Guitar Continuously Goes Out Of Tune

[DreamSeller]

I have an epiphone special II which will not hold its tune. Everytime I pick the thing up i need to retune it.

I has .52 gauge strings

Any suggestions?

-Dream

[George Brown]

locking tuners may help but before you rush out and buy any you may want to try the following;

either melt some candle wax or rub some graphite from a pencil (hb or softer) into the nuct slots.

if this temporaly solves the problem the nut slots have been cut bad (eg they have a "v" profile), if this is the case you could re-file the nut slots or try something like a slipstone nut from stew mac.

edit j.pierce we posted at the same time kl

Edited May 7, 2006 by George Brown

[j. pierce]

The first thing I'd check would be how you're stringing the thing - are you putting too many wraps on the posts? Not enough? Things like that. But if you're not having this problem on other guitars, I'd look at the tuners. I've had some inexpensive epiphones that just had worthless tuners on them, wouldn't keep in tune at all. Put another set of tuners on there, and had no problems at all. Might want to check if the strings are binding in the nuts slots as well, I've had problems there.

[DreamSeller]

The first thing I'd check would be how you're stringing the thing - are you putting too many wraps on the posts? Not enough? Things like that.

This could be it. Any pointers on how to string the thing correctly

Thanks

-Dream

The first thing I'd check would be how you're stringing the thing - are you putting too many wraps on the posts? Not enough? Things like that.

This could be it. Any pointers on how to string the thing correctly

Thanks

-Dream

[George Brown]

the way i like to string m guitars (a strat)

is to line the post hole with the nut slot then with the high e pull it through keeping it pulled fairly tight then pull the sting around (the side where there are no tuners) under itself and firmly upright. then as i wind the peg the string locks itself. after i have tuned to pitch i stretch the string by placing my finger at the first fret and pulling at the twelth (dont be too afraid to yank it) then retune. repat this for the g and b strings

for the e a and d strings i dont pull the strings as much as i can through the post i actualy leave a little slack. this is because you wont be able to turn to post enough to lock the sting in before reaching pitch.

the instuctions above apply to all of your stings as your headstock is 3+3

lastly im pretty sure that lots of winds around the post makes for bad tunning stability so the fewer the better, you may want to check out the kinman website he has some tips on stringing up.

[Robert_the_damned]

My Epiphone Les Paul standard used to go out of tune pretty quick too. The tuners a junk basicly. I'd try and get replacements, Wilkinson do kulson styled tuners that would be a direct replacement (ie un-screw old ones and then screw these in) that are pretty reasonably priced. I've heard they're pretty good. I've got a 80's set of satilite tuners in mine (they've double ringed so they look like the really old style gibson tuners).

Robert

[Mickguard]

This could be it. Any pointers on how to string the thing correctly

Yep--replace them with locking tuners. I use Grover minis, they cost about $45 a set, but you can also try the Wilkinson EZ-Loks, they go for about $25.

With locking tuners there's no more worrying about how many wraps, and whether the wraps are all facing Mecca or the big board on Wall Street.

And definitely shave some pencil lead into the nut slots (that can get a little messy though).

[deadmike]

it might be something simpler than that. and less expensive.

bb king says he winds the WHOLE string round his tuners and his guitar never goes out of tune, so im inclined to think its not how much of the string there is on them.

are the strings properly stretched? i find some strings just take a while to get properly stretched out. my last set took a month!

is the action dead low? could the pickups be pulling the strings slightly out of tune? its been known.

[Mattia]

There are a lot of places on cheaper guitars where things can go haywire: is the neck coupling solid? Are the bridge/tailpiece solid? Low-end tunomatics are notorious for being wobbly and providing inconsistent tuning.

Honestly, strings should be 'stretched out' within the first day of playing. If it's taking longer, there's something else going on somewhere, IMO.

[gtrst gone wylde]

i would try as previously mentioned taking a pencil and putting some graphite on the slots in the nut.....usually cheap plastic ones dont let the string move at all so you have tuning issues

and also if the tuners have screws that adjust the tension required to turn them........tighten them down because they are probably slipping

thats my $0.02, hopefully it helps

-

Kev

[Mattia]

i would try as previously mentioned taking a pencil and putting some graphite on the slots in the nut.....usually cheap plastic ones dont let the string move at all so you have tuning issues

and also if the tuners have screws that adjust the tension required to turn them........tighten them down because they are probably slipping

thats my $0.02, hopefully it helps

-

Kev

Tightening the tuning machine button will do diddly if there's backlash in the tuner; the screw merely adjusts how 'tight' the knobs feel when you turn them.

