No, you do not have to tune flat to keep a guitar in tune
I've seen a many opinions floating around on how to tune an electric guitar. Some say tuning to exactly what a chromatic tuner states is the right way, while others say it's totally wrong and you should tune certain strings flat.
Which is correct?
Well, before I answer that, know this:
There is no such thing as a perfectly intonated neck
With any guitar neck, you will either have to intonate it near the nut, in the middle around the 8th fret or so, or at the heel where the high frets are, as there will always be a part of your neck that does not intonate correctly.
The only company that's come close to solving this problem is Music Man with a technology known as the compensated nut; its sole purpose is to - in Music Man's words - improve accuracy all over the fretboard. Does it? Yes, it does. But note that they don't say it totally cures intonation issues, because it doesn't. It mostly cures them.
But of course there is a tradeoff to a compensated nut, as they are cut specifically for optimized standard tuning. While it will work with alternate tunings, the standard tuning is what it works with best.
First things first. How do you play?
I'll use myself as an example.
On a Stratocaster, be it a cheap Bullet, an American Standard or any other Strat model, I have to tune the 6 string, as in the bass E, slightly flat. I do that because on Strats I use Tortex .88 picks and bang strings hard when playing that particular guitar. And being the 6 string is the first string I hit when playing full chords, it receives the most strike from the pick. As such, it wavers slightly sharp if it's in standard tuning. But when tuned slightly flat, it doesn't. For me, that is.
On a Jazzmaster, I use a Fender 351 Celluloid medium-thick pick, and I don't pick nearly as hard on the Jazz as I do on the Strat. Because of that, I don't have to tune the 6-string bass E slightly flat.
Fender guitar tunings that work for most people
On Stratocasters and Telecasters with the Fender standard 25.5-inch scale, it is typically true that most people will achieve the best tuning by adjusting the 6-string bass E and the 3-string G slightly flat. And by "slightly" I mean 15 cents, if your tuner is capable of such a measurement.
If you have one of those headstock tuners that doesn't show cents but rather little light-up LED bars, you tune the bass E and G "down by one bar", and that should be really close to 15 cents flat.
For other types of players, sometimes tuning the G slightly flat doesn't work, but rather the 2-string B. You'll have to experiment to see what works best for you.
Gibson guitar tunings that work for most people
In my personal experience with the Gibson standard 24.75-inch scale neck, tuning the 2-string B very-slightly flat works for me and pretty much every other Gibson or Epiphone I've played that has that standard Gibson scale length. And by very-slightly I mean "just a hair" below B for the 2-string.
For you, it's most likely true you won't have to do that and can use whatever the tuner says is in tune. For whatever reason I have to tune a 2-string B slightly flat when I'm playing a Gibson-style neck to keep my tuning proper.
String considerations
Most people use NPS (nickel-plated steel) strings, but as I've said before, there is a difference in tension between brands depending on core type and core-to-wrap ratio.
I personally use Dunlop DEN0942 because they break in really fast and have a core-to-wrap ratio I really like. But that may not be your string of choice, so here are some options.
If you encounter the issue where your strings keep wavering out-of-tune when you pick hard, switch to a string that uses a hexagonal core. The tried-and-true D'Addario XL has that core type. The hex core makes the string slightly stiffer when tuned to pitch and less prone to wavering out-of-tune when you play hard. It's also more accommodating to alternate tunings because of the stiffer core.
If on the other hand the string feels too stiff and puts you out-of-tune a lot, but you still want to keep the same gauge you've been using, try a round-core such as DR Strings or the Dean Markley Reissue strings.
Pick considerations
If your notes are sometimes in tune and other times not even though your guitar is intonated properly and you've got a string you like, that's when it's time to experiment with different picks.
You will need to try everything, and fortunately that's easy to do. You can buy what's known as a variety pack of picks. Here are four to choose from:
- Dunlop variety pack (12 count)
- Fender Premium Picks Sampler (24 count)
- Planet Waves Assorted Pearl Celluloid (10 count)
- Clayton Variety Pack (6 count)
My suggestion is to try the pick in the variety pack most people avoid, that being the thinnest one. Yes, the "flappy" pick. Start there first. You may find you really like a thin, flappy pick. If you don't, no harm done because you have other thicknesses to choose from.
If you are the kind of player that likes a super-thick pick with some weight to it while at the same time having a nice rolled edge so you can keep your strings in tune better when picking and not "slam" them so much, you want a Big Stubby. That pick is available in 2.0mm and 3.0mm (or 1.0mm if you want a "thin" one) and will probably be the most comfortable thick pick you ever use. The Stubby will either be made from Lexan (a polycarbonate that has a glass-like feel to it) or nylon, depending on what you decide to get.
