www.PyleUSA.com
3
Tuning 6-string Guitars
Something as simple as how you wind the strings onto the tuning machine posts when changing your strings, will
determine tuning stability and even string tension. It’s also a good idea to stretch your strings just a little as you tune to
make sure that each string is seated well and snugged down on the tuning machine post. This will save you some tuning
frustration down the road. Just grab the string in the middle, lightly tug it up and down to remove slack, and then retune.
There are a couple of different methods for tuning a guitar, depending on whether your guitar is acoustic, or an acoustic
with a pickup and onboard tuner. If your guitar does not have an onboard tuner and you don’t own an electronic
chromatic tuner with a reference tone, you may want to purchase one. It will dramatically simplify tuning your acoustic
or electric guitar.
Always tune from below pitch, up to the correct pitch instead of down from a higher pitch. This will help eliminate string
slack from the tuning machine and decrease the possibility of slippage and tuning changes as you play.
If using the onboard tuner on your guitar, simply plug in, activate the tuner, turn the volume up and starting from the
thickest (bottom) string to the thinnest (top), tune the strings to:
E, A, D, G, B, E
.
If you do not have an onboard or an electronic tuner, use a guitar pitch pipe, an A-440 tuning fork or some other
pitch reference, and begin by:
• Tuning the second string, “
A
” to pitch.
• Then, depress the second, or “
A
” string at the 5th fret, to produce a “
D
”, and tune the “
D
” string to that same pitch.
• Next, depress the “
D
” string at the 5th fret, to produce a “
G
”, and tune the “
G
” string until the pitches match.
• Next, depress the “
G
” string at the 4th fret, to produce a “
B
”, and tune the “
B
” string until the pitches match.
• Next, depress the “
B
” string at the 5th fret, to produce an “
E
” and tune the thinnest string to a matching “
E
”.
• Finally, go back and play the thickest “
E
” string and tune it until the pitch at the 5th fret, an “
A
”, matches the “
A
”
on the adjacent string.
