Can't get the G-String of my LP to stay in tune

This is crazy. I am having the exact same problem. My Les Paul was setup only last year with numerous mods including new nut and tuners. I am taking it to the tech tomorrow and will post what the tech does for me.
 
some Guitars more than others. But all Guitars have this issue. Fenders less than others. But strobe it and its there. Pythagoras, you need some sort of compensation. Earvana or Feiten system. First make sure Intonation is correct at the Bridge. G is the furthest saddle . Other than that , some kind of nut compensation!
 
I have had more problems with the G than any other string, but I always assumed (maybe wrongly) that it was just the physics of the string itself. The lower strings are wound and thus the winding will "catch" on the other loops around the peg. The higher strings i usually "double" through the hole before tightening, giving them a way to grip. The G is usually too thick to double through the hole, and not wound so it becomes the problem child. I could be totally wrong about all this, and I don't have a solution even if right.
 
All my LP have done this. I have developed a workaround (since I have not found a fix that works 100% of the time).
1. Use nut sauce often on the G, not just when you change strings.

2. Stretch the strings over the fret board AND behind the nut, over the head stock, by pushing it. When I am playing and the G goes out, I use my right hand thumb, reach over and bend the G, by pushing and releasing quickly, behind the nut over the head stock. Like Jimmy Page does in the lead to "Heartbreaker".This usually puts it back in place when I am in the middle of a song and can't stop to tune. I actually try to work it in to the song somehow.
An a side note, Matt Brewster from 30th st Guitar in NYC NYC Guitar Repairs & Pedals - 30th Street Guitars / Welcome has a fix to keep LP's in tune by adding a extra piece(a sliver) on the fret board at the G slot, that he says will keep the guitar in tune from open chords to fretted chords. I have talked to customers that had it done, they say it works.
 
This sounds like binding in the nut. Over the years I've tried everything available. The existing nut could be opened up a bit and that might help. However, the best solution I've come up with is using a Graph Tech nut. They are very slippery and last for years.

To properly replace a nut, you need specialized nut files, which are rather expensive, so this is probably not a job for the inexperienced. Any competent luthier will be able to change out the nut to the Graph Tech equivalent.

Infrequently I've seen this problem caused by a rough, ill fitting groove in the saddle. That's pretty uncommon though. So I'd look at the nut first.
 
again, some Guitars more than others. But all Guitars have this issue. Fenders less than others. But strobe it and its there. Pythagoras, you need some sort of compensation. Earvana or Feiten system. First make sure Intonation is correct at the Bridge. G is the furthest saddle . Other than that , some kind of nut compensation!
Sometimes using a Lighter G (15) helps. But if youre super anal, compensation nut is the fix.
Intonation alone only resolves the "open string". The top E sharpens the least amount, and the G the most. Guitar and String Manufactures have battled this forever. Leo Fender told me back in the day (at G&L) that they would never change the nut to fix this because it would be "Changing Fender". What people are accustomed too. Like The "Skunk Stripe" on the necks.
 
On my LPs, I also have trouble with intonation on the low E. I've even flipped the bridge saddle backwards to try to get enough length to get it to intonate properly. Still not quite "right on the money".

I do not have this problem on my EBMMs. I also love their compensated nut.
 
Rex said:
Didn't know that. Thanks for the detail.

So why is the G string so universally problematic? It's the one string that many guitarists just can't find a happy tuning for.
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Maybe they all tune to make an E chord sound good, but being the lowest-tuned plain string makes some things happen more vs. other plain & (usually) wound strings. It can go the furthest out due to friction or other slipping/shifting, and the sharpest at low frets if the nut is slotted too high. It will go the flattest from heat of playing (mostly sliding) which might be an issue for someone trying to quickly retune. Give it 5-10 seconds before deciding it went flat, or it can end up sharp when cooled off.
 
I still don't understand why guitar manufactures don't perfect and use a roller style type of nut. A zero friction nut would solve any binding issues, and I don't buy the "It makes it guitar sound to bright" argument ether. If that was the case the frets would make every note fretted too bright and open notes sound dead.
 
