Notes go sharp

littlebadboy

Roadie
Messages
138
I have noticed that on my 7-string, notes go sharp on the higher notes. I found out that it has something to do with how much I press on the strings. It is really annoyingly sensitive as it effects my recording projects.

Questions:
Does it have to do with the age of my strings? I haven't changed it in a while, although it was less noticeable when it was new, still had the problem.
Does it have to do with the jumbo sized frets?
Do I need thicker strings? I'm currently on ADADGBE: .009 - .012 - .015 - .024w - .032 - .048 - .062 (fan fret 25.5-27).
What am I doing wrong?
 
did you check intonation (i.e. use a tuner for the open string vs. 12th fret)? also- how straight is your guitars neck?

i definitely know the blues of pressing too hard, especially way up the neck- and you're not wrong about that being a factor- but i think making sure your setup is on the money will help most!

in the meantime.. old strings can drift as well- and thats a good starting point - but doubtful thenlions share of the issue IME.
 
1000002514.gif

 
Start with the variables that can be eliminated. Get new strings making sure to lube their sliding points of contact (saddles & nut), make sure they're stretched to the point where their pitch doesn't change after doing bends or dives, then intonate the guitar properly.

Once that's out of the way, then look at your technique. If notes are still going sharp, determine if it's due to you either pressing too hard, or possibly even pushing them slightly as you fret the notes. If it is, you can try 2 things: Either work on fretting the notes straight down, with only as much pressure as needed to make the note ring clearly, or if it turns out to be a habit you can't fix, you could intonate individual strings slightly flat, to compensate.

You could also go up in string gauge to see if that helps. Theoretically it should help counteract you fretting too hard. How much it would help is hard to tell without just trying a heavier set.

But overall, if it's you causing the problem, you'd be best served by breaking that habit. Someone posted an exercise in one of my Theory & Technique threads, in which you play through whatever you're currently playing, but only placing your fingers lightly on the tops of the strings. Iow, not even fretting them. Suppose to help you develop a lighter touch. Which is not only necessary for not making your notes go sharp, but also helpful in playing faster.

I feel it's safe to say having the lightest touch necessary to fret the notes, and nothing more, is the best fretting technique for any guitarist. But once you get that, you'd probably want to keep the same string tension across all your guitars, to keep the feedback your fingers get, consistent. Which doesn't necessarily mean all of them having the exact same string gauge, due to various scale lengths.

Iow, having 10's on a LP, and 9.5 on a Strat keeps that string's tension closer, than using 10's on both. But that's just for the high e. You'd have to run the numbers through a string gauge calculator to see how the other strings' gauge/tension shake out.
 
It can definitely be a combination of jumbo frets and too much pressure. I set a guitar up for a friend of mine. He had problems with it staying in tune, according to him. I took it to his house when I gave it back to him. He started playing it and it was going out of tune still. I told him that I played the guitar for quite a while after I set it up and it never went out of tune once. I had him hand it to me and it played in tune just fine. I handed it back to him and it sounded out of tune. The guitar had really tall frets on it. I asked him how hard he was pressing and he said pretty hard. He was death gripping that thing. I tried to get him to lighten up some and it got better. It isn't how he plays though so it didn't last long. I told him we would either have to take the frets down a good bit for him or he probably wouldn't want to keep the guitar. He ended up moving it on. The guitar played great for me.
 
I'd bet intonation, also check string height (especially at the nut). Good setup with fresh strings then check your technique as others have mentioned.
 
Back
Top