Guitar not staying in tune.

Nerine · June 2015

Guitarists often say "oh yeah, I've stretched/played in my strings"

I take said guitar, stretch strings properly, strum resultant open chord, and say, "really?"

They're like, "oh.."

minimoog · June 2015

I had awful problems with my Bigsby-equipped Schecter Vintage. Would drift all over the place song to song. I lubed every string contact point (nut, bridge and bigsby rollers) and it's much, much better. Used the Planet Waves lube. Definitely recommend this idea.

Dave_Vader · June 2015

Nerine said:

Guitarists often say "oh yeah, I've stretched/played in my strings"

I take said guitar, stretch strings properly, strum resultant open chord, and say, "really?"

They're like, "oh.."

I too have done this, but then I have also been known to stretch strings by lifting guitars up by them with no other support, even a Les Paul once, without breaking the string.

It's not as much fun as pressuring the neck over my knee after a truss rod adjustment can be. Oh the scared faces I have seen...

seany65 · June 2015

@Marktigere1, Just checked the nut height in the way you said, and I can get a normal piece of paper folded (so double thickness) under each string, and that leaves little, if any, gap, so I think the nut's alright. I do have what is prollt a slightly higher action than most, as I don't like string rattle even when unplugged. I practice quite a lot unplugged, as I can hear any fretting mistakes easier that way.

@Maynehead, The flanges(?) on the posts of the tail piece and bridge have never been completely flush, as the top is 'carved' (actually 'carved'? At this price?) and the flanges aren't angled. However, the bridge has always been marginally tilted backwards, with the post on the right (as looked at when guiter held with the head up), has always been a bit more 'skew-wiff' than the left post. I have always been able to see the vertical lines (brushings?) on all posts to a small degree, but none of this has had any effect before.

I was planning on the tech straightening the posts and knocking them in a little further (as part of the jobs I was going to have done) so that at least the inner part of the flanges are flush to the body. Really just because it tidies that bit of the guitar up. I have seen LP's etc. on the interwebnet with posts a bit like mine, so I wasn't worried.

I don't think it's to do with string streching, because the problems started before I put the new strings on.

seany65 · June 2015

Just tried taking some pics of the bridge and tailpiece posts, to show what I mean when I say 'the flanges have never been completely flush', but they came out even worse than my playing so they're no use.

Also done a quick online search for suitable pics which show other guitars with 'not-completely flush flanges'.

Haven't found any yet.

ICBM · June 2015

As long as they're tight and don't move it shouldn't really matter, although it's not 'right'. If they do move, that would definitely cause tuning problems.

I would get them fitted properly flush, which may need epoxy and some compression while it sets if they're not a tight enough fit in the holes.

seany65 · June 2015

They don't seem to have moved since I bought it, ICBM. Getting them as flush as they can be was one of the jobs I wanted to have done, along with a new nut, new pots and caps and maybe new wiring, switch and jack socket. I just wanted to find out if there was anything actually wrong with the guitar which would need such repairs as would make it more economic to get a 'new' guitar.

Have done more string stretching. Seems to have helped. Although the trebles still to want to not stay in tune.

I still don't understand why suddenly, this guitar, out of all the ones I've had and strung the same way, should decide to have this trouble now. Actually to have this trouble even before I re-strung it.

Is 'she' buggering about 'cos I ain't decided what her name is yet? Or 'cos she's told me her name but I ain't understood? Is it her 'time of the month'? :-S

Wouldn't surprise me. Huh, Ruddy women!
:P

GuitarZero · June 2015

Something to consider, it could just be a duff set of strings. It happens sometimes.

seany65 · June 2015

I'll be taking note of how the strings behave over the next few days, GuitarZero.

seany65 · July 2015

The strings seem to have settled down quite a bit.

If 'she' carries on like this, then maybe next year 'she' can have her plastic dots swapped for mother of pearl ones?

seany65 · July 2015

Hmmmm. After about a week of staying in tune and playing in tune, 'she' has started going out of tune after a few seconds again.

So it seems to be not caused by :

Old, old strings.

Not properly stretched strings.

The heat/weather. As the weather here is different now to how it was then.

The strings aren't duff as this has happened with sets from different batches.

Should I just take the view that guitars are really 'women' and are subject to the guitar equivalent of 'being on the blob'?

Sync · July 2015

Sure you are getting 100% genuine strings?

You can just get a duff neck that won't hold its relief and can be overly environmentally sensitive which can be caused by anything from the wood through to truss rod fit.

Can also be caused by a poor fitting case if the neck is compressed.

Depending on the value of the guitar it isn't always worth the cost of trying to get fixed if its neck related.

impmann · July 2015

My money is on fake strings...

seany65 · July 2015

Hmmm.

Duff or fake strings. I suppose it's possible, but that wouldn't explain why it stayed in tune (bar the usual tweaking) for most of a year with the old set and then, with the same set, started to go out of tune, nor why it stayed in tune for about a week with the new set.

Environmentally sensitive. Again, I suppose it's possible, but that wouldn't explain why it started with these problems before we got the 'heatwave', carried on during the 'heatwave', carried on after the 'heatwave' then stopped for a short time then went back to giving trouble the other day while we had the same type of weather as we did during the week it wasn't giving trouble.

Poor fitting case. Yet again, I suppose it's possible, but I've had the Guitar and case since 2013 and it hasn't given any trouble for most of that time. I wouldn't know how to test if the case is a poor fit. I can't close it and open it reeaallyy quick to see how the guitar is inside with the lid closed.

Thanks for the replies though. A couple of suggestions which even ICBM doesn't seem to have considered.

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Guitar not staying in tune.

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