tuning between songs vs seperate guitars

My band will be playing our first gig in about a month and we're pretty well prepared but there's one thing I'm not sure of. We're a punk band playing a gig at a small music hall with a few other local punk bands and we have a few songs that require a guitar in E standard and a few songs that require a guitar in drop D. We don't know what the set times are like but from shows I've been to at this venue in the past it seems like most bands have played for about twenty minutes. So, I've been wondering, should I bring a guitar tuned in E standard and a guitar tuned to drop D and switch halfway through the set or should I tune my E string down halfway through the set? Just in case this makes a difference I don't have a pedal tuner and I'm kind of picky about being in tune so I don't think I'd be able to go into drop D as quickly as I'd want to. Right now I'm planning on bringing two guitars and switching in the middle of the set unless anyone convinces me that's not a good idea.

In your situation, I say bring two guitars. The singer can yell at the crowd and you can switch guitars while the audience is distracted.

Since you don't have a tuner in line, you should switch guitars.

just tune flat

For this situation, bring 2 guitars definitely

In your situation, I say bring two guitars. The singer can yell at the crowd and you can switch guitars while the audience is distracted.

Make sure the singer yells really loud too. If he doesn't yell loud enough, somebody might see you and catch on to your trick.:lol:

Definately bring 2 guitars.

I've never seen one on a punk player's guitar but a Keith tuner would really do the trick!

Buy a pedal tuner. You're gonna need it no matter what.

An added benefit is you can mute the signal, and then switch guitars.

If you can't afford one, at least borrow one for the gig.

If all you are doing is dropping the low E to a D you can do that quicker than switching a guitar. You have a D string already, just use it with the low string and get it close quickly and then fine tune listening to the beats until they slow to a stop.

Two guitars. I always bring two guitars no matter what. I find it more annoying to re-tune (not to mention a string breaking) during a set than to switch out guitars and your audience does also. Heck when I play bass I bring two!

If all you are doing is dropping the low E to a D you can do that quicker than switching a guitar. You have a D string already, just use it with the low string and get it close quickly and then fine tune listening to the beats until they slow to a stop.

I've done this before, and my experience is that it doesn't work very well. Changing the low E that much effects the neck, and therefore the other strings, too. End result -- nothing stays in tune for very long.

What guitar are you playing. Unless it's got a floating trek you should be able to re-tune pretty quickly. If you can't re-tune quickly by ear you definitely need to beg buy or borrow a tuner for the gig. What if one of the other strings goes out of tune. Bring the other guitar anyway as a spare. Changing the tuning is something you can practice and get better at.

In the future you could look at buying a Hipshot d-tuner which replaces your low e tuner and has a over that dope the string to d. That way you don't have to arrange the set so all the drop d songs are together. Your band mates will love you for it.

I've done this before, and my experience is that it doesn't work very well. Changing the low E that much effects the neck, and therefore the other strings, too. End result -- nothing stays in tune for very long.

I do it often enough without much problem. If I am in tune before I tune down, it does not throw anything out of whack.

Buy a pedal tuner. You can't live without one. Then you'll be able to tune to drop D in less than 2 seconds.

I of course use a pedal tuner on stage, which is a must. You can get a used Boss TU-2 for around $50.

We have one song where I do the drop D and that works just fine, and I can quickly tune back up to E when the song is over.

But we also have some songs that I play slide on in Open E tuning and for those I grab another guitar. It is too consuming to retune all the strings between songs. But tuning just 1 string for a drop D works pretty well.

But ya, get a pedal tuner.

Yeah, a pedal tuner, there also nice just to mute your guitar when you need to. I re-tune for our drop D song, but I keep the second guitar tuned to open-G because three strings takes too much time and for some reason I always miss one string when I'm tuning back to standard tuning.

You can get tuning pegs with presets, so you can flip up and down easily, or maybe even a Scruggs banjo tuning peg. Heck I even think there are production guitars with levers on or behind the bridge that can drop your E string, I seem to remember Ibanez or Jackson doing guitars that do this.

I sometimes use a Kyser capo to give me a kind of dropped D tuning

http://i84.photobucket.com/albums/k7/andys_01/PartialCapoDroppedD.jpg

Like Jack S. stated above, you should be able to do this on the fly. It is only one string. Start practicing doing this at home and you will be confident in no time.

