FDP - Forum

FDP Home Page / FDP Forum / Classifieds / FAQ's / Links / Cookbook

The FDP is made possible by the following companies and individual members like you.
Please use the links below to show them we value their sponsorship.

www.thetubestore.com
Guitar Center
TTS Music
MOD KITS DIY

Antique Electronics Supply
Amplified Parts
Musician's Friend
Sweetwater

Bill Lawrence Pickups
The Music Zoo
WD Music
Contact Us!

Amazon
Jensen Loudspeakers

* God bless America and our men and women in uniform *
* Illegitimi non carborundum! *
If you benefit and learn from the FDP and enjoy our site, please help support us and become a Contributing Member or make a Donation today! The FDP counts on YOU to help keep the site going with an annual contribution. It's quick and easy with PayPal. Please do it TODAY!
Chris Greene, Host & Founder
Registered Members: 64,000+
LOST YOUR PASSWORD?
......................................................................

IF YOU CANNOT LOG IN, RESET YOUR PASSWORD.

For Sale/Wanted Classifieds

FDP Jam
Calendar

Find musicians
in your area!

Search the Forums

FDP Forum / Miscellaneous and Non-Fender Topics / Wrestling with the "G"...always a hard string to tune

Previous 20 Messages Next 20 Messages

JohnEBgood

Des Moines IA USA

Mar 30th, 2012 08:07 AM Edit Profile Print Topic Search Topic
I can make your "G" sound better. I slightly detune the G string. It sounds real sweet this way on an open E chord. It should be good all along the neck. Try it.

stratcowboy
Contributing Member
*******

USA/Taos, NM

Mar 30th, 2012 08:25 AM Edit Profile Print Topic Search Topic
Some interesting comments. Glad I'm not alone with the confusion...

reverend mikey
Contributing Member
******

An Amateur built the

Ark...Professionals built the Titanic
Mar 30th, 2012 08:29 AM Edit Profile Print Topic Search Topic
Different strokes for different folks...

I went DOWN a gauge to a lighter G string (down from a 17 to a 16 in a 46-10 set) and I like that better; less tension seems to cause less tuning problems in first position, and it's a little easier to bend, too.

I've also taken the B string down to a 12, and this is my preferred set, unless I custom order them, then for my 25.5" scale guitars, I'll also get the high E in a 9.5 gauge.

LeftyMeister
Contributing Member
**********

Buckeye Country, USA

Motorcycles, Guitars, and Golf
Mar 30th, 2012 08:32 AM Edit Profile Print Topic Search Topic
I use 11's on all of my guitars and don't have any problems with an unwound G. I've had acoustics in the past where this string was fussy but a proper setup usually fixed it.

Deacon Blues
Contributing Member

With a big iron on

his hip.
Mar 30th, 2012 08:34 AM Edit Profile Print Topic Search Topic
^

slacker

Hawkeye Country

Thread crapping is unbecoming
Mar 30th, 2012 08:57 AM Edit Profile Print Topic Search Topic
Make sure you have some sort of lubricant in the nut slots. I used a .05 mechanical pencil (graphte). Then always tune up to pitch (not down). Finally, make sure you stretch your strings when you install them.

Also, make sure you're properly intonated.

I've had very good look with my standard set of 10's on numerous strats and teles.

MLC
Contributing Member
**********

It's not just good..

...it's good enough.
Mar 30th, 2012 09:09 AM Edit Profile Print Topic Search Topic
I don't seem to have any issues with my plain G's.

I think it may have to do with the fact that all my electrics now are Fender-style scale length. I had a couple shorter scale Gibsons that gave me trouble.

Stratotron

USA

Mar 30th, 2012 09:28 AM Edit Profile Print Topic Search Topic
My 2 cents. I always set my guitar neck relief with a tuner. I will add that I use a TU 12 tuner with a meter. I tune the G and B open then fret each at the first fret and check the tuner to see if they pull sharp. I then adujst the neck relief (back-tighten, 1/4 turn at a time) until it stops pulling sharp. There is a "sweet spot" that is just right. If you go too low, you can get rattle or loose the "ring".

