# The Great Ongoing Guitar Thread **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** music\ **Created:** [January 31, 2010, 11:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-great-ongoing-guitar-thread/527172 "2010-01-31T23:20:11Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 315
**Author:** ![xtenkfarpl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/c2a13f/32.png) [@xtenkfarpl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/xtenkfarpl)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2024, 12:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-great-ongoing-guitar-thread/527172/6286 "2024-01-02T00:21:08Z")
> [@Jaycat.again](#): > > I used to work with a singer who had perfect pitch. She claimed there are 50 ‘microtones’ between each half step. I spent a lot of time tuning up, even when things sounded fine to me. I wonder how someone like that would cope with, say, a baroque ensemble using period instruments and the tuning standards of that time? ---
**Author:** ![Pork\_Rind](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pork_rind/32/111_2.png) [@Pork\_Rind](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pork_Rind)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2024, 12:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-great-ongoing-guitar-thread/527172/6287 "2024-01-02T00:33:44Z")
I’ve got very good pitch memory and strong relative pitch, if not quite absolute. Back in ye olde high school band days, if the tuner wasn’t around, the band director would tune everyone to me. That led to an issue I started having playing here at home. First with my acoustic, no matter how carefully I tuned I could hear the high E beating against any other string, but especially against the B string. I went nuts trying to tune that beat away but could never. I began to suspect I had a loose brace or something that was causing the guitar to resonate. Eventually, I realized I could hear it ever so slightly on one (but only one!) of my electrics. One day, the power went out, and to pass the time I was messing around with my acoustic guitar. No problem that day, and finally, the lightbulb went on (metaphorically, not literally, as the power was still out). It was my ceiling fan. At the slow speed I usually run it, it would move enough air to excite the soundboard of my guitar. Now that I know what it is, it mostly doesn’t bother me any longer. I mean, I could turn the fan off, but that would involve hunting for the remote. Gotta pick your battles. ---
**Author:** ![squeegee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/squeegee/32/14537_2.png) [@squeegee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/squeegee)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2024, 3:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-great-ongoing-guitar-thread/527172/6288 "2024-01-02T03:46:51Z")
> [@Pork\_Rind](#): > > One day, the power went out, and to pass the time I was messing around with my acoustic guitar. No problem that day, and finally, the lightbulb went on (metaphorically, not literally, as the power was still out). It was my ceiling fan. At the slow speed I usually run it, it would move enough air to excite the soundboard of my guitar. OK, I cede this territory. Your ears are hung like a horse. Holy cow. I wonder if my future is no pitch memory - my tinnitus is a very very sharp E, nearly F. Combined with an on-the-money C, like perfectly pitched. Like a touch tone, both tones. Ugh. ---
**Author:** ![Pork\_Rind](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pork_rind/32/111_2.png) [@Pork\_Rind](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pork_Rind)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2024, 3:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-great-ongoing-guitar-thread/527172/6289 "2024-01-02T03:50:14Z")
> [@squeegee](#): > > > [@Pork\_Rind](#): > > > > One day, the power went out, and to pass the time I was messing around with my acoustic guitar. No problem that day, and finally, the lightbulb went on (metaphorically, not literally, as the power was still out). It was my ceiling fan. At the slow speed I usually run it, it would move enough air to excite the soundboard of my guitar. > > OK, I cede this territory. Your ears are hung like a horse. Holy cow. No no no! I’m not trying to win a contest or anything, and in fact, several other people were able to hear the same beating I heard, at least from my acoustic. It just happened that it _bothered_ me more than anyone else. ---
**Author:** ![squeegee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/squeegee/32/14537_2.png) [@squeegee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/squeegee)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2024, 3:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-great-ongoing-guitar-thread/527172/6290 "2024-01-02T03:51:22Z")
> [@Pork\_Rind](#): > > No no no! I’m not trying to win a contest or anything I was just trying to say that’s impressive. And great job hunting down the cause! ---
**Author:** ![Pork\_Rind](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pork_rind/32/111_2.png) [@Pork\_Rind](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pork_Rind)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2024, 3:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-great-ongoing-guitar-thread/527172/6291 "2024-01-02T03:53:46Z")
Thanks! I’d say it’s exactly the same experience I know happens to a number of car enthusiasts. One day, you realize your car sounds different than normal, but so subtly that you can’t get a service advisor to believe you. It’s frustrating, because the only option is to wait for it to get bad enough for someone unfamiliar with the car to notice. The guitar thing was essentially a very subtle version of one of my favorite things to do as a small child, which was to yell into a running fan to get the choppy echo-like effect from the blades reflecting all the noise back. [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/cVC0ahJNduk/maxresdefault.jpg "Yelling into the fan") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cVC0ahJNduk) ---