Sixstring said:
I still don't understand why guitar manufactures don't perfect and use a roller style type of nut. A zero friction nut would solve any binding issues...
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It's hard to make a roller that's as stable as a solid chunk of material.
 
it's not normal for a string to keep going flat after tuning, as per the OP. check the winding of string (not too many around the post, as already mentioned) and the nut lubrication etc. obvious one but sometimes overlooked - stretch the problem string thoroughly. then stretch it again. maybe even a defective tuner.

but it's worth remembering that you can never get a guitar in perfect tune.
this is due to 12-tone equal temperament for straight-fretted instrument, which results in a compromise of the tuning so it'll sound roughly in tune for all keys - and the g-string is usually where discrepancy can be clearly noticed, when playing open chords.
 
Most of the time it's the way the nut is cut IMO.
The les Paul's I have, in my case a Gibson flying V being the worse offender.
any guitar were the strings flair out after leaving the nut and going to the head stock, tuning issues especially the G-string.
Needless to say most nuts are cut straight, so in essence when the string flairs out its going around a corner the G string being the thickest unwound does not react well, kind of like a bend.
My tech has a different approach he rounds everything out a bit were the strings flair out from the nut, notice no hard bends.

Notice the way the nut is cut in my shit photo's of my Flying V, no hard corners.
It does not make everything 100% but cuts down on tuning problems dramatically.
I have had the V since 1986 and have had a shit load of people go over the guitar to help with it's tuning issues, never really helped.
Never played live with this guitar because of the tuning.
I know, why didn't I sell it?? Well plays great, sounds freaking amazing, and its a beautiful piece. So used it at home and in the studio.

Four years ago I find a new guitar tech and while picking up a guitar I was telling him about the V which sounds amazing and if your lucky might stay in tune for 3-4 songs and that fine tuning the thing was a bitch and a half.
A few months later got him to do work on another guitar and took the V with me for fun long story short i left it with him and he put on a new nut.
It only took 20 + years but problem solved! I'll play a set with the V now stays in tune way better and if I do need to make adjustments, it's not fighting me anymore.
It's such a minor thing but works!

This is a graphite nut on the V and also have a graphite on one of my Les Pauls and a Takamine acoustic I have. My other Les paul has a bone nut however it is cut like the others.

John





 
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Rex said:
It's hard to make a roller that's as stable as a solid chunk of material.
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IDK I think Fender has done a pretty good job with their offering. The only thing that would make it better is if it had an adjustable hight per sting and was done in such a way that you could drop it into any guitar without having to cut up the fret board to install it. The other issue would be the radius, I not positive but I think it's only offered in a 9.5.



 
Still say a wound G string is the best way to solve this. I've had this same tuning problem on LPs, and the wound G string is what finally fixed it for me.
 
Sixstring said:
IDK I think Fender has done a pretty good job with their offering.
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How does it compare to a decent fixed nut? I don't have any experience with them, and it's hard to find someone who has that experience who's tried both on the same guitar.
 
Haven't read all the posts. In short, I'm a Lester fanatic. 99% of the tuning issues with a Les Paul are nut related. Make sure it's cut right, lubed, or replaced with a more efficient nut. If the nut fine, then look at your tuning gear, is it tight? Consistent? Solid?

Most of the time, it's nut.
 
Rex said:
How does it compare to a decent fixed nut? I don't have any experience with them, and it's hard to find someone who has that experience who's tried both on the same guitar.
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I haven't had any experience with it ether but a quick surf on the Fender forum gets mixed answers. Some really like it and others couldn't tell and differences at all and some state that they will never do it again because of the fact that you have to mod the fret bord for the install and once that's done theres no going back unless your really good at working wood.
 
From 6L6C
My tech has a different approach he rounds everything out a bit were the strings flair out from the nut, notice no hard bends.
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On the headstock side right? I see you are from Long Island. Who is you tech?
 
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