How much time should a guitar remain in tune?

[Edgar Poe]

If you play a 12 string no one has ever been able to test it.

Ed

That is not how I personally feel. I like 12 string.

[bufflehead]

In my study, the guitars stay in tune for days.

At a gig, those same guitars need tuning every other song.

[Goodallboy]

Originally Posted by guitar george

Why do guitars continuously go out of tune while being played?

A number of factors including but not limited to, temperature changes, humidity changes, using a capo, stretching and bending strings, age of strings, gauge of strings, tuning machines, the nut, the bridge, pressing the strings too hard, and dozens of other ways.

[guitar george]

Originally Posted by Goodallboy

A number of factors including but not limited to, temperature changes, humidity changes, using a capo, stretching and bending strings, age of strings, gauge of strings, tuning machines, the nut, the bridge, pressing the strings too hard, and dozens of other ways.

These are all good reasons why a guitar would sound out of tune while playing the guitar and answers my original question, but, I think the OP was wondering how long it takes a guitar to lose it's original EADGBE (or alternate) tuning after a certain amount of playing. What factors, after the guitar has adjusted for humidity and temperature, make a guitar go out of tune such that you need to retune it? Some posters said that a guitar needs to be retuned after every song.

[Goodallboy]

Originally Posted by guitar george

These are all good reasons why a guitar would sound out of tune while playing the guitar and answers my original question, but, I think the OP was wondering how long it takes a guitar to lose it's original EADGBE (or alternate) tuning after a certain amount of playing. What factors, after the guitar has adjusted for humidity and temperature, make a guitar go out of tune such that you need to retune it? Some posters said that a guitar needs to be retuned after every song.

Temperature and humidity change so “adjusting for humidity and temperature” can be an elusive target. I don’t have a sealed, temperature and humidity controlled environment and I’m not alone.

I’m not really concerned how the guitar performs while not being played. I can only observe my observations over four decades of playing, and watching performances. Never in my life has someone completed a performance I’ve watched without tuning their guitars multiple times. Never have I played any of my guitars without retuning them multiple times.

Guitars don’t stay in tune in the world I’ve lived in and observed. There are many reasons.

[FGBR]

Surprised by many of the responses here. I'm very picky about tuning though, and will adjust/readjust all the time. That goes for both acoustic and electric guitars.

[Kitkatjoe]

Only the player can train his ears to determine when it's time to tune.

[PHJim]

A story (probably an urban legend) about Herb Ellis's time with the Casa Loma Orchestra.
Before he joined Oscar Peterson, Herb Ellis played with Glenn Gray's Casa Loma Orchestra. One night after a show, Glen said to Herb," Why do you spend so much time tuning? You tune after nearly every number. I went to see Segovia play and he didn't have to tune more than twice all night."
"Well," said Herb, "Some cats just don't care."

[Goodallboy]

Where’s the “like” button?

[RustyAxe]

Originally Posted by PHJim

.
Before he joined Oscar Peterson, Herb Ellis played with Glenn Gray's Casa Loma Orchestra. One night after a show, Glen said to Herb," Why do you spend so much time tuning? You tune after nearly every number. I went to see Segovia play and he didn't have to tune more than twice all night."
"Well," said Herb, "Some cats just don't care."

Literally LOL.