ldweber51 Posted November 17, 2011 Share Posted November 17, 2011 Hello all, I have a new gibson es335 dot that i'm having difficulties keeping 2 of the strings in tune. I have to constantly retune every few songs. The tuners feel fine & the bridge notch looks okay to me. I do lube the nut & bridge. I was wondering if the nut may be the issue? I use Ernie Ball Rock & Roll #10 for string. Any tips would be much appreciated! Thanking you in advance, Larry... (but then i'm always confused) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
budglo Posted November 17, 2011 Share Posted November 17, 2011 Hello all, I have a new gibson es335 dot that i'm having difficulties keeping 2 of the strings in tune. I have to constantly retune every few songs. The tuners feel fine & the bridge notch looks okay to me. I do lube the nut & bridge. I was wondering if the nut may be the issue? I use Ernie Ball Rock & Roll #10 for string. Any tips would be much appreciated! Thanking you in advance, Larry... (but then i'm always confused) Any chance its the G and B string going flat?My new LP did that and has been fine after a good setup.I think they widened the nut slots.Now ny new midtown does not have a problem at all. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ldweber51 Posted November 17, 2011 Author Share Posted November 17, 2011 Any chance its the G and B string going flat?My new LP did that and has been fine after a good setup.I think they widened the nut slots.Now ny new midtown does not have a problem at all. Thanks for your reply. The same G & B are the worse, and the low E isn't as bad. Larry... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigKahune Posted November 17, 2011 Share Posted November 17, 2011 . Do you hear "pings" when you're tuning? - - that indicates a pinch point. Assuming you've got the strings threaded properly through the tuning posts, the problem might be a pinch point at the nut or the saddle. Use some graphite, or lube like Big Bends Nut Sauce on the nut and saddle slots. If you have nut files, very slightly widen the slots of the strings you're having problems with and ease the edge against which the string bends toward the tuning post. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ldweber51 Posted November 18, 2011 Author Share Posted November 18, 2011 Thanks for your reply. I installed Gotoh Locking Tulip because i had on several other of my guitars. I do hear a ping now & then. Wasn't sure what was causing it. With to old tuners i would get a creaking sound when adjusting. I do lube the nut & bridge. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sok66 Posted November 18, 2011 Share Posted November 18, 2011 Nut bind on the G & B strings is a very common issue on new Gibsons and has been forever. Easy for a good luthier to correct. If you want to attempt a quick fix, wrap a small piece of very fine grit wet or dry sand paper around the G and, or B string right at the nut. Loosen the string, then drop the sandpaper into the nut slot and move back & forth a few times. Remove the sandpaper, blow out any dust, drop the string back in and tune to pitch. If it's still binding repeat the process. Try NOT to lower the slot, just try to widen it a tiny bit. You can add a tiny drop of something like Nut Sauce, or even a tiny bit of pencil lead into the slot. One of the reasons this is a problem with Gibsons using light gauge string is the extreme break the G & B strings have to make on the way to the tuners. A really skilled luthier will radius the back side of the slots a bit so the angle is less extreme. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ldweber51 Posted November 18, 2011 Author Share Posted November 18, 2011 Nut bind on the G & B strings is a very common issue on new Gibsons and has been forever. Easy for a good luthier to correct. If you want to attempt a quick fix, wrap a small piece of very fine grit wet or dry sand paper around the G (and, or B) string right at the nut. Loosen the string, then drop the sandpaper into the nut slot and move back & forth a few times. Remove the sandpaper, blow out any dust, drop teh string back in and tune to pitch. If it's still binding repeat teh process. Try NOT to lower the slot, just try to widen it a tiny bit. You can add a tiny drop of something like Nut Sauce, or even a tiny bit of pencil lead into the slot. One of the reasons this is a problem with Gibsons using light gauge string is the extreme break the G & B strings have to make on the way to the tuners. A really skilled luthier will radius the back side of the slots a bit so the angle is less extreme. thanks sok66 for your reply, i will give your tips a try. I'm aware of not lowering the string if possible. I need to check the string height at the nut\1st fret. That's the only part of setting up I took for granted. Larry... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
