jo.schumi Posted March 16, 2009 Share Posted March 16, 2009 hi, guys. I need your recommendations. my dot doesn't stay in tune. the grover? are the grover tuners standard quality tuners or are these some kind of OEM which means a brand (grover) but not the normal grover quality that you can expect usually. second point: i have replaced the old platic nut by a tusq nut that i only adapted to the correct height. so the string setting is fine to me but what about the slots - the nut came precarved and i use .11th to .50 strings. do i have to work on the nuts' slots. how? which tools when i do not like to buy one of these expensive nut files. and last point: the bridge. i will change the standard bridge to a roller bridge in the next days. which parts can effect the tuning of my guitar? and what can i do to change it? thanx a lot. jo Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rowdy27 Posted March 16, 2009 Share Posted March 16, 2009 Get it setup by a pro. Tighten the screws that hold the tuner knobs on. Make sure the strings have been intonated perfectly. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
InsideMan Posted March 16, 2009 Share Posted March 16, 2009 Jo, Here's some questions to ask yourself: 1) What kind of strings do you use? Super light strings can be "stretchy" and not stay easily in tune. (I used to use 9's and let them go "flat" before I really liked them.) 2) Are all the strings going out of tune, or is it just the G? Unwound G's can be troublesome. You may have to move to bigger strings with a wound G or just grin and bear it. 3) Are you having problems in the upper frets or just in the first position? If in the first position, you could have a nut problem (the lateral position could be off, or the height could be too great, making you stretch the strings out of tune), in which case I would take rowdy's advice and have it professionally set up. I would suspect the tuners last. Never say never, but the reasons to change modern tuners are more aesthetic than functional. I'm suspicious that you said you replaced the nut. Did you do it yourself? Unless you're experienced in this sort of thing, it can be tricky to get right. If you can't figure out the out-of-tune problem yourself, it's well worth having it professionally set up and avoiding the prolonged pain. Good luck and cheers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ef_in_fla Posted March 16, 2009 Share Posted March 16, 2009 1) What kind of strings do you use? Super light strings can be "stretchy" and not stay easily in tune. (I used to use 9's and let them go "flat" before I really liked them.) Good point. I've been playing 10's for a while but put some 9's on my new Jackson because that's what they ship with. Took a week before it would stay in tune (and that's with the trem blocked). With 10's they seem to stretch out in about a day or so. I suspect you may have some binding in your nut slots. Try some nut lube, or pencil graphite in there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave Posted March 16, 2009 Share Posted March 16, 2009 Stretch them gently after you install them. It make take several stretches and re-tunings before they set. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bender 4 Life Posted March 16, 2009 Share Posted March 16, 2009 New nut you say?........definitely take a wound string and use it as a file in each slot, use pencil lead as lubricant. after doing this, add more pencil lead(actually graphite) and see if this helps. oops...yeah, what ef said Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jo.schumi Posted March 16, 2009 Author Share Posted March 16, 2009 hi guys, thanx very much for your recommendations that i really appreciate! thanx jo Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JefferySmith Posted March 16, 2009 Share Posted March 16, 2009 Are you pre-stretching the strings? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
claydots Posted March 16, 2009 Share Posted March 16, 2009 Also, how many wraps are on the tuner posts? 3-4 on E-G and 5 on B and E, do you crimp or tie your string? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EpiSheriMan Posted March 16, 2009 Share Posted March 16, 2009 Big Bends Nut Sauce and... Grover 18:1's =P~/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
james_edward Posted March 16, 2009 Share Posted March 16, 2009 11's are to big for a pre-slotted Tusq nut, they are cut for 10's max. - Open up the nut slots, use lube on the nut when installing new strings and tighten the screw on the ends of the tuner knobs, tight. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
charlie brown Posted March 16, 2009 Share Posted March 16, 2009 Also worth mentioning, I think..is temp and humidity levels, will effect guitars staying in tune (or not)! They're wood, and wood reacts to both temp and humitidy fluctuations. Semi's and full hollow bodies are (seemingly) more susceptible to this, than solid bodies, but they all do it, to some degree. But, all the other advice (above) is good! CB Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hiberna Posted March 16, 2009 Share Posted March 16, 2009 Also worth mentioning' date=' I think..is temp and humidity levels, will effect guitars staying in tune (or not)! They're wood, and wood reacts to both temp and humitidy fluctuations. Semi's and full hollow bodies are (seemingly) more susceptible to this, than solid bodies, but they all do it, to some degree. But, all the other advice (above) is good! CB[/quote'] That tends to be 70% of the case most the time when your guitar goes out of tune 24/7. Another thing is strings, what brand do you use? i find that de'dario strings are the worst culprit for not staying in tune and those horrendous gold strings that fender make, i swear those things are just one of many ways of showing that you've got money to blow, never the less Try Gallistrings, Premium Italian handmade strings, the pro coats never go out of tune (Providing you treat your guitar right and be generous with temp changes and so on) also these strings sound great and last for a long long time too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jo.schumi Posted March 22, 2009 Author Share Posted March 22, 2009 thanx guys for the various ideas you gave me... i chnged to a bone nut. now it is ok and sounds even better. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
