One string on my guitar is off by one fret. Please help?

Question

Im trying to learn The Rain Song by Zeppelin and it says my 4th string should be a C. So I tuned it to that, but then the tabs don't sound quite right. I figured out that if it says to play the 7th fret, I should play the 6th for that string, 12th I would switch to 11th, and so on and so on. Im not that much of an expert at guitar so I need help tuning this one string. I tried tuning it a half step up and down from C, but I dont think I did it right because neither sounded correct.

Adam D · Accepted Answer

You want to tune a 1/2 step lower, which would be B. Either the tabs are wrong, or your guitar needs to be properly setup.

Russell E · Answer

try using this one:
http://tabs.ultimate-guitar.com/l/led_zeppelin/the_rain_song_tab.htm

It does show two different tunings. 
They both are tuned weird. Jimmy Page liked to use alternate tunings a lot.
I suggest you try the "live" tuning.
E A D A D E

This only has 2 strings to alter the Gstring  to A,  and B string to D

While the "studio" tuning"  alters all 6 strings.

If you are playing along to the actual record, then you might have to do "studio" so the pitches match.

Anonymous · Answer

The tablature may quite possibly be wrong or unclear (it often is). However, if you are playing from it you need to tune your guitar as it tells you too and play the tablature as it is written - if it says play the 7th fret, that's what you should play. If it sounds "wrong" then you must have your guitar tuned wrong, be playing it wrong or, as I suggested, the tab is wrong.

Left-T · Answer

You need to remember that THIS song by Led Zeppelin was done andplayed with the following tuning...

(D-G-C-G-C-D) 

If you tune your strings to this, you will play the song correctly according to the tabs.

Why Hello? · Answer

The tabs could be wrong.

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One string on my guitar is off by one fret. Please help?

5 Answers