Unsure whether to get Lexan or nylon? If you want more strike noise, get the Lexan version. If you want less strike noise, get nylon. The two are easy to tell apart because Lexan on a Stubby is semi-transparent and shiny while nylon is opaque and has a dulled look to it.
What about nuts and tuners?
If your guitar nut is clean and your strings stretched properly, tuning stability shouldn't be an issue.
Some tuners do slip from time to time. But that usually only happens if the tuners are really crappy, as in the kind that are ridiculously loose, worn out and barely have any tension when turned. And believe me, you would know if they're too loose.
"So you're saying how to tune depends on the guitar and how I play?"
Correct.
If after you tune with a tuner you feel your guitar is in tune according to your ears, then it is.
But if you're constantly struggling to get good tuning even after your guitar is properly intonated and tuned, you can try tuning the 6-string and 3-string slightly flat. Or if that doesn't work, try tuning the 2-string slightly flat. If that doesn't work, switch to a different string with a different core type. If that doesn't work, try a different pick thickness.
Eventually, you will find the right combination that works for you.
And remember: Not all guitars tune the same. If you own more than one guitar, you may find that Guitar 1 holds proper tune without any additional adjustments, while Guitar 2 requires one or more strings to be tuned flat to get proper tune. Just keep experimenting and you'll find the tuning that works right for the guitar(s) you have.
Where do you get white Fender "Witch Hat" control knobs?
On the American Vintage '65 Fender Jazzmaster, the control knobs are the "witch hat" white style (or close-to-white as they may be parchment colored).
The Squier Vintage Modified Jazzmaster does not come with these. Instead, you get regular "skirted" knobs as seen on Stratocasters.
I've been wanting the witch hat knobs ever since I bought my Jazzmaster.
I looked on the Fender Store web site. No white witch hat knobs. So I emailed Fender Consumer Relations and asked where I could buy a set, as I was willing to spend the money. A canned reply arrived in my email saying my message was received and that they would get back to me.
That was 58 days ago. No reply from Fender whatsoever. I was puzzled by this as I have emailed them before about a different matter and got a quick reply. But I guess whoever is monitoring the Consumer Relations inbox these days either missed the email completely, or just completely ignored me. Bummer.
Well, I found some witch hat style white knobs...
...made for a Gibson. But I'm pretty sure they will fit the potentiometer posts on the Squier Jazzmaster. However, the numbers are flipped. On Fender instruments, the number faces "out" while on Gibsons the number faces "in". Also, the font used for VOL and TONE are different. The Gibson knobs use a skinny font while the Fender knobs use wider. Also, the numbers are much more curvy on the Gibson knobs compared to Fender.
I bought 'em anyway. They should arrive before the end of the week.
Why do I think these will fit right? Because they're made for split-shaft potentiometer posts, which the Squier Jazzmaster has. That, and I saw an instance on a forum where someone installed them and they seemed to fit well.
The only issue is that the knobs are stark white. However, I could darken them using coffee. All it would take to darken the knobs to parchment color is to drop them in cold coffee for somewhere between 15 seconds and a minute, and they will stain to the proper parchment color.
[Update]
Got an email from someone pointing to a link on the Fender Store where the knobs are sold where they now magically seemed to appear online. Black/Silver and Black/Gold ones can be bought now, and I'm sure the White/Silver ones will appear soon enough. Hopefully.
But they're nothing like the Vintage '65 knobs. At all.
What Fender is selling as replacement American Vintage Jazzmaster knobs don't match what's on the '65 American Vintage Jazzmaster whatsoever. The font is wrong, the color is wrong, and and even the font size changes (why?) from VOL to TONE.
Yeah, I am very particular when it comes to this stuff. What Fender is selling is absolutely not a proper Vintage '65 replacement Jazzmaster knob set.
I'll stick with my Gibson knobs because at least the set has a consistent look between the two. That and I already bought 'em, so... whatever, I guess. :P
2-pickup vs. 3-pickup guitars
Have you seen the Fender Cabronita Telecaster Thinline in Shoreline Gold and the Gibson SG Deluxe in Orange Burst?
Ordinarily, when people think of 2-pickup vs. 3-pickup, Les Paul vs. Stratocaster comes to mind. I decided to change that to show that you can have it the other way around where the Gibson is the 3-pickup and the Fender a 2-pickup.
Do you need to spend big bucks to get a 2-pickup Fender or a 3-pickup Gibson?
For Gibson, yeah you need to spend a lot to get any solid-body electric guitar from them with 3 pickups in it, starting at around $2,000.
With Epiphone, there are only two 3-pickup guitars they make. One is still generally available and the other you have to hunt around for. The generally available one at the moment is the Nighthawk. The one that requires hunting around for is the "Black Beauty" Les Paul Custom. To the best of my knowledge, most (but not all) Les Paul guitars labeled as a "Black Beauty Custom" model will have 3 pickups in it.
