wait, you tune at home instead of at the gig?
a pro tunes right before playing, with a tuner that is always right there and ready to go.
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electronic tuners
- Thread starter Andrew B.
- Start date
a pro tunes right before playing, with a tuner that is always right there and ready to go.
Try popping the octave harmonic at the 12th Fret or the two octave harmonic at the 5th...
wait, you tune at home instead of at the gig?
a pro tunes right before playing, with a tuner that is always right there and ready to go.
Absolutely and if there's keyboard involved, get them to give you and "A" and check your tuner against it before you start. Or you could go old school and tune up by ear
wait, you tune at home instead of at the gig?
a pro tunes right before playing, with a tuner that is always right there and ready to go.
Yes, at home. I would NEVER EVER wait till right before a gig before tuning. I will RE-CHECK the tuning with the keyboard and the guitar player before the sound check, but not wait till then to start.
I'm not sure what your definition of a "pro" is, but having played in bands for the last 46 years for mostly top of the line gigs, would surely put me close to that neighborhood. In the instances I referenced, as well as for the last several years of giging, I've never had my basses (yes, basses - I use 3 per gig) be out of tune after arrival at the gig.
sorry, but as a guitar player this is a pet peeve of mine about many bass players (tho i are one, too 
).
i'm just playing bars and clubs, and my instruments also arrive at the gig nicely in tune, but there's a stage tuner right on my pedalboard that allows me to tune silently, perfectly, and in about 10 seconds. i always use it before we start (and between songs as needed), and wouldn't dream of wasting the other players' time getting them to help me tune!
too many bass players will have nothing, saying "just gimme an 'A'", whereupon they start plucking 5th/7th harmonics :scowl:, or will have a crappy $10 tuner that they have to make a production of turning around, unplugging their bass, plugging in the crappy tuner, and trying to get it to read their B string while the rest of the band and the audience stands there looking at them
or, they'll just play out of tune, grabbing tuning keys in the middle of the songs trying to fix it by ear with drums and guitars blasting all around them
). i'm just playing bars and clubs, and my instruments also arrive at the gig nicely in tune, but there's a stage tuner right on my pedalboard that allows me to tune silently, perfectly, and in about 10 seconds. i always use it before we start (and between songs as needed), and wouldn't dream of wasting the other players' time getting them to help me tune!
too many bass players will have nothing, saying "just gimme an 'A'", whereupon they start plucking 5th/7th harmonics :scowl:, or will have a crappy $10 tuner that they have to make a production of turning around, unplugging their bass, plugging in the crappy tuner, and trying to get it to read their B string while the rest of the band and the audience stands there looking at them
or, they'll just play out of tune, grabbing tuning keys in the middle of the songs trying to fix it by ear with drums and guitars blasting all around them
When setting up at a gig, I always check my Tuner against the Keyboards and or guitard before I tune up - the "give me an A" - is to check that nothing's out of whack - low batteries, dodgy power supplies, that little trim pot on the back of my friends DX7 that got moved ...
I know that using a tuning meter is normal these days (and do recall when they were considered "un-professional") but I firmly believe that you should be able to tune your Bass by ear - ie. 5th/7th Harmonics - again just in case something is out of whack.
I know that using a tuning meter is normal these days (and do recall when they were considered "un-professional") but I firmly believe that you should be able to tune your Bass by ear - ie. 5th/7th Harmonics - again just in case something is out of whack.
ever seen polytune ? that's pretty bad behind!
don't know if it will tune low B though - but it shouldn't be a problem for you since you use a 4 banger
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don't know if it will tune low B though - but it shouldn't be a problem for you since you use a 4 banger
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the polytune does indeed get the low B (the turbo tuner rules them all, though 
).
low batteries & power supplies won't affect the accuracy of a tuner as long as it's still working (just like a low battery won't make a digital watch run slow).
i've never run into the "keyboard player's pitch knob knocked out of place" issue, but that could certainly make a mess of things. (that's his responsibility though, not ours.)
the reference to the 5th/7th harmonic thing makes my point, though; that method is inherently inaccurate! it will put the pair of strings about 2 cents off from each other in equal temperament, and that 2-cent mathematical error will add up as you go across the neck. not so big a deal on a 4-string (especially if the soundguy is a "bass should be felt and not heard" type) but try it on a 6 and the B and C strings will be well out of tune with each other.
of course a good musician should be able to tune by ear, but a professional doesn't waste other professionals' time by attempting to do so on the bandstand.
).low batteries & power supplies won't affect the accuracy of a tuner as long as it's still working (just like a low battery won't make a digital watch run slow).
i've never run into the "keyboard player's pitch knob knocked out of place" issue, but that could certainly make a mess of things. (that's his responsibility though, not ours.)
the reference to the 5th/7th harmonic thing makes my point, though; that method is inherently inaccurate! it will put the pair of strings about 2 cents off from each other in equal temperament, and that 2-cent mathematical error will add up as you go across the neck. not so big a deal on a 4-string (especially if the soundguy is a "bass should be felt and not heard" type) but try it on a 6 and the B and C strings will be well out of tune with each other.
of course a good musician should be able to tune by ear, but a professional doesn't waste other professionals' time by attempting to do so on the bandstand.
The point I'm trying to make is that the idea of the exercise is that as well as your own instrument being in tune - the whole Band needs to be in tune with itself. If you are a Guitar/Bass/Drums band then using meters to tune up with is fine, but bringing other factors can complicate matters:
If the singer plays a Harmonica, then you best get a handle on that one before you start!!.
House Pianos can be a little out.
I once had to work with a Hammond Organ that was a quarter tone flat due to the "dodgy power supply" on the ship I was working on.
If you're going to be playing along to backing tracks you can't assume things haven't drifted in the duplication process.
Finally, maybe some of us old timers - who remember the days before tuners existed - can relate to the enclosed picture of John Entwhistle tuning up backstage to Pete Townsend's Rick!
If the singer plays a Harmonica, then you best get a handle on that one before you start!!.
House Pianos can be a little out.
I once had to work with a Hammond Organ that was a quarter tone flat due to the "dodgy power supply" on the ship I was working on.
If you're going to be playing along to backing tracks you can't assume things haven't drifted in the duplication process.
Finally, maybe some of us old timers - who remember the days before tuners existed - can relate to the enclosed picture of John Entwhistle tuning up backstage to Pete Townsend's Rick!
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oh, no argument with any of that!
i read somewhere that neil young did a trick in the early days of setting up 5 conn strobe tuners behind him, each tuned to a guitar string (one for both Es obviously). world's biggest and most expensive stage tuner!
i read somewhere that neil young did a trick in the early days of setting up 5 conn strobe tuners behind him, each tuned to a guitar string (one for both Es obviously). world's biggest and most expensive stage tuner!
I've got the Planet Waves chromatic pedal tuner and it's great. It's built like a tank and even has a strobe feature. It works well with the low B that I even have tuned down to A. It's also great on stage, because the display is large and brightly lit. I highly recommend it.
Tune using the 12th fret harmonic. It is a cleaner, more stable pitch. Physics tells us that if it is in tune, the open string is as well.
