Tuning an acoustic guitar

chuck steak

Should I tune each string to my electronic tuner, or tune the sixth string with it and then tune the rest of the strings to each other? Cause each process produces pretty different results. When I tune the 5th string to match the 6th's 5th fret I need to tune it a bit sharper than what the tuner says is an A. I can't say I can notice a difference between tuning each way while playing (still developing an ear for such things), but I've really started to notice that if I tune with the tuner, and then do the 5th fret method (or whatever you would call it) all of the strings are a little off.

Is my guitar messed up? I recently got a string replaced and the guy adjusted the fretboard... did he do a shitty job? Or is this normal and my developing ear is just noticing something it never did? And ultimately how should I tune a guitar?

Chanus

It could be the fretboard being slightly warped.

In practice, though, tune a little higher (sharper) than the note and then loosen the string to match the pitch to the tuner. Your strings will naturally tend to go flat, so this may be what you are seeing/hearing.

Also, you don't just tune each string once and then you're good to go. Especially if your guitar was far out of standard tuning, you'll need to go back over each string at least once. This is due to the string tension slightly bending the neck and causing already tuned strings to slacken slightly.

Klorgnum

The intonation could be a little off. With any guitar, as you play further up the neck, the notes are further out of tune with what they're supposed to be. It's quite possible for an A played at the fifth fret of the E string to be sharper than what it's supposed to be.

There's no right way to do it, and there are a number of different tuning methods. You should use whichever feels right to you.

That said, I'd recommend anything by ear. Just keep in mind that if you tune the A string to the fifth fret on the E string, and the D string to the fifth fret on the A string and so on, if each string is a little sharper than it should be, the differences are going to increase a lot and your guitar will sound out of tune.

Chanus

I got that backward in my earlier post... you want to "tune up" to the note, not down... so go a bit flat and then tighten the string to the proper pitch.

chuck steak

Klorgnum wrote: »

The intonation could be a little off. With any guitar, as you play further up the neck, the notes are further out of tune with what they're supposed to be. It's quite possible for an A played at the fifth fret of the E string to be sharper than what it's supposed to be.

There's no right way to do it, and there are a number of different tuning methods. You should use whichever feels right to you.

That said, I'd recommend anything by ear. Just keep in mind that if you tune the A string to the fifth fret on the E string, and the D string to the fifth fret on the A string and so on, if each string is a little sharper than it should be, the differences are going to increase a lot and your guitar will sound out of tune.

This is exactly what is bugging me. I'm guessing that all chords will sound better if all of the strings are tuned to each other, but if I do any finger picking or soloing type stuff it will sound more out of tune. Also, if I end up playing with anybody else (which isn't very often) I don't want to be out of tune with them.

Chanus

Another approach is to use the harmonics on the fifth and seventh frets (to play a harmonic, lightly touch the string over the fret, rather than pressing it down to the neck, and pluck... it will sound sort of like a wind chime).

The fifth fret on the lower string (say, E) will make the same tone as the seventh fret on the next string (say, A). If the two tones are equal, you wont hear any reverberation. It will sound crisp. If you can sort of hear two notes oscillating (bouncing back and forth) then you are out of tune.

The only strings where this wont work are tuning G to B.

EggyToast

To check to see if your intonation is bad, tune a string and then check the octave at the 12th fret. It *should* be exactly 1 octave up. If it's sharp or flat, the intonation is bad. Typically you fix that by adjusting the bridge, but that depends on the kind of bridge that you have.

Sir Carcass

I'd recommend using the tuner until you can tune it by ear. It's easy to not know you're a little flat or sharp if you're new to it. But once you can hear it better, I recommend the harmonic method listed above.

Funguy McAids

i just use my awesome tuning dongle. The ENO et-3000 is a fantastic little machine.

Just clip it on the end of your guitar, then pluck a string and it will tell you precisely how close you are to any note so you can tune up or down.

http://www.eno-music.com/xxzl/et-3000e.htm

Klorgnum

chuck steak wrote: »

Klorgnum wrote: »

The intonation could be a little off. With any guitar, as you play further up the neck, the notes are further out of tune with what they're supposed to be. It's quite possible for an A played at the fifth fret of the E string to be sharper than what it's supposed to be.

There's no right way to do it, and there are a number of different tuning methods. You should use whichever feels right to you.

That said, I'd recommend anything by ear. Just keep in mind that if you tune the A string to the fifth fret on the E string, and the D string to the fifth fret on the A string and so on, if each string is a little sharper than it should be, the differences are going to increase a lot and your guitar will sound out of tune.

This is exactly what is bugging me. I'm guessing that all chords will sound better if all of the strings are tuned to each other, but if I do any finger picking or soloing type stuff it will sound more out of tune. Also, if I end up playing with anybody else (which isn't very often) I don't want to be out of tune with them.

No. They'll sound bad too, since each subsequent note is sharper by an increasing amount. Say that all the strings at the fifth fret are sharp by a quarter-tone (half a fret -- Your guitar probably isn't this bad, it's just for easy math on my part). If you tune the A string to the E string, you'll end up tuning to A + 1/4 tone. And since the fifth fret of A is 1/4 tone sharp, tuning the D string to it will give you D + 1/2 tone, or D#. G will become G# + 1/4 and B will be a C. Good luck playing any good chords on this.

Does your tuner give you any idea how much sharper the notes are? Does it display the number of cents off it is? (100 cents to a semitone)

Rook

Most people tend to play notes a bit sharp anyway when the push down on the strings. If you don't have a chromatic tuner, APTuner is a good program to use as long as you've got a mic hooked up to your PC. You should be able to check the intonation, and also how much your play style is affecting the sharpness of the notes you play.