Acoustic Tuning Problem

[doncolga]

Hey,

I'm a new guitar player, but I've played piano for about 18 years. I have an Applause Model No AE 28 (by Ovation, made in China). I just put new strings on it Sunday and the thing will not tune now. I've got a good ear and I'm using a tuner. Some chords are in tune and some are totally out. What's the likely cause of this symptom and the best fix? There are a couple of guitar shops in town...would it be best to just take it in?...anything I should watch out for

I've just started recording acoustic into Sonar with my Shure KSM32 mic into a Tascam FW 1804 interface and have been LOVING it! I've been really pleased so far with the results, so since it won't tune well I've been a bit bummed out.

Thanks,

Donny

 

[Thatupstateguy]

Take it to a pro,... sounds like the neck is tweaked or something....

new strings usually sound great,.... but if it is in tune at one spot on the neck, and not in another,..... the neck is out of adjustment...... needs a pros hand to get it back where it belongs.....


Steve

 

[Zaphod B]

As you are a guitar newbie, a couple of things you may not know.

You need to stretch new strings a bit before they will hold their tune. With the guitar strung, just grab each string individually and give it a few gentle yanks from side to side, re-tune, repeat as necessary.

Also, many new guitarists are compelled to wrap the strings many times around the tuner posts. This will cause your guitar to fall out of tune, since the multiple windings will continue to tighten against the post, causing the string to go flat. You should be using a locking technique on the strings that allows you to use as little wrap as possible - 1-1/2 turns of wrap should be sufficient if done correctly.

 

[doncolga]

Thanks for the replies. I appreciate it!

 

[fraserhutch]

Could you explain this a bit please? I don't understand what happens to the rest of the copious lenth of wire.......... how does this locking technique work?

...
Also, many new guitarists are compelled to wrap the strings many times around the tuner posts. This will cause your guitar to fall out of tune, since the multiple windings will continue to tighten against the post, causing the string to go flat. You should be using a locking technique on the strings that allows you to use as little wrap as possible - 1-1/2 turns of wrap should be sufficient if done correctly.

 

[HapiCmpur]

Some chords are in tune and some are totally out. What's the likely cause of this symptom and the best fix?

This sounds like an intonation problem to me. If you can tune your strings but then they go out of tune pretty quickly, then take Zaphod's advice about wrapping your strings tightly and then tugging the slack out of them. But what you've said above suggests that your strings are in tune on one small section of the fingerboard and out of tune everywhere else. That's probably an intonation problem. Here's a page that tells you how to check for it and what to do about it: http://www.fretnotguitarrepair.com/intonation.htm.

 

[Anfontan]

Did you by chance change to a much heavier gauge of guitar string, that may mess up the intonation and setup? Neck will need adjustment if thats the case.

 

[bongolation]

This could be a number of things from the somewhat unclear explanation of the symptoms -- but it sounds like some variety of intonation problem.

If a tuner is available, it should indicate much more clearly what's going on: Are the open strings in tune, but the played notes off? Where? Open chords or barre chords?

It's been my experience that acoustic guitars in any price range are badly off in terms of nut setup, causing sharp notes in open chording.

In general, the intonation problems attendant to any guitar -- and all guitars have permanent intonation problems to some degree -- are worse and harder to remedy on acoustics, with their fixed saddles and typically high stringing at the nuts.

 

[Zaphod B]

Could you explain this a bit please? I don't understand what happens to the rest of the copious lenth of wire.......... how does this locking technique work?

This is one of these things that is better explained with a picture than with words. Here are the words:

For the sake of simplicity, let's assume a Stratocaster tuning peg arrangement. Angle the hole in the tuning peg so that it if you drew a line through it, the line would point to 2:00 and 8:00. Insert the string through the hole in the tuning peg, from the right side, with the excess string on the left. Leave enough string slack on the right side so that you'll get about 1-1/2 wraps on the peg.

Keeping a firm grip on the string on the right side of the peg, take the excess string on the left and pull it tightly around the peg clockwise, underneath the string going into the peg hole, and then pull the excess tightly over the string going into the peg hole. Make sure that this makes an acute angle. This is the "locking" technique.

If there is enough slack, manually loop the slack on the right side over the peg clockwise and underneath the locked portion. At this point you should be able to tighten the string with the tuning peg while keeping the slack out with the other hand.

This "reads" a lot more difficult than it really is. You may need to practice with a couple of strings before you get the technique down, but it is very easy.

Here's a picture. This is the "A" string on my Les Paul. You can see that there is hardly any string wrap on the peg. Excess string is clipped off.

 

[ggunn]

This is one of these things that is better explained with a picture than with words. Here are the words:

For the sake of simplicity, let's assume a Stratocaster tuning peg arrangement. Angle the hole in the tuning peg so that it if you drew a line through it, the line would point to 2:00 and 8:00. Insert the string through the hole in the tuning peg, from the right side, with the excess string on the left. Leave enough string slack on the right side so that you'll get about 1-1/2 wraps on the peg...

FWIW, I keep a lot of wraps on the pegs, and after the initial stretch, my guitars stay in tune just fine. Several wraps prevents slippage, and according to an article I read in Guitar Player a few years ago, wrapping to the bottom of the peg helps with sustain. I tried the so called "locking" method once, but the strings were a real PITA to get off the pegs at changing time, so I ditched it. I don't think it helps anything, but YMMV.

 

[Zaphod B]

I tried the so called "locking" method once, but the strings were a real PITA to get off the pegs at changing time, so I ditched it.

Yeah, what I do when I change strings is to cut them between the nut and the tuners - otherwise they are a PITA to get off.