Tuning of Epiphone Les Paul

  • Thread starter Thread starter skaltpunk
  • Start date Start date
Old strings can do it. Change 'em and see if it behaves. My personal favs are GHS Boomers (.010s).
 
That's the only bitch I have about my Epi Les, the thing is always going out of tune. I like it but am starting to consider getting a different guitar that'll stay in tune and be a little brighter.

With new strings, it takes days before it'll stay in tune for a while. Is my neck or something screwed up?

Or is it the size of the strings? I like bigger strings-- 11's are the thinnest gauge I use (and what I have on now, Boomers of course), I prefer 12's (GHS bright flats are nice) and used 13's on my old axe (COULD NOT tune it above C# with those bad larrys).

I figure an Epi Les should take such abuse better than, say, a Squier Strat. Or is that a bad assumption? Should I take it to the shop for a setup?
 
I have an Epi LP custom and do a lot of bending with .009s and I haven't noticed it going out of tune any faster then my strat or other axes.Maybe the machines on the custom are a little better hardware then the standards have on them.Just a guess.
Tom
 
whenever you change from one string size to another you need to have your neck adusted(an intonation adusted). I recomend having your guitar have a basic setup.You shouldent have that problem after that
 
I have a standard and it stays in tune really well. I play it every day, and it doesn't go out of tune any faster that any other guitar I have had. I agree with detuned6, that you need a setup.
 
The machine heads seem fine, so I guess I do need a setup. Off to Daddy's Junky I go...

detuned6: I dig the new location tag. RI is getting worse now that Linc Almond declared April to be Confederate History and Heritage Month... Hooo lordy, get the scrapple...
 
esactun

Man i wouldnt go to daddys on RT2. They have to send it out to get done. to much handling(package it , gos on truck, gos to tech than back to store) THEN YOU GET IT .
HerEs where i get mine done. 7 min down the road over at Noll guitars. across from the warwick mall in the old pontiac mills. Hes (jim and scott) abit pricy but its garenteed for 3 months!! cant beat that shit. Its right of off the highway(exit 12)
Im anti ross music (so dont go there)

Lincond "fat fuck" & Buddy "plunderdome" what a combo!
 
Axe setups in the Ocean State

Yikes, I forgot about Daddy's having to ship to New Hampshire... ug. You're anti-Ross Music? ;) I went to high school with Craig Cullen, the huge dude behind the counter. They do get pricey, and I've gotten a lot of CRAP there. (Like the DOD Death Metal pedal... what a noisy-ass gimmick. Boss kicks DOD's thin, staticky, inarticulated ASS!)

Never heard of Noll Guitars, but I know right where it is (I used to live in Warwick). How pricey is pricey? I'll check them out for sure.

Good thing Linc and Buddy hate each other.... could you imagine how screwed Lil Rhody would be if they got along?? :eek:

Everyone: RI is a nice place to visit, has got some killer beaches, and you never need to drive more than half an hour :D, but you just might NOT want to live here....
 
Yeah, Rhode Islands cool because i can go from place to place in short driving times, compared to other states. But other than that it sucks..................
 
ok guys, i figured out the problem with my guitar!! i think the fret dividers (whatever they're called, the metal strips) are too high. when i press harder (or softer) on the strings, the pitch changes. This is because the string does not touch the neck with a soft press. What should i do about this?

Have the frets shaved down?
Change my action? (i'd rather not have buzzing)
Get new strings?
 
if you need the frets filed, get someone that knows his shit and comes recomended from people whose opinions you trust. the same dude that files your frets will set it up....a set up is customery with fret work normally.
 
slow down skaltpunk, you don't want to go and have your nicely crowned new frets shaved down for no reason. You'll end up needing a whole fret replacement years sooner than you should. All Les Pauls (almost all guitars, but especially the Les Pauls) do just what you described - that is, change pitch when you apply too much pressure. Instead, try not to go animal on the neck. Lighten up a little. Work on finger placement closer to the frets rather than right in between the frets. It may take years to correct, but start today and you'll be a faster guitarist as a result, whose left hand doesn't tire so easily from the needless work of over-fretting those barre chords.

I speak with first hand experience having this problem, which is the only thing that gives me the right to say so to you - I constantly need to remind myself to lighten up. For me this originated some 20 years ago believing that more pressure means less fret buzz. I don't think I had the ears back then to realize what I was doing to pitch.

I also play Les Pauls, two of them, and they exhibit the same "problem". Now you could very well have the nut too high off the neck, which means no matter how lightly you fret a note it will bend sharp. Be sure of the cause of this before you have any work done. Let a good guitar tech tell you.
 
Although I played Strat style guitars for years, I recently got an Epi.. Although the guitar doesn't go out of tune any more than my other guitars, I noticed that the strings are very sensitive to my fingers' approach in comparison to the Strat.. For example, if I play an E chord on the Strat at the seventh position with a slightly sloppy fingering, the chord stays in tune.. Not so with the Epi. If the guitar is in tune but the chord isn't, it's because my hand position is slightly off.. Must be the harmonic sensitivity of the pickups..

Cy
 
Also some guitars with mahogany necks go out of tune because the neck bends so easily. So if you pull back on the neck or push forward without realizing it, it'll pull the strings out of tune. By the way, tuning gears rarely slip. It's part of the rack and pinion gear thing. It's just not possible for them to slip unless they're just total pieces of crap.
 
cyrokk, also remember that your Les Paul has a shorter neck/scale than the Fender, this makes for a softer feel and it's easier to push the strings out of tune.
Before having jumbo frets filed, definately check your fingering. I have two Strats, the 1961 has small fret wire while the '84 has the jumbo size similar to the Gibsons, it is a far better instrument to play, if only it sounded as good...
With the Epi Paul are you locking the strings when you wind them? eg. on the 6th string- feed it thru, then bend it clockwise and under the string where it goes thru the post. Wind it and pull up on the end piece, this will lock it as it goes round the post. You only need one to one and a half turns. When you have done this give the string a bit of a pull to take up any settling, retune and it should be good, It's hard to explain without a diagram but most people put far too many turns of string on the post, it takes ages to settle. Try locking it and it takes up far quicker.
Clive
 
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