how do i get my guitar to stay in tune?

gord · 19th October 2003, 09:55 PM

my guitar keeps going horribly out of tune during gigs... it's embarassing and really unprofessional.

how do i get it to stay in tune? i've had these strings on it for a while, should i replace them? will that help?

any advice welcomed.

Lazzaro · 19th October 2003, 10:06 PM

I'm not really a guitarist but wouldn't a floyd rose help with that ?

gord · 19th October 2003, 10:13 PM

a what?

Rebelius · 19th October 2003, 10:15 PM

did you stretch the strings when you put 'em on?

njw · 19th October 2003, 10:16 PM

no no no no no no no.... floyd rose = baddd thing... in my opinion...

but yeah, take your strings off, give everything a wee tighten with your basic tool kit, clean the whole thing up while yer at it, then put some new strings on and play for a while... make sure you stretch the strings properly though...

gord · 19th October 2003, 10:18 PM

stretch the strings? what do you mean?

njw · 19th October 2003, 10:18 PM

gord - scott mccrimmon had a floyd rose on his gothic Les Paul that he played for a while... you know the bridge with the wee knobs on it that meant he could tune with his strumming hand while playing?

njw · 19th October 2003, 10:20 PM

gord - when ye put new strings on, you'll find the guitar will go out of tune quickly because the strings arent properly tightened at both the bridge and the tuners... also the string itself may stretch a bit in its first wee while...

Rebelius · 19th October 2003, 10:20 PM

stretch them, put them on then pull 'em out from the fretboard, then tune it, then repeat until it stays in tune

gord · 19th October 2003, 10:27 PM

mucho gracias

Rosco the Bosco · 19th October 2003, 11:59 PM

Ok, here is the correct way to string a guitar.
Step one, buy strings, dont get cheap shitty ones, but d'addario or ernie balls.
Step two, buy a string winder (or get one free in a guitar mag)
Step three, buy some lemon oil.

Take your old strings off anf clean the neck with lemon oil, this will prolonge the life of the wood and make it feel nice and slinky when you play.

Take the top E string (thinest) and feed it through the bridge. pull the string up to machine heads but leave a lot of slack. Turn the machine head so the hole is facing horizontally (not in line with the neck).
Feed the tip of the string through from left to right, once the end comes out the hole pull it through a bit, remembering to leave a lot of slack on the neck. pull the string up to the top of the head stock and twist it round the back of the machine head and back under the string. pull this tight, leaving slack on the neck, then get your string winder and coil the string clockwise. make sure there are a good few turns of string on. When you turn the machine head, the the end of the string will be 'locked' tight becasue of the twist and loop you put in. Now all you have to do is lie the guitar flat on your lap and pull the string from the middle of the guitar up towards the ceiling. give it a few strong, but not too hard pulls, then tune. repeat until the string doesnt flatten when you stretch.
Repeat for the other string. but reverse the twist depending on where the machine heads are located on the head stock.

phew! that was really hard to put in to words, hope you all understood!
Its much easier when someone shows you. I was shown by the dude from Guitarist magazine Dr. Robert when he did a guitar clinic thing a few years back. very handy

njw · 20th October 2003, 12:02 AM

i cant decide if that was a joke or not?

if it wasnt, that was a horribly in depth piece of advice on how to do something REALLY simple... lol

gord · 20th October 2003, 12:14 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Knee-Cow

i cant decide if that was a joke or not?

if it wasnt, that was a horribly in depth piece of advice on how to do something REALLY simple... lol

well it helped me!!

Misanthropy · 20th October 2003, 12:46 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Knee-Cow

i cant decide if that was a joke or not?

19th October 2003, 09:55 PM	#1 (permalink)
gord of the rings Join Date: Nov 2001 Location: Dundee Posts: 2,727	how do i get my guitar to stay in tune? my guitar keeps going horribly out of tune during gigs... it's embarassing and really unprofessional. how do i get it to stay in tune? i've had these strings on it for a while, should i replace them? will that help? any advice welcomed.

19th October 2003, 10:16 PM	#5 (permalink)
njw Senior Member Join Date: Apr 2002 Location: DD1 Posts: 8,160	no no no no no no no.... floyd rose = baddd thing... in my opinion... but yeah, take your strings off, give everything a wee tighten with your basic tool kit, clean the whole thing up while yer at it, then put some new strings on and play for a while... make sure you stretch the strings properly though... __________________ You can put a cat in the oven, but that doesn't make it a biscuit.

19th October 2003, 10:18 PM	#7 (permalink)
njw Senior Member Join Date: Apr 2002 Location: DD1 Posts: 8,160	gord - scott mccrimmon had a floyd rose on his gothic Les Paul that he played for a while... you know the bridge with the wee knobs on it that meant he could tune with his strumming hand while playing? __________________ You can put a cat in the oven, but that doesn't make it a biscuit.

19th October 2003, 10:20 PM	#8 (permalink)
njw Senior Member Join Date: Apr 2002 Location: DD1 Posts: 8,160	gord - when ye put new strings on, you'll find the guitar will go out of tune quickly because the strings arent properly tightened at both the bridge and the tuners... also the string itself may stretch a bit in its first wee while... __________________ You can put a cat in the oven, but that doesn't make it a biscuit.

20th October 2003, 12:02 AM	#12 (permalink)
njw Senior Member Join Date: Apr 2002 Location: DD1 Posts: 8,160	i cant decide if that was a joke or not? if it wasnt, that was a horribly in depth piece of advice on how to do something REALLY simple... lol __________________ You can put a cat in the oven, but that doesn't make it a biscuit.

19th October 2003, 10:06 PM	#2 (permalink)
Lazzaro Senior Member Join Date: Feb 2003 Location: Dundee Posts: 6,065	I'm not really a guitarist but wouldn't a floyd rose help with that ?

19th October 2003, 10:13 PM	#3 (permalink)
gord of the rings Join Date: Nov 2001 Location: Dundee Posts: 2,727	a what?

19th October 2003, 10:15 PM	#4 (permalink)
Rebelius Senior Member Join Date: Aug 2002 Location: Edinburgh Posts: 7,168	did you stretch the strings when you put 'em on?

19th October 2003, 10:18 PM	#6 (permalink)
gord of the rings Join Date: Nov 2001 Location: Dundee Posts: 2,727	stretch the strings? what do you mean?

19th October 2003, 10:20 PM	#9 (permalink)
Rebelius Senior Member Join Date: Aug 2002 Location: Edinburgh Posts: 7,168	stretch them, put them on then pull 'em out from the fretboard, then tune it, then repeat until it stays in tune

19th October 2003, 10:27 PM	#10 (permalink)
gord of the rings Join Date: Nov 2001 Location: Dundee Posts: 2,727	mucho gracias

19th October 2003, 11:59 PM	#11 (permalink)
Rosco the Bosco Senior Member Join Date: Sep 2003 Location: Dundee Posts: 2,746 Band: No, i've never been Banned.	Ok, here is the correct way to string a guitar. Step one, buy strings, dont get cheap shitty ones, but d'addario or ernie balls. Step two, buy a string winder (or get one free in a guitar mag) Step three, buy some lemon oil. Take your old strings off anf clean the neck with lemon oil, this will prolonge the life of the wood and make it feel nice and slinky when you play. Take the top E string (thinest) and feed it through the bridge. pull the string up to machine heads but leave a lot of slack. Turn the machine head so the hole is facing horizontally (not in line with the neck). Feed the tip of the string through from left to right, once the end comes out the hole pull it through a bit, remembering to leave a lot of slack on the neck. pull the string up to the top of the head stock and twist it round the back of the machine head and back under the string. pull this tight, leaving slack on the neck, then get your string winder and coil the string clockwise. make sure there are a good few turns of string on. When you turn the machine head, the the end of the string will be 'locked' tight becasue of the twist and loop you put in. Now all you have to do is lie the guitar flat on your lap and pull the string from the middle of the guitar up towards the ceiling. give it a few strong, but not too hard pulls, then tune. repeat until the string doesnt flatten when you stretch. Repeat for the other string. but reverse the twist depending on where the machine heads are located on the head stock. phew! that was really hard to put in to words, hope you all understood! Its much easier when someone shows you. I was shown by the dude from Guitarist magazine Dr. Robert when he did a guitar clinic thing a few years back. very handy