I've Been Tuning WRONG (and so have YOU!)

[@ScienceofLoud]

There is a better way to tune guitars and you've probably been getting it wrong all this time, I was! Discover compensated tunings and be more in tune than you've ever been before! Get your Cherub Flow Tune Clip: Amazon: www.amazon.com/dp/B0B5V3MNHH Website: www.cherubtechnology.com/wst_905li This video contains paid promotion from Guitar World and Cherub More details on how CSGuitars implements product promotion - www.csguitars.co.uk/disclosure #guitarworld #cherub #tuning Time Codes - 00:00 - Introduction & Sponsor 01:08 - Cherub Flow Tune Clip Details 02:25 - Why Compensated Tuning Rocks! 08:28 - Use With Bass Guitars 08:57 - Conclusion and Links More from CSGuitars: Gain access to exclusive content at: www.patreon.com/csguitars Join CSGuitars Discord - discord.gg/csguitars Buy CSGuitars Merchandise - www.csguitars.co.uk/store Website - www.csguitars.co.uk Contact - [e-mail] ____________________________________________________________________ *Description contains affiliate links. Purchasing using one of these links will generate a small commission for CSGuitars at no additional cost to you.*

[@MusiCatsKing]

So is this why i never trust guitar tuners. Used one once and it sounded off, so never used them again. I just keep fine-tuning until it all sounds perfect to my ears.

[@helenabasquette7222]

whats a pitch pape?😀

[@MashaT22]

Any chance you can post a follow up video with a demo of side by side playing comparisons with regular tuning vs. compensated tuning for chords, fretted notes, etc.? It would help us hear the differences between the them!

[@DaisyHollowBooks]

I wouldn't mind seeing that as well.

[@wayneknazek7362]

@@DaisyHollowBooks Do a simple google search for compensated tuning vs standard tuning. There are several great vids out there by some well known artists. 2 great vids are James Taylor (as already mentioned in this video) and an outstanding comparison by Paul Davids.

[@DaisyHollowBooks]

@wayneknazek7362 Cool. Thanks.

[@arroncusimano9169]

It wont happen, he made it clear this is a sponsored video.

[@bill9989]

Paul Davids did exactly that using standard and James Taylor tuning.

[@wayneknazek7362]

Hey, Colin, Wayne Reed here. I do watch a lot of music related videos. Mainly to see how others teach, or explain things. What examples they use. I'm retired, and enjoy watching Pros! and chuckle (then don't watch again) non-Pros who shouldn't be teaching anyone! Ha! I'm 74. Started TEACHING in 1975. Been gigging since '65. Been playing since 1960. I've played all over the USA and Canada, and in China for a couple months a while back. Although I've played a lot of instruments in my day, my focus is guitar, bass and harmonica. I say this NOT to pat myself on the back. But rather to try to add a bit of credibility to my next comments. Colin, my man, I've enjoyed every one of your wonderfull videos that I've watched! Not only are your videos produced well, with outstanding content . . . as wel as ACCURATE content . . . your presentation is equally outtanding. Well done! BTW: I've been teaching compensated tuning for a LONG time! It goes right along with properly setting up your guitar. 2 important facts many forget, or never learned . . . 1). You can't intonate with the guitar laying down with the headstock/neck on a block! You have to hold it in playing psition. The position YOU play in! And 2). You compensate the intonation set up NOT so it's perfect at some static fret's harmomic, but to YOU! To YOUR hands, your finger's playing pressure. Your pick attack. You TUNE, you SET UP, and you INTONATE to YOU! THEN . . . you'll be in tune with the world. Assuming the rest of the world is in tune! HA!!! My best, Wayne

[@stickplayer2]

That's a terrific note. As a long-time player and producer, I always check intonation and tuning with "live" playing, and have adjusted to how I play, even when that is slightly off "perfect". I think in addition to one's playing techniques, we have to remember most of our instruments are are primarily constructed from natural materials, which also change and respond. It's a dynamic system, unique in its details in every case.

[@fuglsnef]

If you're having trouble tuning a bass, try playing the twelfth fret harmonic instead of the open string.

[@NWTMasterWolf]

That will only work if it's intonation is correct.

[@megantorres1108]

@@NWTMasterWolf I always thought intonation being out would be about the same if it's 12th fret harmonic or open string, as it's a proper octave node, as opposed to fretting on the 12th fret which really depends on intonation

[@Rob-pq1bk]

@@NWTMasterWolf Intonation has nothing to do with harmonics. Intonation would play a factor if you were instead fretting the 12th fret to tune

[@lenwhatever4187]

The 12th harmonic on a bass (or guitar for that matter) has much less energy than a plucked open string and so will be some what flatter than the open played even medium hard. Also, a vibrating string's ends do not add the same amount of mass to the vibrating string as the centre, adding other errors as well. As they say in Texas, "its a whole thing". I was very happy my new tuner handles a bass B string as my old one did not, even though the bass is fret-less. I was never happy with the tuning on my low string when I had to use a harmonic.

