Guitar Frequency

Question

I'm using an app to calculate frequency of the guitar strings as far as I know the fundamental frequency of the guitar are listed as :-

    String  Frequency   
    1 (E)   329.63 Hz
    2 (B)   246.94 Hz
    3 (G)   196.00 Hz
    4 (D)   146.83 Hz
    5 (A)   110.00 Hz
    6 (E)   82.41  Hz

but however I'm getting the results as

    String  Frequency   
    1 (E)   333.02  Hz  
    2 (B)   247.60  Hz   
    3 (G)   398-193 Hz    (398 when start and 193 when end)
    4 (D)   290-150 Hz    (290 when start and 150 when end)
    5 (A)   333-215 Hz    (333 when start and 215 when end)
    6 (E)   247-161 Hz    (247 when start and 161 when end)

All i wanted to know is how to identify which string is currently played by the guitar and are there any other factors to identify the difference rather than frequency. and what are the possible reason I'm not getting the lower frequencies.

Answer 1

Your app seems to be "locking in" on harmonics of the fundamental frequency of the strings. If it was a free app, maybe it was worth as much as you paid for it - try downloading another one!

In round numbers, the frequencies should be about

1 330 Hz
2 247 Hz
3 196 Hz
4 147 Hz
5 110 Hz
6  82 Hz

As the note dies away, the higher harmonics of the tone will tend to die out faster than the fundamental. For strings 3 and 4, the first number you measured was the second harmonic (double the fundamental frequency) and the second figure looks like it is correct.

For strings 5 and 6, the app seems to be measuring the third harmonic (e.g. 3x110 = 330) and then the second (2x110 = 220), and not finding the fundamental. But the fact that it is showing 333 and 215, which are not very close to the correct 3:2 ratio, suggests either the app is not very accurate, or you have a very strange sounding guitar.

Try plucking the strings at their middle point (12th fret), not where you would pluck them while playing. That should produce more fundamental frequency and less harmonics. Also, if this is an electric guitar, turn off any distortion or other effects.