I NEVER attempt to adust this by filing the nut. One to many stroke with a file, and your sunk.

I have used this method for years and have 2 Strats and a Telly that tune perfectly. I am able to play open G, E, C and D chords, and can be strummed like an acoustic, if the desire strikes. All 3 electrics are strung with 11s. All 3 guitars also have micro-adjusts behind the neck plate, so if the relief gets too low, I can tilt the neck slightly.

Once again this has worked well for me and I have never encountered a Fender guitar that this didn't work on. I have a Takamine acoustic that I am still trying to find the "spot".

I see it as a teeter-totter effect. It is my belief that Fenders, are infinateley adjustable. Good on you Leo!

DrKev
Contributing Member
*

Irishman in Paris

Forget Tone - go with Note Choice
Mar 30th, 2012 10:07 AM Edit Profile Print Topic Search Topic
Tension does affect things - lower tension strings are more sensitive to how accurately or how hard we fret, thus the G string is the relatively easy to put noticeably out of tune while playing. (It's also the reason why G strings change pitch more than other strings with trem use).

Compensated nuts (Feiten, Earvana, Music Man) do help with tuning but even then we have to realise that we are trying to put a square peg into a round hole. Our ears like perfect intervals, and guitars are not designed to do so. They are designed to sound acceptably in-tune (or out-of tune, if you prefer) in all keys without having to retune the entire instrument. On the mythical perfect guitar, the ONLY intervals that will sound perfect are the octaves, everything else will be slightly sharp or slightly flat. To those of us with sensitive hearing, it's a simple fact that we MUST accept.

That's where the nightmare with guitars arrives - when we tune by ear, we are making perfect intervals where there should not be any. Major thirds are the ones the ear grasps most, which in common guitar chord forms frequently fall on G or B strings. Tuning perfect intervals makes some chords sound great but that necessarily means that some others will sound terrible. It's a fact we have to accept.

I'm co-producing an album at the moment and when we recorded the basic guitar tracks, I took total charge of guitar tuning before every single track. Not one tuning peg was touched by anyone except me! The result was phenomenal - consistent, accurate tuning, across all instruments, and no time wasted - not one instrument track was redone because of tuning issues.

So my best advice, especially for recording or any situation where other instruments are present, is to buy the best tuner you can afford, (most people here will recommend the Turbo Tuner, PolyTune, Pitchblack, or TU-3) and learn to..
a) trust the tuner, and
b) accept the result you hear as a character of guitars. Do not chase perfection.

Do that, and the pesky G string will never bother you ever again. I promise.
(This message was last edited by DrKev at 10:10 AM, Mar 30th, 2012)

champster
Contributing Member
*****

Oceanside, CA

Mar 30th, 2012 10:19 AM Edit Profile Print Topic Search Topic
I just tune the G string very slightly flat. Works great on both of my strats. I usually use my Turbo Tuner.

gdw3
Contributing Member
**

LA-la-land, CA

Insert clever comment here
Mar 30th, 2012 10:20 AM Edit Profile Print Topic Search Topic
"On the mythical perfect guitar, the ONLY intervals that will sound perfect are the octaves, everything else will be slightly sharp or slightly flat."

"I slightly detune the G string."

Right. And if you're tuning by ear using harmonics starting at the low E string, by the time you get to the G, things will be going sharp. Using harmonics only tunes everything to perfect intervals, which is not how our tempered tuning system works.

I agree other factors like gauge of string do make a difference.

Peegoo
Contributing Member
**********
**********

That chicken

is WRONG, baby.
Mar 30th, 2012 03:29 PM Edit Profile Print Topic Search Topic
It totally depends on the specific guitar (not just "the model, and string gauge.

What I have discovered is you have to dial in the string height at the nut, neck profile, and string action to get it to play in tune up and down the neck.

