Tuning Wars

How many times does this happen to you?

You're all set to record. You have your mic placement just right. Your pre's and EQ's are perfect. You are about to record your best acoustic guitar take ever. Last thing to do: double check your tuning.

Everything seems to line up right on the tuner, but still it doesn't quite sound right.

Hmm. You tune again. The strings are right, but when you strum a D chord, something's slightly fishy.

Now, it doesn't sound horrible...it's just not perfect. It's not a guitar sound you'd want your great grandchildren to hear 100 years from now.

What's going on: bad intonation. It happens to the best of us. Sometimes guitars need a little adjusting. If this is a common problem for you, try taking your guitar to a luthier for a little "setting up." Give your guitar some love. He'll adjust the truss rod and slap some new strings on there for you. If you aren't happy with your acoustic (or electric guitar tone) this may be the best $50 you'll ever spend.

If you're sure it's not an intonation problem, there are a few common oversights when it comes to tuning the guitar that, if addressed, can improve your performance.

First, make sure you are "tuning up" to the pitch of the string. For example, if you are tuning your A string, let it slack a bit down to G and then tune up to the desired pitch. This allows for proper relative tension to arrive on the string. "Tuning down" doesn't work for a number of reasons.

Second, try putting some new strings on your guitar. New strings always play better than old ones. I'm guilty of letting a lot of time go before I change my strings. When it's time for recording though, nothing beats a two day old set of strings. It's important to let your strings stretch a bit before recording. Change your strings the day before your recording session for best results.

Third, are you bending your strings when you make your chords? A lot of folks do this. If you do this, try some different relative fingerings for your chords. Another trick is to select two or three strings to play from the six. Sometimes subtracting the chord from the song can create a bigger part.

I had some problems with my intonation today. I realized I was "pitching" the B string of my D chord ever so slightly. I solved it by re-approaching the part, using the method above.

Recordings are forever, so make sure you're at your best when the red light is on.