open G tuning

Is your tuner non-chromatic? Try playing the harmonic at the 12th fret and see if it will read that.

Steinar

Some "Guitar" tuners (i.e. non.chromatic and dedicated to EADGBE) have ano option to temporarily modify the presets - e.g. Korg GA30 has up to 5 semitones. Best thing is to buy a chromatic tuner, though.

It's a Korg GA-20 & has a flat button. I tried the 12th fret harmonic and that worked great..thks for the tip

The 12th fret harmonic is a good one to try. Another trick that'll often help a confused tuner is to pluck the open string at the 12th fret. The 12th fret "harmonic" gives the complete set of even harmonics with no odd ones, while the 12th fret pluck gives the complete set of odd harmonics with no even ones. Which works better depends on whether the fundamental frequency of the open string, or its one-octave-higher second harmonic, best hits the most sensitive range of the tuner.
8)

All of the notes in Open G are also found in standard tuning. If you're going to play in other tunings, (and I think you'll want to), get a chromatic tuner. It'll really help!

The EASY way is simply to tune the fifth (A) string down two half steps to G, FRET it on the SEVENTH FRET and match that with the 4th string 'D', then it should (5th string open) be an octave below the 3rd string 'G'

Then, of course you just drop the #1 and #6 E strings down 2 half steps to D.

Check this page out:

http://www.strummeronline.com/openg.html

Yes, of course, by the time you do all that, you have to go back and touch up the tuning on all the strings, because the changing tension on the neck changes the pitches of the other strings.

A "guitar" tuner (one of those basically worthless five-note things) will work for Open G, because all notes of the Open G tuning are found in "standard" tuning.

Yes, of course, by the time you do all that, you have to go back and touch up the tuning on all the strings, because the changing tension on the neck changes the pitches of the other strings.

A "guitar" tuner (one of those basically worthless five-note things) will work for Open G, because all notes of the Open G tuning are found in "standard" tuning.

Hi Ricochet, in my experience a tuner doesn't change that first fact, you still have to go back and fine tune it.

I like electronic tuners, I just started using one during the past year and wondered how I ever got by without one. However the novelty has worn off. I wish I had a better chromatic tuner though, for times when I want to be 'perfectly tuned'. Since I change tunings frequently and just practicing doing it by ear is often quicker and adequate.

Someday they will have guitars that automatically tune themselves precisely to any tuning selected and make continual corrections as necessary. I was thinking about that the other night. We've been turning pegs for how many centuries?

Now, after your comment, I am also thinking quite simply that there is no reason why someone (like myself for example) can't make a guitar that for all practical purposes is perfectly rigid, strong, light weight and can handle any amount of string tension that would be typical to a guitar (or any stringed instrument) without any flexing = problem solved.

There are reasons why we don't have them, none of them legitimate in my opinion, (has to do with western capitalism) but I won't get into that right now. The reason I am not making one is simply lack of spare change for the materials.

SPEAKING of 'G':

I just got my Squire Strat back from a friend and the G string (#3) always seems to sound funky and off. Maybe it is just a bad string. I am going to start using FENDER Bullet strings and see if that improves the situation. a quote from the Fender website as to why Fender strings should be used:
No matter what gauge of strings you use or whether they're pure nickel, nickel-plated steel, or stainless steel; for the best tuning stability we recommend you use Fender® Bullet® strings. The patented bullet-end is specifically designed for all styles of tremolo use, from extreme dives to smooth vibrato passages. The design allows the string to travel freely in the bridge block channel during tremolo use and return afterwards to its original position, seated snugly in the bridge block. This is accomplished by eliminating the extra string wrap, and the ball-end (the ball-end doesn't fit properly into the string channel). The bullet-end has been shaped and sized to match the design of the bridge block channel.

BTW, that little Squier Strat is fun to play. More fun than staying up on the internet any longer so I'm gonna go play a little blues and try to learn something

Later,

Someday they will have guitars that automatically tune themselves precisely to any tuning selected and make continual corrections as necessary. I was thinking about that the other night. We've been turning pegs for how many centuries?
There already is one. It uses motors to put the guitar to any tuning you define. It has a pile of presets (120, I think) and you can change tuning in less than 1 second, just by pressing a button. Sorry, I can't remember what it's called.

