Whenever I let my low E string drone, it seems to drop in pitch. Not initially, but after a few seconds. It gets really bad and creates this terrible dissonance, especially when I'm playing on the high E string. Does this happen to anybody else?
I haven't had that problem. Most people will suggest to get a setup done.
Regards,
Paul
may be the string needs changing or the winder at the head is a bit loose? best i can offer...smoke
:WHO INVENTED WORK SHOULD COME BACK AND FINISH THE JOB OFF: http://www.soundclick.com/bartin
First thing I'd try is a new set of strings
I started with nothing - and I've still got most of it left.
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Do you have a floating bridge? Possibly you are resting your hand on it and pressing it forward. This will cause all strings to detune, maybe the bass E is more noticeable.
If you know something better than Rock and Roll, I'd like to hear it - Jerry Lee Lewis
It happens to everyone, but some cloth-eared players don't notice it. :lol:
An ideal string would hold a steady pitch at any volume. A real string will not. In addition to the ideal factors of mass and elasticity, a real string has stiffness. That is most noticeable in strings that are relatively slack, which for most of us means the sixth string. When first plucked, the string is swinging through a wide range of motion, and near the extremes of its vibrational swing the motion stretches the string tighter, making the pitch of the string go sharper. As the range of the vibration decays, the average tension of the string becomes less, and the pitch goes flatter. Watch the pitch on your tuner as you pluck the string and let it decay for a while. It always starts sharp and goes flatter. Some tuners show it better than others, as some react more instantaneously, while others average the pitch over a longer period.
Like I said, this happens with EVERY string, but it's a much less noticeable effect with strings that are stretched tightly. The nearer to the breaking point a string is stretched, the more nearly it behaves like an ideal string. That's one reason some like the sound of heavy gauge strings better. They stay on pitch more precisely.
:D
"A cheerful heart is good medicine."
Tune a string very low, loosely strung. It will accentuate this effect. Ric is correct, what's new?
"Work hard, rock hard, eat hard, sleep hard,
grow big, wear glasses if you need 'em."
-- The Webb Wilder Credo --
Thanks. I guess I just never noticed it before. I think I noticed it this time because of the dissonance between the bass note and the note two octaves above.
That does bring it out pointedly. :shock:
A popular song I've always noticed this phenomenon very strongly in is Queen's Fat Bottom Girls, on the last note of the main riff. I think it's probably deliberately emphasized there for effect. :lol:
"A cheerful heart is good medicine."
An ideal string would hold a steady pitch at any volume. A real string will not. In addition to the ideal factors of mass and elasticity, a real string has stiffness. That is most noticeable in strings that are relatively slack, which for most of us means the sixth string.... etc.
Could I please borrow your ears and your audio knowledge one weekend Ric? :) I've been impressed and baffled in equal measure by some of your posts on the technical side of audio. Are you a bit of a buff on the subject, or just a squirrel for knowledge of any kind?
Cheers,
Chris
Mostly the latter.
Sometimes I'm a squirrel, more often I'm a nut.
:lol:
"A cheerful heart is good medicine."
Sometimes I'm a squirrel, more often I'm a nut.
:lol:
:D :D :D
Probably the best example ever of a bass E string being sharp when first picked is Helter Skelter. John Lennon deliberately struck the string very hard causing it to go noticeably sharp. Fantastic effect in this song.
Give it a listen.
If you know something better than Rock and Roll, I'd like to hear it - Jerry Lee Lewis
