Les Paul won't stay in tune... Solutions?

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bhefner88

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I've got a beautiful 2004 Les Paul Standard Limited Edition model, and I'm discouraged to find that it isn't staying in tune. I tried new strings, stretched them, etc, and know that it obviously isn't my application.

The guitar tends to keep tube until I play it ( if I tune it and leave it for a day it seems to keep tune until I start jamming )

The neck looks straight, so I'm not thinking it is due to the guitar itself being ruined.

I upgraded the tuners to Grovers a while back, and wonder if it might possibly be them? Could it be the bridge?

I went two years without playing it as I was away on assignment, and am pretty sad about this finding. Please help! If you feel inclined send an e-mail to arizonaguitar89@gmail.com . I really need to figure this out as there's a good chance I'll be touring soon.
 
You are either not winding the strings on the posts correctly or they are hanging up in the nut and/or bridge slots. Take it to a tech and get a setup and explain the problem.
 
It must not be the winding issue then because I use 3 fingers of tension and am very meticulous about winding correctly. What do you mean by hanging up in the nut/bridge slots?
 
Strings can bind in the slots. You might try a little nut sauce first.
 
Goddamn "Reply to Thread" vs. "Post Quick Reply" buttons! I hate losing posts (twice).

Short version: Atom Bomb funny. Other guys correct.

And now for a short meditation on clicking the correct frickin button...
 
bhefner88 said:
I've got a beautiful 2004 Les Paul Standard Limited Edition model, and I'm discouraged to find that it isn't staying in tune. I tried new strings, stretched them, etc, and know that it obviously isn't my application.

The guitar tends to keep tube until I play it ( if I tune it and leave it for a day it seems to keep tune until I start jamming )

The neck looks straight, so I'm not thinking it is due to the guitar itself being ruined.
I upgraded the tuners to Grovers a while back, and wonder if it might possibly be them? Could it be the bridge?

I went two years without playing it as I was away on assignment, and am pretty sad about this finding. Please help! If you feel inclined send an e-mail to arizonaguitar89@gmail.com . I really need to figure this out as there's a good chance I'll be touring soon.
Click to expand...
First step .... check your intonation and make sure it's correct ..... after that:

Tuners won't be the cause ...... the primary difference between tuners is that some give you more precise control while tuning but once it's in tune, they don't slip ..... that's a common myth but not true.
It's also not going to have anything to do with your neck being straight or not ..... that's a matter of playbility. It wouldn't make your string GO out of tune while playing.

So it's gonna be at places where a string can either hang up or places that can flex the string.

A spot on a nut or bridge where the string can 'catch' rather than sliding smoothly over it is gonna be the most likely thing. If you bend a string, it slides over the nut
(sometimes the bridge saddle) and if it doesn't slide back all the way because it's caught, then all of a sudden it's out of tune.
Some lube (nutsauce) on each can help with that.

Also, maybe not have the stop tailpiece down all the way ...... that puts more downforce on the bridge and helps make the string get caught.

I've seen saddles on Les Pauls that can be kinda loose so the saddles can move back and forth in the bridge making the strings go out of tune .... check for that.

Double check your winding procedure ...... I have seen people think they did it the best way but in fact, did not.

Sometimes Les Pauls with the mahogany neck can have a neck that's fairly flexible. With those necks it's VERY easy to be pulling back or pushing forward on the neck slightly without realizing it and flex the neck enough to knock it out of tune.
That's more common than most people think and it can be a very difficult to tell you're doing it because on some necks it doesn't take much.

Good luck.
 
Tune up to pitch as well. Pencil lead is a good substitute for nut lube.
 
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