Hi Tom
Sounds like it could be a problem with the grooves in the nut. If the
octave string is set too high relative to the fundamental, it will need
that much extra tension to be pressed down onto the fret, with the
obvious tuning discrepancy that you describe. It is complicated
because of the different in thickness (and stiffness) between the two
strings.
If I were you, I would try inserting a very thin layer of card or
plastic under the fundamental, at the nut groove, and see if it
improves the tuning of your fretted octaves (in this case by raising
the fundamental. Forget the fact that the frets are now slightly out
of position). If so, the next step would be to consider whether the
groove for the octave string can be made deeper without bringing the
string too close to the frets.
Good luck
John
On 10 October 2013 07:44, Tom <[1]tgw...@gmail.com> wrote:
I posted this to the lutening group but thought it wouldn't hurt
to try
here, also.
Hello everyone,
I have what is probably a newbie question. I am unable to tune
the 5th,
6th, and to a lesser degree the 7th and 8th courses to my
satisfaction.
When tuned so that the octaves have no beats between the two
strings,
the strings are out of tune when fretted. The octave course is
invariably sharp, or at least sharp enough to drive me batty
(although
there are those who would argue that it's a drive...more like a
putt).
My ears are pretty good to within 5 cents of a tone.
I've tried lowering the fundamental by a few cents, but it
doesn't seem
to help until the the two strings of a course are out of tune
when
open.
Help!!! (please)
--
Sincerely,
Tom
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References
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