E Sound

working on reading music and went back to GF1. I played the E on the open 6th string and then also on the 5th fret of the 5th string. They sound different to me. They are supposed to be the same note, right? If so, should they sound the exact same? I used my electronic tuner to test this. The guitar is in tune when I play the open 5th and 6th strings, but when I play the 5th string, 5th fret it's not an E note according to my ear or the tuner either (tuner says it reads as a D note, and not an "in tune" D either).

I've noticed some of my chords sound bad to me (don't know if they are, I am new to this and don't profess to have an "ear" - it just sometimes sounds bad, like the D chord).

Any thoughts? Could this just be the sound of an inexpensive beginner guitar? I did change strings for the first time about a week ago, but I can get the guitar in tune)

Hey Keith.

Depends. Are you referring to the 5th fret on the "A" string or the 5th fret on the "B" string?

Fifth fret on the "A" string is a D note.
Fifth fret on the "B" string is an E note.

If, your chords and notes don't sound the same, you might want to check your guitars intonation. Here is a search result at Youtube
http://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=guitar+intonation+setup&aq=1


Here is how you can test your intonation. (This assumes standard tuning E,A,D,G,B,E)

Tune all your open strings to make sure they are in perfect tune.
Then :
Pluck the E strings octave (12th fret) which is an E. It should be in tune with the open E.
Pluck the A strings octave (12th fret) which is an A. It should be in tune with the open A.

Do this for the remaining four strings. If, your open string is in tune but the octave is not, then you have intonation issues and more than likely just needs to have your guitar setup properly. Not very difficult to do.

Again, I'd suggest doing some reading, and or youtube watching. Hope this helps. :)

Thanks Rick. I think I definitely have an intonation issue as the sounds are very different when I puck the octave verses the open string. Fixing it looks like a little more than I can handle myself (least handy person in the world). I may need to visit my nearby guitar shop.

Sure, glad I could help.

Intonation will definitely cause your guitar to sound off.

Originally Posted by: KeithMangasworking on reading music and went back to GF1. I played the E on the open 6th string and then also on the 5th fret of the 5th string. They sound different to me. They are supposed to be the same note, right?

5th fret on the 5th string (A string) would be a D note as Rick says. Try fretting 7th fret (E note) on the A string and compare to your open E.

That`s not exactly the same E note, it`s actually an octave higher. Try picking A string at the 7th and E string at the 12th. These notes would be E in the same octave, so they sound really close, but still the tonality of the notes are different.