Guitar angle and tuning -anyone else notice this?

Drew · #1 05-01-2002, 01:05 AM

Just thought i'd post on this to see if this is something any of you other guys have noticed.

When i'm restringing/retuning my RG7-620, i used to hold it at about a 45-degree angle on my lap (like, the body wasn't vertical. the neck was still parallell with the floor, but the body was no longer perpendicular). Maybe a little more upright than that, but so i was looking down at the guitar at an angle. it just sat better that way.

Then, one day i notced that when i tuned it to pitch that way, and then strapped it on (thus returning the guitar to nearly perfectly vertical), the guitar would go slightly flat.

took me a few seconds to figure this one out, but what i think happens is that the weight of the bridge (lo-pro 7) is enough to add a slight amount of tension to the strings. When the guitar is returned to vertical, however, the gravitational force is now perpendicular to the pivital axis of the bridge, so this force is removed. the trem "rises" slightly, and the strings go a few cents flat.

Maybe this is only an issue with 7's, cause of the added mass. just thought i'd ask if anyone else has noticed this, though. it's slight enough to not REALLY be an issue when playing, but for fine tuning, every last cent helps... needless to say, i now do my fine tuning with the guitar in playing position.

-Drew

Rich · #2 05-01-2002, 01:11 AM

This is also why you never set intonation with the guitar flat, it has to be done in the playing position.

CrossingStar · #3 05-01-2002, 02:31 AM

It's not just 7 strings either, it happens on 6 strings too.

wallopwallop · #4 05-01-2002, 12:58 PM

Jeff Healy (an amazing blues guitarist who plays with his strat laying across his lap) always has to have his guitar tuned while horizontal. The moment it is played normally, the tuning goes slightly out. That's gravity for ya!

I meant to add. That's while the guitar is horizontal, not Jeff Healy

Two hands31 · #5 05-01-2002, 04:48 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by wallopwallop

Jeff Healy (an amazing blues guitarist who plays with his strat laying across his lap)

Yeah, he's a cool guitarist. It's cool to see that he doesn't let anything stop him from playing.

darren wilson · #6 05-01-2002, 11:01 PM

I would guess it's more to do with the effect of gravity on the bow and angle of the neck than the mass of the bridge. You have to intonate fixed-bridge guitars in playing position, too.

Universal Jems · #7 05-02-2002, 03:38 AM

That is also one of the largest selling points of the Stew Mac Neck Jig

Shyboy · #8 05-02-2002, 02:39 PM

i´m going to buy a rg550ex. how to know if is ok?

yurich · #9 05-02-2002, 02:39 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Shyboy

i´m going to buy a rg550ex. how to know if is ok?

how to know if what's ok?