Ross Brown Posted July 27, 2011 Share Posted July 27, 2011 It seems almost like a curse for them... those guitar players that keep tuning and retuning their guitars... Are they cursed with such good hearing that it is just too much for one string to be just a little "out"? I get annoyed when listening/watching someone perform and they keep retuning their guitar between and during songs... I may be alone in this but 1) most people, including myself, don't hear the difference, let it go unless it is way out... 2) if you must tune (because it is way out)... mute your instrument... 3) buy a guitar that is less likely to "go out' so often at a gig... you are not in the studio.. I hate the Tuning Song... My hearing is not bad... what is going on? Any of you have this issue...ie you just hear every little thing.... and can't let it go? Ross Brown's - Grouchy Post of the Day "When I take a stroll down Jackass Lane it is usually to see someone that is already there" Mrs. Brown Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jeremy c Posted July 27, 2011 Share Posted July 27, 2011 Buy them a tuner that they can mute for their birthday. The one that gets me the most is when you end a song, hit the last note and tuning has started before the last note fades away. At least leave a second of space. If the guitarist has light strings and is doing a lot of bending (or playing hard with either hand), the instrument is going to need a lot of retuning. Personally, when someone is even a little out of tune it drives me bonkers. Free download of my cd!. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rumpelstiltskin. Posted July 27, 2011 Share Posted July 27, 2011 Buy them a tuner that they can mute for their birthday. The one that gets me the most is when you end a song, hit the last note and tuning has started before the last note fades away. At least leave a second of space. If the guitarist has light strings and is doing a lot of bending (or playing hard with either hand), the instrument is going to need a lot of retuning. Personally, when someone is even a little out of tune it drives me bonkers. agreed. we're not out gigging in 'nam. there are rules. a muting tuner is not some kind of miracle. you don't have to prove you're awesome by tuning by ear. robb. because i like people. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
5 string Mike Posted July 27, 2011 Share Posted July 27, 2011 I've seen guys struggle with maintaining their tuning for several reasons. A couple common ones are -Tuning before the guitar 'settles' into the environment, like taking it from a hot trunk into a cool room and not letting the temp stabilize. Or going from a cool back seat to a hot stage -Using fat strings on a nut with narrow slots, causing a bind. Similarly, high friction causing the string to 'jump' at the nut -New strings. Some guys have to put new strings on before every gig and don't take time to get the new strings broken in. Usually by the end of the gig, the strings settle in nice- but they go and change them again. I agree- get a muting tuner. it's not that hard. "Political language... is designed to make lies sound truthful and murder respectable, and to give an appearance of solidity to pure wind"- George Orwell Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Bear Jew Posted July 27, 2011 Share Posted July 27, 2011 I hate hearing people tune, but it does suck when something is out. Call me a nitpicker ("You nitpicker!"), but I find it kind of unprofessional when I have to hear that twannnnnng-twang-twannnnnng from the stage between songs. Soo... the answer is a tuner pedal. As Robb says, these things exist--they're not mythical creatures, and they don't cost a lot of money--so why not ask him to get one... or, as Jeremy suggests, buy one for him as a present? The nicer ones don't color the instrument's tone, and it definitely makes things progress more smoothly onstage. Plus, the tuning tends to be more accurate because the machine is doing the heavy lifting of detecting the proper pitch. Another thing--it might have something to do with the set-up on the guitars. As Jeremy mentioned, light strings and a heavy hand can create tuning problems. So, if your guy is using light strings and then beating the crap out of them, he could, you know, man up and use some real strings (.11s are a good place to start)... and it also doesn't hurt to replace the nut with one made of graphite so that the strings don't get bound up there and cause instability in the tuning. Not to mention locking tuners (I like the Sperzel ones, but lots of companies make them now.) \m/ Erik "To fight and conquer in all your battles is not supreme excellence; supreme excellence consists of breaking the enemy's resistance without fighting." --Sun