TUNING YOUR GUITAR
Guitar Tuition

      

6 machineheads in a row on a Fender Strat

On a standard electric guitar the tuning takes place at the headstock end with its six machineheads in a row. (see Strat headstock - left)  Sometimes the headstock will have 3 machineheads on each side similar to a classical acoustic (see Epiphone below left). The strings pass through the posts and are wound by turning the tuning buttons until the strings reach the correct pitch.

Three machineheads each side on a Les Paul

A good quality tuner will ensure that your guitar is tuned spot on each time. Before every practise session make sure your guitar is in tune. Learning how to tune your guitar is very important - if you can't tune it properly it will slow your progress. Tuning your guitar is all part of learning how to play it !   There are some excellent tuners by Korg, Qwik Tune, Tanglewood, Fender, Seiko and others from £9 and up. Highly recommended is the Korg GA-30

 

Brand new strings on your guitar will take a few days to "settle" in. At first the guitar may go out of tune after playing. Keep checking the tuning and gradually the strings will settle and stay in tune.

Some excellent makes of strings to try are made by: Ernie Ball, D'Addario, Fender, DR and other companies.

Please visit this page later as I intend to have some step by step photos about stringing your guitar.

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