So, I just changed my strings yesterday afternoon. I did the same thing I always did when changing the strings since...it's always worked. I've never had problems falling out of tune before, but whenever I bend a string too much, I fall way out of tune. My B string immediately falls to G# at times, and about ten minutes ago my E string fell to C when I didn't even bend the string.
So yea...is the only solution buying a whole new pack of strings and replacing them all?
Also, my low E, A string, D string are fine. My G fell out of tune a bit, but not nearly as major as the B or E. Just seems really weird, I've never had this problem.
And one more thing, everything is fine. The neck is straight, the intonation is perfect, and yea, my nut is fine too.
It must be the strings, but I really don't feel like paying $8 for another damn pack of strings.
Any theories of why this could be happening? Thanks.
Yeah.. Sometimes.. most times for me, a new set takes a while to 'settle' in.
When I change em, I tune up to pitch. then hold or capo the first fret and tugg on them from the 12th fret. Tune to pitch and repeat at least twice.
It usually works fine for me this way. If not I'll play more and retune.
No Biggy :)
D-
Research is what I'm doing when I don't know what I'm doing. - Wernher Von Braun (1912-1977)
I try to stretch them after I get them tuned for a little bit and then retune it. Sometimes they may still fall out of tune but its only for a few days.
I don't think it's the strings, Kevin.
You have a Squier '51 don't you?
The first time I restrung mine I had a similar problem and the problem turned out to be loose hex nuts on the tuners themselves.
Once I tightened those everything was hunky dory again.
Try detuning the problem strings a whole bunch (better yet, take them off) and then see if there is any looseness to the hex nuts.
Hope that helps.
Don
Hey Kev :D
I would check into what boxboy says.
I've seen many other post that seem to have problems that are inherent in '51s.
Those who own them are usually correct in their advice.
(I don't own one)
The other advice on strings needing to be stretched out can also be correct.
A lot of times after re-stringing, strings will present a tuning problem for maybe up to a couple days.
If you pull the string away from the body and tune it, this usually helps.
If you are not correctly locking the string end on the tuner it may slip quite a bit.
Here's a link to a method that works great for me.
Ken
"The man who has begun to live more seriously within
begins to live more simply without"
-Ernest Hemingway
"A genuine individual is an outright nuisance in a factory"
-Orson Welles
Takes learning how to get the strings properly anchored and wound on the tuners, AND being sure they can slide freely in the nut slots (unless you're using a locking tuner, in which case they'd better not be able to slide after you've tuned and locked 'em down.) But there's always a bit of stretching and settling in with new strings. You should expect to tune your guitar every time you pick it up, anyway. It's not a "set it and forget it" proposition.
"A cheerful heart is good medicine."
Thanks for the replies
Dagwood- Yea. That's the weird thing. Normally this wouldn't happen.
AKFlyingV- I did. I'll have to wait a few days though, I guess.
boxboy- Yea I do have a '51. I'll do that if it keeps doing this for a bit.
CitizenNoir- I'll have to do that next time.
Ricochet- Course not. That's why I thought when I first got my guitar, then I soon realized..."hey, this doesn't sound right."
Thanks for the help everyone. I'll let you know if it stays more in tune the next few days
When I change em, I tune up to pitch. then hold or capo the first fret and tugg on them from the 12th fret. Tune to pitch and repeat at least twice.
That's a great tip about the capo. :)
I've always done the tug thing - a few upwards and sideways (after seeing the tip on a Tommy Emmanuel video). But I stopped being so enthusiastic about the sideways thing in particular after snapping a brand new high E string! :shock: The capo would stop that. The string can snap at the edge of the nut, but apparently this one snapped up at the tuner itself. Not sure how I managed that, but luckily I was able to actually tie the two bits of wire together again. As the 'knot' ended up between the tuner and the nut, not on the neck, it actually still worked fine for the usual life of the string. Lucky... 8)
I believe that some people also do similar stretching by tuning up an extra step and then backing off again and retuning. Not sure if there's any downsides to that way, but it seemed to work when I tried that too.
Cheers,
Chris