[@Walkeranz]

@@NWTMasterWolf no

[@therealdavegrohl1098]

My first tuner was a floppy 7" single that came with book one of 'the complete rock and pop guitarist' it's only advantage was that it would then perfectly match the pitch of the vinyl records I was playing on my worn out gramophone....

[@nairanvac79]

Wow, that's brilliant. I hadn't considered how that would necessarily keep you in tune with your out-of-tune record player.

[@calvinlee8103]

That's so awesome.

[@Ronno4691]

@Peanus Birthday For people with the serious misfortune of being born in the dim and distant past of the late 20th Century, that wild lawless and savage time that humanity barely survived by the skin of its teeth i.e. BEFORE THE YEAR 1990!!! There were NO clip-on tuners, no FX pedal tuners, no amplifiers with built in tuners and no little plastic boxes that you could plug your guitar into or use its in-built microphone for tuning your guitar AT ALL! Pitch Pipes were often the only method of tuning your guitar. So, nothing to do with being 'poor' just a lack of available technology YET TO BE INVENTED....

[@DMSProduktions]

@@Ronno4691 LOL! about 10 years ago, a lady came into the shop I was working in, (we hadn't been open all that long...) & asked for a set of pitch pipes! I laughed and asked 'What FOR?' 'To tune my guitar!', she retorted! I told her NO1 used pipes any more for over 20 years and we had a plethora of electronic pedal and clip on tuners that were far easier & more accurate than pipes EVER were! 'OH!' she said! She was so OUT of touch she thought guitar tuning was still stuck in the 1970s & 80s! LOL! Naturally I sold her a Snark!

[@SumoRabbitOfDoom]

I had books 1 and 2, with the same floppy record for tuning. Luckily for me, I also had an analogue tuner with a 6 position switch, so you'd set it to whichever string you wanted to tune, then try and get the needle to wobble around somewhere near the centre! 😂

[@JackieTheCatfox]

This is a very interesting concept, but it does raise a few questions: - How do you intonate a guitar if you want to use compensated tuning? - Wouldn't open strings be slightly out of tune with the rest of the (fretted) strings? Or is it too little to be noticeable? - If you're playing in a band context, you would have to tune all the instruments the same way, but... would you have to tune the bass the same amount of cents off for it to match the guitars, or does that have its own separate "compensated tuning"? - Again in a band context: What if there's a keyboard in the mix? Would it sound out of tune with the open strings of a guitar tuned in compensated tuning? - Is this the same principle that applies to compensated nuts, like Earvana? Thanks a lot for this video!

[@calebmunkirs9661]

When it comes to the keyboard, I would recommend tuning to the keyboard especially if there's no way to adjust it. One time my band was recording in the studio and we recorded an acoustic guitar Parr first and then the keyboard. It was a disaster together. We were using a capo and the guitar was "in tune" but it wasn't tuned to the same frequency as the piano so we had to re record the whole acoustic part which was the whole song to match the piano which was only the final chorus

[@blackfowl75]

You intonate guitar like you would a normal one. You can either do it regularly and then compensate the tuning or intonate it with the compensated tuning and make sure both readings are the same cents apart. That depends on the tuning you use. I’d say that depends on whether you often play the same note for a long amount of time. If so, yeah, it’s better if they’re both tuned the same way. Same answer as before. I’d say yes but I’m not sure, I did a little research but I never heard about them.

[@JackieTheCatfox]

@@blackfowl75 Thanks!

[@wannapg3750]

One thing I learned is to file my nut slot. If the open string is in tune and the first fret note is high, carefully file the nut slot a bit deeper until both notes are in tune, according to the tuner. This not only affects all of the fretted notes intonation but makes the guitar feel so much better when you play! Many times I've had to use baking soda and super glue because I filed the slot too deep and the first fretted note always buzzes if you do that. In learning to do this, I have ruined a number of nuts. I suggest you use your $99 Fender Squier to practice on before ruining the nut on your $1,200 American Strat.

[@activese]

Your comment should be pinned.

[@JackFlaps]

spend the money and get the right sized nut files

[@godsinbox]

your comment should be PRINTED

[@robertsay4374]

Ok - turns out I’ve been compensating for years by accident, just retuning by ear after putting on a capo or similar. Never occurred to me to tune slightly flat out of box! Great stuff from CSG as always.

