Sweetened tunings

Necro-bump, but this has been a relatively hot topic as of late...

Does anyone know what the offset value should be for the 7th string of a 7-string guitar?

1 = -2.3 cent
2 = 0
3 = 0
4 = -0.4 Cent
5 = -2.1 Cent
6 = -2.3 Cent
7 = ???
 
Necro-bump, but this has been a relatively hot topic as of late...

Does anyone know what the offset value should be for the 7th string of a 7-string guitar?

1 = -2.3 cent
2 = 0
3 = 0
4 = -0.4 Cent
5 = -2.1 Cent
6 = -2.3 Cent
7 = ???

I would assume 0 as the B an octave up is also 0
 
I would assume 0 as the B an octave up is also 0

That was my assumption at first, but I'm not 100% sure these are necessarily linked to pitch. My understanding is that these offsets also work for dropped tunings, etc., which would mean the 1st E's -2.3c and the 6th (let's say) D's -2.3c sort of contradict the notion that these are pitch-based.

Then again, I could be wrong, and maybe they are determined by pitch, in which case is there a chart or formula that anyone knows of to get the correct values? Could it perhaps be done - assuming a proper setup - by taking the difference between the exact pitch at the nut and 12th fret and applying half of that amount as the offset?

EDIT:

Found this post on SS.O from a well rated guy with ~10K posts:
*****
(In response to the question: "I would like to try to program a sweetened tuning preset for drop c into my turbo tuner. how would I calculate the offsets that Peterson uses with out owning one of their tuners?")

E1 = -2.3 cent
B2 = 0
G3 = 0
D4 = -0.4 Cent
A5 = -2.1 Cent
E6 = -2.3 Cent

Apparently. Should translate to drop C because Cents is constant, 100 per semitone, unlike frequency.
*****

So, what I take from that is that the offsets aren't dependent to pitch.
I have effectively confused myself, so I'm not sure where that leaves me. Better go check on the coffee pot!
 
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I always tune the low E and the G string slightly flat and all the others to pitch. Whenever I hear Black Shuck by The Darkness and the second guitar comes in... Woah the low string is so sharp!!!! And wobbling all over the place. Probably hitting hard too I guess.ACDC are always so in tune to my ears so I bet they were totally across this. Pete Townsend avoided thirds in powerchords so it would sound right. Great thread!!!! It's really important I believe.
 
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Get the $9.99 iPhone tuner app, and then the $5.99 sweetening tuning pack add-on, and you've got a really good Peterson, with 1/10th cent accuracy, for $16. Its honestly a fantastic tuner, and very stable.

What you can do then is tune up with the sweeteners, then check the tuning normal and see how much it says each string is off, such as lets say 2.3 cents for a given string. Then you know what to go and program the offsets for in the Axe.
 
Get the $9.99 iPhone tuner app, and then the $5.99 sweetening tuning pack add-on, and you've got a really good Peterson, with 1/10th cent accuracy, for $16. Its honestly a fantastic tuner, and very stable.

What you can do then is tune up with the sweeteners, then check the tuning normal and see how much it says each string is off, such as lets say 2.3 cents for a given string. Then you know what to go and program the offsets for in the Axe.

Great! Now all I'll need is an iphone :)
 
Apparently sweetened tunings will not work with anything but standard tuning. Found this post on the Peterson forum by one of their support reps:

"There is no preset Sweetened offset for the tuning of CGCFAD. The included Sweeteners™ are all respective to the assigned tunings meaning that they are not universal for all tunings. The GTR Sweetener for example only applies to standard six-string tuning."
 
Yet another reason we need tuner presets in the next firmware upgrade. Imagine on the Axe:
Tuner preset 1 - standard
Tuner preset 2 - BFTS
Tuner preset 3 - sweetened tuning
Etc

The sweetened tunings are listed as proprietary by Peterson, they don't even list what they are in their manuals. I think if Fractal tried to included sweetened tuning presets in a firmware, they would likely face an intellectual property lawsuit.

Nothing wrong with giving users the ability to dial in offsets though, and if people just happen to read online what Peterson's settings are.......
 
So now you will have a $816 tuner :lol

I would bet there is an Android version as well. Likewise, you could also run it on an older phone or iPad. I'm using it on my 1st generation iPad, which cost me $175, and it works just as well as on my iPhone, with an even bigger display.

I'm actually thinking of seeing if I can mount my old iPhone 4, which is worth less than $100, into my rack, via cutting out part of a black rack panel, and using it just for the tuner.
 
I would bet there is an Android version as well. Likewise, you could also run it on an older phone or iPad. I'm using it on my 1st generation iPad, which cost me $175, and it works just as well as on my iPhone, with an even bigger display.

I'm actually thinking of seeing if I can mount my old iPhone 4, which is worth less than $100, into my rack, via cutting out part of a black rack panel, and using it just for the tuner.

There are tons of android guitar tuner apps, but I haven't really looked for one with sweetened tuning options. I'm almost positive there are some. I mean I use tons of android apps for stuff and when you search for one, there is literally thousands as opposed to when my boss searches for something similar on apples store and only a few come up if any at all lol.
 
Hi Paul

Just curious as to where you got these numbers from?
Was it just from experimenting with a Peterson tuner vs the Axe's (or some other) tuner?
Or were they obtained from a document originating with Peterson?

I've got a Peterson clip-on tuner now and your numbers do seem pretty accurate.

The Axe Wiki has a the sweetened tuning as well, if you look up the tuner.

Tuner - Axe-Fx II Wiki
 
Apparently sweetened tunings will not work with anything but standard tuning. Found this post on the Peterson forum by one of their support reps:

"There is no preset Sweetened offset for the tuning of CGCFAD. The included Sweeteners™ are all respective to the assigned tunings meaning that they are not universal for all tunings. The GTR Sweetener for example only applies to standard six-string tuning."

This is interesting.
So it IS a matter of pitch? If that is the case, then there should be a formula to find these values for any tuning (with a designated "baseline" string, presumably the most sharp value), right?
 
Apparently sweetened tunings will not work with anything but standard tuning. Found this post on the Peterson forum by one of their support reps:

"There is no preset Sweetened offset for the tuning of CGCFAD. The included Sweeteners™ are all respective to the assigned tunings meaning that they are not universal for all tunings. The GTR Sweetener for example only applies to standard six-string tuning."

That being said I've used it for Double Drop D consistently with no issues that I can detect.
 
After a standard tuning i go with my ears playing and sweetening a bit.
I think there is no "standard" in this: the guitar, the strings and how you "grab" the notes are too personal things for a "standard sweetening"
 
That is kind of the silly thing about it all, depending on how hard I fret a note I can easily shift it by several cents if not more, just as with how I'm hitting the strings etc.

On one hand its cool to say your -2.3 cents for a given string, but in the real world, its going to very likely by that much each time you hit a note. At least with most "normal" playing technique
 
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