Tuning question

[Br1ck]

So hopefully we all know to tune up to pitch, but fairly often, I’ve tuned down and am spot on. Then I can tune up a bit, not a lot, without changing pitch and this might make sense. Is this enough to tension the string and maintain pitch? It seems so to me but request opinions. Hope this is clear. It is just a micro tweak in the up direction.

[Tom Haywood]

On the mandolin, when I tune the strings down to pitch, I usually have to go back through and tune everything up again slightly. I think tuning down to pitch releases tension on the neck causing it to move a bit, so that it is not just the string tension that is at play as we tune. Not to mention the possibility of movement in the top. Also, it was explained to me a while back that stretching the wire while tuning up has a different effect on the wire than releasing tension tuning down. It makes sense to me that the only way to really dial in the desired frequency is to stretch the wire until it vibrates at that frequency. I would like to hear other views on this.

[Cobalt]

I think if everything is moving smoothly, that means primarily the string sliding over the nut slots, and the tuners themselves, such slight adjustments may be fine. From past experience I just don't trust it though, things may sound sweet, but over the course of playing a tune, it may continue to move and sound quite rough by the time the playing is ending.

There will usually be a certain amount of slack or play in the tuning mechanism, meaning that an initial tuning down has no effect, hence the need to tune down further, then back up, taking up the play in the tuners before beginning to approach the pitch from below.

[Cobalt]

Regarding going back and re-tuning other strings, I find this varies by instrument. The body and neck will flex as the tension changes, any significant change in tension of one string will cause the whole thing to move, meaning minor adjustments to other strings are needed; repeat until bored.

With some instruments, this effect can be quite pronounced, others, perhaps particularly with a truss rod but involving other factors too, things seem more rigid and individual strings can be tuned with less side-effects.