[@haydenkinley5266]

Huh, so I've been compensating for years, apparently. I always tuned a little more by ear after finishing with the tuner, to catch that sweet spot. Neat concept!

[@glen7228]

Being an old guy that started playing at a young age I spent at least half of my years using a pitch pipe and then fixing the sound from there. I still do that today even though I use a digital tuner. After I use the tuner I play some licks and strum some chords adjusting each string until everything sounds good to my ear. And I have noticed if I then go back and check with the tuner I always end up slightly flat, even though I still sound in tune with the other people I'm playing with. I never thought much about any of it, that's just how it worked out.

[@MrValonievs]

Nice to see this getting more attention. A couple of years ago, I was commissioned to record some guitar for a guy. One of the issues I encountered was that the track I was sent had drums and bass. Whoever had recorded the bass hadn't considered this and had tuned his bass to "perfect" tuning. This led to many of his notes going very sharp and together with everything else sounded like shit. I did tell the guy about it tho (he usually got his bass recorded by me, but for this one time my bass was off for repairs and maintenance, so he went to someone else to record bass). I gave the customer basically the same explanation you did here, but I didn't really know this was a thing people actually thought about.

[@calvinlee8103]

I produced film scores for a big chunk of my life, and this comment just gave me Vietnam-style flashbacks. Working with musicians that someone else hired to play/sing a part is such a nightmare. Out of tune instruments, sloppy timing, embarrassing vocals, sending recorded parts in weird, bad file formats, etcetera; there's many reasons I started hiring everybody myself. Dealing with that crap in *exhausting.*

[@brandonwilliams6181]

I’ve always done a different sort of by-ear tuning. Where I set the D string correctly, then tune each string to the one next to it. All except the B, where I fret 3 (D) and tune the octave to the D string. It’s been a very trusty and reliable way of tuning! But now I must try your way! Lol

[@yourFriendPan]

dang i saw this video title and thought "i doubt it" but this is actually really smart. i should have gotten into compensated tuning years ago

[@kennyayala6189]

Not sure if you've already done a video on this, but I would LOVE to see you break down the science of True Temperament fretboards (maybe even do some mythbusting) -- how it would interact with a standard nut vs a compensated one, what some cons might be, etc. \m/

[@nathanreese6268]

Great advice! I've had issues with my b string on my SG for a bit, I'd be tuning and retuning each session and never able to get a clean sound on an open D chord. thanks for the tip this should help a lot.

[@TheShinyShow]

Didn't realise this existed for acoustic. I definitely do the metal thing of compensating for hitting the lower strings harder

[@alexforshaw]

That clip-on tuner having a strobe setting looks really good - I also find strobe easier to use than a needle display.

[@These_go_to_eleven_1959]

Good luck finding one! I went trying to buy one and no one has them?

[@alexforshaw]

Treated myself to a Peterson strobe clip-on instead - already had its big brother on my board so it's very familiar.

[@Livi_Noelle]

Didn't know about tuning the attack instead of the sustain and decay. Thanks for that nugget of knowledge.

[@efa666]

EVH's tech said Ed's hands were so strong that he had to tune the guitar extra flat to compensate for the extra tension.

[@nuberiffic]

That's just bad technique.

[@nuberiffic]

That's just bad technique.

[@efa666]

@@nuberiffic possibly, old habits die hard I guess.

[@barretprivateer8768]

Literally just bad technique, if you press too hard it pitches up. I would have loved to hear him play something scalloped

[@synboy]

When you sell 100 million albums, you must be doing SOMETHING right. Ed would tune....then everyone else tuned to HIM.

[@whatwouldhousedo5136]

I recently went up one gauge of strings on my guitars (from 9 to 10 on electric, and 10 to 11 on acoustic; I prefer light strings) because I found that no matter how lightly I tried to fret, I was always pulling things slightly out of tune, especially because I tune to A flat. I've been tuning the B string a little flat forever- really works on open D and A chords. Something I was thinking about a couple of weeks ago regarding the open B string is that it's not really used that much in first-position chords anyway; if you think about it, it's only open E/E minor and one G voicing until you get into suspended chords like an A sus2 etc, so it doesn't really matter if it's a bit flat because it's almost always fretted. Of course I'm just talking about strumming open chords

[@TheStrykerProject]

Thanks for the graphic that shows all the string tunings. I totally ripped that off with a screen-shot and will see how that sounds with my guitars.

