Sometimes the guitar seems out of tune even after tuning it, which means there is a problem with intonation. You notice if the harmonica of a 12th fret string (lightly press the 12th fret string and pluck it) and the same note on the next octave (i.e. on the same fret, but with the string well pressed) do not sound perfectly in tune. Tuning the guitar means establishing a chromatic relationship between the note corresponding to a fret and its pitch (or between note and natural scale), modifying the length of the strings at the bridge. The chromatic scale and the natural one are similar, the latter in particular is typical of brass. Following the same rules, the twelfth note of a string is one octave higher than the corresponding note played by plucking an open string, while the note at the seventh fret will sound similar to the corresponding harmonic played at the same fret.
The tuning procedure described here is the same for both bass and guitar.
Steps
Step 1. Read Tips and Warnings at the bottom of this page
There are several things to know before moving on to the next steps.
Step 2. Tune the instrument in the tuning you plan to use to play
Use directly with a tuner. Don't use the fifth fret or harmonics method for now.
- For electric or semi-acoustic instruments: uses a programmable electric tuner that you can connect to via jack. The strobe tuner is currently the most accurate around. Use the chromatic equation below to find the pitch f on this programmable tuner.
- For acoustic instruments: use a microphone tuner in a quiet room. Remember to tune the instrument in the tuning you are going to use. If the bands you listen to play in drop D, standard Ab, modal G, or whatever tuning you plan to emulate, act accordingly. Some tunings, such as drop D, are preferable to the standard one due to the lower string tension.
- Bass players: during this procedure you must use a pick, even if you normally play with your fingers. Finger playing gives a beautiful sound, but it is not accurate enough for this purpose.
- For all instruments: tunes the instrument several times. The tension of each string involves variations, in some cases even changing the angle of the neck and forgetting the other strings. Stay on this step until each string is tuned as best as possible. Once the instrument is tuned, you are ready to move on.
Step 3. Fix the action
If you want to increase or decrease the action of the strings (the distance between the strings and the neck), do so now. If the string buzzes, increasing the action will prevent this problem from recurring; if you don't, you risk that the pitch of a note suddenly changes, making the whole process very difficult. Two different pitches can in fact momentarily mix, making the note sound slightly higher. Involuntary vibrations can produce harmonics that reduce the purity of notes, especially the higher ones (starting from the tenth fret). The smaller the amount and duration of buzz on adjacent keys, the smaller the offsets d. If you change the action after completing the tuning process of the instrument, you could ruin all the work you are getting ready to do. If necessary, therefore, do it now, then repeat step 2.
- The best quality guitars have the strings quite close to the frets without the frets emitting any hum. The closer the strings are to the frets, the less tension and stretch increases when pressed, the smaller the d offsets must be, and the better the intonation, although hum may sometimes occur by slightly reducing the pitch.
- Put the strings as close to the frets as possible; if when you press a string you hear a buzz on the next fret, increase the action slightly. It is quite common that after the twelfth fret there is a minimum hum. The more expensive guitars, however, have the strings very close to the neck for better intonation. The pitch error due to string elongation is (T 2+ (T (2 y the/ s))2)1/2- T, where by T we mean the tension generated by the first open string, while y the is the distance between the edge of the first string and the twelfth fret on the fretboard. Based on these equations you can determine if the tuning improves as the voltage T is reduced and if the distance y the between string and fingerboard is reduced with d offsets reduced to a minimum.
- For the tuning to be better, the y value the it must be as small as possible. If the distance y the between string and fingerboard is too big, the procedure will be almost impossible.
Step 4. Try to figure out how far you are from the correct note
Press the string at the 12th fret and pick it. The picking must be moderate, not too strong nor too light. When pressing, be careful to press the string just enough to prevent it from humming.
Even with a smooth fretboard it is possible (especially on the guitar) to bend the string when you press too much, changing the pitch slightly. While performing this is generally not a problem, but maximum accuracy is required while performing this process. When you play the string at the 12th fret, look at the result on the tuner. If it tends towards “sharp” or “flat” it means that the pitch still needs to be adjusted
Step 5. Make any necessary adjustments
Fix the bridge. Depending on the type of saddles that secure the strings to the bridge, you need to turn the screws on the headstock clockwise or counterclockwise.