InsideMan Posted March 22, 2009 Share Posted March 22, 2009 Why do I feel cheated? (LOL) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jo.schumi Posted March 23, 2009 Author Share Posted March 23, 2009 to inside man: i hope i didn't frustrate you with my short feed back... reading and understanding english is easier than writing for me.... there remains a little problem with the g string. i use ghs 11s - the g is unwound... i think the main problem came from the tusq nut that was too "narrow" but with the nut a lot of things have chanded!!! i have read in the forum that such a nut has a big impact on tone... i confirm this. thanx for your detailed comments. jo Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Notes_Norton Posted March 23, 2009 Share Posted March 23, 2009 The question I ask is, how often do you need to tune your guitar? I tune mine every time I pick it up because temperature affects the strings, they tighten up when it's cold and loosen when it is warm. If you are only tuning your guitar once a day, or after an hour or two of playing it, you don't have a problem. Sorry if this is too basic for your level of knowledge, but I though it might be worth mentioning, "just in case". Notes Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ron G Posted March 23, 2009 Share Posted March 23, 2009 After rereading the original post, I see yet another recurring symptom of mindlessly buying into the aftermarket parts mojo. It appears that in this case, the OP bought and installed a new nut, I'm assuming because he read somewhere that that's a good idea. Now he's opened a can of worms trying to figure out why his guitar won't stay in tune - and he hasn't even adequately defined what "not staying in tune" is. (Notes Norton quite intelligently touched upon this). All of my cheap, originally-equipped guitars stay in tune (within normal limits) just fine (after switching to a wound G string, which is not quite a tuning issue). Tuning problems, more often than not, are a user headspace problem. This is not to say that I wouldn't like to help this guy but it's difficult when the problem isn't adequately defined and mods were made by someone who apparently doesn't know what he's doing, meaning the results of the modification are suspect. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pohatu771 Posted March 23, 2009 Share Posted March 23, 2009 A good question is how it's out of tune. I played my Casino on Friday for the first time in a week or two, and it was "out of tune." It was hovering somewhere around 50 cents flat, but each string was in tune relative to the others. If each string is out of tune by a different amount, that means there is a problem. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jo.schumi Posted March 24, 2009 Author Share Posted March 24, 2009 @ron g et al i principle i understand what you mean. but from a pedagogical point of view i would never sign your remarks!!! you are absolutely right: i am not an expert in instruments etc.... it is my hobby. and i really like it. i got this dot used from ebay because i just can afford a satin red gibson 335 or any other dream instrument... but thats ok! this was a project guitar that i wanted to modify. this for several reasons: 1. i am convinced that the wooden instrument is really nice - so it was worth trying to make a better instrument out of it. 2. i googled some questions about "dot modifications" and i found this forum. and here i started exploring and asking (silly) questions. and i got a lot of responses. i started learning from all of you guys here. the first really nice suppport i got from twang (he seems to be an expert) and from the many many posts, answers given by all of you. and step by step by experimenting with your hints i start understanding my instrument. learning by doing by experimenting is phantasic!!! i really love it. at the moment the real tuning problem belongs to the past. i still tune the guitar when i start to play. but this is normal. the replacement of the old plastic nut with the bone nut was a real shift.... and i interviewed other guys in my town as well. and with their and you answers i really make progress. 2 years ago i bought a dead guyatone twin clone. i googled, found a forum where i found answers and like here some guys telling me "don't touch" too dangerous... you understand nothing about a tube amp... etc BUT with all the mods i have a very nice soundig amp now... thats the way it works for me! thanks a lot all of you. and i am really sorry if sometimes my language is very limited... i wouldn't get the answers i need if i would write in german... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
charlie brown Posted March 24, 2009 Share Posted March 24, 2009 Hey Jo.Shumi....glad it worked out, no matter how you went about it. That's half the fun, right? It's fun to take an instrument, or amp, that's been discarded or traded off, and fix or mod it, to your expectations or needs. There's a lot of "satisfaction," in just that. Besides, it sounds to me, like you did your "homework," and didn't just mindlessly opt for a new "this or that." So, I'm glad your Dot is fine, now, and I'm sure you'll enjoy playing it, from now on. Stick around, it get's better. ;>) Your "English" is fine, by the way. Much better than my "German," LOL! So...not to worry, my friend. CB Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jo.schumi Posted March 25, 2009 Author Share Posted March 25, 2009 @ charly brown you hit the point, man!! that's the way i see it tooo. and i really love my new dot. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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