With Fender, getting a 2-pickup guitar is easy and inexpensive. You've got Telecasters, Jaguars, Jazzmasters, Fender Blacktop Series Stratocasters, Mustangs and so on. Plenty to choose from.
Which is the better of the two?
I cast my vote for the 2-pickup guitar as the better choice for one very simple reason: You don't bang your pick against the middle pickup because there isn't one.
The next time you're in a guitar store, take a look at any well-used guitar that has 3 pickups in it. You'll see a lot of scratch marks on the middle pickup. Very typical.
On Strats, I will always adjust the middle pickup height to being almost flat to the pick guard because otherwise I will hit it often with a pick; this is something I've pretty much always done ever since I first started playing Strats in my teens.
My main guitar is a Jazzmaster now, and that has only 2 pickups in it. Do I miss having a middle pickup when playing the Jazz? No, because the Jazz has a tonal character that's great on its own and doesn't require a third middle pickup.
The middle pickup is only good on a Fender-style guitar
Believe me, there's a reason you don't see middle pickups on a lot of guitars. And the reason is that unless the guitar is a Fender or Fender-style in the way it's set up, the addition of a middle pickup is pretty much useless.
A Strat wouldn't be a Strat without a middle pickup, no question about that. You can't get the famous Strat pickup position 2 and 4 settings without the middle pickup.
But for pretty much every other electric, a pickup in the middle doesn't give you any new good sounds. The middle position will sound like something best described as generic, as in the sound won't have any real character. And even when you combine with the front or rear pickup, that still won't help out much.
Three humbuckers, said honestly, is a bad idea for any electric. The only reason Gibson ever made them was just because they thought it looked cool. But you'll notice that whenever they did it, guitars with 3 humbuckers were only realeased as special edition models. As far as I know, the Les Paul Standard never had 3 humbuckers in it.
If you ever had the question of "What can 3 pickups do for me?"
...the answer is that you want a Strat, as it's the electric that does 3 pickups best.
For everything else, stick to 2.
Are offset guitars nothing but hipster junk?
To those not in the know, offset guitar indicates the guitar body is constructed using an offset-waist position; that means the neck sticks out away from the player slightly more compared to a center-waist construction. On most offset guitars, you can see the "lean" in the body where the top is positioned more forward than the bottom.
What is the hipster's goal concerning guitars?
In the guitar realm, the goal of a hipster is to "look indie", as in to look like you shop at a thrift store and only play guitars that nobody else would play that have a well-used look to them.
Being to look indie is the goal, the offset guitar is the hipster axe of choice (specifically the Fender Jaguar).
"But Rich, you play an offset guitar..."
Yes, I do. I play a Squier Jazzmaster. But I didn't buy it for hipster reasons. I bought it because I wanted the sound of those huge single-coil pickups along with the vibrato system that allows for effortless "slow" pitch bending. In other words, I bought it for guitar player reasons.
The fact my guitar is a Squier brand makes hipsters go "Eww!" instantly, because of course they drink the same Kool-Aid other guitar snobs do.
The offset snob
If you've played guitar for more than a year, you know of Strat snobs, Les Paul snobs and so on. But then there's the offset snob, which is populated exclusively by hipsters. Really, really annoying hipsters (as if there's another kind).
Fact: Offset snobs suck at guitar and barely know anything about them
The hipster doesn't even know how to operate a Jaguar properly. All he knows is to turn the volume and tone to 10, take out the vibrato bar since it will never be used anyway, switch to the lead circuit and then set the lead switches so only the rear pickup is heard.
When you hear a hipster play, it's nothing but droning chords and open strings drowned in ratty distortion or drenched in chorus and delay effects. Why? Because the guitar isn't set up properly and is buzzing all over the place, so the hipster drowns all that out with effects.
What the hipster wants is a Telecaster, but he'll never buy one
When you lock the vibrato down, switch to the lead position and use nothing but the rear pickup on a Jag, what do you end up with? Telecaster tone.
Being a hipster never uses vibrato and never uses a Jag's rhythm circuit, it would make total sense for him to junk the Jag and get a Telecaster instead.
But he'll never buy it. Why? Image. A Telecaster simply "doesn't look indie enough".
Actually, that's not true. The Fender Road Worn Telecaster looks indie enough.
Is that an old Tele? No, it's a new one. It's a fast, easy solution to make it look like you're indie when in fact you're not.
Offset guitars aren't junk. Hipsters make guitars junk.
