New strings just sound wrong

Acoustic, changing to 10-47

EAD is .030 ,.039 and .047

my first time on acoustic and A sounds terribly wrong. [br]tuned with a headstock tuner . [br]A to high E sound in step and arpeggiate as expected

low E sounds higher than the A

had envelopes in order and the windings do look clearer on the E

what would be the effect of getting my E and A mixed up. [br][br]

have left to settle overnight and I have another set of strings to try if need be. [br]Is this just a possible beginners error

Sorted by google

dropped E to A and they were identical

so dropped again to E

numpty had tuned an octave high

got away with it on a heavier string

lesson learned

So... For standard tuning, do you have:

E A D G B E?

String gauge has nothing to do with it.

Yes William and that's what my tuner was saying but I had E an octave too high so the A string sounded lower than the E. Thought I had mixed my strings and wondered what the effect would be. [br]All seems in step now

Originally Posted by: ddiddlernumpty had tuned an octave high

Thanks for the identifying smile you brought in your self-deprecating humour ddiddler Pleased for that you got it sorted quickly courtesy of Google. Revealed through self discovery, the way you're sure not to forget.

We've [u]all[/u] done it or similar at one time or another, characteristically usually tuning an octave low on one of the lesser gauge strings in being cautious/afraid to overtighten from our unfamiliarity with the process through inexperience.

Undoubtedly a common enough noob mistake until having changed strings a few times with regular frequency. Could have been even more annoying. B or high E overtightened ...."twang" => five new strings fitted ...and a broken one. = [

Seen it done, almost done it myself in early days. = ]

Well ManXcat

now I have to decide if I had 5 strings down an octave.

I know the low E can go there. [br]I can place my fingers under all the strings at the 12th fret

hmmm

Originally Posted by: ddiddlernow I have to decide if I had 5 strings down an octave.[/quote]

[br]That's where a set of aural pitch pipes we used in days before long ago smartphone apps or piezo/aural headstock tuners were a boon. Before very long the pipes being unneeded other than for confirmation due to astonishingly rapid assimilation & identification of the reference pitch note purely by ear, consequently tuning the others by the relative tuning method. You can still buy pitch pipes inexpensively by the way.

[quote=ddiddler]I can place my fingers under all the strings at the 12th fret hmmm

If I'm interpreting what I'm reading accurately, then you must have very [u]very[/u] tiny skinny fingers, or your guitar's action is absurdly high needing a truss rod adjustment and possible attention to its nut, & possibly at the saddle/bridge.

Assuming a steel acoustic and not nylon classical given your reference in a previous post to string gauge rather than tension, did you remove and (perhaps errantly) reseat the saddle during the string change process at all?

You shouldn't be able to fit even your pinky under [u]any[/u] of the six strings at the 12th fret with action set to standard reference spec.height. Something isn't right if you can.

All done

bad explanation from myself ManXcat

I meant I could lift the strings and get my fingers under.

As in when we stretch the strings.

Anyways, the original E was correct and the original A sounded awful as it was an octave below. So A to E all an octave low

All strings brought slowly up through the scales.

Big holding of breath at D sharp on the high E

All strings sounding out clear and another box ticked

Thanks for all the replies

Success. Knowledge & skill gleaned from the experience. Win-win. Good stuff diddler! = ]

It's also useful to use the Guitar Tricks Reference Tuner to get you in the ballpark. Often when I change out a full set of string (as I'll be doing some time this week with my acoustic), I remove and replace one string at a time and use a reference tuner to be sure I'm hitting the right pitch.

Thanks JeffS65

I did look at an online reference tuner and I had the GT tuner ready but by then I was reasonably sure where the fault lay.

I had watched the GT lesson on changing acoustic and as I was changing them all it was going to be useful to put my hand through the soundhole to ensure ball end was correctly placed.

In my haste I even cut all the strings without having a refresh of how they went from the nut to the pegs.

Had to find a good pic on the manufacturers page. Thanks Tanglewood

So all in all a pretty good lesson on what not to do.