Getting Over Guitar Tuning Problems

By Patrice McCoy


Guitarists are born different, some are natural and others strive for perfection. If you are one who believes that they can play all guitars with the same perfection then you have not been introduced to guitar tuning problems. Tuned guitars are in a class of their own not just engineering wise but also musically such that they sound better, badder and bigger with more clarity. These guitars will bring out the love for music in you.

Start with a tuner. These are just gadgets that tell the player what frequency they reached on the last note the moment it is played. Trying to figure out problems with the tune is hard because notes tend to begin with intensity and then die out towards the end.

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.

The tuner is not always a handy tool. In fact, professionals do not always use this device because it will not give the best results. Some folks are naturally high pitched with their high E and B . Using a tuner shall set the tone for a medium to low pitch response but those who prefer hitting higher notes with certain chords will find the guitar to be out of sync in a performance. Hence, when you know your problems with each chord, its best to accordingly overcompensate or under-compensate for the same.

When a singer can have multiple retakes, actors can go through scenes time and again to get it right, why cannot you tune guitars to hide your flaws? When you know that a certain chord is giving you a lot of trouble, take the time and compensate for it by tuning-up. At least, the world shall never realize your weakness.

Eventually a time will come when no amount of tune up will cure your guitar tuning problems. You need to understand that it is neither your fault nor your instruments. What you need to change here is the string or get it cleaned as it has become old with constant use.




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