- If the note played at the 12th fret is higher than usual, turn the screw in reverse.
- Conversely, if the note is flat, turn the screw forward.
- Compare with the tuner the note at the 12th fret with the corresponding harmonic, always played at the 12th fret. In this way, the notes starting from the headstock up to the 12th fret are perfectly tuned.
Step 6. Check the tool
Once the tuning is in place, repeat step 2. Make sure the whole instrument is perfectly in tune.
- Once you have completed step 2 again, press the note at the 12th fret again and check that it is in tune. You will see that the signal will no longer be at the same point as before. If it is still not perfectly in tune, repeat step 4 until it is.
- Tune the open string and check the note at the fifth fret as well. If the fifth fret still sounds a little high, move the bridge back about a millimeter. Play some riffs on a single string and adjust the length of the string at the bridge to improve the tuning. If the pitch is perfect, you can proceed with checking the other strings.
- Also check the tuning at the first fret of each string to verify the correct tension; proceed by checking the correctness of each note from the second to the fifth fret with the tuner. Compare notes with an electronic chromatic tuning fork; if you find that most of the notes in the high registers are too high, lengthen the string by about 0, 2 millimeters at the bridge, if it is too low, push the bridge forward slightly towards the neck.
- Repeat the process until the notes from the headstock to the 12th fret are perfect. Even better pitch is achieved when the notes in the twelfth, sixteenth, and nineteenth frets correspond to their harmonics.
- Compare the tuning by playing the "Mama's Pearl" riff on a string.
Step 7. You are almost ready
Repeat for each string of the instrument the procedure as described, remembering to tune frequently.
Step 8. Enjoy
Once the instrument is fully tuned, play a nice major chord in barré. Pay attention to all the notes! Now put on a nice distortion and hear how much your guitar sound has improved!
Advice
- The force with which you press to play notes on the higher keys greatly affects the change in pitch, so be sure to make the note sound as natural as possible. Don't bend it too much.
- Check the stability of the note with a tuner; if the tuner hand oscillates from left to right more than once, it means that stability is precarious. In this case you will need to find a way to fix it. Bring the strings as close to the neck as possible. The strings must not emit hums or strange vibrations (even if some vibrations are allowed in the frets above the twelfth). Always use a high quality chromatic tuner. Tune the open string and then from time to time check the accuracy of each individual fret. If you find that some notes remain higher, lengthen the strings at the bridge by about 0.5mm. If not, shorten them to the same size. If it helps, use your voice too. The intonation of the guitar is not as suitable for changes in pitch as the human voice, but it must act as a chromatic guide to the guitar, without following its pitch. You will have to learn to sing and play the guitar at the same time. This way you will be able to tune the instrument more easily (and you can be the leader of a band). At least learn to hum in your head to be able to tune the guitar as you play.
- Pull the strings tightly before starting to tune to prevent them from staying limp. Pull a string as far as possible without breaking it and until you feel it stops falling flat.
- Many factors can contribute to poor pitch: too loud action, fret wear, incorrect fret position. If a fret has worn so much that it is lower, the instrument will be more easily forgotten. This will also affect the other keys, making tuning impossible. Press the string on different frets and note, with the help of a magnifying glass, their degree of wear (remember that the string must be pressed in the center of the fret). You will need a flat file to reshape the frets, but if you can't fix them you will need to buy a new and better quality instrument. The value of the distance between two consecutive keys is 21/12= 1.059463094 meters, although some manufacturers use slightly different values.
