Question regarding GarageBand 11 and Pitch

[linkandzelda]

Hello,
I was wondering If its possible to change the pitch of a single note of a song played in Garageband? You see my guitar is kinda broken and needs repairing, the top notes are very slightly out of tune. I was hoping that once this is recorded in I can adjust the pitch very slightly to make it sound correct. If this isn't possible using GB alone, then perhaps with Logic Studio or something?

Thanks in advance,
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[mchalebk]

Garageband does offer some pitch correction capability, which might help. However, I don't know if it will sound very good.

I have to ask: what is wrong with your guitar that's causing it to be out of tune? An instrument that can't play in tune is of marginal utility. In this day and age, you can get some pretty darn good gear for reasonable prices, so living with a broken guitar doesn't seem to make much sense.

 

[linkandzelda]

Well im not sure whats wrong with the guitar as some of the higher notes are out of tune while the rest are fine. It keeps its tune too without a problem but its like out of proportion.. But i know its limited edition which cant be bought any more. Some are selling for $900.... I need to get it fixed rather than buying another one as its really good.

 

[mchalebk]

I would recommend getting it set up properly. If there are any decent music stores in your area, they ought to have a guitar tech who can do a proper setup. If the action is too high, the guitar will go out of tune as you get to the upper frets (because you have to stretch the strings too much to pull them down to the fretboard). Also, the relief (amount of bow in the neck) might be too high. In reality, there are many things that can affect the intonation of a guitar.

Is it an electric? If so, it probably has adjustable saddles. If the saddles aren't adjusted properly, it will affect the intonation.

There are many things can can cause a guitar to play out of tune. Get it looked at and you'll be much happier.

 

[linkandzelda]

Thank you very much for this information. I asked a question about GB and instead have a solution to my guitar problems!!

It is an electric guitar, A red DeArmond by Guild. I'm not so good with guitar changes myself but, It has an option to adjust the neck tension from the head. It has the option to adjust the height of the bridge on both sides and the option to adjust the position each string goes over the bridge. it's interesting as the only string that does it is the high E string. I'm tempted to have a fiddle as i've never tried before, but also scared I might make it worse...

Thanks again for the information.
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[mchalebk]

Frets.com has a lot of information on guitar maintenance, though it's mostly about acoustic guitars:

http://frets.com/FRETSPages/pagelist.html

Here's where they talk about truss rods:

http://frets.com/FRETSPages/Musician/GenSetup/TrussRods/TrussRodAdj/tradj.html

The following is from a Carvin manual for adjusting saddles:

Use your guitar tuner to fine tune your intonation. With the aid of your electronic tuner, tune each string to the proper pitch. Now check your G string tuning at the 12th and 24th fret. If the tuner shows sharp at the 12th or 24th fret, then adjust the G string bridge saddle slightly further away from the neck. If the tuner shows flat, adjust the saddle towards the neck. Move the saddle 1/32” (about the thickness of a dime). Retune the open G string perfectly and recheck the tuning at the 12th and 24th fret. If the tuning is perfect, you are done intonating the G string. If it is still sharp, then keep moving the string saddle further away from the neck until your intonation is perfect. Repeat this procedure for each string.

 

[linkandzelda]

Thanks again, that's basically all i needed to know. I can now attempt this myself or send it in to be repaired professionally. Seeing as it's a quick process for me as it's only one string I might just try that myself.

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