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Why is it always a G-string...
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I asked this very question a while back to a real guitar geek friend of mine and he informed me that if your guitar has a straight bridge, the G string will never be perfectly in tune. If it has an adjustable or stepped bridge then it can be corrected.
Hope this helps...lol |
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By (user no longer on site)
over a year ago
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It could be down to intonation (string length in layman's terms). Very easy to correct on an electric guitar. It's more difficult on an acoustic and usually the easiestbsolution is a compensated bridge.
It can also be due to left hand technique forcing the note very slightly sharp or most likely a badly cut nut slot and the string is binding and not returning to correct pitch.
As an aside try tuning to A-338htz rather than A-440htz you may find the problem goes away completely. |
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By *igeiaWoman
over a year ago
Bristol |
Get the intonation looked at by a luthier. You could adjust your A frequency as suggested but be aware that if you're planning on playing with anyone else it will piss them right off since they'll have to follow suit. Well it does me, since the instruments I play don't tune as easily as a guitar and deviating from standard tuning is a ballache. |
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By (user no longer on site)
over a year ago
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"Get the intonation looked at by a luthier. You could adjust your A frequency as suggested but be aware that if you're planning on playing with anyone else it will piss them right off since they'll have to follow suit. Well it does me, since the instruments I play don't tune as easily as a guitar and deviating from standard tuning is a ballache."
Sorting the intonation on a guitar shouldn't require a luthier. All you need is a tuner, a screw driver and be able to play a 12th fret harmonic.
The altered frequency can catch people out, I usually keep a couple of guitars at A-440 just in case but I much prefer A-338, it's a much richer sound. |
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Tuning on any fretted string instrument is a compromise. As you fret higher up the neck, the intonation goes out anyway, and at different rates for different gauges of string. There are some guitars that have each fret compensated for this, but the look really weird with curved instead of straight frets. The very act of fretting a string stretches it, and thus also puts it out of tune.
As has been stated, if the intonation is out in the first place, you'll never get the thing in tune. On an electric it's usually dead simple to sort by adjusting the bridge saddles to alter the string length, so the 12th fret harmonic is the same pitch as the 12th note fretted. Most decent acoustics these days have compensated bridges whit the B and E strings having a longer string length to compensate for them not being wound, and also that the B string is a 3rd (above the G), rather than a 4th (above the preceding string) as all the others are.
Only ever have problems on cheap guitars, most decent ones can be tuned no prob and stay in tune if strung correctly.
But it's still a compromise, and always will be, unless each fret is individually compensated. |
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By *ackspopCouple
over a year ago
Wymondham |
"Tuning on any fretted string instrument is a compromise. As you fret higher up the neck, the intonation goes out anyway, and at different rates for different gauges of string. There are some guitars that have each fret compensated for this, but the look really weird with curved instead of straight frets. The very act of fretting a string stretches it, and thus also puts it out of tune.
As has been stated, if the intonation is out in the first place, you'll never get the thing in tune. On an electric it's usually dead simple to sort by adjusting the bridge saddles to alter the string length, so the 12th fret harmonic is the same pitch as the 12th note fretted. Most decent acoustics these days have compensated bridges whit the B and E strings having a longer string length to compensate for them not being wound, and also that the B string is a 3rd (above the G), rather than a 4th (above the preceding string) as all the others are.
Only ever have problems on cheap guitars, most decent ones can be tuned no prob and stay in tune if strung correctly.
But it's still a compromise, and always will be, unless each fret is individually compensated."
Errr, yeah. Obviously
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By (user no longer on site) OP
over a year ago
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Makes sense regarding the intonation, will have to do some adjusting. I found it varies with string size, and if the g-string is wound it's less susceptible to going out of tune.
I have an Ibanez 7-string, tuned g#, d#, g#, c#, f#, a#, d#. Prs in various tunings and my acoustic is c, g, c, g, c, e. |
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"There are some guitars that have each fret compensated for this, but the look really weird with curved instead of straight frets. The very act of fretting a string stretches it, and thus also puts it out of tune.
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True Temperament - my mate's an endorsee for them; with that and the Evertune system he has installed on his guitars, he never goes out of tune, even if a string breaks. |
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True temperament fretting only works perfectly for one tuning and one gauge of string, Also, when bending notes, you'll get a sudden departure from the controlled pitch variation when you pass over a kink in the fret wire.
Ironically, a perfectly set up true temperament guitar sounds odd, our ears are used to the imperfections, making it sound out of tune.
Nothing is perfect 
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"True temperament fretting only works perfectly for one tuning and one gauge of string, Also, when bending notes, you'll get a sudden departure from the controlled pitch variation when you pass over a kink in the fret wire.
Ironically, a perfectly set up true temperament guitar sounds odd, our ears are used to the imperfections, making it sound out of tune.
Nothing is perfect
"
It's good enough for Vai (who isn't my mate, incidentally :; ) |
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It's good enough for Vai (who isn't my mate, incidentally :; )"
I know he's tried one, not a huge fan, don't know if he ever toured with it.
John Herrington has one and calls it his Dali guitar, but to my knowledge he's never toured with it - certainly not with the Dan.
Personally I think I'd find it too esoteric for my playing, I'm a working blues/rock/americana muso. I play teles as they're simple and robust. I buy cheap strings and change them every couple of gigs and always have a backup guitar on stage, plugged in ready to go, on a simple A/B stomp switch
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