Dan

pedal tuner. You can get them for as little as $30. Can't imagine gigging w/out a tuner.

Punk show, you gotta keep it moving. Drop D, no prob to retune. 2day guitar for open E. You need a pedal tuner too. Imo its more important than any other investment if you are in a band.

Put me in the camp that says get an in-line tuner. No time like the present to start conducting yourself like a pro, and tuning silently, quickly, and accurately is definitely in the job description.

I bring backup instruments to jobs, but not expressly for something like going from standard to drop D. Desdicated capo guitar, yes. Complete open tuning such as open D (D A D F# A D), yes.

Yes, there are several varieties of drop tuning gizmos available. I had the Hipshot D-tuner thingy on a strat and a tele and absolutely hated them. They weren't consistently accurate, they changed the tension on the tuning key considerably, and the one on the tele actually fell apart in the middle of a show, no lie. I think Hipshot is a really good manufacturer, but for me, that particular product is a total dog. On the flip, I played an EVH Wolfgang guitar with a "D Tuna" (think that's what it's called), and it was dead nuts accurate and solid as a rock.


If all you are doing is dropping the low E to a D you can do that quicker than switching a guitar. You have a D string already, just use it with the low string and get it close quickly and then fine tune listening to the beats until they slow to a stop.

I've done this before, and my experience is that it doesn't work very well. Changing the low E that much effects the neck, and therefore the other strings, too. End result -- nothing stays in tune for very long.

In my experience, it totally depends on the instrument in question.

Something I've done for "effect" with the drop D thing is to do a very pronounced bacward pick rake on a cowboy D chord (in standard) with all six strings, then slowly back down the low E until it quits beading, and kick off the tune. A bit of cheap theatre I guess. Really pummeling the low E can cause it to go sharp momentarily, but not an issue with the backwards pick rake.

I don't have a pedal tuner

I'm kind of picky about being in tune

These statements seem at odds with each other :confused:. I saw a band the other night, three guitars, no pedal tuners :shock:. They continously tuned (I use that phrase very loosely in this case) outloud by ear between songs. To my ear it just got worse and worse as the set went on since there was no standard to which they were tuning.

Like Jack S. stated above, you should be able to do this on the fly. It is only one string. Start practicing doing this at home and you will be confident in no time.

Dan

+1.
I do gig where I have to do a tune or two in Drop D. I do the whole gig on a Strat with a trem. No issues at all. Drop D should really be 'nothing' to get to.

Having said that - a tuner pedal is an excellent investment no matter what just because tuning up in noisy environments creates it's own problems.

+1.
I do gig where I have to do a tune or two in Drop D. I do the whole gig on a Strat with a trem. No issues at all. Drop D should really be 'nothing' to get to.

Having said that - a tuner pedal is an excellent investment no matter what just because tuning up in noisy environments creates it's own problems.

+1 you can also get to open G relatively painlessly ( though prolly not with time constraints, do get the tuner pedal). i don't try to do DADGAD, i bring a second guitar for that, though i've seen guys do it, again, with experience and plenty of time.

I'm kind of picky about being in tune so I don't think I'd be able to go into drop D as quickly as I'd want to.

Not sure why you don't have a tuner if you are picky. How do you tune your guitar without a tuner? ya i can hum an A and tune my guitars just fine but to just tune down one step on one string is not rocket science :wink:

Good luck with whatever you choose.

Learn to play everything in drop D. I haven't played in standard tuning for nearly 20 years.

2 guitars for this? Y'all got to be kidding.

Dropping your low E to D should take all of 2 seconds, really. Heck, Jim Campilongo plays whole melodies with his tuning keys!

I use drop D several times a night, sometimes in the middle of song. Just drop it and compare with your open D if you must, or use an inline tuner to see that you are there. Try it a couple of times and you'll find you can get very close by just feeling the tension.

2 guitars, no doubt. Thank about what happens if you only have one guitar and you break a string...

Practice tuning to the D. I can do it in the middle of a solo, pretty accurate. It's a good skill to have. But I'm with everyone else. If you're going to perform at all, you need to buy, borrow, or steal a pedal tuner.

