Please Help Me!

[IceTr3]

I recently got an Epiphone SG 400 and I love it. But the strings go out of tune very easily and it annoys me. I love the guitar but the tuning has put me off. The main culprits of out-of-tuneness are the G and B strings. Please tell me some way to keep them in tune. I have tweaked the tune-o-matic saddle but I can't make it go further towards the end of the guitar. It still goes out of tune (flat) and when I play the frets, it goes sharp. Please someone tell me some things I need to do. Also, please don't recommend tuners, I don't have $75 to blow on them (if you want to give them to me then fine).

[sellen]

The tuners on new epip's are good.I think the problem could be the nut. Big bends nut sauce, works great (just ask your local dealer for advice). It's of course important to do a good job when shifting strings, and stretch em good when your done. Old strings don't hold the tune as good as new (when they are played at for a couple of hour's) I guess you mean you have two troubles 1. B AND G string goes out of tuning 2. intonation For intonation you should try learn about how to adjust and set brigde, stop bar and truss rod(don't mess with this one before you have learned how to use it), plenty of stuff on youtube showing how to set up a guitar. A bad set-up sound's and play bad.

[Kineman Karma]

I recently got an Epiphone SG 400 and I love it. But the strings go out of tune very easily and it annoys me. I love the guitar but the tuning has put me off. The main culprits of out-of-tuneness are the G and B strings. Please tell me some way to keep them in tune. I have tweaked the tune-o-matic saddle but I can't make it go further towards the end of the guitar. It still goes out of tune (flat) and when I play the frets, it goes sharp. Please someone tell me some things I need to do. Also, please don't recommend tuners, I don't have $75 to blow on them (if you want to give them to me then fine).

 

I have an SG and I know that they can be a tuning stability nightmare at times.

 

One method is when you restring with new strings, make sure that you have a full winding of string from the hole of the post to the bottom of the post on all the tuning post.

 

Ever since I have used this method for the non locking type tuners, I have not had tuning problems like I used to.

 

Good Luck.

[BigKahune]

Unless your making some mistakes when stringing - not locking the sting in post hole with the first string loop on the post, too many winds on the post, not enough winds on the post, etc . . .

 

. . . tuning problems almost always turn out to be associtated with the nut.

 

The nut string slot/s too tight (and/or switching to a thicker gauge of strings) -symptoms: pings when tuning causing a pitch drop. Sellen mentioned Big Bends Nut Sauce for this, other types of lube work too - graphite. If your saddles are slotted, the same is true for the saddles.

 

Nut slot/s are too shallow - symptoms: strings in tune open, but when fretted for chords they're aren't in tune, especially in the first four or five frets. With a slot not cut deep enoungh, the string has to be pressed a greater distance to the fretboard, causing the string to stretch and the pitch to go sharp. In this case, you'd need to tweak the nut. If you not experienced, you could take it to a shop/luthier and have them evaluate it and give you a fix quote.

[IceTr3]

Unless your making some mistakes when stringing - not locking the sting in post hole with the first string loop on the post, too many winds on the post, not enough winds on the post, etc . . .

 

. . . tuning problems almost always turn out to be associtated with the nut.

 

The nut string slot/s too tight (and/or switching to a thicker gauge of strings) -symptoms: pings when tuning causing a pitch drop. Sellen mentioned Big Bends Nut Sauce for this, other types of lube work too - graphite. If your saddles are slotted, the same is true for the saddles.

 

Nut slot/s are too shallow - symptoms: strings in tune open, but when fretted for chords they're aren't in tune, especially in the first four or five frets. With a slot not cut deep enoungh, the string has to be pressed a greater distance to the fretboard, causing the string to stretch and the pitch to go sharp. In this case, you'd need to tweak the nut. If you not experienced, you could take it to a shop/luthier and have them evaluate it and give you a fix quote.

 

thank you so much, I think the nut is too shallow. I was angry since i fixed the intonation and everything yet the lower frets were all sharp so the nut might be shallow

[Thundergod]

Always tune up, never down. What I mean is, if you are tuning to standard tuning, tune from flat notes to the notes you want. If you tune from shraper notes some tension might remain between the nut and tuner and when you press the string that tension is released, that makes the guitar go out of tune. I tune up only and never have problems with tuning on any guitar.

[Lungimsam]

Read this:

 

http://www.gibson.com/en-us/Support/TechSupport/Instrument%20Information%20Guide/

 

It gives info on how to string/tune up properly, and set action, etc. Maybe somewhere in your setup something is wrong. maybe intonation is out.

 

If all else fails, bring it to a guitar tech.

[kevoT]

The problem with Moving the saddle up an down is the fact that the intonation is going to be off every time you adjust the saddle.

 

Here's a link to a site that can help you with this, as well as numerous other guitar maintenance things: http://users.powernet.co.uk/guitars/setup3.htm

[IceTr3]

i might just get it set up from my friend for free

[strat-o-steve]

Since the guitar is sounding flat, but sounds sharp when you fret it, it can only be a few things. The intonation needs adjusting, the nut is too high, or you have way too high string height and a ton of relief in the neck. A good setup will solve your issues. It is always hard to diagnose problems like this without guitar in hand. To me, it doesn't sound like you need new tuners.