The basis of guitar sound is scale tuning

2024 Author: Leah Sherlock | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 05:25

The scale of a guitar is just the working length of a single string or the strings as a whole. This term refers to the length of the string from bridge to nut. On electric guitars, this length is usually 648 mm (which is equal to 25.5 inches in inches), for bass guitars, the string length is 864 mm (or 34 inches). Tellingly, the length of the string does not depend on the number of frets, since the twelfth fret will always be exactly in the middle. It is for the above reasons that we can conclude that a high-quality and reliable scale setting is the key to a good guitar sound as a whole. And this is worth considering. Adjusting the scale allows the guitar to stay in tune more precisely and for longer, which is convenient and useful for both performances and everyday home use.

The concept of adjustment, or the tuning of a guitar scale, means changing the length of each string individually. This is done so that every note at any pointguitar neck exactly "built". You can often hear the phrase "guitar does not build" - it only means that some notes sound inaccurate on the fretboard. The easiest way to carry out such a procedure as tuning the scale of an electric guitar or an acoustic guitar with a tuner.

A tuner is an electrical, mechanical, or electromechanical device designed specifically to measure the frequencies of individual notes. In simpler terms, this is a device that determines the sound of a note.

Before proceeding to the direct tuning of the scale, you need to adjust the bridge and truss of the guitar. Naturally, if it is possible on your instrument. This is done to set the correct, optimal distance from the fretboard to the string on the electric guitar. Anchor is a screw screwed into the end of the neck (in the place where the headstock is located). Adjusting the distance from the neck to the strings is quite simple. If the bridge on your electric guitar is rigid, then such a bridge will be adjusted by two screws. Therefore, in this case, all strings will be adjusted at once. It should be noted that it is extremely necessary to leave room for the string to vibrate. Otherwise, the sound will be of poor quality and contain certain overtones.

To fine-tune the scale, connect the electric guitar to the tuner. Once connected, play the first open string. The numbers on the tuner screen (or the arrow) should show the note E. Next, we clamp the twelfth fret of the first string. The electric guitar is usually assigned largehope. If all is well, then the tuner should show the same result.

There are only two basic rules when carrying out such a procedure as setting the scale:

1. If the tuner reading is less than necessary, the string should be shortened.
2. If the tuner reads more than necessary, the string should be lengthened.

The scale of an electric guitar is adjusted with a regular screwdriver. In this case, do not forget to move the sliders. By unscrewing the screw, the string will be shortened. Twisting - respectively, lengthen.

If you do not have a tuner at hand, you can try to tune the scale of the guitar by ear, using harmonics on the twelfth fret of each string. When tuning the scale, remember that sometimes old strings are actually impossible to tune due to heavy wear.