my studio just wont stay in tune.

[logen99999]

Gibson.com: Gibson Les Paul Studio 60's Exclusive

^bought that.

i'm a first time lp owner, so i dont really know much about the ins-and-outs of this thing. all i know is that it wont stay in tune. i bought it off ebay a week ago, it came in mint/like new condition, even had a plek certificate.

i've been playing it almost exclusively and the strings just dont stay in tune. mostly the G string which gets the most bending done on it.

to test it out i started bending all the strings a lot and they all lost a certain degree of tuning. some more then others.

what do you guys think is the culprit here? i haven't tried changing strings yet, that will be the first thing i do. but if that fails what else do you guys think? do i have to change or tighten something in the tuners? despite playing for a while i'm fairly ignorant when it comes to guitar maintenance so at the moment i'm scouring the internet for as many resourceful as i can. any help would be appreciated.

 

[Rev 48]

I'd start with some new strings properly fitted and take it from there
Good luck.....

 

[jsteph3]

I'd go with new strings and Big Bend Nut Sauce, properly lubricated nut and bridge should help...

 

[Strikerfox]

The nut could be badly cut (plek machine is far from perfect), which could cause strings to get caught when bending and detune.

Its strange that your LP goes out of tune so fast, all the Les Pauls ive owned over the years have stayed in tune for days.

 

[diceman]

Your problem is at the nut. I'd take it in to a good luthier for a work over... which is something that I do with all of my guitars, whether new or used when I acquired them.

 

[kirs]

Happens on a lot of Les Pauls. Shave some graphite off of a #2 pencil and sprinkle it in the first three string slots in the nuts, being careful not to discolor the nut itself. The graphite will stop the string from binding when you bend. If you're hearing "ping" noises when tuning those strings, this is most definitely the case.

The nut sauce works too and is less messy.

 

[Freddy G]

First, make sure all the hardware is tight. Remove all of the strings, then grab a tuner by the knob and wiggle it, don't be afraid, put a bit of muscle into it. If you see the whole tuner move, that's no good. Do this with all of the tuners one at a time.
Then look at the bridge, there are 3 areas in the bridge that can cause grief...do the individual saddles move? Does the entire bridge slop around on the mounting posts? Take the bridge off the mounting posts (careful not to change the heights of the posts or you'll have to redo the setup) do the posts themselves have any slop? can you wiggle them? All of these thing can harm tuning stability. Lastly look at the tailpiece posts and the threaded inserts. I've seen LPs where the threaded inserts were so loose in the top of the guitar that you could actually pull them out with the post screw in. Oh, and make sure the string nut is glued in solidly...no movement. If all of these things are good and tight then I'd start looking at the wooden parts. Is the neck joint solid? Try to move it, hold the guitar frimly face down in your lap, grab the neck near the body and wiggle it up and down. Again, don't be afraid to put a bit of muscle into it. This should be a very strong joint and you won't damage it (unless your Arnold Schwartzenagger). Observe the joint where the neck meets the body, there should be absolutely no movement of any kind...if you see a hairline crack moving slightly when you muscle it...well, that's not good. Sometimes the fingerboard to neck joint can let go a bit up by the nut. Grip the neck around the 5th fret firmly with one hand and with the other hand grab the peghead across it's width. Now twist the peghead on the axis of the neck and observe the fingerboard/neck joint near the nut...if you see a hairline crack moving, that's no good. By the way, dont put too much muscle into this one...it's a lot more fragile than the neck / body joint.

 

[marc1kim]

Properly installed strings, and a lubed nut will take care of 99% of tuning problems. I've owned 13 les pauls and have never had and tuning issues. Big bends nut sauce, or rubbing some #2 pencil lead works wonders.

 

[LazyPaisley]

make sure its intonated correctly, this will help later on!

 

[Grey]

I wouldn't make any comments about a guitar untill changing the strings out. I wouldn't be suprised if the strings were just wrapped around the peg as opposed to a good compression knot.

 

[Underliner6]

My Classic never stayed in tune. I got a new nut for 5 bucks and now i never have to tune it. Try it

 

[logen99999]

i replaced the strings and took a pencil and carefully colored the string holders of the nut in. then i looked up the proper way to install strings on a les paul. it involves making a loop around the incomming string so that when you tighten the strong it basically holds down the loop super tight against the peg.

so far the b string is giving me problem, i may need to re string it. or maybe ad more pencil lead. i has a studio session tomorrow so there's going to be lots of bending going on. i really want to get his axe in top shape tonight.

 

[Satch0922]

 

[kip0909]

Take one of these

And one of these

And make some of this

Then take that, and put in the slots of your nut.

If you have the dust on a sheet of paper, you can fold it in a V shape and lightly sprinkle it over the nut. Then take your knife and scrape the powder in your slots. Wipe off your fretboard near the nut after you're finished.

Easy and cheap nut lube!

 

[dennistruckdriver]

Pencil lead.... You wouldn't use pencil lead to lubricate your car's engine! Use a small drop of clean motor oil; wipe off any excess....it won't harm your guitar's finish.

 

[logen99999]

i did the pencil thing already. it seems to be staying in tune for now. if it goes out of tune again i'll go out and invest in the real thing. (big bend lube or whatever)

edit: a few huge bends later and it's out of tune. i'm gona buy the nut sauce and try that.

 

[Caribou]

stringing the guitar correctly and having the intonation set correctly is key. graphite in the nut slots helps too. my LP stays in tune for days, if not weeks. try the over/under clamping method for stringing. Google Image Result for http://www.istockphoto.com/file_thumbview_approve/471722/2/Acoustic_guitar__Tuning_knobs.jpg

 

[Strikerfox]

i did the pencil thing already. it seems to be staying in tune for now. if it goes out of tune again i'll go out and invest in the real thing. (big bend lube or whatever)

edit: a few huge bends later and it's out of tune. i'm gona buy the nut sauce and try that.

GUITAR NEEDS TO HAVE THE NUT SLOTS FIXED PROFESSIONALLY. Take it to a luthier and have him fix the nut slots so that the string can flow correctly. All the lube in the world wont fix this issue.

 

[logen99999]

thanks for all the input guys. i had a studio session today and the b string went out of tune. i tuned it and bent it as much as i could and retuned it again. did this 3 or 5 times until it stayed in tune after bending. after that i had a 2 hour jam with some people and it stayed in tune.

still i'm going to take it to a pro and have him look at it. it never took 2 days of string stretching to tune my strat so i'm led to believe, from my exp and what you guys wrote, that the nut is the culprit.

 

[lp_junkie]

Sounds like new strings that weren't properly stretched..........

After I change strings I tune to pitch, then one at a time grab the string about mid way and give it a few good tugs, then retune that string and move on to the next one.

Do this several times at different points along the string length and you will stay in tune... assuming that your nut is properly cut and polished and your tuners don't have any slop in the gears.

This has worked for me for 34 years.