Guitar Strings and Tuning

biskitboy

biskitboy

Power User
I have a question about guitar strings and tuning. I don't play an instrument at all, but I read this forum religiously. :)

1) My son has an Alex Lifeson LP, and this guitar ALWAYS stays in tune. He has mentioned that it can be over a week+ before he needs to tune it. When he gigs, he'll tune before a show and it will stay tuned the entire time and then some. This guitar is used every day.

He also has a LP Traditional Pro that can barely stay in tune an entire song. Usually, it's just a string or two that are constantly having issues. I've tried various types of strings, and followed all kinds of videos but nothing seems to work. I'm hoping someone can shed some light on what could be wrong here, and also why does the AL LP stay in tune so long (doesn't seem normal, or maybe it is)!

2) The Alex Lifeson LP is a relatively new guitar. Christmas gift 2012. We've never changed the strings on it and my son looks at me funny when I say I want to change them. Everything sounds great, but I'm worried a string is going to break at the wrong time. Should I be worried? Or should he just play until the sound diminishes or something?

Thanks again to this community! Sorry for such a basic post.

Pics from last nights gig:
2013 Broad Street Cafe - pennapages' Photos | SmugMug
 
The Alex Lifeson has a Floyd Rose tremelo and lock nut which once it is tuned will hold the tuning well. The traditional doesn't.

I would advise the strings are well past their best. Old strings also don't tune too well.

Edit, take the traditional to a luthier and have the guitar checked, possibly also the addition of locking machine heads may help.
 
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I have an old epiphone LP custom that I left in the case unplayed for about a year... picked it up one night and it was perfectly in tune :shock
 
that's one of the reasons i like the floyd rose. tuning stability is amazing whether you use the trem or not.

for the non-trem guitar, (if you haven't already tried): try just one or two winds of string onto the tuning peg. i find that multiple winds can reduce the tuning stability on my fixed bridge guitars.
 
Make sure the strings aren't binding in the nut,Nut lube maybe, tighten the tuning machine screws,also when you wrap a string around the tuning post(large string maybe 3 times ,smaller more) when the string goes though the post hole make sure it goes under the last string wrap ,that way when tightening ,it pinches string and stays tight
 
Is it that the tuning goes off when the strings are played open or when they are fingered on say the 1st, 2nd or 3rd frets ..... ?
If it's when they are fingered, then the nut may need 'filing' down a little to lower the string .... be VERY careful if you try this!
I recently filed a nut down on my LP for this exact reason... Pitch was spot on, open and on 12th fret, so I knew the intonation was OK but then when I played a C or E chord it sounded like a train wreck ..... if your nut is white you can use pencil lead shavings to colour the slot then using a needle file, working from the 'back' or 'tuning peg' side gentle file away the nut and re-check the tuning every 3 strokes or so.... if you file it too much you'll 'bottom out' and need a new nut......
My LP is spot on all the way up the neck now...... oh happy day!
 
Another obvious thing to mention here is when you do a string change make sure to pre stretch. If you change strings and don't do this procedure the strings will constantly go out of tune until they have completely stretched out. Just don't over do it as it will cause the strings to go dead early or brake.
 
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I have a Gibson Les Paul Traditional Pro and they come with locking Grover tuners. Paired with the fixed bridge there should not be any tuning issues with that setup. I have read about nut issues causing tuning problems with that guitar and opening up the nut slots fixes it. They are apparently too tight from the factory. A litttle "nut sauce" wouldn't hurt either. I also have many Floyd Rose equipped Kramer guitars and the trick with them is proper setup. You have to understand how they work to set them up properly. I also have found the real German made Floyds are best. I don't recommend licensed ones.

Roger
 
Thanks guys. I have been been pre-stretching the strings. But, there's a good chance I'm not doing it perfectly.

My son says it is usually just the G string that goes out. So, I'll make sure the tuning peg is fastened properly and apply some "nut sauce".

Thanks again.
 
biskitboy said:
He also has a LP Traditional Pro that can barely stay in tune an entire song. Usually, it's just a string or two that are constantly having issues.
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Something's not right. Even a string that's never been prestretched will eventually settl in and hold pitch. Loose tuner, bad tuner, binding at the nut...these are the most likely culprits.


The Alex Lifeson LP is a relatively new guitar. Christmas gift 2012. We've never changed the strings on it and my son looks at me funny when I say I want to change them. Everything sounds great, but I'm worried a string is going to break at the wrong time. [/QUOTE]
Old strings eventually break. And they lose their tone. If you think it sounds great now, put on some new strings and five a listen.
 
