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Free online lap steel tuner
A tuner with the three classic lap steel tunings, right in your browser.
- No account
- No ads
- Nothing to install
In short
To tune a lap steel online, allow the microphone, pick Lap steel and then the tuning. In open G the six strings give G2 (98 Hz), B2, D3, G3, B3 and D4 (293.66 Hz). Center the needle within ±5 cents. Open D and C6 western swing are built in too.
- 3 tunings: open G (standard), open D and C6 western swing.
- C6: C3 130.81 Hz, E3, G3, A3, C4, E4 329.63 Hz.
- Open tunings: the bar laid across the strings gives an in-tune chord at every fret.
- In-tune zone of ±5 cents, free, no account.
The Jam Jam lap steel tuner listens through your microphone and tells you, in real time, which note is sounding and how far sharp or flat you are. Three presets for six strings: open G (G2, B2, D3, G3, B3, D4), open D (D2, F#2, A2, D3, F#3, A3), and C6 (C3, E3, G3, A3, C4, E4) for western swing. In-tune zone at ±5 cents, cents to the unit, frequency to a tenth of a hertz.
How to tune a lap steel
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Allow the microphone
Open the tuner, pick Lap steel and grant mic access: the audio is analysed on your device, nothing is uploaded.
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Pick your tuning
Open G for blues and Hawaiian, open D for a lower voicing, C6 for swing and jazz.
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Tune from the low string up
Pick each string open with the bar off, centre the needle, then move up. The tuner locks onto the nearest string.
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Check the open chord
Open tunings sound a chord with no bar: strum all six to hear that the tuning is clean.
How to tune a lap steel
- Lay the instrument flat and lift the bar off: you tune the open strings.
- Pick the tuning (open G, open D or C6): the targets change on every string.
- Tune from the lowest string to the highest, muting the others with your palm.
- Check with the bar at the 12th fret, right over the fret wire: the chord should ring one octave up, in tune.
Lap steel tunings: notes and frequencies
| Tuning | String 1 | String 2 | String 3 | String 4 | String 5 | String 6 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Open G | D4293.66 Hz | B3246.94 Hz | G3196.00 Hz | D3146.83 Hz | B2123.47 Hz | G298.00 Hz |
| Open D | A3220.00 Hz | F♯3185.00 Hz | D3146.83 Hz | A2110.00 Hz | F♯292.50 Hz | D273.42 Hz |
| C6 (western swing) | E4329.63 Hz | C4261.63 Hz | A3220.00 Hz | G3196.00 Hz | E3164.81 Hz | C3130.81 Hz |
A tuner built for open tunings
Open G and open D
Both as presets, so you tune to a chord, not to six unrelated targets you have to remember.
C6 for western swing
The sixth-chord tuning has its own preset, with the A3 and C4 where swing players expect them.
Reference note in a lap steel voice
Every string plays its target note with a real lap steel timbre, so you can check a string by ear before touching the peg.
Auto, manual or chromatic
It locks the nearest string by itself; one tap freezes a string, another returns to auto. Chromatic mode covers anything outside the presets.
Why this lap steel tuner
- Open G, open D and C6 presets
- ±5 cents to be in tune, cents to the unit and hertz to a tenth
- 100% free, in your browser, no sign-up and no ads
- Everything is computed on your side: nothing is uploaded
A single-purpose tuner site stops the moment you are in tune. Here the tuner is one tab among others in the Jam Jam notebook: import a song, transpose it, export it to PDF. Offline in the mobile app.
Open the tuner →Related guides
More Jam Jam tools
Lap steel tuner FAQ
Is this lap steel tuner free?
Completely: no account, no ads, nothing to install. It all runs in your browser, and the microphone audio is analysed on the spot. It is never sent to a server.
Which lap steel tuning should I start with?
Open G is the easiest for blues and Hawaiian styles. C6 opens up swing and jazz voicings. Open D gives the same shapes as open G, a fourth lower. All three are presets.
Can I tune with the bar on the strings?
Tune open, bar off: that is what the presets target. Once in tune, the bar's position sets everything else.