Two words: Double Neck!

What more excuses do you need?



But seriously, if you care at all about being in tune, you must have a tuner, regardless of the number of guitars you bring. A pedal tuner isn't really necessary though. A Planet Waves mini clip-on will get the job done and stay on your headstock much better than some of the other clip-ons. And they're so cheap, there's really no reason not to own one.

Personally, I'd leave the second guitar at home. You're only changing one string, but you should tune up mid set anyway, and it shouldn't take more than a 30 seconds unless you're wildly out of tune.

But hey, you can always try both ways and find out what works best for you! The great thing about gigging is that you can always do it differently next time.

2 guitars is the easiest, no need to think about it answer, and a pedal tuner is the very close, second best answer.

But if your bringing 2 guitars, thats 2 guitars you have to watch, closely. Double the chances of having one "pinched".

There is also the "D-Tuna" that you can add to a trem-block, I think Sperzel sells a tuner that allows you to drop tune a string.

2 guitars is the easiest, no need to think about it answer, and a pedal tuner is the very close, second best answer.

But if your bringing 2 guitars, thats 2 guitars you have to watch, closely. Double the chances of having one "pinched".

There is also the "D-Tuna" that you can add to a trem-block, I think Sperzel sells a tuner that allows you to drop tune a string.
I'm not too worried about getting them stolen. One's an Xavierre doublecut Les Paul copy with a neck that was repaired recently and has exposed wood and a bit of excess glue showing. The other guitar is a Classic Vibe Thinline that's got quite a few scratches from my belt buckle and music stands that I've knocked over. They are also both covered in stickers. Anyone who's willing to steal them would have to be pretty desperate.

Get a clip on tuner like a Snark or a Planet Waves and you'll be able to drop tune to D in two seconds as noted above. Nothing wrong with bringing a second guitar as a spare though.

My vote goes to two guitars IF it is faster than tuning on stage.

Fortune favors the bold,
And punishes the foolish.

Turn it up!

It's pretty easy to tune your low E down to D and re-tune back to E if necessary; even I can do it.

if it's only a 20 minute set..play the drop D tunes last and don't worry about it !

Also, as mentioned, don't even consider going to any gig without a tuner, recommended a stomp pedal which mutes your guitar and has a nice bright display...I will tell you this from years of experience..the drop D will not be your biggest problem on a live gig ! You have 5 other strings....

Bring two guitars.

I know lots of people who can drop their E to D dead nuts perfect at the drop of a hat. They also think the rest of the guitar is still in tune after doing that. It's not. Ever. I don't know how they can't hear it, but it's out. Dropping that tension off the low E will let the neck lay back just a hair, and pull other strings sharp. Dropping the D does not sound good unless you re-tune the rest of the guitar too. Because even if you match it to your actual D string by ear, when you drop that low E, it makes your D go a hair sharp, so even if they're lined up with each other perfectly, you're not really in tune. Some people can't hear it I guess, it drives me nuts.

As others have said, you really should invest in an in-line tuner, and get good at using it on the fly. It's a really important, and relatively inexpensive piece of gear that can make all the difference in the world.

If it's a gig, as opposed to a jam, I always bring 2 guitars but thats mostly so I have a back up in case of string breakage. I used to change guitars to get the right vibe for a song but it got to be too much effort to operate that way. Now I will typically play 1 guitar begining to end and I do ocasionally change tunings. I have a good ear and can quickly get it close but I will always use my tuner to finish as the tuning will tend to drift as you change the tension of the strings. I strive to be quick and efficient but never at the expense of being in tune. I would recommend getting a tuner.

You had me at "and I'm kind of picky about being in tune". That is rare enough these days.

Guys, he didn't say he didn't have a tuner. He said he didn't have a pedal tuner. Reading is Fun Duh, well, you know. I don't have a pedal tuner. Been doing this for 4 decades. It's not a must have at all. I have nothing against them. But if I had one then I'd have, well, a pedal. If I used pedals it would be a no brainer to add one. Since I don't that would mean more junk to deal with and trip over and buy batteries for and......

If it's a punk show no one will care if you're in tune or not.