In search of specific tips about tuning guitar/bass when recording

[Heabow]

Hey,

I always get tuning issues when recording. Of course I ask the band to bring their instrument to a guitar tech before the session and so bring instruments in good shape in the studio but it's a pain in the ass to get something really accurate. I always check out with a tuner before each take and sometime, I programm a keyboard (synth bass or something) to double check. It's particularly tricky with low tuned guitars. Some riffs are just a bit out of tune on some notes. I fix them by droping but damn, it's painfull! Maybe I am too picky... Do you guys have any specific tips? Also monitoring technics maybe to hear things in a better way?

 

[lanky noob]

Even if the guitar is perfectly in tune, and perfectly intonated, the player can still send every note out of tune by pressing too hard out of nervousness to "perform with energy"

I might be talking complete bollocks, but it's a natural thing I do without realising it, if i'm in the zone while recording and letting everything loose for a properly passionate take, i'll inadvertantly press down harder and the note will go slightly out of tune.. really is something I need to work on.

 

[UncleBob]

Here's a bunch of info:

http://www.endino.com/archive/tuningnightmares.html

 

[Nuno Filipe]

Even if the guitar is perfectly in tune, and perfectly intonated, the player can still send every note out of tune by pressing too hard out of nervousness to "perform with energy"

This. We all know that pussy picking isnt an option when we need good takes but playing with a lot of strength doesnt help also.

I am also quite obsessive about tuning issues, there are so many little things that in one way or other compromise the tuning. Like the positions of hands with some chords, picking too hard when changing chords, to much pressure on the bridge for palm mute, e.t.c

It´s a PITA and the worse it´s that you dont have control about this, there is not much you can do it because it depends on the player. Good players understand that all this small nuances could improve or compromise a performance.

 

[Heabow]

I sometimes tune the guitars myself because the guys are terribly neglecting with that but my way of picking is different and even if I carefully tune the strings it can be slightly out of tune when the next guy play its part. Another thing is that some parts are more difficult resulting in softer picking. Punch in is the key but it drives me crazy tbh especially when the guitarist has a different feel each time and loses its concentration. I don't even mention the G string... I bought a VGS with an evertune and this thing is truly fantastic. I don't want to let everyone play on it tho! I noticed slightly out-of-tune note here and there on some great albums but it always sounds great. I mean it's not at all distracting.

Interesting article Uncle Bob!

 

[Christian WUFU]

It's really basic, and you probably are but it doesn't hurt to ask: you are tuning all of the strings UP to pitch rather than down, right?

Nothing throws a guitar out of tune faster in my experience

 

[Heabow]

Yes of course. I saw many many bass/guitar players that ignore this!

 

[reaper1984]

There's a simple solution to this, you will probably laugh why you didn't think about it before.
Melodyne, or Autotune, i've had best success with melodyne, and now you might reply, "but i record the amp not direct", well just record di tracks aswell, and reamp those while you have tuned them with melodyne, and no people won't be able to tell OMG HE USED MELODYNE.

 

[C_F_H_13]

Tuning is the bane of my existence. Here's a few simple things I do that make it alot easier to deal with (guitars specifically). This is all under the assumption that the instrument itself isn't flawed.

1- Tune up to the notes. Guitar 101 basically, but 95% of players don't do it and you have to watch them to make sure they do.

2- Heaviest gauge strings your guitar can handle for your tuning. If you're playing in Drop G and you're using 9s you're fucked from the get go.

3- Players need to be coached into playing properly. Light touch, direct finger/fret contact, no bending of the string, even pressure across all fretted notes and proper picking technique are all super important and generally overlooked by anyone but engineers.

4- Don't let them rest their arm on the body of the guitar. What happens is when they start getting into more physically demanding stuff is they'll lean hard on the body, and tighten their hands on the fret board...essentially bending the neck and in turn putting everything out of tune. If you have to just use some of that non stick blue gum (the shit schools use to hang shit up on the walls) to put a few thumb tacks on the up edge of the body. It'll force them to keep their arm off the body unless they want to get stabbed.

5- When it comes to the actual tuning, do whatever you gotta do. I'll punch note for note, chord for chord, or any other variation if it's necessary. I always keep 3-4 ear plugs with me to deaden strings that aren't being played. That alone improves the tone drastically. If someone has super bad tuning it seems, have them keep their fretting hand still on the fret board, tune each note of the chord..and then just punch that chord and move on. It's time consuming but it works really well.

 

[xplanet2112]

Just have to say thank you for all the great tips and info in this thred. I am doing some home tracking for eventual re amping and doing all the usual things to keep in tune but there's always a note or a chord that isn't in tune and it sucks. To me tuning is the hardest part of recording guitars!

Again, thanks for all the info here.

 

[Heabow]

Nice bunch of info Chris! Also the earplug tip is awesome. I formely used to use piece of fabric but earplugs are way more practical.

