[jacobn]

If you don't have perfect pitch and want to get a better understanding for what your guitar is doing, try using a spectrum analyzer app to visualize how the sound changes as you pluck a string.

The el-cheapo guitar I bought once just didn't hold the note very accurately over time (i.e. pluck string, then it would vibrate at the correct-ish frequency for ~0.5s, then quickly veer off).

Had to use a spectrum analyzer since the guitar was so out of tune that the electric tuner couldn't even pick up which string it was...

(wasn't my idea to use the spectrum analyzer, back in college a friend of mine tuned his dorm piano - which are much harder to tune - using that technique, worked quite well)

[eric_h]

> back in college a friend of mine tuned his dorm piano - which are much harder to tune - using that technique

I feel as though "much harder" to tune understates the difference between tuning a piano and a guitar considerably :P

It's ~40x as many strings!

[magduf]

Um, I'm not so sure about that. Sure, there's a lot more strings on a piano, but they're all separate from each other, and once one is tuned, it's tuned and you can move on to the next one.

Try tuning a guitar that has a Floyd Rose locking tremelo system. The bridge is floating on a pivot with springs, so the tension of the strings is collectively working against the 2 or 3 large springs on the bridge. So every time you tighten or loosen one string, you're changing the tuning on the other 5! And adjusting intonation is a pain too, because if you finally get the strings all in tune, then when you adjust one string's intonation, it throws off everything again. (And worse, to adjust the intonation on a Floyd Rose, you have to completely loosen the string so you can get to the tiny little hex screw to unlock the intonation adjustment, and the way it's designed you don't really have an easy way of fine-tuning it.)

[elektronaut]

Pianos are like that too. There is a LOT of string tension, and the soundboard warps. Raising the pitch requires carefully balancing by tiny adjustments in several passes.

[Sylos]

And you physically cannot get a piano tuned perfectly, since with different intervals, you'd need individual notes to be tuned slightly different.

With a guitar, you can at least still try to correct it by putting your finger down somewhat closer or farther away.

[TylerE]

> With a guitar, you can at least still try to correct it by putting your finger down somewhat closer or farther away.

Does not work like that. It isn't a violin.

It is possible to pull notes sharp slightly (but it's done with pressure, not finger placement), but if the note is already sharp, there's nothing you can do.

[delinka]

Move one fret flat and pull very sharp? (no, this is not practical, but the inexperienced should give it a try...)

[criddell]

> The el-cheapo guitar I bought once just didn't hold the note very accurately over time

What do you think was moving on that guitar? Was the neck bending?