**Author:** ![scabpicker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scabpicker/32/8268_2.png) [@scabpicker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scabpicker)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2024, 4:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-great-ongoing-guitar-thread/527172/6292 "2024-01-02T04:54:31Z")
> [@aceplace57](#): > > Sweetened takes it even further. I don’t understand or particularly care about the math. But there is some tiny error built-in with a guitars fret layout. It used to be ignored unless a musician was cursed with perfect pitch. Today, tuners are so incredibly accurate that they can address any imperfections with compensated tuning. Hehehe, watch it you guys, or you’ll all start buying guitars with compensated frets. > **[True Temperament Frets Explained Simple (Squiggly Frets) - Guitar Gear Finder](https://guitargearfinder.com/faq/true-temperament-frets/)** > > Find out what True Temperament frets are, why they're squiggly, and how it changes a guitar's intonation. You might be surprised by how different True Temperament frets sound on a guitar. Personally, I love the sounds that you get with the standard fret placement on a guitar. If I really need everything to be in perfect pitch on a certain part, I’ll pick a different instrument. I will sometimes tweak the tuning beyond what the tuner says is “right”, but that’s not the norm unless I’m playing one of my oddball guitars without adjustible saddles. ---
**Author:** ![wguy123](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wguy123/32/3161_2.png) [@wguy123](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wguy123)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2024, 4:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-great-ongoing-guitar-thread/527172/6293 "2024-01-02T16:08:59Z")
> [@scabpicker](#): > > Personally, I love the sounds that you get with the standard fret placement on a guitar. If I really need everything to be in perfect pitch on a certain part, I’ll pick a different instrument. We are playing a couple At the Drive-In songs and those guys didn’t even bother to tune. Just watch a couple minutes of this Rick Beato video to hear how out of tune the guitars are. I’ve joked that when we get to their songs, we need to detune a bit. > **[What Makes This Song Great? Ep.60 AT THE DRIVE-IN](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nKeps23l86Q%2F)** > > In this episode we explore the chaotic music of At The Drive-In.THE BEATO CLUB → https://flatfiv.co/pages/become-a-beato-club-memberTHE BEATO EAR TRAINING PR... ---
**Author:** ![scabpicker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scabpicker/32/8268_2.png) [@scabpicker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scabpicker)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2024, 4:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-great-ongoing-guitar-thread/527172/6294 "2024-01-02T16:58:21Z")
Hehehe, I’m not spending any time aggravating myself by watching a Beato vid. But yeah, some artists have a creative approach to tuning. When I play “Silver Rocket”, I get the Cs close to each other, but they’re supposed to have that beating sound you get when two notes aren’t quite in tune. So as long as they’re both almost C, that’s fine. Once a friend of mine was playing “Strawberry Fields Forever”. He hit a certain chord, and his brother’s roommate shouted “that’s wrong” from the other room. His brother shouted back “The only way for it to be ‘right’ is to play it in two different keys and then splice them together so none of it is actually in tune. Give him a break.” ---
**Author:** ![Son\_of\_a\_Rich](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/son_of_a_rich/32/5439_2.png) [@Son\_of\_a\_Rich](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Son_of_a_Rich)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2024, 6:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-great-ongoing-guitar-thread/527172/6295 "2024-01-02T18:22:40Z")
Coupla questions: what is the name of that loud grating noise you get when you plug a live cord into your guitar? And also, why aren’t the plugs designed to counteract that tendency on every guitar? It’s a little thing, but this is 2024. That noise shouldn’t happen anymore 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![squeegee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/squeegee/32/14537_2.png) [@squeegee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/squeegee)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2024, 6:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-great-ongoing-guitar-thread/527172/6296 "2024-01-02T18:26:08Z")
> [@Son\_of\_a\_Rich](#): > > Coupla questions: what is the name of that loud grating noise you get when you plug a live cord into your guitar? > > “BRRAAAACK!” And also, why aren’t the plugs designed to counteract that tendency on every guitar? It’s a little thing, but this is 2024. That noise shouldn’t happen anymore 🙂 [/quote] Guitar is very much still an analog thing, very tradition bound. There’s been innovations in digital (e.g. Variax) but they never quite catch on. Guitar has kept its roots very much in 50s-60s tech. BRAAAACK. ---
**Author:** ![wguy123](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wguy123/32/3161_2.png) [@wguy123](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wguy123)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2024, 6:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-great-ongoing-guitar-thread/527172/6297 "2024-01-02T18:26:54Z")
> [@scabpicker](#): > > Hehehe, I’m not spending any time aggravating myself by watching a Beato vid. Ha! I normally don’t watch his videos, but gave this one a lesson when I was looking for bass tutorials for that particular song. > [@Son\_of\_a\_Rich](#): > > Coupla questions: what is the name of that loud grating noise you get when you plug a live cord into your guitar? I think it’s called “loud grating noise when you plug in the cable”. I’ve also found that it gets worse the more carefully and quickly you attempt to plug in the cable. > [@squeegee](#): > > BRAAAACK. That too! ---
