Tuning E Question

[Condition1]

When I am tuning "E" using a digital tuner, I never the line aligned (sorry for the lack of technical terms) when playing the note - it keeps bouncing low/high/low...than goes all the way to end on high... all other notes tune just fine...

can someone explain this to me, please

[DCCougar]

Originally Posted by Condition1

....can someone explain this to me, please

Um, not really. Just tune it so it ends in the middle.

[ljguitar]

Originally Posted by Condition1

When I am tuning "E" using a digital tuner, I never the line aligned (sorry for the lack of technical terms) when playing the note - it keeps bouncing low/high/low...than goes all the way to end on high... all other notes tune just fine...

can someone explain this to me, please

HI C1

When plucked, picked or struck, a string travels in a wider pattern, and then settles. When I first strike strings they tend to be sharp and then settle.

My digital tuners have faster or slower response, and the most sensitive is what I call erratic. If I pluck the string hard, it immediately registers the pitch and then almost wavers itself into a steady display.

The least sensitive almost seems to lag.

I like a digital tuner which is somewhere in the middle, but have learned to adapt to whichever one I use. My three primary ones are:

TC Electronics Polytune Clip - Acoustic
Korg Sledgehammer - Electrics
Snark - for about anything, because it claims +-2cent accuracy, but you can see the needle and the scale is large enough you can fudge pitches which need to be shaded.

My fourth is my Peterson Clip (which is an erratic one), and it goes to gigs which are out of doors because the screen is LCD (not LED) and you can read it in bright sunlight. It is SUPER accurate, but you can't tune in the middle of the band in the middle of a song with it.

The key to any tuner is find the most responsive part of the headstock to afix it to, and then play the string lightly.

[Condition1]

Originally Posted by ljguitar

HI C1

When plucked, picked or struck, a string travels in a wider pattern, and then settles. When I first strike strings they tend to be sharp and then settle.

My digital tuners have faster or slower response, and the most sensitive is what I call erratic. If I pluck the string hard, it immediately registers the pitch and then almost wavers itself into a steady display.

The least sensitive almost seems to lag.

I like a digital tuner which is somewhere in the middle, but have learned to adapt to whichever one I use. My three primary ones are:

TC Electronics Polytune Clip - Acoustic
Korg Sledgehammer - Electrics
Snark - for about anything, because it claims +-2cent accuracy, but you can see the needle and the scale is large enough you can fudge pitches which need to be shaded.

My fourth is my Peterson Clip (which is an erratic one), and it goes to gigs which are out of doors because the screen is LCD (not LED) and you can read it in bright sunlight. It is SUPER accurate, but you can't tune in the middle of the band in the middle of a song with it.

The key to any tuner is find the most responsive part of the headstock to afix it to, and then play the string lightly.

Wow, thanks a bunch for the rich information!!!

[HOF dad]

^^^^^^ all this. It can drive you nuts (at least me ) sometimes.
I will use harmonics on the twelfth fret which seems to calm some tuners a little better.

[Paddy1951]

Originally Posted by Condition1

When I am tuning "E" using a digital tuner, I never the line aligned (sorry for the lack of technical terms) when playing the note - it keeps bouncing low/high/low...than goes all the way to end on high... all other notes tune just fine...



can someone explain this to me, please

Try the following:

The tuner may need a new battery. They get wacky when the battery is going.

You are talking about low E, correct?
Well, low or high, E/e try turning your tuner button ever so slightly. If you are trying to tune new strings, they can be aggravating. It takes a while before new strings stabilize and settle down. Also, what kind of a tuner are you using? That can make a difference.

Tuning devices are great for getting you close to where you should be but are not perfect. That is because they way we tune guitars is not perfect.
I will let the engineers explain that as they can do a better job than I.

What I am getting at is try to train your ears to provide those final little tweaks to your tuning. Over time, you will develop a sense of how your guitar should sound. To be sure, I am not talking about Perfect Pitch here.

[Condition1]

Originally Posted by Paddy1951

Try the following:

The tuner may need a new battery. They get wacky when the battery is going.

You are talking about low E, correct?
Well, low or high, E/e try turning your tuner button ever so slightly. If you are trying to tune new strings, they can be aggravating. It takes a while before new strings stabilize and settle down. Also, what kind of a tuner are you using? That can make a difference.

Tuning devices are great for getting you close to where you should be but are not perfect. That is because they way we tune guitars is not perfect.
I will let the engineers explain that as they can do a better job than I.

What I am getting at is try to train your ears to provide those final little tweaks to your tuning. Over time, you will develop a sense of how your guitar should sound. To be sure, I am not talking about Perfect Pitch here.

I am using a tuner on my phone - Pixel 3. It is a new guitar so the strings are new I suppose.

I hope one day to tune without electronics, not perfect but nice tone.

[Paddy1951]

Originally Posted by Condition1

I am using a tuner on my phone - Pixel 3. It is a new guitar so the strings are new I suppose.



I hope one day to tune without electronics, not perfect but nice tone.

While phone app tuners are pretty cool you would probably be better served by one of the inexpensive clip on tuners. There are many. I have a small Fishman. It cost me about $15.00. It works well.

The disadvantage of phone app tuners is that they do not "feel" the string vibration like a clip on tuner can. Ambient noise can throw them off.

Good luck.

[Mycroft]

Try tuning using the 12th fret harmonic.

[Condition1]

Originally Posted by Paddy1951

While phone app tuners are pretty cool you would probably be better served by one of the inexpensive clip on tuners. There are many. I have a small Fishman. It cost me about $15.00. It works well.

The disadvantage of phone app tuners is that they do not "feel" the string vibration like a clip on tuner can. Ambient noise can throw them off.

Good luck.

I ordered one which will arrive today, Snark SN1X.

Thanks for all the suggestions!

[SunnyDee]

My tuners don't like my lowest string on the baritone much. It's much easier for me to tune to the third fret, so tune that E to the G, which you probably use all the time, anyway.

[Condition1]

Got my Snark, pretty neat tool. Already ordered another just for back up.

Thanks everyone for the help.

[Nymuso]

Originally Posted by HOF dad

^^^^^^ all this. It can drive you nuts (at least me ) sometimes.
I will use harmonics on the twelfth fret which seems to calm some tuners a little better.

This. Plus, to get the harmonic you just barely touch the string at the 12 fret (this is called a node. The 12th fret is one of several). Just pick the string normally with your right hand and remove your left just as the string starts to vibrate. This will give you a bell like note which is the E, but one octave higher. This is easier for the tuner to read. Once again, just touch the string at the 12 fret, do not press it down like when you play the note normally.

[jseth]

Condition1;

Something to keep in mind is that you want to "dampen" all the other strings EXCEPT for the string you are tuning... if you let them "ring out", they will pick up sympathetic vibration from the string you're tuning, thus causing other strings to "hear" those sympathetic vibrations as well...

Dampen or mute all the strings except for the one you are tuning... really a pain in the butt with a 12 string! But, if I don't do it, the tuning is going to be inaccurate.

[Rodger Knox]

Another thing that can happen is that the fundamental is not as strong as the first partial, and it jumps back and forth between the two. Plucking the open string at the 12th fret gives the strongest fundamental.