Out of tune Les Paul

[dzee4]

I have had my Gibson Les Paul Studio for about 8 years. Since I bought it, it hasn't stayed in tune for extended periods of time. In the middle of a song, it goes out of tune (mainly the G and D strings). I brought it to 2 different music stores to see if the neck was warped or if there was something else wrong with it. Everyone said it was normal for Les Paul Studios to do this. Is that true? It got really annoying so I started using my Strat again. Has anyone else ever had problems with this? How do I fix it? Thanks

[kid klash]

try two things :

1. replace your tuning pegs with Grovers.

2. replace the original saddles and nut with GraphTec saddles and nut.

Les Pauls stay in tune very well with good tuning pegs, unless you're breaking in new strings.

[zepman]

You may try a little pencil lead shavings in the nut slots.I have found that this is the number one cause of Les Pauls not staying in tune(strings hanging in nut slot).Also a pro set up will work wonders.............John

[toyL]

What kid and zep said…don’t be afraid to spend a few bucks on it…hell man, even a Porsche needs an occasional trip to a qualified mechanic…just make sure that the person you take it to is experienced…see if you can get your hands on an old tun-o-matic bridge and one of those “hefty” tail-pieces (both from the early to mid sixties, although they may also have been produced later on)… grovers will help a bunch, and so will some proper filing of the nut-grooves, maybe a neck-adjustment, new strings, have the harmonics set…in the hands of the right person nearly all gibson’s can be set-up to stay in tune for weeks on end, but only if YOU take the time and $ to make it so…it kills me how so many guitar “players” have really nice instruments but never spend any more cash on them than it takes to buy new strings “on-sale”…do you shop at K-mart for your ol’lady’s birthday?…if you do you need to quit it and start taking better care of her AND your guitar…

[Keith27]

My Les paul Jr. would always go out of tune in the middle of a song always. Turns out Gibson had the wrong nut on it. Go figure. So I had it replace with a bone one. Sounds much better too now....

[lazyboy]

I've heard that LP's go out of tune easier because of their short scale length. Any truth to that?

[LocusLarsen]

Its acually because of the angled headstock. Same thing with PRS, but tuners and lead fixes all that. And its usually only G......same as most guitars