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I played for 2 years with a bassist who didn't bring a tuner. Fantastic player, but I think he was messed up in the head. He tuned by ear, and was often spot-on, but you have to be professional.
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12-29-2014 07:24 PM
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Aside from my rig, such as it is, I always carry spare picks, a spare set of strings, a spare jack to jack cable, a spare 9v battery and some business cards. Usually an XLR to XLR if I'm going through PA.
I usually take a Boss TU-3 as well, although it's a bummer how quick that thing goes through the batteries.
I thought I was prepared, but clearly not given some on the replies :-) Fuses probably a particularly good idea.Last edited by christianm77; 01-06-2015 at 06:35 PM.
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I know a few full orchestras who would disagree!
Originally Posted by Marwin Moody
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I just sent this thread to my understudy/guitar tech/roadie/student.. at my age I learned having one student willing to do all that is better than a bunch of paying students.
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For the blues gigs I play I bring one guitar, 2 cables, an amp, some random "extra" strings, a string winder, a small pair of wire cutters and a tuner. I also bring a guitar stand and extension cord. That's about it. In like 2 years I think I've broken one string at a gig.
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Looking through these lists I wondered.. how it happens that almost 50 string players in the symphonic orchestras manage to tune their instruments without tuners (only by oboist or pianist taking 'a' a couple of times)?
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http://www.rockfordsymphony.com/faqs...e-to-the-oboe/ Originally Posted by Jonah
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That was a nifty little read. Thanks. Originally Posted by KIRKP
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I think the key point is one instrument is selected and all tune to it. As they say if a piano then that is what is tuned to because once it's tuned for a show it can't change like other instrument can during a concert. That why when I was playing in band or pit gigs I took my tuner and check the piano with my tuner, then I knew how much to vary my tuning with the tuner during the gig. Originally Posted by KIRKP
To the original topic back in my roadie days beside having spare everything I get get the management to pay for. Must of that was offstage because most things weren't repair during a show a spare whatever was used. What I had was a leather pouch on my belt, it contained spare strings at least a full set and then multiples of the higher strings that were likely to break. Then in the pouch were a small pair of diagonal cutters, string winder, small screwdriver, and a pair of tiny channel locks. So I was ready for the small repairable things that could happen during a show. On side of stage with me was a couple spare guitar chords, a tuner, and gaffer tape for anything else <grin>. I didn't have to do much most the time because I was good at stringing guitars and checking the bridge and nut have a drop of lube and no sharp edges. People liked my work because I had a good procedure for changing a string and stretching quickly as I tuned so it would stay in tune once I gave the guitar back. My key to being prepared and keep stress down was I alway had one or two Twin Reverbs with JBL speaker as my spares. A Twin with JBL's can replace a blown guitar, keyboard, and even bass amp in a pinch. Also works for vocal amp in backstage rehearsal. Twin Reverb is the Swiss Army Knife of amps.
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Actually I did not wonder why they chose oboist or pianist if there is one (pinao is obvious here)... but that they succesfully do it without modern electronic gadgets... just by ear.
IMHO - one can tune one required pitch by any source (in case he cannot hear it with inner hearing) and then it is better to tune up guitar relatively by ears... in chords, in intervals...
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I heard a period band once that tuned to a series of minor chords from the harpischord (IIRC minor chords on the open strings of the violin, so G minor, D minor, A minor and E minor I guess), I think this may have had something to do with the intonation system they were playing in, but I do in fact find it easier to hear tuning when I am playing the root of a minor chord (tuning the note A over A minor, for example.)
Last edited by christianm77; 01-24-2015 at 08:37 AM.
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probably natural temperation... in lutes where frets are moveable it is also possible to tune it for the key of the piece for example, or stick small pieces of adhesive tape near the frets at certain strings... It sounds fantastic buy the way in the proper key - very full and rich tone in chords, but you must be really that you won't leave the key during the piece, because it will be totally out of tune then...
But if we check how violinists play for example where they control the intonation we'll hear that mostly they amend it a to unequal considering the key non-conciously.
We live in the era where 'objective' often = 'true'. We forget that objective is just a notion in certain concept of ... well, of reality... what electric tuner does is just reference to some phisical criteria... it is possible to use it but we should keep in mind that this is not ' true', this is in hieghest degree conventional... (metronome is the same)
Bisides I saw guys tuning their guitars just looking at the tuner, not listnening to a string... no good for hearing I guess.
I think in the area of Art we should minimize use of any 'outside' set-up of standards - as musch as possible should come from our feeling... sometimes one cannot avod it, sometimes it is even necessary to get on the track, but we just have to keep in mind it is not absolute, it is also relative, people just agreed to consider it a standard, it is ok to use in precise systems, or in everyday life, but in art it is person who decides: so if my ears tell it's wrong, I should follow my ears...
But if I always stick to the tuner only my ears will not check it
Hearing of tuning depends on performance on also.
On youtube there's record when young pianist Pletnev plays a very old piano that belonged to Tchaikovsky once, and you can hear it sound of tune just probably because it is very old and unrepairable... then Horowitz comes up and begins to play something just sight-reading, not really secure like noodling... and the piano sounds all right - in tune... it is the piano! Not violine or guitar
I may be wrong anyway
Sorry for off top... just had these issues some times ago and it is still on my mind
Last edited by Jonah; 01-24-2015 at 05:09 PM.
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Yes this is a big topic - I have just finished the book 'How Equal Temperament Ruined Harmony...' which if you have not read you would find interesting I think. Might be worth starting another thread. Originally Posted by Jonah
Sorry for off top... just had these issues some times ago and it is still on my mind
In other news my wife has borrowed a Viola da Gamba.... Might have a bit of a go on it this week. Beautiful thing, and tied on gut frets (adjustable.) Not too different from the guitar (At least compared to my wife's cello :-))
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I forgot to bring picks one night. So I busted a compact disc into pieces and used the ones that were pick-shaped.
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I did that and I remembered that Brian May of Queen used a British coin for a pick, so I just reached in my pocket and tried a few and played with a dime. Actually worked pretty good. Back in the early days just getting started playing guitar and not much money me and my friends would cut up the plastic lids from coffee cans to make picks. Necessity is the mother of invention. Originally Posted by Thoughtfree
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