[linux-audio-user] in tune - stupid thread

[John Anderson]

On Sun, 2004-12-19 at 18:55, Russell Hanaghan wrote:
> Fact is, it is impossible to tune an acoustic guitar 
> "perfectly"...Invariably, when you have it tuned so an open G chord 
> sounds spot on, an open A or even C will be a tad off. And the same 
> applies to the inverse of course.  This all due to a general lack of 
> adjustment for intonation on acoustic axes.

Actually, even guitars with adjustable bridge saddles won't be perfectly
in tune with themselves, except for octaves, 4ths and fifths which are
close enough that one can't really hear the difference. This is because
the frets are in the wrong place in relation to the overtone series
(pl). This applies to any instrument that has fixed notes (piano springs
to mind), and which use the 12-tone equal temperament tuning.

It's a long story, so I won't go into detail. Google for Just Intonation
if you want to know more. It sheds a different light on various
questions like, where *is* that confounded blue note? Why do major
chords sound crap on overdrive? What's the deal with barbershop and
string quartets? Why is D minor the saddest key? If I tune the B string
by ear to the G string, why is it out of tune with the E string?

Well, that's quite enough provocative questions for one post ;-)

bye
John