[@ledoynier3694]

I didn't know this had a name, "compensated tuning", but that's basically what we do naturally by picking hard when tuning as you explained. I guess any guitarist or bassist with half a working ear figures that out quickly the first time playing with a band, or along to a record, as a perfectly tuned guitar sounds completely off :)

[@zacerax6000]

I'm so happy there are still things for me to learn out there. I know about open tunings, drop tunings, Tennessee tuning, justified tuning, microtonal mechanisms. But sweetened tunings are very happily sitting on that list now.

[@robinleebraun7739]

This is really great. I’ve been playing for 50 years, but only in the last few years have I understood compensated tuning. I used to believe that all guitars were essentially perfect, but now I know that there’s no such thing as perfection in tuning.

[@apoplexiamusic]

I’ve been doing this intuitively on my guitars in low tunings like drop A, drop G and drop F, always tuning the low string a bit lower so that it sounds in tune when playing power chords

[@DMSProduktions]

Well that makes sense as, the slacker the string, the MORE you are going to stretch it OUT of tune when you fret a note on it!

[@MelvynHaas]

for metal guitars I'd recommend tuning to the attack of the string, not the sustained note, so your guitar is more in pitch when actually played (especially with fast notes) Edit: didn't watch to the end, this was already adressed in the video. mb

[@robertpurdy4452]

My Peterson StrobeHD tuner has sweetened/compensated tuning settings and those are what I use to tune to.

[@godzilla964]

I bought the cherub tuner, and I think its compensated tuning mode works best for acoustic guitar and maybe not for some electric guitars.

[@potatoheadhaoy]

A cool trick is to use is tuning with 5th and 7th fret harmonics. The 5th fret harmonic of one string will be the same pitch as the 7th fret harmonic of the adjacent higher string. It’s especially useful for bass because it makes the pitch much easier to hear and tube

[@Avyrra]

All I hear is a great reason for me to tune even lower

[@terrycoatney2555]

Thanks for this, I've been playing music over 40 years, starting in school band playing brass instruments, but , I've never heard of tuning flat before. I appreciate the tip as when I play guitar my chords do always seem a bit off. Cheers my fellow musician.

[@hmtp177]

4:20 Thanks valuable info as always. HOWEVER, what about the intonation? Should we intonate with the compensation as well?

[@JWBails]

If you're going to be playing the guitar with compensated tuning and nothing else, definitely intonate with the compensation. If you're going back and forth between that and standard, I guess you'd either have to pick one, or find a middle ground between the two.

[@hmtp177]

@@JWBails Why would anyone go back to standard though? I Don't completely understand what you said.

[@tanglewife]

I just pluck hard when I'm tuning, like you said, and this seems to compensate enough to make my intonation pretty damn good.

[@joesatchton212]

I have done a similar thing with all my locking nut trem equipped axes. I tune just slight FLAT with the locking nuts NOT tightened and the fine tuners all set to 50% of the travel position. Then, once I lock down the nut plates, each string invariably goes slight sharp, meaning almost to perfect tune. Then fine tune as needed. I'm no genius but have been doing this for decades as it just seemed to make sense to me from day 1. Great, useful vid as always Colin!

[@wbfaulk]

"Has cents displayed on screen, making it definitively accurate to one cent." (9:10) No, that makes it precise to one cent. It means nothing in regards to accuracy. Otherwise, this is a great video with a ton of useful observation. I'd be interested to know if it's actually a strobe tuner or if that's just a display mode, though.

[@TheTektronik]

This starts to make sense now. Thanks a lot.

[@dw7704]

I use the tuner first, then adjust by ear as needed. And yeah the attack & decay change how your tuner looks so I take that into account. I have never had a problem with my bass & a Snark, but I play a 4 string & rarely down tune. After tuning on guitar I play a chord pattern to make sure it sounds good, and then some power chords & a blues riff. For bass I have a couple of riffs I play. Those let me hear if my tuning is off or not, and it helps warm up my fingers.

[@TheStrykerProject]

Hmm...my Snark doesn't like the low E (or lower) on my bass. I usually use the octave harmonic, though, which seems to make the Snark happy. I have an older Super Tight, so maybe new models are better?

[@dw7704]

@@TheStrykerProject I have had the same experience with an older Snark & a newer one And both red & blue, if that maters.

[@TheStrykerProject]

@@dw7704 Ah, gotcha. Thanks for the info.

[@davestagner]

I had a whole complex approach to tuning different strings different degrees of flat, so the guitar would be in tune with itself. Then I got a Peterson Intellitouch strobe tuner with compensation, and it’s close enough to what I want that I don’t need to fuss anymore. (And that original James Taylor video on tuning is AWESOME and explained to me what I’d been trying to do for years.)

