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Taming Tuning Issues


difab4

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Am using a newly bought 2017 Standard T in an orchestral setting and need it to be in tune, really in tune all the time. I noticed the b string going sharp toward the end of each act, also the g string sharp in general. I asked that it be set up for 10s when I bought it. That was problem #1, they put 10s on it but didn't file the nut accordingly. Since the nut is milled for 09, 11, and 16, the 10 gauge ddario strings didn't fit the slots, so hence the the sharpness as time passed, so brought it to a tech who filed the correct gauges on the nut. Regarding the g string, I noticed while intonating that the g string was sharp so dialed the back but ran out of room and it still was sharp, so turned the saddle around, faced the flat side toward the back which gave me a little more room for adjustment. Finally, I always use lubricant in the nut and saddlle but it's most important on LP, because of the angle that the g and d strings come off the nut, plus the angle of the headstock. Result; instrument is in tune across the board.

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Tuning issues are usaly in the nut, making the issue worse still is the nylon nut, even with great nut files,

That stuff is hard to work with, but once it is, your all set. Hope the tech was paid well, these nuts take a lot more time to get right.

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I love that roller nut. Funny thing; I never noticed I had a "tuning problem" until I joined Les Paul forums. Play hard or subject your LP to temperature swings then sure, it will require a tweak now and then. I can't help but wonder if my relative non-issue is due to the fact that I've always used light strings; 008 to 038 or even 007 to 038 (when I can find 007s). It is logical that a lighter gauge with a smaller diameter and less tension is literally going to be more slinky across the nut and less likely to bind.

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I love that roller nut. Funny thing; I never noticed I had a "tuning problem" until I joined Les Paul forums. Play hard or subject your LP to temperature swings then sure, it will require a tweak now and then. I can't help but wonder if my reltive non-issue is due to the fact that I've always used light strings; 008 to 038 or even 007 to 038 (when I can find 007s). It is logical that a lighter gauge with a smaller diameter and less tension is literally going to be more slinky across the nut and less likely to bind.

 

Binding at the nut is caused by a poorly cut nut, no matter what size strings you use.

 

rct

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Binding at the nut is also influenced by the headstock and tuner angles, the string type; wound or unwound and surely, the string tension. Is it not logical that a nut cut for a factory string set will result in more room for a string to move if lower gauge strings are used and the opposite if a thicker gauge set is used? Again, for me, my LP going out of tune "all the time" has never been an issue.

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Binding at the nut is also influenced by the headstock and tuner angles, the string type; wound or unwound and surely, the string tension. Is it not logical that a nut cut for a factory string set will result in more room for a string to move if lower gauge strings are used and the opposite if a thicker gauge set is used? Again, for me, my LP going out of tune "all the time" has never been an issue.

 

No, it is not logical. The string should sit on the nut, not in it. The headstock side of the nut should account for headstock angle and tuner placement, leaving enough room for the string to head off in the direction it needs to go. By your logic we should all just have the same nut cut to a slot one size bigger than the biggest gauge for that string. That won't work.

 

rct

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I don't have anywhere near the experience of most people on this forum. I have learned a lot from many of you. I currently have two Gibson 2017 tribute T's. One is faded burst, the other is a goldtop with a bigsby. I also have a Epi Black Beauty with a bigsby and I had two other Epis in the past.

 

Anyway, nut sauce and a good locking string wrap, without too many wraps seems to work very well for me. Even my gold top with the bigsby stays in tune really well, at least as good as the non bigsby guitar...

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