Originally Posted By: Mac
I have rarely had to retune when applying a capo.

Those who experience that should investigate the winds around the tuning peg, are they concentric, one layer only and TIGHT around the peg. That is the place where guitars will slip out of tune.

The other factor is tuning DOWN to the target pitch rather than UP.

Tuning downwards can create the situation where the string tension is correct, but only for a little while, because of friction between string and nut. Pick hard on that string during the next tune and it is likely to pull that wee little bit of slack back over the nut - and the string is now flat.

It is glaring, the number of good guitarists whom I see tuning downwards to pitch in the bands around here. If you overshoot, turn the peg the other direction until the string is below the target pitch and then tune only in the UP direction to match the pitch or the tuner indicator.


--Mac


Lifetime up-to-tuner here (on guitar). Now, when I learned to tune pianos, the old salt that taught me had me always tune down to pitch. Has to do with tension, friction of the pin in the block, etc.

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