On a few guitars, I've never been able to get it as close as I have on most. Guitars are like people--some are overly cooperative, most are a little problematic (but can be adjusted), and some are downright evil and uncooperative.

rvwinkle
Contributing Member
**********
*****

Twin Cities, USA

Land of Sky Blue Waters
Mar 30th, 2012 06:05 PM Edit Profile Print Topic Search Topic
"For me anyway. I go through phases where I just have a hard time with this string."

Yes, this is true. I've fought this many hours over my lifetime.

Although there are many issues that cause general tuning issues, there are two that are specific to this string.

1) There's a temptation to tune the the g and b strings to a perfect 3rd, while the rest of the instrument is tempered.

2) Whether you have a plain or wound g string, one of the strings next to it is opposite gender. There's a length tuning adjustment that needs to be made depending on the string core diameter. Wound strings small core diameter, shorter length. Plain strings larger core diameter, longer length.

These days, I'm thinking that if the bridge and nut are set up right for the strings you use these problems go away.

So, what strings do you use? What bridge? Individually adjustable saddles or three segments?

rvw

dangerine49

Long Island, NY USA

Mar 30th, 2012 07:33 PM Edit Profile Print Topic Search Topic
The solution is simple. Use a wound G string. I do on all my guitars and never have a problem tuning them.

http://images.onstagemag.com/files/46/0202Setuptxt.html

stratcowboy
Contributing Member
*******

USA/Taos, NM

Mar 30th, 2012 07:34 PM Edit Profile Print Topic Search Topic
"So, what strings do you use? What bridge? Individually adjustable saddles or three segments?"

I use GHS Burnished Nickels--a string I really like. The gauge is 10-46. The bridge I use on both my Strats is the modern 2-point bridge with individual saddles (the cast block type with individual height and intonation screws). My Tele is, of course, a fixed bridge with the aforementioned cast saddles that came on the American Teles back in the '90s and early 2000s.

littleuch
Contributing Member
*********

Michigan

T-boned and punctured
Mar 30th, 2012 07:38 PM Edit Profile Print Topic Search Topic
"On a few guitars, I've never been able to get it as close as I have on most."

That was the case with my aforementioned ES-333. No matter how I tried to adjust my touch I could not get the g string to intonate properly in the first 3 frets. The tech I use is a master and he told me the nut was cut as low as it can go. That's when he suggested the Earvana nut. On this specific guitar, it was THE solution.

MikeEC
Contributing Member
*******

Mpls, Minnesoooota

Lunacy has found me
Mar 30th, 2012 10:29 PM Edit Profile Print Topic Search Topic
I enjoy wrestling with the g string.

argo
Contributing Member
*******

Michigan

Mar 30th, 2012 11:10 PM Edit Profile Print Topic Search Topic
If your D or B string is out a fraction The G seems to sing out of tune! In my experience.

The g always seems to sound "proud" of the rest.

Proud, is a Carpentry term I use for not being flush or smooth.

LeftyMeister
Contributing Member
**********

Buckeye Country, USA

Motorcycles, Guitars, and Golf
Mar 31st, 2012 06:23 AM Edit Profile Print Topic Search Topic
"If your D or B string is out a fraction The G seems to sing out of tune! In my experience."

Yep!

I like the unwound G because it's much easier to do bends. A wound G feels stiff.

JohnEBgood

Des Moines IA USA

Mar 31st, 2012 08:19 AM Edit Profile Print Topic Search Topic
I just tune the G string very slightly flat. Works great on both of my strats. I usually use my Turbo Tuner.

Champster and I agree. We must be on to something.

Previous 20 Messages Next 20 Messages

FDP Forum / Miscellaneous and Non-Fender Topics / Wrestling with the "G"...always a hard string to tune

Reply to this Topic
	Display my email address Lost your password?
Your Message:
Link Address (URL):
Link Title:

www.thetubestore.com	Guitar Center	TTS Music	MOD KITS DIY
Antique Electronics Supply	Amplified Parts	Musician's Friend	Sweetwater
Bill Lawrence Pickups	The Music Zoo	WD Music	Contact Us!
Amazon	Jensen Loudspeakers

	For Sale/Wanted Classifieds
FDP Jam Calendar		Find musicians in your area!
	Search the Forums