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Cold Snap screwing with my Tuning?


Geetar_Axl

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I just left my sweety in the middle of a GN'R's session smelling like Laquer (I smell like it everyday and I think it makes me high sometimes :|)

 

I just hooked up the electronic tuner and my tunings are WAY out, could it be the cold freeze (7 Degrees Celsius in the morning and around 12 Degrees at night) and the tunings are going bezerk, could it be the cold? Its also very dry air at the moment, may need a humidifer...

 

Also, I heard its bad to change the tunings on guitars (some idiot at school) so your never suppose to tune it other then Standard Tuning, is that true, I wanna go down half a step for Guns. He says it will screw your tuners up?

 

Thanks guys! Keep rocking!

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I just left my sweety in the middle of a GN'R's session smelling like Laquer (I smell like it everyday and I think it makes me high sometimes :|)

 

I just hooked up the electronic tuner and my tunings are WAY out' date=' could it be the cold freeze (7 Degrees Celsius in the morning and around 12 Degrees at night) and the tunings are going bezerk, could it be the cold? Its also very dry air at the moment, may need a humidifer...

 

Also, I heard its bad to change the tunings on guitars (some idiot at school) so your never suppose to tune it other then Standard Tuning, is that true, I wanna go down half a step for Guns. He says it will screw your tuners up?

 

Thanks guys! Keep rocking![/quote']

 

Whoever told you that is a moron. No one uses standard hardly... it's all tuned down or drop tuned. Taking all the string tension off the axe over time might have an affect, but tuning down a half step is not going to hurt. Heck... every Van Halen song they did with DLR was played a half step lower to match his vocals...

 

 

 

Can't help you on the tuning thing... but temp and humidity will have an affect.

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Different tunings - no problem.

Constantly twisting the keys up and down for different stuff on every song?

Bad news/brken strings. Tuners are not designed for constant tweaking, they will eventually give you problems.

Choose a tuning and set the guitar up for it.

I find dropping half a step from standard E can cause issues if left long term.

Less string tension and a truss rod twist may be needed.

 

Weather has a definite effect.

Humidity much less so than temp.

The temp in my house never varies more than 10 degrees F, and it still makes tuning crazy on twenty guitars.

 

The LP is actually more resistant than most, and it's not gonna actually hurt it unless you do something extreme.

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Anyone got any Ideas with the Weather and Tuning?

 

It's the old expansion/contraction thing from 7th grade science class. As all things get colder they contract, and as all things get hotter they expand.

 

Temperature has a greater affect on tuning than humidity. As the temp gets colder, the wood (and strings) contract, therefor creating more tension pulling on your strings and throwing your tuning sharp. As the guitar heats up it expands and relaxes, creating less tension and going flat.

 

Humidity levels have a greater affect on acoustic guitars than solid bodies. If delicate woods are too dry, they will also shrink. This can have a bad affect on glue joints, seems, finishes and thin woods, and cause them to crack or separate.

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Plus your guitar is new, right? It is probably just settling into its new environment. Weather/temperature changes make a huge difference, but if your inside - i.e. temperature controlled - that should be minimized. And aren't your strings new as well?

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As far as tuning and cold weather, always play the guitar for a few minutes to warm up the strings. Then tune the guitar with a tuner. When cold the strings will contract (they are metal correct). You will see that more than likely the next time you pick up the guitar the tuning will be a little sharp. The cold weather caused the strings to tighten up. That is why it is always recommded to play for a few minutes before tuning a guitar.

 

If the weather gets warming even the opposite can happen.

 

Just my .02

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Tom99 has got a good point in playing for a while to warm things up. Basic science tells us that there is a contraction and expansion going on between cold and hot and by warming up (yourself) you will warm up the guitar as well, so play a few minutes then check it. As for the Moron saying standard tuning should always be done. What is the fun in that!!!!

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As with everything made out of wood, room/ambient temperature makes it contract, bend, stretch, and many more things.

 

You just have to be careful not to walk from a very cold very dry room into a very hot and steamy sauna... thats all.

 

If you are taking your guitar somewhere you should do it in the case, then open the case after it has reached room temperature. If the temperature variation is high, you shouldnt tune it right out of the case, but wait till the wood has stretched, bended, contracted, or whatever, if you tune it right out of the case you can damage the neck.

 

 

What your friend tells you about tuning changes damaging the tuners is bull... What can be damaged is the truss rod, but thats if you are changing every 10 minutes (a friend damaged some guitars doing that... I told him not to do that but he wouldnt believe me... he was playing 2 steps down for a song then tuned it to normal tunning, then 2 steps down again for another song... Instead of having two guitars tuned differentlyl).

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