The Mudcat Café TM
Thread #61848 Message #996410
Posted By: GUEST
04-Aug-03 - 09:42 AM
Thread Name: Tuning a Guitar --how??
Subject: RE: Tuning a Guitar --how??
I second the recommendation that you get a little electronic tuner.
I tuned my guitar to pianos, pitch pitch pipes and other instruments for years and was never totally happy with the results. Returning to music after a long hiatus, I saw another player using an electronic tuner. He let me try it, and my first response was "that's cheating." My second one was to rush out and buy one for myself. They're cheap and make life MUCH easier.
Why is easier better....because your guitar needs to be tuned every time you play it. Sad, but true. Guitars flex microscopically in response to changes in temperature and humidity, and these changes take the strings out of tune. When the weather is constant the tuning adjustments are minimal, but let a big system go through and you can be off by as much as a 1/4 tone.
Also, you need to change the strings a couple of times a year (at the very least). Tightening and loosening the strings as you tune them and the vibrations of playing induce metal fatigue, which changes the molecular structure of the steel. They stop resonating properly, become much harder to tune and susceptible to breakage.