- Another way to tune the guitar in natural scale is to use the harmonic notes at the seventh, ninth and twelfth frets, if the frets on the fretboard are chromatically arranged. For each string, tune the note at the seventh fret to its corresponding harmonic by changing the length of the bridge string. Also tune the notes at the 12th fret to their corresponding harmonics. The harmonica at the nineteenth fret is the same as that at the seventh fret, so they must sound similar. The pitch will be acceptable when the seventh and nineteenth notes sound identical to their harmonics. Take the harmonics of at least two strings as a reference; the length of the rope may need to be shortened slightly during this step. Finally, learn to tune by ear, adjusting the tuning by playing songs like "My Little Baby", "Darling Dear", "Ill Be There", and "Petals" (J5) in drop D, or by playing riffs on a single string always keeping an eye on the pitch with a chromatic tuner. It then fine-tunes the tension of the open strings using a harmonic tuning. This seems to be the best intonation; then, with your instrument (preferably guitar), play some classical piece that is performed with brass or violins. Brass instruments, especially trumpets and horns, use the natural harmonics of the natural scale, and if you like to compose in this key such a tuning can help. Thinner strings have smaller d-offsets and therefore have better intonation, both in the natural and chromatic scale. Natural scale: A = fo, A # = fo25 / 24, B = fo 9/8, C = fo 6/5, C # = fo 5/4, D = fo 4/3, D # = fo 45/32, E = fo 3/2, F = fo 25/16, F # = fo 5/3, G = fo 9/6, G # = fo 15/8. The best classic piece to use the typical brass scale: "Thunderbirds Sun Probe" by Barry Gray.
- The higher the string tension at the peg, the smaller the string diameter, the smaller the d offsets must be, and the better the tuning will be; for standard tuning (E, A, D, G, B, E) the diameter of the strings must be quite thick, but if you increase by a semitone (therefore F, A #, D #, G #, C, F) it is better choose a standard diameter.
- The intonation process must be done after mounting new strings, or at least new ones, as the more you play, the less they will vibrate. This is not essential if you connect the instrument to an amplifier, but the accuracy of the procedure decreases as the strings age. The metal of the strings tends to wear out, which reduces the ability to accurately intone most of the notes; I change it frequently.
- The equation for calculating the pitches of the chromatic scale is: f = or f or 2(n / 12), where the variable o represents the octave numbers in multiples of two: 1/4, 1/2, 1, 2, 4. The variable f or= 440.00 hertz is the reference pitch of the note A440, and n is the number corresponding to the note that is plucked (value between 0 and 11) Using the above numbers, the distance between the top edge of the neck and the center of the first fret is s ÷ 17.81715392 m./m. Lemma of the intonation of an instrument: if the frets on the neck are chromatic, if the thickness of the strings is minimal (as well as the distance between them, as well as the action) and if the tuning is ideally stable, then and only then the intonation of a thin string will be accurate.
- Bridge adjustment is usually minimal (0.5 or 0.6mm), so be very careful until you get carried away.
- Make / diameter / tension / mass and quality / thickness of neck and strings make all the difference when tuning! This process is not to be done once. It depends in particular on the brand of the strings and the diameter, tension, coating and type of tuning you decide to have. So the first things to do are to choose a good type of strings and choose a certain type of tuning. Always be very careful when changing any of the above parameters. Usually, a set of standard acoustic guitar strings are 0.0013, 0.017, 0.026, 0.036, 0.046, 0.056 inches in size and are made of nickel; nickel is more elastic than steel and maintains better tuning, especially at the third and fourth strings. Try the Ernie Ball Super Slinky, with the third thinner string (therefore able to hold the tuning better). Nylon fiber ropes have a lot of elasticity and are therefore less rigid; on the classical Spanish guitar and on the short scale basses he always uses very light and nylon strings. On the guitar, you could replace the third string with a second, thinner one. Lightly coated strings require less tension and tune more easily. The intonation can be different depending on the type of guitar; take only good quality instruments, perhaps letting yourself be inspired by those used by famous artists. The quality of the neck and the guitar, in general, make the difference in the tuning process. Expect to spend at least € 500 for a basic model and € 900 for something more complex. And before you spend more than $ 1000 on a new guitar, make sure it holds at least six different types of tunings.
Warnings
- Sometimes thin strings break easily when pulled too much, so be careful!
- Avoid twisting the standard tuning just to get very loud sounds.
- Tune the instrument exactly how you need it. If you play in drop C, the standard tuning won't do you any good!