Tzu Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ross Brown Posted July 27, 2011 Author Share Posted July 27, 2011 Thanks. Not my guitarist... I would mention/explain it to them... or buy a pedal tuner.... I was talking (writing) about when I go see other people play... lately there have been a bunch of them that need to tune between every song (unmuted...). I have seen and played with guitarists that check quickly with a muted pedal.. I agree... that is fine and goes un-noticed mostly... "When I take a stroll down Jackass Lane it is usually to see someone that is already there" Mrs. Brown Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jcadmus Posted July 27, 2011 Share Posted July 27, 2011 Maybe the could buy a guitar that stays in tune better? "Tours widely in the southwestern tip of Kentucky" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Seamy ALB Posted July 27, 2011 Share Posted July 27, 2011 I concur with the tuning mute pedal and the man up play 11's schools of thought. Learning to string an instrument properly also goes a long way. http://www.facebook.com/pages/A-Little-Bitter/185235472447 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Danzilla Posted July 27, 2011 Share Posted July 27, 2011 Muting tuner pedals for everyone! Even the singers & drummers. The guitarist in my last band had a bit of a contradiction. On stage, he's constantly tuning between songs. I'm glad that he uses a tuner, but it really slows down the momentum in the set. The rest of us are waiting for him to start, or continually vamping waiting for him, and the singer is running out of snappy patter... And when he throws on a capo, no amount of tuning will help. (NTTATW with a capo, for the record). However, in the studio, he couldn't hear that he was out. He kept tuning to open strings, and it would be ok; then fret something and it would be out. He ended up using my PRS SE on a few tracks because it was in tune and intonated, and his Les Paul wasn't. The last day, the engineer and I were trying to get him to realize he was out, so he gave me his Tele and I found out that it was out due to the set up. "Oh, well, I don't have time to send it to the shop for a set up." I grabbed a screwdriver and had it done in under 10 minutes. 2 more takes and his parts were done. I offered to set up any of his guitars any time he wanted, and show him a few simple tricks; but he never took me up on it. "Am I enough of a freak to be worth paying to see?"- Separated Out (Marillion) NEW band Old band Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Griffinator Posted July 27, 2011 Share Posted July 27, 2011 The other potential bugaboos for guitarists forcing them to tune frequently: 1) Floyd Rose-style bridge. NOTORIOUSLY unstable, but usually by only a few cents either direction. Trouble is, those few cents add up across 6 strings... 2) Bigsby on a fixed bridge. Knocks that sucker out of tune immediately and irreparably. A bunch of loud, obnoxious music I USED to make with friends. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Russkull Posted July 28, 2011 Share Posted July 28, 2011 For some guitarists it almost seems like an OCD ritual or a nervous habit - it's not that they are really that far out of tune, they just need that busy time in between playing. It's also possible they believe themselves to be so good and so fast that no one will even notice. Why bother with a muting tuner? "Of all the world's bassists, I'm one of them!" - Lug Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul K Posted July 28, 2011 Share Posted July 28, 2011 For some guitarists it almost seems like an OCD ritual or a nervous habit - it's not that they are really that far out of tune, they just need that busy time in between playing. Right on. And muted or not, the show stops dead in its tracks. After every friggin' song. I regularly recorded my last band. There'd often be close to three minutes between songs. Ack!!!!! Here we sit like birds in the wilderness birds in the wilderness Birds in the wilderness Here we sit like birds in the wilderness Waiting for the guitar player to tune Waiting for the guitar player to tune Waiting for the guitar player to tune Oh.....(repeat first verse) Yes. I was a boy scout. I've got lots of them. Things are just the way they are, and they're only going to get worse. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