Should you be unfortunate enough to buy a guitar previously owned by a hipster, it will be the cleanest guitar you ever owned, no question about that. A hipster knows how to get a bottle of Windex and use paper towels. But the rest of the guitar will require some major work to make it a good, playable instrument.
Truss rod? A hipster knows nothing about truss rods. The neck will be shaped like a banana.
Properly operating controls? Not happening. A hipster knows nothing about how to use contact cleaner to keep potentiometers and other switchgear operating cleanly. All the controls will be "scratchy", count on that.
Stiff-as-a-board screws? They're everywhere on the hipster axe, because they've never been adjusted.
Stiff-as-a-board tuners? Also common, since the hipster has no idea how to lubricate them because he never bothered to learn how.
When you buy a guitar previously owned by a hipster, it will be a piece of crap. A really nice looking piece of crap, but still a piece of crap.
Don't ever buy a guitar just for image
It's important to have a guitar that you think looks good. But it's more important to have a guitar that's a comfortable player for your playing style.
Hipsters buy Jaguars and Jazzmasters because they're trying to achieve a fake "indie" look. Don't be the douche bag that does this. Play a guitar that your hands agree with best. If you don't, you'll never get any better at the guitar because you'll always be fighting with it. And that's not fun at all.
Flame top guitars are overrated
Some guitars take the flame top too far to the point they start looking not-so good, and the Fender Select Stratocaster in Dark Cherry Burst is one of them. Both the body and neck are flamed on it. Flame, flame, flame and more flame.
Oh, there's more.
Gibson is just as guilty of the flame crapola with their Gibson Les Paul in Tea Burst. That flame is just so wrong. It makes the guitar look like a cheesy zoo exhibit brochure.
One of the biggest offenders is Paul Reed Smith with the SE Paul Allender model. 24 frets! Bats for inlays! Burst! Flame top! And... mother-friggin' PURPLE!
Yeah. Not the best look.
Guitars should not look like furniture
The flame top is kitschy because it makes a guitar look like furniture. Guitars are not furniture; they're instruments.
Even Squier offers a flame maple top guitar these days.
Saying "I have a guitar with a FMT, so it's expensive" doesn't work anymore, as the Squier can be had for well south of $300. Whether the FMT is real or a print, it doesn't matter because anyone who isn't a guitar player doesn't care. Flame is flame whether real or not since it's all about appearance and nothing more.
Why are there so many expensive guitars with flame tops on them?
A flame top is an attempt to make a guitar look more expensive than it is actually worth.
Even using the Squier example above, the regular version without the flame is $20 less. Same guitar? Yes. The only difference is the finish.
With upscale guitars, the same applies, except the cost goes up much higher.
The general rule of thumb with flame tops is that the more the guitar looks like furniture, the more expensive the price point.
More expensive: Flame top.
Even more expensive: Flame top with highly figured maple.
Ridiculously expensive: Flame top with highly figured maple and a really, really shiny clear coat that makes it look like you're staring into a mirror.
Does the flame or how shiny the guitar is do anything at all for sound? No; it's all visual.
Most famous rock guitar players never used a guitar with a flame top
Eric Clapton's most famous Strat was black.
Ritchie Blackmore used olympic white and black Strats.
Tony Iommi played red, black and natural SGs.
Neil Young played black Les Paul guitars.
David Gilmour played black Strats (mostly).
Eddie Van Halen mostly played red guitars with custom white and black stripes.
Keith Richards played mostly natural-color Telecasters.
You'll find it's common that the three guitar colors your guitar heroes used most often were either black, red or white.
It's not that the flame top wasn't available as it was always available. Famous players simply chose to go with solid colors instead. And bear in mind they could have any color or finish style they wanted.
The go-to guitar for many players that was (and for many still is) a plain-jane Fender American Standard Stratocaster in black.
Believe me, if that guitar in that color didn't sell, Fender wouldn't still be offering it.
Why don't you ever see black American Strats in guitar stores? Because they're not eye-popping enough. Guitar stores like to put guitars on display that catch your attention, usually the kind with dopey flame tops...
...but I'd be willing to bet if guitar stores started stocking black American Strats, they'd fly off the racks quick. Why? Because the guitar is the total opposite of a look-at-me axe. It's plain, simple and totally works. The guitar is made to play and not stared at like an idiot. And dare I say, it's a more comfortable purchase. A black Strat can't hide anything. What you see is what you get, and that's a genuinely good feeling.
I'm not even into black guitars. But I totally respect the black Strat.
I once saw some moron state in internet commentary - and this is no joke - that he wouldn't buy an American black Strat because it "looked too much like a Squier". Oh, so you'd rather have kitschy-looking flamed woods everywhere and a more-than-double price tag? I wouldn't. I'd take the black Strat over the dopey flame top any day of the week and twice on Sunday.