My guess is there is a problem with the nut or neck pitch bridge, saddle- set up of the guitar.

maybe the nut isn't cut right... maybe it needs to be shimmed to get a better angle.

maybe you're not stringing it right and you're hitting the nut at a bad angle.

i realized last year i'm stringing my guitars wrong all these years. i just got a taylor and read their manual and really like their recommendation for stringing too- so i've been doing that on non trem guitars. i'm pretty happy with those results
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When I was in high school- i'd throw my Floyd Rose ESP guitar in the band room closet every day and tune it once a week.
i haven't had the same luck with ibanez edge guitars-- but in general you can be able to do that

i'd really would recommend keeping strings on a guitar - they will break at the worst time
since it's a locking trem- if you break one strings all the others will be thrown out of tune- and you will not be able to get the others in tune
AND
changing those strings isn't a quick process- so i'd have better maintenance guitars if you were gigging.

if 2 strings are slipping its probably the machine heads shipping- genuin gibsons are about $60-70 a set- that might help or get something better- a locking set of tuners.

if you're constantly playing a guitar and playing shows 6 months is too damn long for a set of strings

MOST OF ALL!
if you have little experience with double locking trem systems- you need to learn and you need practice changing strings on them.
you have to change one at a time- and it can get complex compared to regular tuning of a stratocaster or something like that

the sound diminishes on strings in maybe a few days maybe a week- so 6 months is too much.

also just because a guitar is super expensive doesn't mean automatically it's made well and has good parts- you may want to change the nut to a better quality material

the lifeson LP has a graphtech nut
i wouldn't recommend that nut even though it's working out for you
a genuine floyd rose nut would be 1000x better
they're about $40- and with genuine floyd springs will make you only need to tune it once a month instead of once a week (figuratively)

also- a full set up and fretdress is important. if you have a guitar guy that knows what he's doing it should solve every problem.
 
Since it's the G string that's the biggest problem, that makes me think it's the nut... I had that problem on my first PRS until I replaced the nut w/ a better one (apparently this is a common problem on Korean PRS). As others have said, use nut sauce, or maybe widen the slot a touch. You probably want a pro to do that as you don't want to overdo it.

I used to live in RDU and if you want to get work done, try Mark at Fat Sound in Cary. He's always done right by my guitars.

Nice to see pics of Broad Street, hung out there a lot back in the day. Never played there though...
 
Jeries, there is no tuning problem with the Lifeson and it doesn't have a graphtech, photo's show it has a Floyd nut. I've never heard of a guitar only needing to be tuned once a month. Stuff happens with wood, strings, tension, humidity, temperature. My guitar with Floyd is pretty stable, but still it's only sometimes I take it from the case without needing to tune it. Sometimes I need to tune all strings down because all had gone sharp! Also mahogany is softer than maple, it may be less stable. I heard of many mahogany necked guitars being unstable. Even PRSs that go off every second song.

That said, the most common reason for tuning instability is a binding nut, so the slot needs widening and some sauce. Also having too many windings on the tuning post will give it room to stretch. Two rounds are plenty, one under and one over the string as it reaches the post. Often only 1 1/2 on the thick strings. Take those two first!

Also the G string is the most unstable string on all of my guitars. Dunno why that is exactly. Merits some research.
 
I have found Big Bends Nut Sauce made a huge difference for me on PRS SE 245 (like an LP). I thought it might be kinda gimmicky when I bought it but have been very happy with the results.
 
Just a note to all the good advice in the posts above: be sure to find out what the real problem is (or have a tech diagnose it for you) before you take a file to your nut. Filing a nut to see whether it will fix a problem is a recipe for trouble.

In fact, if you've never filed a nut before, have a qualified tech do it. There are too many ways to get it wrong (too low, too wide, wrong angle, wrong taper...).
 
Dutch said:
Jeries, there is no tuning problem with the Lifeson and it doesn't have a graphtech, photo's show it has a Floyd nut.
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it has a graphtech LICENSED floyd bridge
and a graphtech made licensed floyd nut

the genuine floyd parts made by schaller in germany under the name of Floyd Rose are superior quality to anything. the metal- the stability the quality and workmanship.

just because nothing is wrong with a guitar doesn't mean it can't be better.

It would benefit from a genuine floyd nut and springs. (you wouldn't want to change the bridge because of the pickup in it)

there's a big difference between a 'double locking tremolo' and a genuine floyd rose bridge.
 
@ biskit how many string wraps do you have around the tuning peg? If only a couple it will never stay in tune. Each string should have as many wraps as you can possibly get on the post. It takes practice to estimate how much string to wrap and each guitar is different.
 
biskitboy said:
Thanks guys. I have been been pre-stretching the strings. But, there's a good chance I'm not doing it perfectly.

My son says it is usually just the G string that goes out. So, I'll make sure the tuning peg is fastened properly and apply some "nut sauce".

Thanks again.
Click to expand...


I have said this many times in life, and I shall repeat it for you now. Wound G string. Is a life changer, and you will never go back.
 
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