Tuning Problem

[cunnins4]

I've been having a serious tuning issue with my Epiphone Les Paul standard. After having it a while i noticed the G and D strings were always out of tune after i took it out of the case. I thought maybe something in the case was knocking the machine heads, but nothing was even near them. Then it started to get worse.

The two strings would go out of tune pretty quickly (bout 15 minutes of play), and i just figured i'd change the strings, but now the problem's become worse again. I literally can't play a note on the G string without it going completely out of tune(flat, not sharp). The D string follows closely behind and does the same.

After re tuning maybe 10 times they start to hold the notes, but not for long, and it's pretty much the luck of the draw when they might go out again.

Has anyone had this sort of trouble? My squire strat never goes out of tune, nor does my acoustic, well it takes about a week for a considerable change, so this is really strange to me. I've tried changing the strings, and i've watched the machine heads as i bend the notes really far and they don't move, but the strings still go out of tune. The bridge never moves, and the knots at the ends of the strings are in all the way into the bridge, so they're not slipping. I really can't understand it.

Has anyone had this sort of trouble before? any advice is welcome as i'm considering selling it if i can't fix the problem.

cheers,

bouli

[marksound]

Could be:

1. Cheap tuners
   
2. Sloppy windings around the tuner posts
   
3. Hanging up in nut slots
   
4. Cheap strings
   
5. All of the above
   
6. None of the above
   

Stay tuned for more responses.

[Scott Rosenberger]

did you switch string gauges? it sounds like a nut binding issue

[cunnins4]

1. Cheap tuners - dunno if they are, how can i find out what type they are? I figured it was pretty standard?

2. Sloppy windings around the tuner posts - nope, pretty clean

3. Hanging up in nut slots - what's this?

4. Cheap strings - Ernie balls, so nope

5. All of the above ....

6. None of the above ....

I didn't change guages, they're extra lights, but the same thing was happening with the original strings. I'm gonna try restringing it again today and see how that goes.

What exactly do you mean when you say "nut binding"?

Cheers for the responses.

Bouli

[Scott Rosenberger]

nut binding is -Strings not sliding freely through the slots in the nut. It's common on lower priced guitars. You can get some nut sauce to lube the nut or take it to a repair man and have the nut slots widened or nut replaced with a Graphtech nut

[thegarehanman]

Are there screws holding the knobs onto your tuners? If so, try tightening them up. It makes it more difficult to turn the tuners; it should help a bit.

[Curtis P]

it sounds like its binding in the nut to me, I had a very similar problem on my Hamer Explorer, when i did a string change, i widened the slots.

Curtis

[cunnins4]

ok, so i noticed something interesting just a moment ago. When i'm tuning the g string, it doesn't change pitch at all for about a half turn of the machine head, then it "clicks" or "pings" kinda as though it was skipping along some part of the string. I assume this is the nut binding ye lot are talking about.

I'll try widening the slots. How's best to do it witout messin it up?

cheers lads.

bouli

edit:

ah ha, found it. I went to the epiphone website and found a tech support page. It recommended adding some pencil lead to the nut to lubricate it and it seems to have worked a treat! I was going to use olive oil or bicycle oil to lube it up ha ha! ah well, here's to learning something new!

cheers for all ye'r help, i was gonna bring it to a guitar shop on monday to get it looked at.

so.....back to playin like crap and not havin an excuse.....