does anybody besides me tune their Big e string lightly flat

[johbren]

I have numorous guitars and they all sound better to me if i tune the big e just slightly flat.

[Charlie Bernstein]

Not on purpose.

[Skydog]

Originally Posted by johbren

I have numorous guitars and they all sound better to me if i tune the big e just slightly flat.

Have you done this with multiple tuners? Perhaps your tuner is reading sharp.

[Mr. Jelly]

I have for many, many years. Not "that" flat but a touch flat. I assume I naturally pull the E string down a touch and so for it to sound in tune while playing I like it a touch flat. Many top shelf players do slight tuning adjustments. What works for one most likely won't work for all. It's an individual tweak.

[Jim Owen]

I’ve seen this done, particularly by folks (like me) who thumb over for bass notes. I think the key is fretting the low e at 3 and dialing in that g note?

Tuning is a compromise. If it works for you, it works.

[Murphy Slaw]

When I'm feeling exceptionally sharp, I have to tune them all a little flat.

[TheGITM]

To 'flatten out' the difference between tuning of an open string versus fretted string you can have the nut compensated along with a saddle compensation adjustment. That will get everything closer to pitch. Otherwise, on some guitars, you can tell the slight pitch difference between the open and fretted string.

Since pressing the string on the fret slightly stretches the string, it affects the pitch. There is no additional stretching on an open string. Hence, the pitch difference. It's usually very subtle, and many people will not notice it. Compensating the nut correctly can reduce the variance even more.

[OptimusJay]

Actually, yes, I do tend to do this. I have thought about it on more than one occasion so thanks for posting about it. It's fractionally flat, just ever to slightly - and it has always sounded better to me. I thought it was, and i suppose it could be, the tuner but i seem to do it regardless of the tuner and regardless of the guitar. I am a thumb-over player for the most part so maybe that has something to do with it.

Jay

[Nymuso]

Originally Posted by johbren

I have numorous guitars and they all sound better to me if i tune the big e just slightly flat.

You too? I thought it was just me. Been doing that on all my guitars since I was 12.

[PineMarten]

I do it on the low C of my cittern (the C below standard guitar low E). I think of it like stretch tuning in pianos - presumably I'm hearing the harmonics of that low string more strongly than the fundamental, and the harmonics are slightly sharp of the fundamental due to string stiffness. What I tend to do is tune the higher strings with a tuner and just put the low C where it sounds sweetest by ear, which invariably reads just a little flat on a tuner.
One thing I've been meaning to do is see if Newtone can make me some more flexible large gauge strings for that low pair which should reduce the need to compensate the tuning - I'm using 0.060" gauge singles currently.

[abn556]

I do tune one of my Strats down to Eb, because it sounds really good on a Strat. I know that’s not what the OP meant.

On electrics used on amps with gain if you are slightly off on your tune on the Low E you can hear dissonance in the amp. You get a warble that is audible. Its also very noticeable if you use bell tone tuning on an acoustic.

[Skydog]

Originally Posted by TheGITM

To 'flatten out' the difference between tuning of an open string versus fretted string you can have the nut compensated along with a saddle compensation adjustment. That will get everything closer to pitch. Otherwise, on some guitars, you can tell the slight pitch difference between the open and fretted string.

Since pressing the string on the fret slightly stretches the string, it affects the pitch. There is no additional stretching on an open string. Hence, the pitch difference. It's usually very subtle, and many people will not notice it. Compensating the nut correctly can reduce the variance even more.

They call that intonating

[tomh]

I have two guitars. One I have to tune the low E a little flat, as well as the B string a little flat. This works good for key of G, C and D but does not sound good in E. I believe the nut slots are a touch high on those strings as well as needing to compensate the saddle on the B string.

My other guitar I can tune to pitch and it sounds great.

I also know I can press to hard and make any note too high.

[Goat Mick]

I'm definitely not a "top shelf" player, but I've always felt like all my guitars sound a little sweeter with the G and B strings tuned very slightly sharp. It's funny how we're all different.

[Rudy4]

Originally Posted by johbren

I have numorous guitars and they all sound better to me if i tune the big e just slightly flat.

The only time I've seen that done is when the nut slot is a bit too high. Having the slot at the correct depth eliminates pulling the string sharp when fretting.

It's easy to check your slot depth: