keeps coming out of tune
i just got a new squier strat and it keeps coming out of tune. I think it's a problem with the bridge but i'm not so sure. Whenever i bend a note, it immediately comes out of tune. any suggestions, quick fixes?
# 1
[font=trebuchet ms]First, find the source of the trouble.
Make sure that you don't have too many turns wrapped around the post of the tuner. If there's a big bundle of string around the post, it will gradually let the string creep flat as the wraps tighten around the post. Bending makes this happen more noticeably.
Once you're sure the strings are installed corectly, pluck a string and then press on it between the nut and the tuner. It should go sharp, and then return to pitch when you release the pressure. If it stays sharp, the slots in the nut need to be reworked. When you bend the string, the tension increases, pulling the string tighter. When you release the bend, the tension should be reduced back to where it was, except that the nut slot pinches the string, preventing even distribution of the tension. The section between the nut and the tuner is now at higher tension, and the section from the nut to the bridge is at lower tension, re-tuning the string slightly flat. This is a fairly common problem, although it should have been set up properly by the shop before it was put on the racks. Give 'em hell.
If your guitar has a trem, you may find a similar situation with 'stored tension' between the bridge saddles and the knob end of the strings. Same solution - the guitar needs to be properly set up.[/font]
Make sure that you don't have too many turns wrapped around the post of the tuner. If there's a big bundle of string around the post, it will gradually let the string creep flat as the wraps tighten around the post. Bending makes this happen more noticeably.
Once you're sure the strings are installed corectly, pluck a string and then press on it between the nut and the tuner. It should go sharp, and then return to pitch when you release the pressure. If it stays sharp, the slots in the nut need to be reworked. When you bend the string, the tension increases, pulling the string tighter. When you release the bend, the tension should be reduced back to where it was, except that the nut slot pinches the string, preventing even distribution of the tension. The section between the nut and the tuner is now at higher tension, and the section from the nut to the bridge is at lower tension, re-tuning the string slightly flat. This is a fairly common problem, although it should have been set up properly by the shop before it was put on the racks. Give 'em hell.
If your guitar has a trem, you may find a similar situation with 'stored tension' between the bridge saddles and the knob end of the strings. Same solution - the guitar needs to be properly set up.[/font]
# 2
A little chap stick or carbon lube (blacksoft pencil lead will do) on the bridge saddle and nut may help. As LATS said you probably have tension stored on either the nut, saddle or peg head. The extra tension caused by string bending is releasing some of this and as a result your string is slack.
My instructors page and www.studiotrax.net for all things recording.
my toons Brought to you by Dr BadGAS
my toons Brought to you by Dr BadGAS
# 3
Along with what LATS said... if you changed the strings you may have not fully installed them correctly. People often skip over the last step of changing strings.... The stretching step. After you get the strings changed and you tune them to pitch take a string (one at a time) and pull it around in all different directions. It may feel like the string is going to break but it won't unless you really rear-back and tug on it. Metal will flex/stretch before it breaks... that's why you do this. This relaxes the molecular bond in the metal by releasing the stored energy within it. Strings break when they reach a point when all the elasticity has been used and the molecules along the weakest point of the string have lost their bond... this is known in engineering terms as the modulus of elasticity. When a metal approaches it's modulus of elasticity it experiences a point called climactic elasticity. This is where the metal has released all the stored energy within it's bonds and the metal is at it's most stable point. By stretching the string you help the metal approach this point without having to play for hours and hours on end with your guitar coming out of tune every 5 minutes. Sorry for the engineering explanation... but I'm at work... so I'm kind of in the mode. But in short.... stretch your strings after you change them, it will help them stay in tune.
# 4
Everything the other guys said is dead on correct.
Somthing else that works for me is to let the guitar sit for a few hours or even overnight before really playing em'. I'll re-string, tune,stretch,retune,double check the intonation,re-tune, and give the strings a few hours to "set", re-checking the tuning every hour or so. I'll just grab another guitar to play while the new strings settle in.
I learned about this from an old Guitar Player article by a Bluegrass picker named Dan Crary who lets a freshly stringed acoustic sit for two days before really playing on new strings. Two days is a bit extreme, but the idea seems to work,YMMV.
I've played on 0.11's for about 15 yrs and if I'm patient and bide my time before really reefing on a new set, not only do they hold their tuning, but they seem to break less often too. I'm using a 0.10 set on my #1 right now,(an Americian Ash Tele, this thing is a chickin pickin machine, and the slightly lighter strings really bring out that Nashville/Brent Mason wiry twang) ,and this method is even more crucial since I've "wussed out" (lol) to 0.10's.
