Why guitarists USED TO play more in tune! (Microtonal Frets)
Why Hacker News recommends it
Pointed to in tuning and temperament threads as an audible demonstration of how meantone differs from equal temperament.
What it is
Classical guitarist Brandon Acker shows how guitars with tied-on gut frets, as used 300 years ago, can play more in tune than modern fixed metal frets. He demonstrates microtonal and meantone tunings on a guitar with movable frets.
Recommended by 3 HN commenters across 3 different months, 2022 to 2026.
What Hacker News said
Recommends tzs · 2022-08 · on “Why are D-sharp and E-flat considered to be two different notes?”
Guitarist might find three videos recently posted to classical guitarist and lutist Brandon Acker's YouTube channel interesting. Lutes and early guitars (before around 1800) did not have metal frets. Instead they used pieces of string tied around the neck. They did this because the strings were very expensive, with a set of strings for a lute often costing more than the rest of the lute, and strings were not as robust as more modern strings. With metal frets strings would wear out faster. You could easily end up spending more per year on strings than you had initially spent on your instrument. By making the frets of the same material as the strings they didn't need to change strings as often
Recommends mbo · 2026-02 · on “The Mathematics of Tuning Systems”
If anyone wants to hear the practical effects of a 1/4 comma meantone temperament compared to an equal temperament, Brandon Acker gives a wonderful overview on the classical guitar: [this video]
Recommends magicalhippo · 2026-03 · on “Why your guitar goes sharp when you play hard: the Kirchoff–Carrier equation”
I'd just say I'm playing microtonal music[1][2] and not worry about it. Jokes aside, great read. Always so satisfying when the predictions match experiment. [1]: [LINK] (for the latest craze in microtonal music) [2]: [this video] (for a more informative and historical video)
Cites tzs · 2024-04 · on “What Is Wrong with Everyone?”
Lutes and other fretted instruments in western music back in the renaissance used tied on frets. Each fret was a piece of string tied in a loop around the neck. This meant it was relatively easy to change the position of frets if you wanted to try different temperaments. They could also take small pieces of string and glue them on, so at some places on some strings have an extra option, so that say fretting at the tied on fret would give say Db but fretting on the little glued on fret next to that would give C#. That sounds like what that viola da gamba player might have had. Here are a couple of videos where Brandon Acker (guitarist/lutist/etc) and Marshall Brune (luthier) played around wit
Cites tzs · 2026-02 · on “The Mathematics of Tuning Systems”
An interesting option for fretted instruments is to build it with 12 regular frets per octave, and then add temporary extra frets if you want to make specific notes more in tune for the key you are in. This was common for lute players in the Renaissance and Baroque periods. Lute frets were usually made of the same material as strings and were tied on around the neck, so adding an extra full width fret was not hard. Of course being tied on lute frets were also movable, so they could also reposition the regular 12 frets instead of adding extras. Instead of tying on an extra full width frets another common option was partial frets. They would glue a piece of string or wood under a specific stri