tuning predicament

andrushkiwt

andrushkiwt

Well-known member
Guitars and bass have been moving out of tune overnight since I started doing home recording. The room has a window, though it's rather new and sealed well. But no heat or air conditioning in it...this is the only room in the house with a ventilation problem.

oddly enough, the tuning goes up by the next day...not down, where I'd think there'd be less tension on the strings. It goes up nearly a half step - bass and guitar. Gibson Studio Gothic, restored to nearly new by reputable lutheir. Anyone else have this problem? Suggestions on fixing it...other than move them to another room. I'm lazy.
 
How's the temperature in "the" room? We're in the middle of a post-summer heatwave and I don't have aircon, and it's Australia, and when I picked up my LP today which had been in the "guitar room" for weeks unplayed, it had gone a half step up in pitch. Weird that in the US in early spring you're getting a similar issue.

Not sure what you can do apart from put your guitars in another room.
 
Armistice said:
How's the temperature in "the" room? We're in the middle of a post-summer heatwave and I don't have aircon, and it's Australia, and when I picked up my LP today which had been in the "guitar room" for weeks unplayed, it had gone a half step up in pitch. Weird that in the US in early spring you're getting a similar issue.

Not sure what you can do apart from put your guitars in another room.
Click to expand...

Well it's always closer to the outside temp in that room compared to others. Recently, it's been pretty cold in there (65 F?) during winter when the house is heated to 72 F.

In the 25 years I've played guitar, I've never had one move up in pitch. Is there something about Gibson or LP's?
 
My guitars are always up in pitch in the morning during the winter in wales. So I drop em down a bit.. then as they (and I) warm up I have to slacken them off again.
 
How's your humidity?
Fluctuations during the winter, even in Michigan, are going to affect the guitars more than temps will.
At least that's my experience if I don't provide a more consistent supply of moisture to the environment. It gets damn dry here, so its particularly important for me. I've had a guitar that was left out change by a full tone overnight when a humidifier ran dry.
 
teknomike said:
How's your humidity?
Fluctuations during the winter, even in Michigan, are going to affect the guitars more than temps will.
At least that's my experience if I don't provide a more consistent supply of moisture to the environment. It gets damn dry here, so its particularly important for me. I've had a guitar that was left out change by a full tone overnight when a humidifier ran dry.
Click to expand...

Humidity. Good idea. Ok I'll try running a humidifier overnight. Have one sitting around somewhere. Yeah it's very dry in here come winter. Thanks
 
JDOD said:
My guitars are always up in pitch in the morning during the winter in wales. So I drop em down a bit.. then as they (and I) warm up I have to slacken them off again.
Click to expand...

Ok good to know. I can't recall how much they move in the summer, but yeah the winter is crazy. You would think theyd go down right? There's more tension going up...weird
 
My studio room stays pretty cool when I'm not in there, especially during the winter. Almost all of my guitars go sharp when I leave them unplayed overnight. As I play each one and they warm up nearer to body temp, I retune them and they'll be fine until they sit untouched for a while. I always attributed it to temperature changes. The humidity stays pretty constant in my basement.
 
Tadpui said:
My studio room stays pretty cool when I'm not in there, especially during the winter. Almost all of my guitars go sharp when I leave them unplayed overnight. As I play each one and they warm up nearer to body temp, I retune them and they'll be fine until they sit untouched for a while. I always attributed it to temperature changes. The humidity stays pretty constant in my basement.
Click to expand...

Cool thanks. Not easy fix then I suppose. I'll update if I find something that works. Thanks for all the input
 
If you've got an exterior wall in that room, it might help to avoid storing your instruments against or near it. Sounds to me like it might be time to check setup. If your strings are pulling sharp, it could be that your neck is flattening out against the string tension. One of my basses tends to need more frequent truss rod adjustments than any of my other instruments. In winter, I find myself having to tighten the rod from time to time as the neck wants to bow more. The strings will be flat after it has sat for few days--neck bowing forward = less string tension. In the spring, it's the other way around. The neck will straighten, causing too low relief, strings going sharp, and more fret buzz on the lower frets. The solution is to loosen the truss rod--usually several adjustments over a period of weeks--so that the neck bows out to its proper relief. That's my Fender Jazz, btw. My Fender P, with a thicker neck, hardly ever moves at all.

Just a thought.
 
Wood being an organic material, will go through changes with temp and humidity. Metal does as well ( truss rod, strings) but not at the same rate of expansion and contraction as wood. Hence, the out of tuneness. Keeping them in a case helps, but that's no fun.:D

I did some tech work for Steve Vai. In one show, i actually had to readjust his truss rod both loose and tight.

His necks are so thin that just the stage lights and his body heat would make the guitars not only go out of tune, but they'd require neck adjustments as well.

This was after only a few songs.

Yeah, guitars will do shit like that. Just gotta deal with it or get them in a less volatile environment. This is why collectors have the instruments in a climate controlled environment. They can afford that. The rest of us just do what we can.

Stable temps can help as can dehumidifiers. But dont't overdo it. If you suck ALL the moisture out, that can cause its own set of problems. If I remember correctly, about 30% humidity is ok.
 
RFR said:
I did some tech work for Steve Vai.
Click to expand...
I'm not exactly a fan of his music but totally respect his ability to play. Curious, what's he like playing when you just see him widdling on a guitar having a warm up? I bet he shows some insane ability which would rarely make it into his live set.
 
I dont enjoy his brand of music, but got loads of respect. The guy's a monster!

Keep in mind he played with Zappa. If you can hang with him you'd better have monster chops, know theory cold, be able to sight read etc.

Vai is a nice, humble guy and can play well in all genres. :D
 
RFR said:
If I remember correctly, about 30% humidity is ok.
Click to expand...

I heard 50%, which is why guitars in Mediterranean climates need much less work.

Andru, this happens to my guitars mostly during season changes. This winter they all went sharp. Do you store it in the case? That will help a little. Some people put a damp sponge in the case if it's dry weather outside. What I did is just retune them like people said, but I double checked the intonation. If it's not sharp b/c of intonation then just retune it. If it's intonation, you have to lengthen the saddle screw a little, retune to pitch, repeat until it's right.
 
My Jazz bass never budges in tuning - it's winter in the van, and warm in the house, and if it does change, it's usually knocking a peg putting it in the case. My old Peavey bass goes up and down on a whim. Just how the guitars are.
 
ok good things here. I'll try putting it in the case overnight and see if that helps any. good call.

thanks everyone
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top