[@davestagner]

Without a tuner, I follow a luthier technique, tuning the entire guitar to the G string. Get the G (the usual misbehaving string) right. Fret it at 2 and then get the open A string in tune with that octave A on the G string. Then fret the A string at the second fret and dial in the B string to that. Fret the B at the third and dial in the D string, then fret the D at the second and dial in the E strings. Tuning to octaves like that WORKS. The whole guitar comes out beautifully in tune.

[@KelticKabukiGirl]

BTW, if you do Pedalboard tuners....... the Pedaltrain tuner is like a small rod that fits under a Boss jack, the input, output and power are all on a hydra cable to fit under the board. Saves a TON of space..

[@VladQuake]

Would you please make a video explaining how a guitar's physical orientation in space affects the tuning?

[@danzyrowski]

For 16 years I thought I was just crazy to find "perfect tune" and intonate after playing a few chords, and that the B string was just a nasty bugger that liked taunting me. Until I watched this - thank you for clarifying that I'm not insane.

[@MrPoilleke]

Colin, the 440 pitch was established in 1936, in the us not in the 1800's, and internationaly in 1955

[@ScienceofLoud]

What do you think orchestras had been trying to accomplish since the 1800s? Don't confuse the end of a movement with its beginning.

[@search895]

I usually set the tuning with an electronic tuner and then fix the slight weird untuned vibrations between strings by ear, within the range the tuner gave me. If I go too far, I go back to the tuner and then compensate by ear again. I have watched videos before about this topic and knowing the amount of cents prior to tuning so I'm gonna try it.

[@michaelheath76901]

I think the thing I appreciate the most about your videos is I have a fun time "playing" name that tune. 😊 It seems you play all the songs I like to listen to. A very close second favorite is your witty sense of humor. Christmas is only a few months away. I might put this tuner on the back burner as a good option. 👍

[@jimamsden]

One thing you didn't mention (unless I missed it) is to tune up not tune down to remove slack from the string and maintain stable tuning. Fender however recommends the opposite for locking tuners - tune down, don't tune up. Any idea why that would be preferred?

[@friedsensei]

Fender recommendations should always be ignored. Every piece of hardware on a fender can and should be upgraded. No one can even agree how to align the springs or float/deck/block the term. Leo fender was barely a guitarist and IMO his designs are timeless esthetically but the sound and playability was all luck.

[@UkiMalefu]

Band name: The Everchanging Whims Album name: Algorhythm ( I spelled it like that , on a whim, because music. I may change it 😜)

[@georgewilkins4231]

Guys and Colin.. The Cherub is great I'm sure, but here's an alternative I've been using for years.. Get yourself an A = 440 hertz tuning fork. Use your Ears and tune the 1st string 5th fret "A" to pitch use the tuning fork. Then tune the B 2nd string 5th fret E to the 1st string open E. UNISON. Then the 3rd G string 9th fret E to the 1st string open E, UNISON. then D 4th string 2nd fret E, to the open 1st string OCTAVE. then the A 5th string 7th fret E to the 1st string open E. OCTAVE Then finally tune the open E 6th string to the 2nd fret 4th string E... AND ALSO STRIKE THE 1ST STRING OPEN the 3 string should sound even rather than off.. You'll hear it.. What this method does is to tune the instrument to ITSELF.. The end result is not too far off the compensated tuning!!! However I think it sounds a bit better. Because the guitar string pitches are working together. As Colin rightly says tune using the pressure you would normally hit the strings with and not as the note fades out.. Also ensure the guitar is set up and your strings are in good nick. If you can use your ears it's useful as you don't have to rely on a tuner. If you're in a studio or on stage you still have the option of an electronic tuner.. Give it a try, works for me....

[@ChernobylAudio666]

Knocked it out of the park as always Colin!

[@BalashToth]

Great video, just one question: If you do the intonation, as in fretted 12th fret vs 12th fret harmonics, do you pick it on the fretted 12th string as well with your regular picking velocity?

[@ix-Xafra]

I prefer a standby switch that shorts a big resistor that reduces the B+ voltage to allow the filter caps to form before full voltage is applied.

[@sabertoothedcapybara]

Maybe a stupid question, but is the cent compensation related to the actual pitch (frequency) of the string or the position and gauge of the string relative to the other strings? e.g would the "b" string on a baritone (F#) also be tuned -6 cents because it's the second highest pitched string? Or would it require some other compensation because F# is a different frequency than B?

[@pedalscapes]

Fascinating - that pesky B - great information, cheers 😎

[@AimingWanderously]

I've never seen anyone say this before (but I'm sure others recommend it elsewhere). I've been doing this for years, thinking it was my intonation creating the need. It makes me happy to know I 'discovered' something that others do too and it's not necessarily my gear.

