Tuning problems help please

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Alexrkstr

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Hi guys,

My epiphone LP-100 comes out of tune too frequently. It's really hard to tune it to the green light.

How can I fix this problem? Should I buy another guitar?

Thanks.

Alex
 
Did you restring it and now it's having problems staying in tune?

If so it could be that the strings have not been stretched out enough. Or maybe the strings are slipping at the nut, bridge, or around tuning pegs when you bend a note and that's causing it.

Mike
 
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Get a new tuner. :)

How frequently is too frequently? Depending on how you play (how hard you pick, bending, etc.) a guitar will detune somewhat. Have you tried a different brand of strings? Have you changed the strings? Is your action set correctly? Do all the strings detune, or just certain ones?
 
Alexrkstr said:
Hi guys,

My epiphone LP-100 comes out of tune too frequently. It's really hard to tune it to the green light.

How can I fix this problem? Should I buy another guitar?

Thanks.

Alex


Like he said u might need to stretch out your strings or get new tuners if the tuners are slipping.. LP's ar hard to keep in tune for some reason :confused: ... If you get new tuners get grover they are the best in my opinion
 
Also if you play hard and play on thin strings you might stretch them out...just a thought
 
THanks guys,

All of the strings detune. I think the guitar is at fault. I've never had it set up or anything proffessional. It's the same way it came out of the wall at GC.

Do you think this can be fixed by a setup? or new tuners?
 
Tuners do not slip. Worm gears can not slip. Tuners can be sticky when turning, or not very smooth or accurate when turning them, but they can not slip once the guitar is in tune. If it's going out of tune it's not the tuners fault, no matter how cheap they may be. It's either stringing technique or the nut catching the strings or a combination of those.

H2H
 
Yeah.. part of the problem is that it's head to get the guitar in tune. (I use the PODxt tuner)...

Any suggestions?
 
Yes, it does sound in tune. It's my first and only electric so it's my only experience with electrics. But everyone that plays it says that there is something weird about the tuning.

My acoustic (Larrivee LV-03E) sounds great compared to it...

ALex
 
I don't know anything about electronic tuners, except that it's worthless to tune a guitar with them. Even when it's "in tune" electronically, it's not. Tuning a guitar is a compromise, and depending on the key you play in may have to be tuned slightly differently for each key by tweaking some of the strings.

"If you wish to play an even-tempered instrument in multiple keys, you accept a slight dissonance across all ranges of the keyboard in exchange for the flexibility of playing in any key without unbearable dissonance."

So tune it by ear.

If it's not holding its tuning after a few minutes, make sure you have the strings properly affixed to the tuning pegs. For non wound strings, I put them through the hole, then around and through the hole again. I also make sure there is at least one winding above and below the hole to bear on the string.

I don't know how the guitar would be at fault. If your intonation or fret spacing is not correct, it will play out of tune, but you should be able to tune the open strings correctly and they should hold their tuning.
 
Thanks H2H but my gutar is electric... can I still do it this way?
 
And just a thought.....

What do the frets look like compared to your Larivee? I'm guessing they're taller. You don't have to push nearly as hard on electric guitar as on acoustic. Getting used to different sized frets is a big deal. I know it was for me.

H2H
 
Alexrkstr said:
Thanks H2H but my gutar is electric... can I still do it this way?

Yes absolutely. Plug it into your amp to better hear the harmonics. It applies to any guitar.


H2H
 
Alexrkstr said:
It's the same way it came out of the wall at GC.

Have you put new strings on it?

I can almost assure you that if you buy a different guitar it will also constantly go out of tune if it doesn't have new strings.
 
Alexrkstr said:
Hi guys,

My epiphone LP-100 comes out of tune too frequently. It's really hard to tune it to the green light.

How can I fix this problem? Should I buy another guitar?

Thanks.

Alex

My money's on the nut. Cheap guitars usually have plastic nuts (easy, now!) which can be very bad for staying in tune because of friction. If the slots are cut too narrow for the strings you are using, then it can be a lot worse. For a guitar to stay in tune, it is imperative that the string tension be the same on both sides of the nut.

Here's a test: Tune a string down a few semitones and then bring it up to pitch as quickly as you can while watching your tuner. Once it gets there pick the string gently for 10 or 15 seconds, still watching the tuner. Does it drift sharp? If so, your nut is retaining tension and is the cause of your problem.

Here's another one: Bring a string to pitch. Stretch it manually. Does it go flat? Now, without touching a the tuning peg, squeeze the part of the string that's between the nut and the peg down to the wood. Does it return to pitch, or even go a little sharp? If so - same thing, your nut is retaining tension.

You can help the problem somewhat with lubrication; I use a slurry of teflon grease and graphite on my Strat with floating bridge. I put a tiny dot of it in each slot on the nut every time I change the strings. (Bumper sticker - "Strat players grease their nuts")

The real solution to your problem, though, assuming I have diagnosed it correctly, is to take your axe to a good guitar shop and have them cut a bone nut for it with the slots cut for the gauge strings you are using. Oh, and the lighter gauge strings you use, the more susceptible your guitar will be to this kind of thing. Use the heaviest strings you can handle; your tone will be better, too.
 
Your First step: GET YOUR GUITAR SETUP BY SOMEONE WHO KNOWS WHAT THEY ARE DOING.

Sorry to yell, but there are SOOOOOOO many things which could be the problem. The gears could be slipping (oh yes they could, trust me they could), but that is one of the least likely things to be happening. More likely, you are wrapping too many wraps around the post, or the nut is sticking, or you have a bad set of strings.

After that, learn to tune by ear. There is not a tuner in the world which is worth one shit in getting a guitar to play in tune. Here's what works for me:

I tune my A string to a tuning fork. I use the open A string, but if you want to use the fifth or twelfth fret harmonic, fine.

Next, I tune all of the A's below the 12th fret to the open a string (fifth fret on the E strings, seventh fret on the D string, second fret on the G string, and the 10th fret on the B string).

And lastly, I fine tune it all with a big six string E power chord. Open low E, seventh fret on the A string, ninth fret on the D and G strings, and the 12th fret on the B and high E strings. Make it sound nice.

I play some really damn twiddly and weird chords with all kinds of minor and major seconds and ninths. I also play a lot of dominants with big old tri tones sitting real prominent in them. I also play a lot of open chords, and a lot of the time I use a capo. And of course sixths and thirds are all over the place. Tuning like this, it ALL sounds good. Try it some time, you'll like it.

But first, take your guitar in to be setup. Trust me, you'll like it.


Light

"Cowards can never be moral."
M.K. Gandhi
 
Damn, I had an Epi Les Paul with the same sort of problem, neither me or anyone else could quite figure it out. I do set up and repair work so I was really puzzled. Just to be sure, I had it checked by 2 other set up people, none of us could ever get it quite right. I don't want to sound like I'm down on Epi, they make some fine instruments. But, like anything which is mass produced, a lemon slips through occasionaly and I got one of them, perhaps you did too. Two out of how many million, still the odds are in favor of getting a good one rather than a lemon.
 
Like many have said - put new strings on your instrument, play them in for a day or two and then test the 12th fret harmonic against the fretted note at 12th fret.

If they sound the same you're OK. If they're off then the chances are you need to get the intonation of the instrument looked at.

Bear in mind that old strings gerenrally get sharper as you travel up the neck. This is why you will find dead strings impossible to tune. They can be in tune in one place and off in another.
 
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