Set up thoughts cont'd...

Ok,

Time to get a little more analytical in the world of orange drops and strobostomps. Let's look at the stately strobe tuners you see on the market these days. For the uninitiated, some strobe tuners can detect within 1/10 of 1/ 100 of a semitone (1 / 10 of one cent, or 0.006%). This essentially means any slight variance in finger pressure will register on the tuner. With such deadly accuracy, it also means that you'll have to put a compressor in front of the tuner (pedal chain) to allow a slightly sustained note to register on the tuner. This makes tuning easier (less jumpy signal).

So, my question is, should a tech use a strobe tuner for intonation at all? I'm of the opinion that it's up to the players. If the customer specifically requests for it, sure I'll do it and impose a surcharge. However I'll also let the player know that with such deadly accuracy, intonating the guitar might pose a challenge - which means the tech has to 'guess' the player's finger pressure to even benefit from the setup with a strobe. Is this practical? I'll say 'no' most of the time. Majority of players (even good musicians with excellant relative pitch) will not insist on using a strobe tuner. Remember the 3 saddle telecaster? No one seemed to complain if you just flattened the open G a lil. A good tech should be able to fine tune the intonation with a reliable boss (no offence to the rest of the tuner world, boss is just used for convenience) tuner and his own ears. Remember the good ole piano tuner (in this case I'm referring to a person).

It's also a little ludicrous if you have a nicely strobed guitar in a jazz trio playing with a trumpet and double bassist. Should your bandmates get their instruments 'strobed' too? Oh I forgot, they have to pitch the note themselves unlike lazy fretted instrument players! Ultimately, if your ears are not good enough know what good intonation is, I think having a guitar strobed is not necessary. This of course meaning, if I were to hand you a fretless instrument say a violin, double bass etc, you could play some 3rds, 5ths, 7ths in tune. If you can do that accurately, your ears may appreciate the difference a strobe setup makes. Otherwise its really just bragging rights.

There are of course techs/luthiers out there who proudly claim they strobe all their setups. Good for them. Do they do it for acoustic guitars? Ah ha gotcha. Why is it that strobed electric guitars are all the rage and acoutic guitars don't get the same deserved attention? Surely some mystical marketing forces at work here. Whatever it is, there are benefits to getting your guitar strobed. Whether it actually makes a difference to you, well, you've read the article, so let your gut wrenching riffs be the judge.

till next month (or sooner),

KC