[@nstovl]

I am so glad I saw this. Playing an open D on most of my guitars has always sounded kind of harsh even when my guitar is in tune and now I know why.

[@dboone7670]

Same. It drives me crazy

[@finbarrheather5718]

This explains a lot. Thanks, I found this video incredibly illuminating and useful

[@dylanmcgarry1221]

I dont know or care what the Irn Bru pedal does but I need it on my board

[@rmccaw7]

This is the most useful ad I've ever seen

[@thought1212]

i thought a stupid topic but was surprised. its a good idea.

[@5urg3x]

What happens when the built-in battery wears out though? Is it user-replaceable?

[@JohnShalamskas]

I was thinking the same thing. Most likely the battery is soldered in place. So for most people this tuner is only going to last about 5 years.

[@5urg3x]

@@JohnShalamskas Would probably be more sustainable to buy a tuner that accepts regular coin cell batteries and then just get rechargeable coin cells. I vehemently dislike the idea of disposable electronics.

[@jcripp7974]

@@JohnShalamskas he said it was usb rechargeable. Maybe you need to tune your ears

[@JohnShalamskas]

@@jcripp7974 Rechargeable batteries don't last forever, even if you don't use them.

[@markhammer643]

Sometimes the obvious isn't so obvious. How do we bring strings up to pitch? By increasing tension, of course. How do most vibrato systems allow us to drop the pitch? By decreasing tension, of course. So how is it that we can behave as if fretting a string, and pressing *down* on it, does NOT alter the tension applied to that string? And how is it that the change in tension we apply by how we fret and how we strum does NOT vary with the string gauge? (insert embarrassed face-palm here) The question this elicits, however, is whether this suggested approach to tuning also holds for multi-scale/fan-fretted instruments, where the strings are intended to have different tension than a standard fretboard?

[@palukens]

1st time I have heard of this, thanks Colin, BTW, your getting good at channeling Papa Het!

[@flekkzo]

The one meaningful reason to tune to something else than 440hz is to match a recording. Analog tape running a bit fast or slow changes the tuning, and not all bands were tuned to 440hz.

[@ZeroSignalZen]

I believe Pantera's Cemetery Gates is an example. At proper tape speed or on CD, the song is like a quarter step below standard.

[@Maras666]

Master of Puppets is an example of an album that was recorded tuned down and slowed, then sped up to pitch, approximately.

[@flekkzo]

@@MFKR696 If you retune just a bit that much, it’s probably worth throwing the uncompressed some file in an app and tune it back to pitch. It’ll save on strings:) And if you flip around between E, Eb, D, drop D, etc you know the solution is right there in front of you. More guitars:)

[@flekkzo]

@@wipsypap probably just analog tape. If the motors (in every step of the way) isn’t properly calibrated and running at the right speed, things get sharp or flat. Since the vast majority of people don’t notice, they didn’t care. :( That’s one good thing about digital studios:)

[@flekkzo]

@@MFKR696 Now I know you are crazy, because there has never been a good reason to not get more guitars :) (I keep different guitars for E, Eb, D, and C, but not for drop tunings. Because I don’t like drop tunings :)).

[@anaxaplaysia]

This is great. I always had problems with the B string sounding weird with a D chord especially.

[@kingrobert1st]

I have a gorgeous 12 string acoustic. I always tune it with the capo on 3rd fret because I tune it 3 steps down to C#. It stays in tune when I move the capo up or down but if I remove the capo the bass strings are way out so I have to retune it with a chromatic tuner. Sometimes the tuner gives a perfect result on the screen but the guitar is slightly out of pitch so I finish tuning it by ear.

[@andersvincent]

Thanks for this video! Man you really have good content.

[@raoulsinier]

Very interresting video because yes… it's so hard to tune a guitar…

[@JWBails]

I think this video could have really done with some back-to-back clips of the same songs played with 440hz tuning and the compensated tuning.

[@Crunchifyable2]

What about heavier gauge strings? I have been putting the wrong gauge (12s in standard) on a telecaster for a couple years now and it just stays in tune better especially with heavy picking and such. To the point when I play like standard tuning with standard strings like tens I just can't stand the the pitchiness of light strings.

[@wea69420]

I mostly find myself adjusting the tuning of the B string up and down depending on what I'm playing. If you tune the G and B perfectly to a tuner, you'll get a good 4th but an atrocious major 3rd due to the guitar having straight frets; so if you're playing something with a lot of double stops on that pair of strings you can flatten the B until the major third stops beating. I've heard that both EVH and Hendrix did similar stuff, although I'm not sure how true that is.

[@michaelvarney.]

My first tuner was using my ear to try and get a string tuned to the song I was hearing on the radio or tape player… then relative tuning from there. Then a pitch pipe, then I found a tuning fork at a swap meet.

