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ES 339 problems


pieandapint

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Hello - I've had my Gibson es 339 now for about 18 months. Since day one I've had tuning stability issues (going flat) with the treble strings, particularly the G. I've had it set up by a top flight guitar tech who sorted out a binding nut, have replaced the bridge with a tonepros , replaced the saddles with graph tech, tried various gauges of string from 9 to 12 with a wound third, stretched the strings to death, used nut sauce etc etc....slightly better but not much, I'm almost at the stage of kicking it into touch...any final suggestions or similar experiences from the forum.

 

Many thanks.

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aloha @pieandapint! I was going to get a es339, when I bumped into a lucille. awesome choice with your es339! I don't have problems with my strings going out of tune since I changed my tp-6 tailpiece to a stop bar tailpiece. I believe your es339 comes with a stop bar tailpiece. the only thing I can think of why your guitar goes out of tune is that you do a lot of bending with that string. when I put on new set of strings I put the string though the peg head. I mark and cut of 1.5" leeway from the peg. I then put the string back through the peg head. then tighten till the string is tuned. I bend a lot and hardly go out of tune during a set. hope this helps you!

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Hi p'n a p....welcome to the forums.... [thumbup]

 

All sensible suggestions so far

 

IMX tuning stability can vary somewhat with playing environment and between individual guitars...

 

I expect issues...sometimes after each song...at gigs where room temp and humidity play a role

 

The 3rd and sometimes 2nd strings cause many players heartache... :blink:

 

I am using 9's and 10's on all guitars now and they are less stable than the 11's and 12's used previously

 

Good Luck... [thumbup]

 

V

 

:-({|=

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Welcome to the forum. You did not mention the environment which is the biggest factor. If you are going from home to practice and to the club, etc. and are in Canada, the 339 would change more than if you were in Texas. I have a 339 just a couple feet away from me that has been in the same room temp and humidity for over 2 years with no tuning issues at all. Since it is the treble strings that would point to environment changes more than if it was the bass strings. Do you have another guitar that is going through the same string changes, and kept in the exact same environment to use for comparison? I also have a Martin in the same room as my 339 and the treble strings go flat all the time. It is closer to one of the heat vents in the room and therefore gets warm air blown over it many times and then allowed to cool just a bit. The temp where my 339 is never has much temp change.

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You wouldn't by chance have the type of tuners that don't require the string to be wrapped around the post...do you?? (ala Spurzel) I had a b**ch kitty of a time with my midtown getting and keeping the "B" and "E" string in tune because they kept slipping. Stretching only made it worse. FInally I tore them off the guitar...replaced them and used the "lock against themselves" wrap thats needed. Problem solved. I hope that works for you.

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Ok, here is my two cents.

 

I bought a brand new Gibson 339 from Guitar Center in 2010. I think it was a 2007 model and it still had the custom shop logo on the back. It was my music college guitar and even though I took care of it, playing it everyday during college, wore it down. The guitar was never that stable, I had a lot of tunning problems. The guitar brought 10's and I put 11's on it. After a while I put 12's (wound third). I would take it for a setup and it would play like a dream. Two months later it was having the same problems again. I wasn't very careful with this guitar regarding humidity, which I should have been. When I tried to sell it in New York, they told me that the neck had twisted, this wasn't true, and ended up selling the guitar to another party after a setup.

 

I regretted selling it. I loved my 339 even though I kinda fought with it.

 

So after being unhappy with another guitar I bought and whcih I sold, I got me another 339, a 2014 memphis model.

 

This time I made sure from the start, that I would only switch from 0.10's to 0.11's. I had it setup by this guy who was great. I asked three different luthiers if changing the nut would help the tunning stability and all of them told me not to bother. One of the luthiers wrapped the strings around the tailpiece, this gave the guitar more spank and the tunning was great, if you haven't tried this give it a try! Again, I have to stress the fact that I am using a wound third, that really helps. The strings that I am using are the D'addario Exl115w.

 

It is of extreme importance that you learn how to tie your strings correctly to the post, and also stretch them. Also it is of my opinion that depending on how much you play, you have to change your strings when they loose their tension. If your neck isn't twisted, and your nut is good don't lose hope.

 

What seemed to work for me was:

 

Decide what string gauge to use.

Check the nut

Wrap around method on the tailpiece,

Use a wound third

If you live in a dry climate, buy a humidifier and a humigauge.

 

Also, I would recommend taking your guitar to a place were they build them, instead of just a tech.

 

If you have questions, let me know. I could show you two different methods that you could try to wrap your strings around your head stock.

 

It is weird but I really think that the gibson headstock is the problem. I tried a mexican jazzmaster the other day at it was incredibly in tune and it was just lovely.

 

I love my 339, I hope you fix it, if you do, it will be worth it.

 

AM

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