Getting Over Guitar Tuning Problems

By Patrice McCoy


Not all guitarists are naturally gifted enough that they can pick up guitars and start playing perfectly. Hence, if you are one of those guys whose never had guitar tuning problems before then chances are that you have never heard what tuned guitars sound like. These tuned beasts are meaner, clearer, bigger and better not just musically but also on the engineering end of things. The moment one gets a tuned-guitar they shall start to appreciate the art even more.

First thing to use for fixing tune issues is a tuner. Such devices simply let you know what frequency you were hitting at the moment of playing the strings. Without this device, it is hard to figure out because notes die out over time. Only the best manage to decipher subtle frequency changes without a tuner.

Most professional players tend to bend strings rather than playing with the tuning-peg. This is because the strings always hide some of the slack present in them. This is never visible or felt by the player but it is always there. Moreover, trying to manually tune the string by using the peg will not remove the inherent slack but aggravate it over time. With time, this problem shall become so troubling that you may consider restringing guitars. Not only this time consuming but requires a tune up once again.

Waiting for a performance gives you the chance to tune up beforehand, so use it. The best practice to avoid on the stop changes is to tune up slightly more than usual so that by the time you play, the strings would have slackened just slightly to get to the perfect setting. This is something that pros tend to practice a lot.

Remember that tune up is always meant to help you play guitars better. It is not meant to elongate the life of the instrument. So, if you are a hardcore player who pulls chords hard, continue to do the same when tinkering with a tuner. Many folks tend to mellow down when the time to tune guitars comes. Odd, but it is a common practice.

Guitarists of the highest caliber are always well aware of their natural inclination to play certain chords higher or lower. Hence, they prefer going without tuners so that they can manually listen to the tone, pitch and volume, tuning-up exactly as they want. You too should spend time learning how to tune up without the use of a tuner. It works great with high E, G and B strings, which are the problem areas for most guitarists.

An average guitarist shall tend to fail with certain chords. You should therefore always look at practicing more to improve the timing. However, it is not wrong to over or under tune guitars just so as to avoid letting the world know your flaws. Consider the fact that singers re-sing lines simply to get them right.

Strings age over time and tend to slacken by themselves. This is a fact and sometimes it is what causes majority of guitar tuning problems. When faced with such a situation stop blaming the instrument and yourself and clean out the strings or have them replaced.




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