[@ravenshadowz2343]

Thank you for this video and the link to the tuner.

[@Tmidiman]

Ok, I’ll go get one,…and it’s out of stock as of 10-9-2022. 🙄 Update: I had to break away from the usual sources and found a shop in Spokane WA that had it in stock. Big thanks to Marks Guitar Shop for sending it my way!

[@MikeD606]

7:30 - "Compensated tuning makes a lot of cents." Now THAT makes sense! 🤓

[@johnmaynes7142]

5:29 AND I’M FREEEEEEEEEEEEEE, FREE FALLING

[@chrisggoodwin777]

I'm a bass player, and the only clip on tuners I've found which will consistently register the low B are the TC Electronics, Silver Snark 2, and the D'addario that comes with the maintenance kit. most other clip ons, including earlier snarks, won't register the B unless it's fretted at the 5th fret and tuned to E. I'd be interested to see if these cherub are able to perform as advertised on the low strings

[@DaisyHollowBooks]

I confess I'm slightly skeptical, but I'm going to give this a go. I do hit problems with open chords in particular.

[@ExplicableCashew]

Been tuning the B slightly flat for as long as I remember, and recently started to tune the E2 flat but thought the latter was my little secret - never knew compensated tuning was a whole thing!! It's gotten to a point where when I hear a guitar tuned to perfect EADGBE, it's ear grating - like "bro I know you made sure your guitar is 'in tune,' but it's painful" A potentially interesting side note is that I've found that the D2 in drop D needs to be less flat than the E2 in standard, owing to lower tension of how power chords are barred in drop D. So if using some sort of a down tuner device (like EVH D-Tuna, or the one I'm using, the Pitch Key), it pays to set it up so that it changes the pitch by a bit less than one whole tone, if there's a mechanic that allows for that. So mine goes from the "almost correct" D2 to a slightly flat E2

[@morphius747]

you play shows?

[@calvinlee8103]

For years I've been tuning my G string slightly flat (on *most* of my guitars) but every other string right on pitch. Is there a reason that this usually sounds correct to me? Or have I just tricked my brain into thinking I sound in tune when I don't? On my few guitars that I'd describe as built and set up perfectly (My PRS, and one of my dad's Les Pauls) I find that I don't have to detune any strings to sound perfectly in tune, like I have to do with all my other guitars. Why do you think this is? (I didn't really know about this a few minutes ago, so I'm just very interested in this phenomena, or whatever you'd call it. Thanks for reading/listening.)

[@nathanmclauchlan5148]

I never knew that, thanks

[@Batmaniak7]

Well you managed to sell out Amazons inventory with this video. I'll be on the hunt!

[@Jediroller]

Excellent video Colin! To any Helix users you can go into your tuner>scroll right and there is options to set each string offset manually. (-12 -10 -8 -4 -6 -3)

[@countk1]

Never thought this was a thing of theory, although I know about tuning pianos. I always found my guitar sound "boring" and not nicely in tune when using an electronic tuner while playing, (same as a piano that is tuned too "perfect"). So I tuned the lowest E (or asked someone of the band to play it) and tuned the rest by hearing, ending with comparing the two E strings and a chord on the 12th fret for certainty. But when going back to the electronic tuner, things were not perfect pitch. So I presume I developed this method by experience. Btw: A few cents difference between strings also makes the guitar sing a bit more. I prefer using a pitch shifter instead of a chorus for that same reason. Sounds just a bit more natural imho also because of the minor latency of the altered signal. I sometimes put more latency to get a bit of a 12-string sound or duo guitar sound. But yes. Perfect pitch is not the way, certainly when hitting hard.

[@PhilLament]

Is there a difference between compensated tuning and intonating slightly flat? Or would intonating flat cause other issues?

[@ryanschindler923]

You always want perfect intonation first that way chords ring correctly throughout the entire neck. Then once your intonation is perfect THEN you can use a compensated tuning that way chords sound good and ring accurately across the neck. Cause even if you compensate tune and your intonations off, a chord can still be off when played high up on the neck.

[@blessedheavyelements8544]

@@ryanschindler923 Well said.

