Guitar won't tune

Owain

Bought a guitar off here last week, I also bought a tuner. For some reason 2 of the strings won't even come up on the tuner when I try to tune them. I can tell they're out of tune, they're clearly out of tune, but they won't even come up on the tuner when I hit those 2 strings. All the others tune fine, but those 2 are a problem. Have I been sold a broken one which needs new strings?/does this guitar need new strings? it was about £50 under the market price (bought off this site). 

Ravenous

Maybe those two strings are slipping on the tuner posts?

You could try turning the tuner peg normally and just put a finger on the top of the tuning post to see if it's rotating (that is, to see if the gears are working.)

If the gears are working then I'd guess it's possibly a string slipped off the tuner post...

dbphoto

You don’t have the tuner set to bass mode by mistake do you?

SteveRobinson

What type of guitar is it?
What type of tuner are you using?

Have you tried tuning to the other strings to get them to pitch?

PS I'd always fit new strings to any guitar I'd just bought.

sev112

One of my little electronic tuners doesn’t do a good job when it’s miles out.  So it might be the electronic tuner that’s the initial porblem

do you know how to tune using the 5th fret of the adjacent (lower pitch) string ?
(except the 4th fret of the G string - the 4th string)

apologies if teaching you you to suck eggs etc

DulcetJones

A string that is too far out of tune won't register on most(probably all) tuners.  SteveRobinson makes a good point that will test this, tuning to the other strings by ear.

Owain

It's a PRS SE One sold to me by JerkMoans who didn't claim any problems with it

The tuner was a clip on Tiger Chromatic Guitar Tuner

SteveRobinson said:

What type of guitar is it?
What type of tuner are you using?

Have you tried tuning to the other strings to get them to pitch?

PS I'd always fit new strings to any guitar I'd just bought.

What do you mean with tuning to the other strings to get them on pitch? 

It's just annoying if I have to get new strings. Like this guy claimed there was no problems with it, if he'd have been straight with me and told me the strings were dodgy or whatever, I'd have been cool. But lying to con a newbie ain't right. 

The tuner is working fine and everything, it's not the tuner. 

Owain

DulcetJones said:

A string that is too far out of tune won't register on most(probably all) tuners.  SteveRobinson makes a good point that will test this, tuning to the other strings by ear.

So the strings could be fine? just that it's wayyy out of tune? 
Just don't know what direction to turn it to get it on the tuner, scared of breaking the strings. 

richardhomer

Owain said:

It's a PRS SE One sold to me by JerkMoans who didn't claim any problems with it

The tuner was a clip on Tiger Chromatic Guitar Tuner

SteveRobinson said:

What type of guitar is it?
What type of tuner are you using?

Have you tried tuning to the other strings to get them to pitch?

PS I'd always fit new strings to any guitar I'd just bought.

What do you mean with tuning to the other strings to get them on pitch? 

It's just annoying if I have to get new strings. Like this guy claimed there was no problems with it, if he'd have been straight with me and told me the strings were dodgy or whatever, I'd have been cool. But lying to con a newbie ain't right. 

The tuner is working fine and everything, it's not the tuner. 

You do know strings occasionally need replacing?

Calling a member out for lying and conning you is exceptionally poor form. It’s highly likely to be a issue which is easily resolved....

dbphoto

aye, it might be an idea to look up how you tune a guitar before accusing anyone!

Owain

richardhomer said:

You do know strings occasionally need replacing?

Calling a member out for lying and conning you is exceptionally poor form. It’s highly likely to be a issue which is easily resolved....

Yeah, but not gonna let someone walk all over me and take advantage just cos I'm new to the game. 

Yeah, it might be something that can be resolved easily and I may be overreacting, yeah. But I have anxiety, and am going through a rough patch at the moment, so maybe overreacting yeah. But I still won't let some joke of a person walk all over me. 

sev112

Type “E concert pitch” into google, and there will be a YouTube clip that will play the sound of E

that will be either your bottom or top string, so try and get one of them close to that pitch

that will be a good starting point

the seller possibly loosened / detuned the strings for travel, 

dbphoto

I'm willing to bet good money there is nothing wrong with the guitar or strings................

