I generally pick my guitar up late at night, play/practice, then hang my guitar on the wall when I'm done. It's an exterior wall but it's insulated. I hang it at a height about 6.5 feet if that matters.
Nevertheless, when I get home say tonight I'll grab the guitar and flip the tuner on. It says my guitar has gone sharp most of the time. By how much I don't know. I could check the cents with my Peterson tuner. So I tune the low E down then to pitch. Strike the A string and it's sharp. Repeat detuning/tuning then go through all six strings again.
It just seems weird. Now if I don't retune it'll generally “un-sharps†itself after I've played for a bit. So my thinking is it's one of several things.
It's down lower/off the wall (where the temp is slightly colder?).
My stomach has been pressing against the body (transferring heat?) as my hands on the neck
Anyway, my intuition would be my guitar would be flat each time I go to play it as opposed to sharp. Any ideas? :?: I'll post the cents off later tonight.
"Nothing...can take the place of persistence. Talent will not; nothing is more common than unsuccessful men with talent. Genius will not; unrewarded genius is almost a proverb. Education will not; the world is full of educated derelicts."
How long do you have the heat on before you start playing?
Same thing usually happens to me. Usually my Strat lives in a case when I'm not playing it. After a few minutes of playing it "unsharps" itself.
I've always figured it was about the instrument getting warmed up by body heat, particularly the strings getting warmed up by my hands. This makes sense - cold strings would contract and go sharp.
I generally play for about five minutes before I bother with tuning as a result.
My guitar does the same thing. Some experimentation has led me to the conclusion that it is my hand warming up the bridge/saddles. It could be something else, but that answer satisfies me. :D
A sucking chest wound is Nature's way of telling you to slow down.
Godin Freeway Classic, PodXT Live, Seymour-Duncan 84-50.
(All this so I could learn 'Twinkle, Twinkle, Little' Star for my youngest.)
My electrics do that as well. My acoustic, on the other hand, does not (or at least not as frequently). No doubt it has to do with temp and maybe even humidity levels. I crank the heat down during the day and it turns back up 30 minutes before I get home. I've just assumed it had something to do with that.
Jason
"Rock And Roll Ain't Noise Pollution"
Wow, I am sure am glad to hear that this happens to quite a few others. I've been noticing the same thing with my Seagull which I leave on a stand in my office. Every time I go to pick it up it's sharp, just as described. I wondered if it was the strings I had on this particular guitar, since they are not what I normally use. (I normally use D'Addarios but have Martin's on the Seagull right now.)
I just took real estate in your mind.
It's the temperature, Dennis. Mine was a bit sharp when I went to teach yesterday, and that hardly ever happens... but we've seen a 30º temperature drop in the past couple days.
Like you said, cold air sinks. For Christmas my wife had a guy build a display rack for some of my guitars, so they're only a couple inches off the floor now.
Guitar teacher offering lessons in Plainfield IL
It's funny, the same thing happens to brass insturments this time of year, except on a much larger scale. When I get to practice, my horn can be a half-step sharp, since the entire horn is a bit smaller due to metal contraction. Usually after a few minutes of blowing warm air through it, the pitch goes back to where it should be.
Just thought that you guys might find that interesting...
Glad we're all in the same boat. Actually, where I live the temp is a constant 68-72 (depending on the season and I seldom open windows. The humidity does change because I run a dehumidifier in the summer.
So, now I'm of the belief that I should not even bother tuning my guitar until I've played for a few minutes. That's gonna be weird at band practice because I'll have to tune up after the first song or two.
"Nothing...can take the place of persistence. Talent will not; nothing is more common than unsuccessful men with talent. Genius will not; unrewarded genius is almost a proverb. Education will not; the world is full of educated derelicts."
How did I get here?
I'll be back. :oops:
If you know something better than Rock and Roll, I'd like to hear it - Jerry Lee Lewis
Now that I've read the post I'll answer it. :D
I agree with everyone. It's a little bit of everything. It is the temperature of the room, and also from the guitar getting warm from your body and hands. I always give guitar at least half an hour or more to settle out.
I think you see more of a problem like this in the winter than other seasons.
If you know something better than Rock and Roll, I'd like to hear it - Jerry Lee Lewis