roadhog96 Posted November 22, 2011 Share Posted November 22, 2011 I've had four new Gibson's and they all had a nut issue on the E B G plain strings. None of my other guitars have this kind of problem, wonder why Gibson can't get it right. I've read more complaints on forums about this. It's The biggest #1 problem with Gibson guitars. It's not acceptable for what they cost. I have seen cheap Imported guitars that have a better neck than Gibson. I don't get it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ldweber51 Posted November 22, 2011 Author Share Posted November 22, 2011 I've had four new Gibson's and they all had a nut issue on the E B G plain strings. None of my other guitars have this kind of problem, wonder why Gibson can't get it right. I've read more complaints on forums about this. It's The biggest #1 problem with Gibson guitars. It's not acceptable for what they cost. I have seen cheap Imported guitars that have a better neck than Gibson. I don't get it. Thanks for your reply. I totally agree that Gibson cannot seem to get the basics done correctly. I did a small amount of sanding & it has help. I'll take it slowly until it's the way it should be. Larry... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
guitarzan55 Posted November 23, 2011 Share Posted November 23, 2011 Ditto with the problem with the G and B strings. My es-339 has that problem. The string "ping" and the G and B go sharp. A nut problem. The first application of Big Bends Nut Sauce did the trick. I have to re-lube roughly every 1.5 - 2 months -- averaging about 2 hours a day playing. So, the problem is hardly noticeable. Sorry to see you changed your tuners. So many people do that. Needlessly. And I wouldn't touch the sanding until you give the easy fix in the Nut Sauce first. Finally, take it to a Luthier. It's an easy and cheap fix. What's with the so-called flawless computerized Plek machine that supposed to cut perfect nuts. Apparently that Plek machine "aint' working too good. Good luck. AND GET THE SAUCE!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
charlie brown Posted November 23, 2011 Share Posted November 23, 2011 I, recently, had my 2000 LP Classic's nut, replaced with a bone nut. No more tuning/pinging issues, at all...since. I had, previously, tried everything, but that, to little satisfaction. I also had the frets dressed, due to them being squared off edges, across the board, and therefore becoming like "speed bumps" when trying to move quickly up and down the fingerboard. So, having done that, and with the new bone nut, it's gone from a guitar that I loved, but struggled to play for any extended period of time, (due to those fret and tuning problems), to a guitar I can barely put down, since. CB Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ldweber51 Posted November 23, 2011 Author Share Posted November 23, 2011 Ditto with the problem with the G and B strings. My es-339 has that problem. The string "ping" and the G and B go sharp. A nut problem. The first application of Big Bends Nut Sauce did the trick. I have to re-lube roughly every 1.5 - 2 months -- averaging about 2 hours a day playing. So, the problem is hardly noticeable. Sorry to see you changed your tuners. So many people do that. Needlessly. And I wouldn't touch the sanding until you give the easy fix in the Nut Sauce first. Finally, take it to a Luthier. It's an easy and cheap fix. What's with the so-called flawless computerized Plek machine that supposed to cut perfect nuts. Apparently that Plek machine "aint' working too good. Good luck. AND GET THE SAUCE!!! thanks guitarzan55 for your reply, i best get some sauce. i was using graphite with so so results. Anyways, i wanted to replace the large grover chromes with the plastic tulips. I think the es 335 looks nicers and I like the feel when tuning. One doesn't really need lockers but they were available for just a couple $$ more. Larry... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ldweber51 Posted November 23, 2011 Author Share Posted November 23, 2011 I, recently, had my 2000 LP Classic's nut, replaced with a bone nut. No more tuning/pinging issues, at all...since. I had, previously, tried everything, but that, to little satisfaction. I also had the frets dressed, due to them being squared off edges, across the board, and therefore becoming like "speed bumps" when trying to move quickly up and down the fingerboard. So, having done that, and with the new bone nut, it's gone from a guitar that I loved, but struggled to play for any extended period of time, (due to those fret and tuning problems), to a guitar I can barely put down, since. CB thanks 'charlie brown' for your information. I thought about replacing the nut too. was hoping to a avoid it if possible. Larry... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
charlie brown Posted November 23, 2011 Share Posted November 23, 2011 thanks 'charlie brown' for your information. I thought about replacing the nut too. was hoping to a avoid it if possible. Larry... I only wish (now) I would have done it, MUCH sooner! It's very inexpensive (relatively speaking), and a much better solution, compared to constantly having tuning issues. The only thing you have to do, is make sure the person that's doing the "nut," really knows what they're doing! CB Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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