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Guitar Frequencies Question


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Posted
Good day everyone, I've been scouring the net (using a scouring pad no less!) looking to find the frequncies of guitar strings. So far I've come up with: GTR: E: 329.6277 Hz A: 440 Hz D: 587.3297 Hz G: 783.991 Hz B: 987.7669 Hz E: 1318.5105 Hz Bass: B: 61.7354 Hz E: 82.4068 Hz A: 55 Hz D: 146.8323 Hz G: 195.9977 Hz Do these look right? I'm not sure if the bass is right or whether I'm an octave up - is the low B on a bass at 61.7354Hz or 30.8677Hz? Is there a reference site that I've missed for this? Most sites seem more concerned with matching 5th fret to open strings rather than numbers. -- Rob
I have the mind of a criminal genius.....I keep it in the freezer next to mother.
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Posted
Those figures are way off. That would be a guitar strung two octaves too high and a bass with one note right and the rest an octave high Here are the correct frequencies: [b]BASS[/b] starting from the lowest string and giving the frequency in Hertz. [list] [*]E-41.2 [*]A-55 [*]D-73.4 [*]G-98 [/list] [b]GUITAR[/b] starting from the lowest string and giving the frequency in Hertz[list] [*]E-82.4 [*]A-110 [*]D-146.8 [*]G-196 [*]B-246. [*]E-329.6 [/list]
Posted
Well I keep trying to correct that list and it's not working, that low B on the Bass would be a 30.9 Hertz One thing that might be confusing you. Guitar and Bass are both transposing instruments which means they are written in notation one octave higher than the actual frequency to make them fit on the staff easier.
Posted
Dwarf, the guitar freq's you have are for the second harmonic (two octaves up) from the actual values. We refer to modern "standard" tuning as being referenced to A = 440Hz. I'm sure you've heard a 440Hz tone from a synth or guitar tuner. You'll notice it matches the low E string harmonic at the 5th fret. I have a tuning fork for E at 329.6. It matches the low E string, 5th fret harmonic and the fundamental of the high E string. Guitar Here's the classical tuning for a six-string guitar: Note Frequency (Hz) [list] [*]A-2 110.00 [*]D-3 146.83 [*]G-3 196.00 [*]B-3 246.94 [*]E-4 329.63 [/list]

It's easiest to find me on Facebook. Neil Bergman

 

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Posted
Hey Neil: I see you're having the same problem I had with the list feature. I'm not messing with it anymore. Everytime I try to change the figures it deletes something in another section of the list. That B string on the guitar is 246.9 as you listed.
Posted
Yeow! I had no idea there IS a problem with the list feature! :rolleyes: :eek: :freak: I'm glad I haven't used it in a while. Who knows what I might have left out of an otherwise [i]perfect[/i] post??? :D Seriously, that sucks. I like using the list feature. Craig? Anyone there to check out the bug in the software?

It's easiest to find me on Facebook. Neil Bergman

 