Owain

sev112 said:

Type “E concert pitch” into google, and there will be a YouTube clip that will play the sound of E

that will be either your bottom or top string, so try and get one of them close to that pitch

that will be a good starting point

the seller possibly loosened / detuned the strings for travel, 

I will do that, thank you

grungebob

Try tuning to the fifth fret, you’ll not break a string if you keep checking how tight it is compared to others. 

So fret the thickest string (E) on the 5th fret and tune the next thickest string (A) to match that note. 
Fret the A string on the 5th fret and tune the next string (D) to match that note. 

Fret the D string on the 5th fret and tune the next string (G) to match that note. 

Fret the G string on the 4th fret and tune the next string (B) to match that note

lastly fret the B string on the 5th fret and tune the last string to match. 

Owain

grungebob said:

Try tuning to the fifth fret, you’ll not break a string if you keep checking how tight it is compared to others. 

So fret the thickest string (E) on the 5th fret and tune the next thickest string (A) to match that note. 
Fret the A string on the 5th fret and tune the next string (D) to match that note. 

Fret the D string on the 5th fret and tune the next string (G) to match that note. 

Fret the G string on the 4th fret and tune the next string (B) to match that note

lastly fret the B string on the 5th fret and tune the last string to match. 

Thank you, I will do that. Thank you for your help 

JerkMoans

Just seen this. 

You are aware that the guitar has locking tuners? 

For all sorts of very good reasons relating to neck tension and the risk of damage I loosened all the strings off before shipping to you. 

You quite sure you're using the tuners the right way?  Plenty of information on the web about them.  See eg:

https://www.guitarplayer.com/gear/guitar-essentials-are-you-using-locking-tuners-the-wrong-way



If you want to chat further you have my details.  Might have been nice if you contacted me first before engaging in public histrionics, but let's see if we can get things sorted without any need for any more of the above, yeah?

meltedbuzzbox

and get a better tuner than a clip on tiger tuner

Strat54

Amazing foresight by @JerkMoans ; when selecting his username...... 

Funkfingers

In no particular order.

1. The stock machineheads on PRS SE series guitars are Jin Ho imitations of Gotoh or Schaller sealed gear designs. I invariably find slop between the string post and the hex nut "sleeve". There can also be gear lash. Both of these aspects can contribute to instability once at pitch. Neither of them prevents the strings getting to pitch to begin with.
2. How stable the strings are depends on how they have been wrapped around the posts. String tension can be used to hold the string firmly in place, preventing slippage.
3. The Tiger tuner retails for a fiver. It is unlikely to rival Petersen strobe devices. If it is battery powered, the first thing to check is the battery/pile. 
4. Strings not registering with a vibration sensing electronic tuner indicates a fault with the tuner rather than the guitar. 

The obvious tests to perform are to try the Tiger tuner on a different guitar and to try tuning the PRS SE One using a different tuner.

Owain said:

Just don't know what direction to turn it to get it on the tuner, scared of breaking the strings. 

On a right-handed PRS SE, turn the E, A and D anti-clockwise to tighten. Turn the G, B and E clockwise.

This can only go wrong if the previous owner had wrapped a string on the wrong way around the string post. In my opinion, the vendor can be trusted to get this right.

JerkMoans

Owain said:

Have I been sold a broken one which needs new strings?/does this guitar need new strings?

No.  The strings were all fine when they left me.  As @SteveRobinson said, many people fit new strings when they get a guitar but it shouldn't be necessary unless one has broken.  They do break, and have to be regarded as a consumable item, but they weren't broken when they went into the box, or presumably when you PM'd me upon receipt telling me how happy you were with the guitar and how much you'd been playing it.

Owain said:

It's just annoying if I have to get new strings. Like this guy claimed there was no problems with it, if he'd have been straight with me and told me the strings were dodgy or whatever, I'd have been cool. But lying to con a newbie ain't right. 

So where do we stand on making wild accusations?

Owain said:

What do you mean with tuning to the other strings to get them on pitch?

It's a pretty common means of tuning one string to another, so bottom E fretted at the 5th fret should give you an A to match the open A to, and so forth.

Owain said:

Yeah, but not gonna let someone walk all over me and take advantage just cos I'm new to the game. 

Yeah, it might be something that can be resolved easily and I may be overreacting, yeah. But I have anxiety, and am going through a rough patch at the moment, so maybe overreacting yeah. But I still won't let some joke of a person walk all over me. 

And neither should you.  And neither are you.