How to Tune a Guitar With a Whammy Bar

Famous guitarists like Jimi Hendrix, Jimmy Page, Joe Satriani and Frank Zappa are known for their use of the whammy bar.

A tremolo arm, also known as a whammy bar, is a bridge attached to a guitar to help bend the pitch of sounds. The whammy bar also helps in tuning. After tuning a guitar with a standard method, players can lock the strings in place with the whammy bar, allowing for further fine-tuning. This ability to take tuning a step further helps players get the best possible sound from their guitars.

Instructions

1. Set the tuning knobs on your guitar to a level position. Make sure the nut on the head of the guitar is unlocked.

2. Tune your guitar manually, keeping the nut unlocked on the headstock. To tune, turn the tuners clockwise or counter-clockwise until the desired notes are created. Standard tuning is EADGBE.

3. Lock the nut on the guitar's headstock. There should be some leftover space to turn the knobs during fine-tuning.

4. Fine-tune the guitar by turning the fine-tuning knobs. Because the other strings have been held in place by the nut, they don't fall out of tune during this process.

References

• Mediawebsource.com: How to Tune a Guitar

Resources

• University of Wisconsin at Madison: Alternate Tuning Guide