Equal temperament and being out of tune.

GianGian · #1 06-22-2010, 08:16 PM

Just the other day I was recording a song, and I record all the instruments, and I couldn't make a satisfatory A major chord on the guitar.
I tried to adjust the intonation, tuned it only to get that chord right and etc...it didn't work.
Now that I heard some other things, it seems to me that every song I hear has some out of tune chords, mostly the major ones.
So, is it that I have developed some good ears or what?
Does it happen to anybody else? Minor chords are ok, but the major ones sound "wrong".

Badong · #2 06-22-2010, 08:26 PM

I've never been "bothered" by justified intonation but I do enjoy playing with other "fretless" instruments. It strange, I noticed that even my high school orchestra kids (not the most accomplished musicians) will gravitate toward natural intonation (that is, when they choose to play in tune).

GianGian · #3 06-22-2010, 08:27 PM

Just and example.
On this Cream tune, the rhythm guitar sounds definitely out of tune, specially that first chord, which I believe to be a major one.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7tgqYWQKBnw

Badong · #4 06-22-2010, 08:29 PM

That is just plain out-of-tune, not natural or justified.

GianGian · #5 06-22-2010, 08:38 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Badong

That is just plain out-of-tune, not natural or justified.

Thanks, that always sounded very out of tune to my ears.

HaVIC5 · #6 06-23-2010, 01:05 AM

A likely possibility is that your guitar/bass was not intonated properly for that portion of the neck. Intonation on fretted instruments can be a REAL pain if you're sensitive to that sort of stuff, and intonation can never be perfect to equal temperament. It's always going to be a little bit off, so its a compromise. The higher the action, the less precise it gets. In that sense, it's a compromise for a compromise (equal temperament), so it's always going to be just a little bit off.

GianGian · #7 06-24-2010, 07:27 PM

People help me on this one too:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d1Y3PlmwnRM
there is a rhythm acoustic guitar which is a bit out of tune...am I the only one that can hear it?

ryco · #8 06-24-2010, 09:27 PM

Major thirds are a challenge indeed!

I don't hear anything ghastly out of tune on that vid. My wife has very good relative pitch and she notices stuff being a little out. John Entwistle had perfect pitch and once said playing live drove him nuts because, as the show went on, the instruments would get farther and farther out of tune with each other.

Nice bass line in that vid BTW, George!! (A Fender VI?).

Billnc · #9 06-24-2010, 09:33 PM

Huh, no one has dragged Jimmy Page into this...

M0ses · #10 06-24-2010, 09:46 PM

Personally I very much like that guitar in the Cream song. I don't believe in dissonance.

And hey, you leave Jimmy alone.

GianGian · #11 06-25-2010, 10:04 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ryco

Major thirds are a challenge indeed!

I don't here anything ghastly out of tune on that vid. My wife has very good relative pitch and she notices stuff being a little out. John Entwistle had perfect pitch and once said playing live drove him nuts because, as the show went on, the instruments would get farther and farther out of tune with each other.

Nice bass line in that vid BTW, George!! (A Fender VI?).

No, that's a telecaster with the tone knob on the "bass" side.

It seems that maybe my ears got "too good" and I have to live with with it.