Out of tune...

Feelgood

Hey folks,

I bought a Custom Les Paul about 12 months ago and all was going great until I broke a string and now it just keeps floating out of tune on me.....

I initially broke the top E string, when I replaced it the G string would go out of tune at even a slight bend. So I eventually restrung the entire guitar and now the top E, G and B strings go out of just nearly from just strumming chords...

Has anyone had the same issues on these guitars?. Nothing abnormal about the setup at all, have grover machine heads and the Gibson .9 strings on it.

If no one has any ideas, does anyone know where I might find a really good luthier?

Cheers for any info.....

Johnny Storm

Since it is the season of goodwill I will charitably assume that this is not a wind up.....

Did you put the strings on the right way?
http://www.fretnotguitarrepair.com/stringing.htm

More info here
http://www.fretnotguitarrepair.com/tuningprobs.htm

steveland?

Did you take all the strings off at once when you were restringing it? If you did then that's not a great idea, the nut could've slipped out a little bit causing it to not stay in tune.

Up at the headstock, run your fingers over the side of the nut and make sure it's flush with the body completely on both sides. If it's out a tiny bit then your best bet might be to just bring it into Musician or somewhere and ask them to have a look at it. Should be a simple job but a set-up might be all that's needed

Sofaspud

After you changed the strings did you stretch them?

I used to get really irritated by strings constantly going out of tune, before I found out that you should give new strings a good stretching as soon as you put them on.

Feelgood

Its definitely nothing to do with how I strung the guitar, have a Mex Strat and Maverick F4 also which I also strung myself and never had this issue....

It seems like something specific to a Gibson, I did take all the strings off a once though that was well after I couldn't keep it in tune.

Anyone know of a decent luthier?.

Doctor J

Even a modern Gibson should be able to stay in tune after a string change

Four things to do...

1. Turn the screws in the top of the Grovers slightly clockwise so you can feel a bit of resistance when you turn the tuner. It shouldn't be stiff, but it shouldn't move when a light brezze passes over it either.

2. Put some pencil lead in the string slots of the nut. It will lubricate the nut and go a long way to preventing the strings sticking in a poorly cut nut, which can cause tuning issues like this.

3. Pull the strings away from the fretboard over the 12th fret, not too much force but don't be shy either. Play the string again. Has it gone flat? If so, you've got slack behind the nut and around the machine head. Tune up and pull the string again. Keep doing this until it doesn't change pitch when you pull the string.

4. Always tune up to pitch. If you tune it slightly sharp, either pull the string up at the 12th fret or tune it flat again and and tune back up to the note. This will ensure there is no slack in the mechanism which will result in the string going flat after you start playing.

Fingers Mcginty

Feelgood, Can you post a pic of the headstock and also the bridge?