A new set of perfectly good Gotohs can be had for about 30 bucks. I won't settle for anything less.

[gtrst gone wylde]

ive never tried gotos but for 30 bucks you cant go wrong....ive only worked with grovers and the locking sperzals but ive heard gotohs are great, i thought they were more than that

[Mattia]

ive never tried gotos but for 30 bucks you cant go wrong....ive only worked with grovers and the locking sperzals but ive heard gotohs are great, i thought they were more than that

Gotohs have several lines, from their basic stuff that's around 30-35 bucks to the 510s which are at least double that, generally. Sperzels are very nice, and I've never used Grovers, although I've got two sets of open-backed ones here (I hear a lot of complaints about these of late, hopefully mine are from the 'good' batch).

Anyway, IMO, Gotoh's 510s are probably the best sealed tuning machine on the market.

[GregP]

Full-sized Grovers are great. My Guild has them, and I never have a tuning machine related issue.

The hole size for Grovers is different than the hole size of Gotoh, Wilkinson, etc., though if I'm not mistaken. Whatever replacement you get, save yourself the headache of differently-sized holes by getting direct replacement.

Greg

[Mickguard]

Full-sized Grovers are great. My Guild has them, and I never have a tuning machine related issue.

The hole size for Grovers is different than the hole size of Gotoh, Wilkinson, etc., though if I'm not mistaken. Whatever replacement you get, save yourself the headache of differently-sized holes by getting direct replacement.

Greg

I thought that most tuners use 10 mm holes these days? That includes Grover and most Gotohs and the Wilkinsons too. And seems like most Asian-built guitars have 10 mm holes, including Epiphone.

But yes, it's always good to check first.

The main thing to worry about when changing tuners is footprint, because if the screw holes don't match up, you'll have to make new holes in the guitar.

[Inward X]

i would definitely check the nut before you go and buy new tuning machines. george brown could very well be right, especially since it is an asian guitar (nothing against asian guitars since i have an LTD, but with a floyd licensed bridge w/ locking nut) a v shaped groove could be the problem. its not worth filing your own nut, unless you have the tools and know what your doing. id prolly go for a cheap graphite nut or something from stew mac or even warmoth. warmoth overprices things tho.

another thing it could be....check your neck and make sure its straight, not bowed or concaved. this might create even more problems in the long run, you would definitely wanna catch that early. neck repairs arent too cheap...of course, you could always diy with all the handy tutorials on the tutorials page

hope you find the solution soon

[GregP]

I've by now discarded the packaging, and the actual drill bit I used is at my dad's workshop in a neighboring village. BUT, I remember for sure that I decided to buy an Imperial drill bit of some sort, based on a size difference. It may have been negligible and easily worked with, but I elected to just get what the package asked for.

Now that you've got me thinking, though-- the size difference would probably be SO negligible that once you've screwed it down, you'd probably never even notice, so perhaps my warning isn't really all that important after all.

Greg

[Lord-of-the-strings]

I have an epiphone special II

There's your problem.

Used to have one, tuning stability was about as reliable as a dormant volcano

[Mickguard]

Used to have one, tuning stability was about as reliable as a dormant volcano

Well, you know that a volcano can remain dormant for thousands of years? Tens of thousands? Millions even. Wish my guitars would stay in tune that long

[Hoser Rob]

New tuning machines wouldn't help if the string changing technique is flawed. My favorite method is the one over, one under one. I learned it from one of Dan Erlewine's great columns in Guitar Player years ago and it's quick, easy and really stable. www.bryankimsey.com has a good explanation.

Pencil lead in the nut slots is good, and lip balm is too. My favorite thing is Triflow, which uses fast drying volatilized oil with Teflon particles in suspension. You can get it in bike shops in a 2 oz bottle that even has a little pipette like WD40 comes with (just remember to throw away that stupid tape and use a rubber band ... it'll last years and you'll lose it otherwise).

You just need a very small amount. You don't need to squeeze the bottle, just the little drop that comes out of the pipette is plenty. Then wipe off the excess.

Also, if your tuners are sealed, snug up those little screws holding the buttons on. Not too tight ... they won't work better too tight than too loose.

[marksound]

My favorite method is the one over, one under one. I learned it from one of Dan Erlewine's great columns in Guitar Player years ago and it's quick, easy and really stable.

I've been trying to remember where I learned that!

Anyway, +1. It works every time.

[Keldog]

Hey, I found this link and it seemed to fit the bill....

http://guitar.about.com/gi/dynamic/offsite...23tuningproblem

Click where it says "string winding" in the first paragraph.

Hope it helps.......

Edited May 12, 2006 by Keldog