Hi Ricochet, in my experience a tuner doesn't change that first fact, you still have to go back and fine tune it.I understand that perfectly well. A tuner greatly aids that process. It's mighty hard to get all the strings tuned perfectly to each other by the self-reference method. By the time you do, your overall pitch will be off of the standard. And if you use the harmonic or ear-tuning methods, you won't end up tuning to an equal-tempered scale.

Someday they will have guitars that automatically tune themselves precisely to any tuning selected and make continual corrections as necessary. I was thinking about that the other night. We've been turning pegs for how many centuries?
There already is one. It uses motors to put the guitar to any tuning you define. It has a pile of presets (120, I think) and you can change tuning in less than 1 second, just by pressing a button. Sorry, I can't remember what it's called.

Hi Greybeard, yeah, I was reading about those, with servo motors, Sonny Landreth uses one to change quickly to different alternate tunings but I was not aware if it had some kind of electronic sensor to make fine tuning corrections in real time or what. I just simply didn't recall.

I just did a google search on the subject and I find ALOT of people are exploring and making these for college class projects (as an example)

It is actually a modification, something that can be done to a standard guitar, typically a solid body electric like a Les Paul.

In fact here is a commercailly available one, the one I was referring to;

http://transperformance.com/index2.htm

By the way, just before posting this I quoted the last part of your signature line in an email to a friend who lost her house and all belongings in New Orleans after Katrina. She is bummed out (depressed). I commented that you are doing pretty good to have maintained so much after birth without losing it all. LOL

Hi Ricochet, in my experience a tuner doesn't change that first fact, you still have to go back and fine tune it.I understand that perfectly well. A tuner greatly aids that process. It's mighty hard to get all the strings tuned perfectly to each other by the self-reference method. By the time you do, your overall pitch will be off of the standard. And if you use the harmonic or ear-tuning methods, you won't end up tuning to an equal-tempered scale.

I have to agree. Still, for me, even using the tuner is time consuming and I may be using it in a less effective way than I should be using it. I have been tuning electrics just from the sound from the practice amplifier (A Crate GX20M) through the built in microphone on the tuner, which is labelled QWIK TUNE.

These readings as far as "response" and accuracy have left much to be desired so it takes a bit of time and fine tuning to get it right. It could be much due to the fact that I am not plugging directly into the tuner and relying instead on a tiny mic picking up the sound from an amp. Also it could be that the batteries in the tuner are getting low.
Also it could be that I need a more expensive and higher quality tuner.

SOOOO pursuant to the quest to be in tune I will try plugging directly into the tuner and see how much it improves.

Oh YES, that is quite a bit better, about twice as fast with less fine tuning, and when plugged into the amp it sounded pretty much perfect- better than I could do by ear.

Still I would like to have a more responsive and more accurate chromatic tuner.

I'm having a hard time getting in open G tuning. I can't seem to get my 5th string into G. I'm using a tuner but can't pick it up when I try to drop it down a step. Any suggestions?

Yeah, 5th string fret it on the 7th fret, drop that string down until it matches the D string (4th string) open, THEN your tuner should pick it up- You have to be pretty close to the note for your tuner to pick it up.

My guess is that you were not tuning the 5th string down far enough for the tuner to pick it up.

Which btw, was why I suggested that method in the first place.

Or if one doesn't have a tuner

WOW, I have this little Squire Strat in "perfect tune" as a figure of speech and it is FUN. It's amazing how good guitars sound and how inspiring they are to play when they are "perfectly in tune" again a figure of speech.

phangeaux,

Yep, that's the one that I was looking at - the Transperformance thingy (my word, not the bleeper's)

"I started with nothing - and I've still got most of it left. "

Takes a lifetime of dedication to have got where I am today. :D
I hope it brought, at least, a little smile to her face. I would have offered her some of mine, but I think she has more than enough. :cry: