Tuning Stability?

[RadioElectric]

Some of you will already be familiar with my avatar-guitar. It's a Maya Les Paul copy that used to belong to my father before I bought it off him.

It's got issues with staying in tune. I string it with 0.010s while my dad used to string it with 0.008s, he says it stayed in tune for him but then he hadn't played it in a long time when I bought it off him. The tuning stability is so bad that after a couple of bends on the high strings any octaves are hopelessly out of tune.

Anyway, I'm hoping to address this issue with some new tuners as the ones that are on it are both old and were probably quite cheap to start off with. Apparently the original pickups were single-coils in a humbucker-casing so I don't expect them to be high-class.

I was thinking about putting a set of these on as a drop-in replacement ...

http://www.stringsdirect.co.uk/produ...ess_in_bushing

Satin Nickel of course.

Or, I did wonder if I'd be better off going for these...
http://www.stringsdirect.co.uk/produ...e_bolt_bushing

I don't even bother taking this guitar up to university with me currently as it's so appalling at staying in tune (I use my strat instead) but I would love to be able to use it. What do you guys reckon I should do?

[Fez]

First off check the Nut & try rubbing a soft pencil into the slots before you put strings on. 10-46 strings should be fine they are what I use on my Epi Les Paul but ensure you are fitting them correctly and stretch them in well. Then with new strings on set the intonation at the bridge

If you change the machine heads I would definately consider Sperzels. For pick ups the Kent Armstrong units are good value for money but if your rich Seymour Duncans or Bare Knuckle.

Fez

[DiscoStu]

I've never had a tuning problem on any hardtail guitar I've had, regardless of how much it cost.
IMPORTANT: are you making sure to stretch your strings once you've put a set on? It's not enough just to get them to stay in pitch, you've got to pull them away from the neck so they go out of pitch again. Re-tune, stretch, retune, stretch until they stop going out of tune when you stretch them. Your guitar should now stay in tune when you bend your strings.
Don't try to wrench the strings off the guitar, pull them until they go tight.

If, on the other hand, you're already doing this then try then nut/pencil idea is worth a go before changing your tuners.

[evilmags]

If it was one of those guitasr with single coil pickups in humbucker covers then chances are it was built very cheaply. I suspect that the main problem is probably neck stability, and would have that checked before buying expensive components to stick on what is essentially a very cheaply made guitar. Is it a bolt on neck? If so sorting it should prove cheaper than with a set neck.

[RadioElectric]

Originally Posted by Fez

First off check the Nut & try rubbing a soft pencil into the slots before you put strings on. 10-46 strings should be fine they are what I use on my Epi Les Paul but ensure you are fitting them correctly and stretch them in well. Then with new strings on set the intonation at the bridge

I have tried the soft pencil thing and stretching the strings already. The only aberrent thing about the nut is that I think it may be cut too low. I'm wondering whether this is allowing the tension to travel from string bends to the tuners too easily.

Originally Posted by Fez

If you change the machine heads I would definately consider Sperzels. For pick ups the Kent Armstrong units are good value for money but if your rich Seymour Duncans or Bare Knuckle.

Fez

The pickups have been changed a few times since the single-coils.

Originally Posted by evilmags

I suspect that the main problem is probably neck stability, and would have that checked before buying expensive components to stick on what is essentially a very cheaply made guitar. Is it a bolt on neck? If so sorting it should prove cheaper than with a set neck.

That's interesting. I've never heard of neck stability affecting tuning before. I doubt this is the problem though because I can specifically target a string (say the third (G) string) and bend it a few times to put it out. If I do this the rest of the strings still keep their tuning.

[evilmags]

That's interesting. I've never heard of neck stability affecting tuning before. I doubt this is the problem though because I can specifically target a string (say the third (G) string) and bend it a few times to put it out. If I do this the rest of the strings still keep their tuning.

Likely to be snagging on something then.

[dj_host]

It could be worth swapping the nut first, for something like a graphtec nut, or similar. This should ensure snag free travel for the strings, which could improve the situation.

If that still doesn't work, then look at swapping the machine heads.

[TheThingThatShouldNotBe]

Its probably due to the nut grooves more narrow setup for 08's or a touch of whiplash from machine heads which can be adjusted by the screw in each one.

[RadioElectric]

Originally Posted by TheThingThatShouldNotBe

Its probably due to the nut grooves more narrow setup for 08's or a touch of whiplash from machine heads which can be adjusted by the screw in each one.

The machineheads are not adjustable in any way.

[boogie man]

I had an old Columbus LP copy that did the same thing. Seeing as how this is a hardtail rather than a trem equipped guitar I'd say it's definitely worth changing the machineheads IMO....the ones on my Columbus were a mixture of brass and cheese-metal and had worn away to such a state that it was always dropping out of tune.


You can do simple check to see if it's a sticking nut or dodgy machineheads. If you bend a string and it stays sharp afterwards, then it's likely to be a sticky nut as the string is jamming in the nut slot. If it goes flat after the bend, it's more likely to be a machinehead issue (I'm assuming you haven't got the strings wound on the tuners badly, with loads of slack?).