Guitar Maintenence

  • Thread starter Thread starter Scrubucket7
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Scrubucket7

Scrubucket7

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My strat seems to be dieing....It recently started going out of tune easier, the strings are rusting from the humidity of the new england air, and my strings keep breaking easier. How can I help my guitar from going out of tune as much? It never used to have a problem with losing tuning, but since i put a lighter gauge set of strings on it, they go out of tune while im playing alot. Also, what can i do to keep the humidity from killing it? Since the weather sucks, my guitar seems to suck more.
 
Scrubucket7 said:
My strat seems to be dieing....It recently started going out of tune easier, the strings are rusting from the humidity of the new england air, and my strings keep breaking easier. How can I help my guitar from going out of tune as much? It never used to have a problem with losing tuning, but since i put a lighter gauge set of strings on it, they go out of tune while im playing alot. Also, what can i do to keep the humidity from killing it? Since the weather sucks, my guitar seems to suck more.
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Does it have a tremelo bar? Lighter gauge strings exacerbate the problem of string friction in the nut retaining tension between the nut and the bridge when you release the whammy bar. They break easier, too.
 
You might want to go back to a heavier gauge of strings and see what happens. Was the guitar setup after you switched gauges (neck adjusted if needed, intonation adjusted, tension on bridge adjusted if it has a whammy bar)? Where do the strings usually break? At the bridge? The nut? In the middle? Does one string break more often than others? Many things cause strings to break: playing lighter gauge strings too hard, badly worn out strings, rough edges on saddles, or the nut. Do you stretch your strings when you first put them on? Humidity changes can cause your neck to move, which will make it go out of tune. Some guitars just seem to work best with certain string gauges.
 
I didnt change anything when I changed the strings. They almost always break at the bridge, but i havent had this problem until recently. Would leaving it in a case possibly help the humidity problem at all? Any by the way, i dont have a wammy bar hooked up. I think im going to switch back to some heavier gauged strings and see if that helps.
 
Scrubucket7 said:
I didnt change anything when I changed the strings. They almost always break at the bridge, but i havent had this problem until recently. Would leaving it in a case possibly help the humidity problem at all? Any by the way, i dont have a wammy bar hooked up. I think im going to switch back to some heavier gauged strings and see if that helps.
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The string pinch in the nut effect can happen even without a whammy bar, and can mess with you if you bend strings a lot. Try this: with the guitar in tune and plugged into a tuner, squeeze the G string all the way down to the wood of the headstock and release it. Check the tuning, is it sharp? Bend the G string across the neck as far as you can. Does it come back in tune, or maybe even go a little flat? If so, friction in the nut is at least part of your problem.

Oh, and you said that you didn't have a whammy bar "hooked up". If you have an unblocked floating bridge and just don't have the bar attached, and you changed to lighter strings, that could also be giving you tuning headaches.
 
Why did you put lighter strings on it? unless you're having problems with pain in your hands I don't see why you would want lighter strings. Heavier strings won't break as easily, and have a thicker sound.
 
Yeah, keeping it in the case can help with humidity issues, although it is usually acoustics that are more profoundly affected by humidity. If the strings break at the bridge, one possibility is that you have some rough spots on the saddles that cut through the lighter strings more easily. These can be sanded out fairly easily, but if you are uncomfortable with doing that sort of thing yourself, you may want to get a tech to look at it. I have a similar problem with my (don't laugh) G string.

Slightly heavier strings will put more tension on the neck also, which may help stabilize it some, especially if it is trying to bow backwards. Since your post seems to indicate that the problems started when you changed gauges, I think that reverting back will help you out some. You may still need to set the intonation.
 
When you change string gauge, everything gets thrown out of whack. Remember, everything in the guitar is either responding to or resisting the tension of the strings. When you go to a lighter gauge of strings, you are putting less tension on the guitar. If you have found that you like the gauge of strings you are using, then you should get a good professional setup to make sure everything is working right, and is playing as best it can be. Your intonation is almost certainly shot to hell, among other things.

Additionally, without seeing it, there is no way anyone can do anything but make assumptions about what is wrong. And we all know what Benny Hill said about making assumptions. I can think of at least dozens of possibilities, and most of them take a trained eye to diagnose. Take it to a professional; you will be happy you did.


Light

"Cowards can never be moral."
M.K. Gandhi
 
Autist said:
one possibility is that you have some rough spots on the saddles that cut through the lighter strings more easily. These can be sanded out fairly easily, but if you are uncomfortable with doing that sort of thing yourself, you may want to get a tech to look at it. I have a similar problem with my (don't laugh) G string.
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So your G string is snagging on rough spots in your saddle, eh? Mine, too. But if sandpaper's the solution, I'll just live with the problem, thanks.
 
Yeah, please don't go filing the saddles down because I said that is a possibility. I said that because it is something I am familiar with and I know that the strings can roughen them up over time to the point where they can cause breakage. If you still have problems after reverting to the other gauge you may want a professional tech to look at it because without seeing the guitar it is very hard for anyone to know what is causing some problems. Even if you don't have problems you may want to take it in for a setup (as Light suggested). Then you could just get the setup with whatever strings you prefer. If you still have problems with the lighter strings after a setup, then you may need to get it setup with heavier ones, but it could also be other things that may require a professional diagnosis, or even an adjustment in your playing technique.

Setups are very important. When you buy a guitar it usually has a sort of generic setup that isn't really intended to be perfect for everyone. You should definitely have it setup by a pro if you don't know how to do it yourself.
 
ibanezrocks said:
Why did you put lighter strings on it? unless you're having problems with pain in your hands I don't see why you would want lighter strings. Heavier strings won't break as easily, and have a thicker sound.
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I put on lighter strings cause when i snapped a couple i was at my friends house. The only strings he had around were lighter than what im used to.
 
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