My Strat is a MIM 60's Strat, and with the Kluson tuners tuning is even more of a chore than with say the tuners on my Tele's which are the modern style with the tightening screws on the tops of the keys. (BTW, my Strat is set up w/ 0.10's too due to the vintage fretwire and the neck itself,which dosen't seem as hearty as my Tele's. The bridge is tightened down as much as it can and I never use the Trem.)
If all else fails, you can always try moving up a string guage. Heavier strings (for me anyway) seem to hold tuning better.
Hope some of this helps.
Ian
Somthing else that works for me is to let the guitar sit for a few hours or even overnight before really playing em'. I'll re-string, tune,stretch,retune,double check the intonation,re-tune, and give the strings a few hours to "set", re-checking the tuning every hour or so. I'll just grab another guitar to play while the new strings settle in.
I learned about this from an old Guitar Player article by a Bluegrass picker named Dan Crary who lets a freshly stringed acoustic sit for two days before really playing on new strings. Two days is a bit extreme, but the idea seems to work,YMMV.
I've played on 0.11's for about 15 yrs and if I'm patient and bide my time before really reefing on a new set, not only do they hold their tuning, but they seem to break less often too. I'm using a 0.10 set on my #1 right now,(an Americian Ash Tele, this thing is a chickin pickin machine, and the slightly lighter strings really bring out that Nashville/Brent Mason wiry twang) ,and this method is even more crucial since I've "wussed out" (lol) to 0.10's.
My Strat is a MIM 60's Strat, and with the Kluson tuners tuning is even more of a chore than with say the tuners on my Tele's which are the modern style with the tightening screws on the tops of the keys. (BTW, my Strat is set up w/ 0.10's too due to the vintage fretwire and the neck itself,which dosen't seem as hearty as my Tele's. The bridge is tightened down as much as it can and I never use the Trem.)
If all else fails, you can always try moving up a string guage. Heavier strings (for me anyway) seem to hold tuning better.
Hope some of this helps.
Ian
# 5
Originally Posted by: Ian Rossiter... (BTW, my Strat is set up w/ 0.10's too due to the vintage fretwire and the neck itself,which dosen't seem as hearty as my Tele's. The bridge is tightened down as much as it can and I never use the Trem.)...[font=trebuchet ms]One of the two guitars I've parted with over the years that I would like to have back again, is a 1986 MIJ '62 reissue Strat. The trem was sucking the tone out of it, so I milled a big block of brass to press-fit the cavity under the bridge. I took out the trem and replaced it with the brass block, screwing the bridge plate firmly to the block. That pretty lil' lady really sang after that. You should toss that trem, and fill the hole in the body with something substantial. Hardwood would do just fine. I used brass simply because I could.[/font]
Ian
# 6
Actually.....
I've been jones'in for a Hardtail Strat as of late. Those Am Hardtails are lookin REAL appealing, especially the Oly White with the Maple neck. The 60's Strat may be shippin out. The playability and Tone are gettin to be too inconsistant. Trouble is....I really have a soft spot for it, when it plays and sounds good....is REAL good!!!! The Sunburst is amazing on it too.
Ian
I've been jones'in for a Hardtail Strat as of late. Those Am Hardtails are lookin REAL appealing, especially the Oly White with the Maple neck. The 60's Strat may be shippin out. The playability and Tone are gettin to be too inconsistant. Trouble is....I really have a soft spot for it, when it plays and sounds good....is REAL good!!!! The Sunburst is amazing on it too.
Ian
# 7
Originally Posted by: Ian RossiterActually.....[font=trebuchet ms]Then try turning it into a hardtail. I think you'll find it improves it in a lot of ways. And the piece you install under the bridge can be removed, so there's no harm done if you decide you don't like it.[/font]
... The playability and Tone are gettin to be too inconsistant. Trouble is....I really have a soft spot for it, when it plays and sounds good....is REAL good!!!! The Sunburst is amazing on it too.
Ian
# 8
Hopefully this thread isn't old yet but here's one thing you guys haven't covered. Strats have a tendency to go out of tune once you touch the bar. The reason for this is because of the nut. It causes too much friction and allows it to go out of tune. You can fix this by lubricating the nut. That's what Van Halen did and that's why Floyd Roses were invented.
# 9
