Originally Posted By: musiclover

Believe you me Bob they are well stretched because they are never changed too often smile Maybe that's the reason they go out of tune.



That IS the reason. Tell me if this isn't the case. You tune up and the open strings are perfectly tuned. Then as soon as you start to play, especially up the neck, the chords and notes sound slightly off pitch and out of tune.

If that's what you are experiencing, change the strings. As you play on a set of strings you are pressing them against the frets and with time, the underside of the strings develop grooves. You can actually feel these grooves on the lower strings as you run your finger under the string and up or down the fretboard.

Those dents or grooves change the physics of the string. and therefore the intonation of the string. The string has less mass when it's old and with grooves worn in it than it did when it was new and still perfectly round along it's length. As the mass changes, so does the rate at which it vibrates at a given distance. You hear a slightly off pitch note as a result.

When I was playing for a living, I changed my strings every 2 weeks on average. Now that I don't play for a living, I change the strings only when I think they need it. And if I have a song I'm plugging to a publisher I will invest in new strings before I record because everyone knows 2 facts about new strings....
1. they sound better
2. they inspire you with that sound.

Now, go change your strings.

Last edited by Guitarhacker; 01/24/17 04:34 AM.

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