string 2 · fret 12
B4
493.88 Hz
Guitar string 2, fret 12 — B4
String 2 at fret 12 gives B4 at 493.88 Hz. On a 648 mm scale it sits 324 mm from the nut.
- Note
- B4
- Frequency
- 493.88 Hz
- MIDI number
- 71
- From the nut · 648 mm (Fender)
- 324 mm
- From the nut · 628 mm (Gibson)
- 314 mm
- From the nut · 650 mm (classical)
- 325 mm
- Ringing length
- 324 mm
The same note sits in several places
Unlike a piano, a guitar repeats the same pitch on different strings. Which one you take changes the tone and the shape your hand has to make.
The frets crowd as you climb
Frets are spaced by ratio, not by equal steps: each one divides the remaining length by the twelfth root of two. That is why the 12th fret lands at exactly half the string — the octave.
Nearby positions
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String 1 is the thinnest. The string printed at the top is the one that sounds highest.
How to read this
- One fret is one semitone; twelve of them make an octave.
- Frequency multiplies by the twelfth root of two per semitone — A4 is 440 Hz.
- Fret position = scale length × (1 − 1 ÷ 2^(fret/12)).
- String 1 is the thinnest; standard tuning reads E-B-G-D-A-E from there.
Frequently asked questions
Q. What note is string 2, fret 12?
B4, at 493.88 Hz — MIDI number 71.
Q. Can I play the same note on another string?
Yes: string 1 fret 7, string 3 fret 16, string 4 fret 21.
Q. How far is this fret from the nut?
324 mm on a 648 mm scale, 314 mm on a 628 mm one.
Q. Where is the octave above?
Off the end of this string — you would take it on another one.