Temper-tuning a universal copedent

Lyn Kotuby · From: Rhode Island, USA

I'm working on setting up an appropriate sweetener for the Jernigan Avenger tuning so I can record with other instruments. I'm tuning my A's to 440Hz and trying to sequentially tune the "beats" out of any perfect 3rds and 5ths I can find across the guitar. This has me in a place where my major triads sound great, but other intervals sound really out of tune - eg my middle F# is -20 cents and my high B is +17, so playing a line or a chord that involves those two sounds pretty "out".

Any advice on how to make the tuning sound good across the guitar? I've read Al Brisco's guide for ear-tuning an E9 steel, but I think I'm missing something in translation.

Dennis Detweiler · From: Solon, Iowa, US

Cabinet drop can vary between guitars. I started my temper tuning chart by tuning my E's to 440. Then press down on A and B and look at your tuner to find out how much the E's dropped. Mine were at 338. So, I tuned my E's to 442 to start. B's seem to be ok at 440. Then press A and B down again and tune the A's to 440. F#'s are tuned 440 to blend well with the open E tuning. However, I added pull rods on the F#'s and connect one to the A Pedal and the other to the B pedal. Then, press A and B down again and tune the F# strings to blend with the A chord (A6th chord). That gets the basic E9th sounding good. From there, I tune out the beats of the kneel levers in conjunction with the 7th Chords. The F knee will be the flattest notes which forces you to place the bar sharp to the fret when playing A pedal and F lever. It gets very complicated and takes a lot of tweaking. You'll never get it perfect with all of the 3rds involved. You just have to play around with the tuning. However, this procedure gets me sounding good with a keyboard in the studio. I have it programmed into my tuner, for quick tuning when the jukebox is playing or other band members are tuning. I've experimented with tempering for many years and found what sounds in tune with myself and the rest of the band.
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1976 Birdseye U-12 MSA with Telonics 427 pickup, 1975 Birdseye U-12 MSA with Telonics X-12 pickup, Boss 59 Fender pedal for preamp, NDR-5 Atlantic Delay & Reverb, two Quilter 201 amps, 2- 12" Eminence EPS-12C speakers, ShoBud Pedal, 1949 Epiphone D-8. Revelation preamp into a Crown XLS 1002 power amp.

Fred Treece · From: California, USA

Perfect 3rds can be pretty forgiving as long they are never sharp. Roots, perfect 5ths, and 4ths can never be flat.

I do something similar to the process Dennis describes to get the open strings in a believable zone, but I just step on the B pedal, and zero all but strings 2-3-6-11 (The 3rds on my E9 S-12), which I drop to about -4c after disengaging the B pedal.

I would go through that Avenger copedent (looks very interesting!)and figure out what strings function as roots, 3rds, 4ths, and 5ths before tuning the beats out of anything. If a string has to perform more than one of those functions, then your tempering has to reflect that and your tuning process gets more complicated. In other words, tune as much beating out of your 5ths that you can stand when the the same string/same change functions as a 3rd.

Do not expect perfection. Make sure the changes you use most often are good. Once you arrive at an acceptable compromise, go back and write down in your copedent chart every stinking reading for every change. Write it in cents, like +5 or -3.5, not hertz.

Good luck!

Lyn Kotuby · From: Rhode Island, USA

Thanks so much for all the detail, Dennis and Fred! This really had me stumped, but I just retuned again using your recommendations and ended up with something much better (and much more quickly, too). I'm sure I'll keep making tweaks as I go along, but it already sounds head-and-shoulders above what I had.

Fred Treece · From: California, USA

You are very welcome.

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