Once in a while I'll start the night without tuning on two or more night gigs, and it's always right there.

I tune straight up and when tuning without one I tune the G#s where they've got a little better than two beats to the second. Otherwise they're flat to keyboards or perfectly tuned guitars. The C# changes are tuned up similarly from no beats.

It's kind of hard to tune by ear when there's a lot of racket and other music going.

I leave that to the pros.

My method is to obtain a perfect E from an E tuning fork, on string 8, at the 12th fret harmonic, then I use my A440 fork to tune string 9 at the 7th fret harmonic. I use a C tuning fork to get my Middle C in tune (string 7, C6 neck), at the 12th fret harmonic.

After these strings/harmonics are zero-beated, I tune my other strings to them by using matching harmonics at various fret combinations. I call it "touch tuning by harmonics." I use the highest harmonics I can to stretch the scale upward, as I tune up the scale. Of course, this means that my open A Major will be slightly flat, due to cabinet drop from the 1st and 2nd pedals being mashed (the E's will drop so the A's will need to be tuned flat to zero-beat to the E's).

In some cases I find that having my open position A chord is important, so I'll tune the A on (pedal 2 down) string 6 to the 7th fret A-harmonic on string 9, or directly to my A-440 fork.

I also have to deal with loud club environments and have developed my ability to hear minute beat notes, usually at the highest combination of fret-touches possible. Sometimes this requires me to touch-tune harmonics at the 2nd, 3rd, 4th frets, which is quite difficult, but do-able. The best sustaining harmonics are created on frets 5, 7 and 12.

If there is a loud jukebox playing and I can't distinguish the harmonics, I use another secret method I developed in the 1970's: I turn on my Bosstone, on full fuzz, and listen for the beat notes in the fuzz mix. Even the slightest mismatch will cause a "HETERODYNE" effect that cannot be ignored. I used the same technique to tune in S.S.B. transmissions on my CB radio, and on Ham radios, in the late 60's and early '70's. Beat notes that are amplified can easily be zeroed by careful tuning.

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Bob "Wiz" Feinberg
1983 Rosewood Emmons D10 Push-Pull, with 8 pedals and 9 knee levers, Wallace TrueTone E9 and Lawrence L-910 C6 pickups and aluminum necks. Nashville 400 amp with Peavey Mod. Emmons pedalbar mounted, and Goodrich LDR floor volume pedals.
I use and endorse Jagwire Strings and accessories.

Keep Steelin' but don't get caught!

[This message was edited by Wiz Feinberg on 18 November 2004 at 12:29 PM.]

I happen to be one of the people that was blessed by 23 years out of my 25 years of steady paid band playing the ignogant belief that tuning with a tuner to all notes and all changes was the proper way, like guitars, basses, keyboards, vibes, etc., to discover that pedal steel players in a good amount don't believe any notes but the tonic should be dead on, in tune with a tuning fork, or tuner. As far out as 15 cents is what you have to be to be "in tune".

It's like doing the "fuzz tone thing" on a guitar and trying to get the "beats out" of the thirds that produce an, I don't know, .3 cy/sec beat. It'd only take a guitar player about a half hour to realise that you can't do it with fixed frets and only six strings.

With Pedal Steel, and an average of 16 changes, and 10 strings, there's an appearant method to make them all cogent with the thirds ( and sixths, and god knows about thirteenths) tuned down 15 cents, and a way of playing the same. If nothing else, wiggling the bar a lot, or immediately moving the bar up or down on strings played on multi note runs.

I gotta admit, Joe. They've got me believing that they can actually get all this done with special charts, and automatic bar repositioning.

I think it'd take me another 25 years to go through all the methods I've seen. I've actually yet to see a method or chart that did anything but put too many notes out of tune for my liking. They will end up getting you too worn out to point out all the places where this doesn't work. Nor will they tell you which changes and pedal combinations you can't use anymore.

I just tune everything so that it's in tune with a tuning fork or tuner, and try my best to play so it sounds that way. It's not that easy, but it's less embarassing than not being able to furnish a C# on demand and know that it's "in tune". Or a G# for that matter...

You want my take on it? Really?

It's ridiculous.

There's 62,052 reasons to be out of tune. At least the ones I've heard so far.

If I was just starting out, I'd throw up my hands and give up.

If you are, and you do anything but throw it all in the circular file, tune straight up to a good tuner, or to a set of 100 year old tuning forks, and try to find a way of playing in tune with half your strings and changes set 10-15 cents high or low, I'd advise to to not even try.

Just tune straight up, get use to hearing a wobbling third like electronic keyboard players, vibists, harp players good guitar players, and the like.

Simplicity isn't Easy.

Just my take and reply to you Joe.

Others may do what they like. Especially the Professionals.

EJL

[This message was edited by Eric West on 19 November 2004 at 06:33 AM.]

I have tuned by ear my whole life, after tuning my root E to 441 or 442, on the stage and in the studio. It works great for me. I spend 60+ hours a week in recording studios, and am accutely aware of tuning, and would never tune my guitar straight up. Tried it, does not work for me. I have produced sessions using players such as Paul, Dan, Jimmie, Sonny (who does not even use a tuner)and others and watch them all tune by ear and all sound perfectly in tune with the track.