 

[Studdy]

What location on the guitar are you guys generally putting the earplugs?

 

[xplanet2112]

Wouldn't it just be anywhere that deadens the offending string without touching any others that you intend to play, also out of the way of anywhere you intend to put your fingers on the fretboard. I just use small cut to size pieces of packing foam.

I can only usually tell if anything's out of tune listening back the next day, that is anything slightly out of tune, which is even more demoralising and I'm not surprised people are calling this the bane of their lives. Going back to people's comments regarding technique, I have found that playing bass with fingers rather than twatting it hard with picks helps keep it in tune, recording in sections helped me keep up the intensity I was looking for too. That may be down to my technique being better with my fingers or that I am hitting too hard with a pick thus knocking it out of tune.

 

[neptunian]

Loose strings and/or heavy picking will cause the tuning to deviate as the note decays. So where do you set the tuning, at the start, middle, or end of the note? This drove me nuts for the longest time. I tried a heavier string gauge but lost too much attack and definition. The solution I found was to use a thinner pick (.60mm black jazz tortex) to maintain a sharp snappy attack while using a lighter touch. The other trick was to tune part by part relative to a reference tone (sine or square wave) so that even if the note went sharp/flat as it rang out, I could play the riff and intuitively gauge what the best tuning should be to match that tone for purposes of that riff.

 

[UncleBob]

You have to pretty much tune how you go, so if you're playing heavy open stuff you need to tune for that, lead time high up on the neck....tune for that, light finger picking stuff in the middle of the neck.....tune for that.

Too many times I see a guitar player tuning for what I call "the tuners sake", which is tuning purely for the sake of making the tuner needle/light hit the centre and go green (usually by ever so lightly plucking the string with their finger), as opposed to actually tuning for the sake of that particular players guitar, being played the way that player is going to play a specific part being in tune.

"Tune it how you play it basically" ~ Confucius

 

[indecizo]

Just use autotune.

 

[Studdy]

Are people kidding about using autotune on guitar di tracks or are some of you actually doing that?

 

[UncleBob]

I think if other people are sending you d.i's and they're all over the place I'm not sure what other options there even are besides learning and re-recording the parts yourself.

`

 

[jENK]

There's so many variables. Always use a baritone guitar or 7-string when possible. This helps but doesn't solve the problem. Tune to attack! Meaning, make sure the guitarist is tuning at the same velocity at what he would be playing that section. i.e. picking hard = tuning hard, picking soft = tuning soft. And make sure the guitarist has had the guitar set-up properly, some guitar techs are better than others. Find somebody who understands metal tunings. Have you tried the Evertune bridge? That thing is amazing! Unfortunately you have to have it custom fitted to your guitar and most bands don't have one let alone even know what it is (I've only seen one so far). At the end of the day there is no perfect solution so you just have to stay on top of it and be strict on the performance.

 

[Genius Gone Insane]

Tuning is the bane of my existence. Here's a few simple things I do that make it alot easier to deal with (guitars specifically). This is all under the assumption that the instrument itself isn't flawed.

1- Tune up to the notes. Guitar 101 basically, but 95% of players don't do it and you have to watch them to make sure they do.

2- Heaviest gauge strings your guitar can handle for your tuning. If you're playing in Drop G and you're using 9s you're fucked from the get go.

3- Players need to be coached into playing properly. Light touch, direct finger/fret contact, no bending of the string, even pressure across all fretted notes and proper picking technique are all super important and generally overlooked by anyone but engineers.

4- Don't let them rest their arm on the body of the guitar. What happens is when they start getting into more physically demanding stuff is they'll lean hard on the body, and tighten their hands on the fret board...essentially bending the neck and in turn putting everything out of tune. If you have to just use some of that non stick blue gum (the shit schools use to hang shit up on the walls) to put a few thumb tacks on the up edge of the body. It'll force them to keep their arm off the body unless they want to get stabbed.

5- When it comes to the actual tuning, do whatever you gotta do. I'll punch note for note, chord for chord, or any other variation if it's necessary. I always keep 3-4 ear plugs with me to deaden strings that aren't being played. That alone improves the tone drastically. If someone has super bad tuning it seems, have them keep their fretting hand still on the fret board, tune each note of the chord..and then just punch that chord and move on. It's time consuming but it works really well.

Loose strings and/or heavy picking will cause the tuning to deviate as the note decays. So where do you set the tuning, at the start, middle, or end of the note? This drove me nuts for the longest time. I tried a heavier string gauge but lost too much attack and definition. The solution I found was to use a thinner pick (.60mm black jazz tortex) to maintain a sharp snappy attack while using a lighter touch. The other trick was to tune part by part relative to a reference tone (sine or square wave) so that even if the note went sharp/flat as it rang out, I could play the riff and intuitively gauge what the best tuning should be to match that tone for purposes of that riff.

These are both great posts. I need to try the ear plugs and especially the thin pick trick!