Guitar- An Imperfect Instrument

The New Gear: Maintenance, Repair, and Modification Forum.
----Hosted by Al Benoit

Guitar- An Imperfect Instrument

Postby Scott DeVarenne » Tue Aug 20, 2013 12:02 am

This came to my attention as I was looking through a decade old magazine, I think it was EQ (the cover was missing).
http://www.buzzfeiten.com/howitworks/howitworks.htm
it led to this
http://www.truetemperament.com/site/ind ... go=2&sgo=3
No, you are not seeing some weird Jpeg pixilation, them frets are indeed squiggly.
Do these make the guitar less prone to gross intonation issues, yet allow it to still be tuned in the equal tempered scale?
I was recently telling Richard Kidd that major thirds sound dissonant to me. He assured me that they are out of tune on a keyboard- it is not a peculiarity to guitar.
Where the hell did we go wrong?
User avatar
Scott DeVarenne
mr distant
 
Posts: 557
Joined: Fri Feb 24, 2006 12:03 pm
Location: SJ/NB/CA

Re: Guitar- An Imperfect Instrument

Postby Malcolm Boyce » Wed Aug 21, 2013 1:54 pm

So much general misunderstanding about "tuning". Many things that should be "in pitch" but actually aren't or don't sound like they are. It is a deep, deep subject of which I only know a smidgen about. Further compounded now by people digitally manipulating pitch to the grid without consideration of context taking precedence. Context is everything.

From conversations I've been involved in, it certainly isn't a case of guitar being the only "imperfect" instrument.
"Once again, it is NEVER the gear that makes a good record.
It just fills Forum pages..." --compasspnt

middleaudio.com
User avatar
Malcolm Boyce
Your Humble Host
 
Posts: 3681
Joined: Wed Feb 22, 2006 1:07 am
Location: Saint John, NB

Re: Guitar- An Imperfect Instrument

Postby Mathieu Benoit » Wed Aug 21, 2013 2:35 pm

Malcolm Boyce wrote:From conversations I've been involved in, it certainly isn't a case of guitar being the only "imperfect" instrument.


You are 100% right, the piano was traditionally never in "tune" it was stretch-tuned. This is due to the complexity of inharmonic properties of the metal string. The theoretic frequency and the actual one are slightly higher as you go higher in frequency. So stretch tuning compensates for that and makes it so that piano is in tune with itself. "In tune" pianos are a recently new invention with the coming of digital pianos.

The guitar is exactly the same thing, just a few degrees less complex.
"Volume automation takes time. You don't got that kinda time. You could be getting naked with somebody somewhere." -Slipperman

Mathieu Benoit - Fluid Productions
www.fluidaudiogroup.com
www.facebook.com/FluidAudioGroup
User avatar
Mathieu Benoit
Drumwaiter
 
Posts: 4707
Joined: Tue Feb 13, 2007 7:55 pm
Location: Saint John, New Brunswick


Return to Fluid Wireworks

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 20 guests

cron