Free browser tuner
Open G Tuner: Free Online Strobe Tuner for DGDGBD
What Open G tuning actually is
Open G turns the whole guitar into a G major chord when you strum the open strings. From low to high the strings read D G D G B D. Three Ds, two Gs, and a B. That is why a single open strum sounds so full: the chord is already there before you fret a single note.
Keith Richards made the five-string version famous by removing the low D entirely, so he could fret a G chord with one finger laid flat across the fretboard. Most of the classic Rolling Stones open-G riffs (Start Me Up, Brown Sugar, Tumbling Dice) use that five-string shape.
Why an open G tuner benefits from a strobe
Three of the six strings in Open G are D, and two are G. That means the relative tuning between those unisons and octaves matters more than usual. If one of the D strings is a couple of cents off, the open chord beats against itself, and that lush ringing chord you came for disappears.
A needle tuner gets each string close on its own. It never tells you whether the three D strings actually agree with each other. StroboPro’s multi-harmonic strobe does: each harmonic ring locks onto a different overtone of the string, and when all three Ds hold still against each other - and against the two Gs - the open chord will ring instead of beat.
How to tune to Open G
Open the Open G preset, tap the Tap to Tune button (the one with the microphone), and allow microphone access. From standard tuning only three strings actually move: the D, G, and B strings stay where they are. You drop the low E down to D, the A down to G, and the high E down to D.
Detune past each target and come back up to it so the windings around the peg settle - it keeps the string from slipping flat halfway through a song. Once you are close, watch the harmonic rings. They drift for a moment and then lock together. When the rings across all six strings are still, strum the open chord. If anything still beats, walk the strings one at a time and the offender will be obvious.
Songs and styles that live in Open G
Keith Richards is the patron saint of Open G - most of the classic Stones open-G riffs ride that five-string G chord. Slide players live here too: delta blues players used Open G (often tuned up a whole step) for slide, and you can hear the DNA of that in everything from Led Zeppelin’s In My Time of Dying to modern slide work. If you play slide at all, Open G is one of the first two tunings to learn, alongside Open D.
Open G on slide and resonator
Open tunings and slide were made for each other. The bar touches the strings above the fret, so you cannot easily fret a normal chord shape. Open G lets the slide itself form the chord when it sits at any fret. A resonator guitar really sings in Open G because the metal cone amplifies those ringing unisons.
If you play lap steel, Open G is one of the standard tunings you will run into. The same strobe logic applies regardless of the instrument: when the open strings agree with their own overtones, the whole instrument opens up.
Free, offline, and on every device
The web open G tuner at strobopro.se is free and installs as a Progressive Web App so it works in a green room or a cabin with no signal. Native iOS and Android apps add premium features like Echo Mode and the AI tuning generator, but the web version stays free.
Related guides worth a look: a free online tuner, an online guitar tuner, an online chromatic tuner, the best guitar tuner app page, and the intonation tuner guide.
Read the full guide
For more on how a strobe tuner works and why a multi-harmonic display matters for open tunings, read the full article on the StroboPro blog:
Read "What is a strobe tuner and how does it work?" on the blog →Related guides
Frequently asked questions
What is Open G tuning?
Open G is D G D G B D from low to high. Strumming the open strings rings a G major chord. Keith Richards made the five-string version, with the low D removed, famous.
How do I tune to Open G?
From standard tuning, drop the low E to D, the A to G, and the high E to D. The D, G, and B strings stay where they are. Open the [Open G preset](https://strobopro.se/preset/guitar/6-string/open-g), tap **Tap to Tune**, allow mic access, and it shows all six strings at once.
Why does Keith Richards remove the low string in Open G?
He removes the low D so the lowest sounding note is the G on the fifth string. That frees him to fret a full G chord with one finger laid across the fretboard without the low D clashing with the chord.
Can I use Open G for slide guitar?
Yes. Open G is one of the most popular slide tunings. StroboPro’s strobe tracks the sustained notes slide players need to lock in.
Published by Applicaudia, the maker of StroboPro. The 0.1-cent figure describes the tuner's display resolution, not a lab-measured accuracy specification. Frequency values are approximate.
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