b5pilot Posted July 28, 2011 Share Posted July 28, 2011 The other potential bugaboos for guitarists forcing them to tune frequently: 1) Floyd Rose-style bridge. NOTORIOUSLY unstable, but usually by only a few cents either direction. Trouble is, those few cents add up across 6 strings... 2) Bigsby on a fixed bridge. Knocks that sucker out of tune immediately and irreparably. Exactly! So what the guy might need is a nut that locks down the strings. They do make 'em. My guitard has one. Also as suggested this guy NEEDS a tuner pedal with a mute. I personally cannot stand hearing the tuning song. especially when played at stage volume and through the PA system. Like fingernails on a chalk board to me. I can stand something just a taste out of tune as I don't have perfect pitch but any more than that and it drives me a bit bonkers. Lydian mode? The only mode I know has the words "pie ala" in front of it. http://www.myspace.com/theeldoradosband Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
basswales Posted July 29, 2011 Share Posted July 29, 2011 I seem to remember a story about Ravi Shanker at Woodstock (?). He received a round of applause after tuning up (on stage) before his set, the audience thought it was his first song ... ah, innocent days. Agree with the "get a tuner with a mute function" thread. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
J. Dan Posted July 30, 2011 Share Posted July 30, 2011 There'd often be close to three minutes between songs. Ack!!!!! Ouch! That's a whole song! We run a lot of our songs together and usually don't have more than 4-6 seconds between songs if there is a pause. Even if the singer needs to announce something, we'll gauge where she's at and start playing over her so that at the end of the announcement, the vocals start. Ditto on the tuning pedal. Also, if you've got a good ear, you can make adjustments as you play. This is especially easy if a string is just slightly sharp because you can often give it a tug stretching it enough to pull it into tune. If it's flat it's more difficult because you have to make tuner adjustments while playing, but I've done it plenty of times. Dan Acoustic/Electric stringed instruments ranging from 4 to 230 strings, hammered, picked, fingered, slapped, and plucked. Analog and Digital Electronic instruments, reeds, and throat/mouth. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chad Thorne Posted August 1, 2011 Share Posted August 1, 2011 I do think for some it's a nervous habit. There are folks out there who don't know how to wind strings on a tuner post so that they don't slip. Direct them to, oh, any one of 4,782,318 web sites that explain this. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eric Iverson Posted August 1, 2011 Share Posted August 1, 2011 With a tuner pedal, unless there is some major problem, you can adjust it in seconds - not THREE MINUTES! Back in the '60s I remember guitarists without tuners driving themselves and the audience nuts, trying to get in tune, especially if there was no keyboard to tune to! You haven't lived until you hear two out of tune guitarists trying to tune to one another! So count your blessings! Re: Ravi Shankar - yes, it's true, his music sounds like endless tuning to a lot of people. I'm still a fan, actually... of Ravi, not endless tuning! LOL Luckily, my stage guitar stays in tune well, knock on wood! If need be, I can usually sit out a few seconds, unplug the guitar and retune with my regular tuner... I never bought one of those tuner pedals. Maybe in other contexts I would need one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jeremy c Posted August 1, 2011 Share Posted August 1, 2011 I think I still have tapes of a band I was in in the 70's in which our keyboard player had a mini-moog. (He also had a B3 organ). The mini-moog had three oscillators which it turns out were heat-sensitive, so they were constantly going out of tune. (I had this same problem a few years later when I got a Moog source....I muted it when retuning). If you think guitar tuning is annoying, you haven't lived through the constant sound of tuning synth oscillators at full volume between every song. Free download of my cd!. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eric Iverson Posted August 2, 2011 Share Posted August 2, 2011 I have heard about tuning problems with analog synths. Even with stars like Emerson Lake & Palmer and Mahavishnu. Actually, early analog synths were the closest thing to "primitive instruments" in modern history, weren't they? You guys don't have those problems with digital keyboards, do you? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tenstrum Posted August 2, 2011 Share Posted August 2, 2011 If you think guitar tuning is annoying, you haven't lived through the constant sound of tuning synth oscillators at full volume between every song. That makes my brain want to implode... Tenstrum "Paranoid? Probably. But just because you're paranoid doesn't mean there isn't an invisible demon about to eat your face." Harry Dresden, Storm Front Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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