also noticed that fingering technique can also contribute to tuning “issues”, and yes, sometimes you have to “average out” the tuning on the infamous G string.