Why does my guitar sound out of tune when the tuner says every string is in tune?

Tuners tune to equal temperament, which spreads a small error across every interval so the guitar can play in any key. Major thirds come out about 14 cents wider than pure, and open chords like G and D put those thirds right on the open B and G strings, so the chord beats and sounds slightly sour even though every string reads perfect.

How do I tune my guitar so open chords sound sweeter?

Tune normally, then lower a few strings by a hair. A common compromise, low to high, in cents: E -2, A 0, D -1, G -2, B -1, high E 0. Any tuner that shows cents can do it.

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Why your guitar sounds out of tune after you tune it

Every needle dead center, and the G chord still sounds a little sour. It isn't your ear.

Short answer: your tuner tunes to equal temperament, and equal temperament puts every major third about 14 cents wide. Open chords sit their thirds right on open strings, so you hear the wobble. Lowering a few strings by 1 or 2 cents makes the chords you actually play ring.

The math that lets a guitar play in every key

A perfectly pure major third and a perfectly pure fifth don't fit together evenly across twelve frets. Equal temperament solves that by giving every interval a small error, so every key sounds equally good and none sounds perfect. Fifths are off by about 2 cents, which nobody notices. Major thirds are about 14 cents wider than pure, which plenty of people notice. They just don't know what they're hearing.

On a piano those errors are spread across a hundred strings. On a guitar they land on six, and open chords make them obvious. In an open G, the open B string is the third of the chord. In an open E, it's the G# on the G string. Those thirds are the notes that beat against everything else, and that slow wobble is the "sour" you hear after tuning perfectly.

What to change

You can't make every chord pure, but you can split the difference in favor of the chords guitarists play most. Tune normally first, then nudge these strings down by a hair:

String	Offset
Low E	−2 cents
A	0
D	−1 cent
G	−2 cents
B	−1 cent
High E	0

These are tiny moves. You won't hear any one string change on its own. Strum a G, a C and a D before and after, though, and listen to the chords settle. Any tuner that shows cents can do this; aim the needle just left of center by the amount above.

Before you blame temperament

Temperament explains the sour open chord when everything else is right. If chords go sour higher up the neck, or only in some positions, check these first:

Intonation. Play the 12th-fret note against the open string harmonic. If they disagree, the saddle needs moving.
Pressing too hard. Heavy fretting bends notes sharp, especially on tall frets and light strings.
Old strings. Dead strings won't intonate no matter how you tune them.
Nut height. A high nut pushes first-position chords sharp. That one's for a tech.

Or let the tuner do it

I got tired of doing this math every time I changed strings, so I built it into the tuner in Chartless. It's called Sweetened: one toggle, and the tuner aims each string at its offset instead of dead center. There's also a Just option that tunes toward the key of the last song you charted, so that song's chords ring pure. Sweetened is part of Chartless Pro, with a free trial; the regular tuner, alternate tunings and the live chord chart are free.

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Thirty seconds of before and after: the Sweetened explainer on YouTube.

Questions or a chord that still sounds off? [email protected]. I read every one.

Need a quick check right now? Try the free online tuner.