**Author:** ![xtenkfarpl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/c2a13f/32.png) [@xtenkfarpl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/xtenkfarpl)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2024, 6:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-great-ongoing-guitar-thread/527172/6298 "2024-01-02T18:38:40Z")
> [@Son\_of\_a\_Rich](#): > > what is the name of that loud grating noise you get when you plug a live cord into your guitar? And also, why aren’t the plugs designed to counteract that tendency on every guitar? It’s because often the signal pin of the jack often makes contact before the ground pin. So you get a lot of induced hum running into the amp input. Just an accident of the way they were originally designed. As to why, well I guess you haven’t been shown the secret handshake yet? It’s to embarrass beginner players. 😉 I am, of course, joking! Hint: plug in the guitar end first, or have your amp turned right down when you plug in. ---
**Author:** ![wguy123](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wguy123/32/3161_2.png) [@wguy123](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wguy123)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2024, 7:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-great-ongoing-guitar-thread/527172/6299 "2024-01-02T19:25:04Z")
> [@xtenkfarpl](#): > > Hint: plug in the guitar end first, or have your amp turned right down when you plug in. Or, if a tube amp, scramble to get connected before the BRAAAACK circuit warms up. ---
**Author:** ![xtenkfarpl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/c2a13f/32.png) [@xtenkfarpl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/xtenkfarpl)\ **Post date:** [January 2, 2024, 7:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-great-ongoing-guitar-thread/527172/6300 "2024-01-02T19:30:07Z")
> [@wguy123](#): > > Or, if a tube amp, scramble to get connected before the BRAAAACK circuit warms up. Sshhh… don’t give away secrets of the masters. The apprentice has to learn this the hard way! ---
**Author:** ![wguy123](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wguy123/32/3161_2.png) [@wguy123](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wguy123)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2024, 2:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-great-ongoing-guitar-thread/527172/6301 "2024-01-03T02:34:43Z")
I’ve only been playing for 30’ish years but I did figure that one out fairly early. Maybe I’m a bit of a stable genius? 😉 ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2024, 10:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-great-ongoing-guitar-thread/527172/6302 "2024-01-16T22:53:08Z")
I’ve started learning a couple Beatles songs. I played some of their stuff when I was in college. Back then there wasn’t a lot of information about chord voicing. Mike Pachelli has studied and played their material for years. His youtube lessons are well researched. He usually knows when a song was recorded, the instruments used and has the rhythm, lead and bass parts tabbed. I’m quite impressed by John Lennon’s parts. Harrison gets so much credit for lead. But John was driving the rhythm. It’s interesting on the West coast, session players were the secret sauce behind hit songs. But the Beatles were allowed to play in the London Studios. It’s why their material is so unique. John and Paul wrote the songs and had the freedom to create the tracks that supported the vocals. Session players would have taken a slightly different approach. Changing what Paul and John intended. Here’s one example lesson from Mike Pachelli. He’s covered a lot of their songs. _Drive My Car_ Link [https://youtu.be/4IEX9B8D2aA?si=2J3HrpeHM5BJIPEc](https://youtu.be/4IEX9B8D2aA?si=2J3HrpeHM5BJIPEc) ---
**Author:** ![squeegee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/squeegee/32/14537_2.png) [@squeegee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/squeegee)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2024, 10:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-great-ongoing-guitar-thread/527172/6303 "2024-01-16T22:56:10Z")
> [@aceplace57](#): > > I’m quite impressed by John Lennon’s parts. Harrison gets so much credit for lead. But John was driving the rhythm Example of John from Mike Pachelli? Esp cool if he’s doing a multi-instrument video like you linked. ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2024, 11:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-great-ongoing-guitar-thread/527172/6304 "2024-01-16T23:12:38Z")
I forgot Drive my Car is different from other Beatles hits. _We Can Work it Out_ is pretty interesting with several rhythm changes. The Chords change throughout the song. Link [https://youtu.be/VyKxmkEguW8?si=LTM2ZxmnzdTwRNij](https://youtu.be/VyKxmkEguW8?si=LTM2ZxmnzdTwRNij) John is following the high hat and driving the rhythm in _She Loves You_. It’s one of the songs I’ve learned to play. Chords are easy and it’s so much fun to rock out. I want to learn the lead in the next few weeks. John’s part starts at 3:21 in the lesson Link [https://youtu.be/8HaB6V-V-dI?si=d1\_4e8c5WTNKkP85](https://youtu.be/8HaB6V-V-dI?si=d1_4e8c5WTNKkP85) ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2024, 11:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-great-ongoing-guitar-thread/527172/6305 "2024-01-16T23:45:36Z")
I did buy Tabs a few weeks ago. Mike has a minimum $7 IIRC or you can pay more. I did pay more because he’s offering 3 Beatles parts. Hope those YT links work. Sometimes this board does weird stuff. You can copy the link and open from the YT app [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-great-ongoing-guitar-thread/527172.md?page=314) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-great-ongoing-guitar-thread/527172.md?page=316)