BFTS Setup for Crowdster

[Chris Lieder]

Okay, so I've read most of the threads on BFTS, but I still don't seem to understand how to set it up. I've read the manual for my Turbo Tuner, but I don't seem to understand fully how to do it. Are there preset offsets that I need to put into the TT or do I need to figure out what the offsets should be for my guitar somehow? Can someone please explain to me how this system works and how to set it up on my TT for my Crowdster with .12's? Assume I don't anything about BFTS. I understand the motivation for it, but how to set it up for my guitar evades me...

[tom]

the acoustic tuning offsets are less dramatic than the electrics, i don't even have them committed to memory. since the saddles are precut to the offsets we don't even have to set the intonation here. maybe bruce will chime in as i'm sure he has them. the guy i play with just tunes his crowdster to standard.

[dplight]

I have my TT CST1 set up for the electric BFTS offsets for open string tuning and the use that for the C+2 also. I set up CST2 with BFTS 12th fret electric offsets for setting intonation. The crowdster sounds fine to me tuned using the BFTS electric offsets.
I took a look at my collection of BFTS info and found 3 different "embodiments" of BFTS offsets for acoustic steel string guitars. They are listed as 1 preffered and 2 alternates. The prefered set has the A string tuned -4 cents at the 7th fret harmonic and the low E tuned -1 cent at the 7th fret B. Don't know how this coorelates to the open strings. The other 4 strings are all tuned with no offset. So tuning the C+2 to the electric offsets or a standard tuner probably throws the C+2 off a cent or 2 but I can't hear it.

It's been a long while since I set up the TT and I do plan on adding a 7th string to my CST1 setup for drop D (if I can ever remember to bring the thing home), so I'll have to figure it out again, but from what I remember it was a bit tedious.

[tom]

The one thing I remember as being strange with the programming was that there was a place holder in the cents step, if you didn't leave it at zero, you got ten and twenty cent offsets.

[Pietro]

I hear almost no difference when tuning regular or BFTS with my Crowdster Plus 2.

That said, tuning each string by finding an "E" note works great, and that way I don't have to re-set my tuner's mode every time I switch guitars. I have on BFTS electric, one BFTS acoustic (the Crowdster) and two standard guitars, one with a compensated nut, so it becomes a minor nightmare when i switch.

[Chris Lieder]

Thanks for the input. Once I get my guitar I will try doing the tuning to open standard and to all E's options and see what it sounds like. If it doesn't sound right I will try to figure out the offset thing. Thanks guys.

[bruce]

Ok, tuning the Crowdster is easy. Since the bridge saddle is already set, there is no adjusting intonation to worry about.

Here are the Feiten OPEN STRING (not fretted) tuning offsets in cents for acoustics with a wound G string. Note that everything is at zero except for the low 'E' which is -1 cent.

E 0
B 0
G 0
D 0
A 0
E -1

That's it.

[Pietro]

Thank you, Bruce!

I will hang on to that info.

Kinda explains why when I just use a standard tuner, I'm totally fine with the Crowdster. 1 cent offset on one string? Why bother?

[Chris Lieder]

Wow. Okay, I thought it was going to be a little trickier than that. Sounds good to me. Thanks Bruce