[@cactustactics]

A guitar with good intonation should already account for a lot of the sharpness from fretting a note - intonation is really about getting the correct pitch when you play a note, and ideally the frets will be spaced so that happens and they're not sharp compared to the open string (so long as you have the instrument set up correctly!) Tuning flat helps with the fact that the attack on a string pulls it sharp for a moment, before it settles into the pitch that rings out. If you're gonna be doing a lot of fast strumming, that initial attack is going to be more of the sound than the ringing notes. So you might need to account for that to keep the guitar sounding in tune. Producers struggle with this, especially when combining other instruments that don't behave like this. Sometimes they'll tune a guitar differently for each part! Compensating like dropping the B specifically is more about getting some of the note intervals closer to the correct ratio. A major third on a guitar isn't ~really~ a major third, the frequency ratio isn't actually 5:4 like it should be, just because we use equal temperament for convenience - it's actually out by about 14%! And a lot of major thirds are on the B string, where it tends to sound more obviously ~weird~. So by making adjustments, you can make chords sound "better" in general. You might have already been doing this, playing a few open chords and adjusting until they all sound ok!

[@mal2ksc]

@@cactustactics Sometimes a compensating nut can solve a lot with minimal effort, making poorly behaved open strings more like the fretted notes. Or if it's built from a kit, you may need to take a fraction of a millimeter off the distance between the nut and the first fret, across all six strings. If you're going sharp on the first three frets and then the intonation starts to clean up, this can be why.

[@Yupppi]

Do these apply to compensated nuts or different headstock angles? My pet peeve is playing soft in the middle of the song after banging the strings, and the 6th string is never in place. The lower you go in tunings, the harder it is to match the individual string tuning and the riff/power chord tuning. Or hit a part where there's long ringing notes when you tuned for the attack and they go horribly out of tune after the initial attack. Generally I've experienced that trying to tune to some sort of attack compensation is always followed by going through power chords to see how far off they are from each other, since there seems to be enough mass difference between the strings that if you go individually, they end up in different places. And I don't dare to imagine how it would be in context of other instruments. But honestly the biggest issue with tuning is always playing with too old strings. At least for me personally. I was once listening to a tuning nut (a person, not a piece of equipment) who was quite serious about tuning on strobe mode tuners (never clip-on tuners), using the 12th fret harmonic and neck pickup to get the maximum vibration caught for measurement while using a spot on the neck that is a compromise between open tuning and fretted notes.

[@Hexus13th]

I use True Temperament and Evertune bridge. I don't have these problems. Is the future and we are waiting for you there.

[@tronnyplaysguitar]

love your videos Colin! just wondering, are you aware of a similar compensated tuning chart for bass ? i would imagine it's not something most bassists have considered since we generally play less chords, but for those of us that like to get chordy, pitch drift is definitely an issue in a lot of situations on a standard scale bass (worse on short scale) so i wonder if the same negative cent values could be applied to a standard tuned bass (or maybe you'd need to double the values or something?) obviously there's no substitute for good technique, and especially fingerstyle bassists can adjust left and right hand technique to compensate for these pitch anomalies, but i wonder if the compensated tuning system would help make that easier, or if it would just not really be beneficial on a bass.

[@mikef.1891]

My first tuner was a pitch pipe. My first broken string (and many after that) were a direct result of those pitch pipes...

[@McGuinty2]

I’ve been using sweetened tunings almost exclusively since I learned about them over a decade ago, after I started using Peterson headstock and pedal tuners

[@JosephGallagher]

That B trick is amazing!

[@johncunningham4820]

I personally prefer an Old Style sweep needle "VU " type tuner , in line , but the rest is Correct . Intonation being spot on is VERY important .

[@chrisdaviesguitar]

Great post as always. Very informative. Hope they paid you well for superb performance lol

[@frankyboy4409]

Funny thing I've always done this when tuning. First tune exactly with the tuner (to roughly "get there"), and then play a handful of chords to pick up which strings need adjusting for "well-tempered" tuning.

[@ElectroMac74]

this was made for intonation ! , for compensation a strobetuner can do the job , but for intonation , you need the percentage

[@davidmckean955]

You need to be careful with some of the advice in this video because many guitar tuning apps already take into account some of this.

[@denomdemon]

I tune playing fretted notes striking them roughly as hard as I would during normal playing. The open string notes definitely come out flat. It would be interesting to see how many cents flat they are 🤔

[@Gordonhermederme]

Helpful!

[@User-jk8wq]

That Les Paul is fucking beautiful mate, both in terms of sound and appearance

[@ShreddingFinn]

I believe Eddie tuned it slightly flat so he can play all the 3 string bar chords, because the major 3rd always sounds bad unless its flat with high distortion. The problem is basically eliminated when playing clean.

[@brettmarlar4154]

Actually, the pitch pipe was made obsolete when the electronic tuner came out which predates the cellphone not to mention smartphone apps. I might be being a bit pedantic but I'm not wrong.

[@KeithShelley1]

Getting a guitar with an Evertune bridge has changed my life, especially where chugging and cowboy chords are concerned.

[@NotAGamer685]

please make a video about equal tension string sets