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Posted
[quote]Originally posted by thisOLDdude: [b]Why might I ask are you seeking the frequencies? You can probably use a signal generator plug in and a tuner to guesstimate them. Heeeeenh?[/b][/quote]I'm making a CD for P.A. testing and I figured that while I'm at it I'll put tuning notes for guitar and bass on there as well. I don't know how many times I've heard a guitarist ask someone else to "give me an 'e'", so this way I'll have one handy in case the guitarist is a solo act and doesn't have someone else to turn to :-) -- Rob
I have the mind of a criminal genius.....I keep it in the freezer next to mother.
Posted
Yeah Neil you play a 5 string guitar. Hey Dwarf, although my figures round off to the tenth, you should be able to get to the hundreth or thousandeth by dividing your original figures now that you know the correct range the notes should be in. I swear I spent 30 minutes screwing around with that list feature. I finally had everything in place for the 10th time and I noticed I had spelled string wrong and when I corrected it, once again there were items in my list deleted, some weird bug I guess.
Posted
Hey Steve, how the hell are ya? [quote]Originally posted by TheWewus: [b]Those figures are way off. That would be a guitar strung two octaves too high and a bass with one note right and the rest an octave high [/b][/quote]That's why I asked :) I forgot you were a piano tuner. Handy to have around. [quote][b] Here are the correct frequencies: [b]BASS[/b] starting from the lowest string and giving the frequency in Hertz. [list] [*]E-41.2 [*]A-55 [*]D-73.4 [*]G-98 [/list] [b]GUITAR[/b] starting from the lowest string and giving the frequency in Hertz [list] [*]E-82.4 [*]A-110 [*]D-146.8 [*]G-196 [*]B-246. [*]E-329.6 [/list] [/b][/quote]I got a question here: You and Neil give slightly different answers. For example, you list the 'B' as 246Hz and Neil lists it as 246.94 - what's the margin of error in tuning? (yeah I know, in some bands tuning is only approximate). If I play a 246Hz tone will the guitarist be slightly out of tune if the electronic keyboard is giving 246.94? Can the human ear hear the .94 difference (presuming that the guitar stays perfectly in tune after tuning). Thanks guys. -- Rob
I have the mind of a criminal genius.....I keep it in the freezer next to mother.
Posted
246.94 is correct. The freaking software deleted part of my post. You could also use this formula: The velocity of the transverse wave can be given y V=sqrt(TL/M) T---Tension in the string M---mass of the string L---Length of the vibrating part of the string Once the velocity is known we can calculate the frequency using f = V/(2*L) :D :D :D :D
Posted
[quote]Originally posted by TheWewus: [b]246.94 is correct. The freaking software deleted part of my post. You could also use this formula: The velocity of the transverse wave can be given y V=sqrt(TL/M) T---Tension in the string M---mass of the string L---Length of the vibrating part of the string Once the velocity is known we can calculate the frequency using f = V/(2*L) :D :D :D :D [/b][/quote]Yeah, right. Hang on a minute, lemme see if Stephen Hawking is available to give me a hand with this. -- Rob
I have the mind of a criminal genius.....I keep it in the freezer next to mother.
Posted
[quote]Originally posted by Dwarf: [b] [quote]Originally posted by thisOLDdude: [b]Why might I ask are you seeking the frequencies? You can probably use a signal generator plug in and a tuner to guesstimate them. Heeeeenh?[/b][/quote]I'm making a CD for P.A. testing and I figured that while I'm at it I'll put tuning notes for guitar and bass on there as well. I don't know how many times I've heard a guitarist ask someone else to "give me an 'e'", so this way I'll have one handy in case the guitarist is a solo act and doesn't have someone else to turn to :-) -- Rob[/b][/quote]So - you're gonna give them a CD "E"?? You could make 2 versions, and they could A/B CD "E"s... [i]Run away! Run away![/i] :freak:
Posted
[quote]Originally posted by ChristopherKemp: [b][QUOTE] So - you're gonna give them a CD "E"?? You could make 2 versions, and they could A/B CD "E"s... [i]Run away! Run away![/i] :freak: [/b][/quote]Gack! I don't know whether to laugh or throw up! Good one Chris! -- Rob
I have the mind of a criminal genius.....I keep it in the freezer next to mother.
Posted
[b]Standard Pitch[/b] is A=440Hz. [b]A[/b] could be any pitch you want. Some European orchestras will tune to 441 or 442 Hertz for no other reason than to make my job as a piano tuner harder.
Posted
[quote]Originally posted by TheWewus: [b][b]Standard Pitch[/b] is A=440Hz. [b]A[/b] could be any pitch you want. Some European orchestras will tune to 441 or 442 Hertz for no other reason than to make my job as a piano tuner harder.[/b][/quote]You think they do that just to piss you off? Do you think that cars behind you on the highway are following you? -- Rob
I have the mind of a criminal genius.....I keep it in the freezer next to mother.
Posted
[quote]Originally posted by TheWewus: [b][b]Standard Pitch[/b] is A=440Hz. [b]A[/b] could be any pitch you want. Some European orchestras will tune to 441 or 442 Hertz for no other reason than to make my job as a piano tuner harder.[/b][/quote]Seriously, Wewus, I just heard a respected piano tuner say he finds classical as well as rock pianists who want their instruments tuned as they would have been 150 years ago. Apparently, aside from period orchestras, modern artists are finding more nuance in tuning which is consonant in a few keys turning to significant dissonance in others. I'm not certain if this is "Just" tuning or another type. Have you heard much or have specific opinions about piano tuning other than equal temperament?

It's easiest to find me on Facebook. Neil Bergman

 

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Posted
As you may know the Equal Temperament that most of us use all the time actually throws every interval off a little so that music will sound acceptable no matter what key you play in. You can tune a Just Temperament for each key that will sound more pleasing to the ear for that key only. There are many other tunings that people have experimented with and used succesfully but 99% per cent of the Western music we hear and play is in Equal Temperament. I've tuned approximately 17,000 pianos and about 16,950 of those have been in Equal Temperament. One of my peers here in Charlotte takes care of most of those non-standard tunings when they come up. I never really got in to it. I have seen some softsynths and electronic keyboards that offer non-standard tunings as presets, that would be the easy way to experiment with it. Here's some info about [url=http://www.phy.mtu.edu/~suits/scales.html]Just vs Equal Temperament[/url] . Tuning a piano can be a incredibly tedious process. You've got about 240 strings that each have to be tuned in relation to each other, when you introduce the factor of non-standard tunings it can turn from incredibly tedious to an incredible pain in the ass. Like anything else it takes a lot of practice to execute those other tunings correctly.

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