@@benjaminchang5417 I would never have believed it was a Gretsch. The only one I ever had experience with couldn't stay in tune for a single song, let alone an entire set.
I have guitar which loosing tune in opposite direction. Strings are not getting loose but tighten over time. This happens for years. Summer, winter - doesn't matter. Any explanation?
I bought a Ibanez RG-series guitar with Floyd Rose that came tuned out of the box and stays in tune very well. My budget Aria strat guitar as well Most amazing was a Washburn copy of a Charvel super strat that i bought in the late 80's ... no matter how much punischment i gave the floyd rose ... it always stayed in tune and i never broke a string
I feel you should've mentioned intonation as well, because that's another scenario where you can tune it up with a tuner perfectly, but of course some chords will be out of tune.
intonation will be a issue But if, for example, the nut is cut badly, and the strings are too high at the nut, or stick? You have to fix the nut first. And the action. And stretch the strings. And sort out the "vibrato" bridge Setting the intonation will not matter if any of the above are broken
And tall fretwire, probably the biggest contributor to sharp notes, chords .. every Squier these days comes with tall frets .. they call it narrow tall/ vintage jumbo but even that is not as true as it seems because Dunlop 6230 are the real narrow frets. True vintage frets. Change tuners ??? c'mon
I live in Las Vegas, I have a big collection of guitars and i keep them in a humidified room. When I take one out, it will drop 1/4 step flat within 30 minutes. Put a Floyd Rose or anything else on it and it won’t help one bit. Humidity is the greatest threat to stable tuning.
Not really, change in temperature and humidity messes with the tuning, not the low humidity itself. Acoustics are quite succeptable to low humidity, when it comes to quality elecrics, they should be fine is most conditions on earth but they need a little to acclimate if the temp and humidity changes. For a Vegas desert strummer I would look into carbon composide acoustics and electrics and leave the collection in controlled environment
I have around 20 guitars in a humidity controlled room, temp is fairly constant. 4 of these are 12 string one acoustic. 3 acoustic, a few hollow or semi hollow, most were ubder 1k, so not top line. They all stay fairly in tune, with very minor tuning required at any time. Definitely the humidity and temp are tge single biggest issue with guitars!
I bought my ESP Eclipse 2 with an Evertune. I’ve had it for 2 years. It absolutely stays in tune-just like you said. In fact, I bought it on your recommendation. I have saved a ton of time NOT tuning my guitar! 😀
A tip for floating trems... tune them from the inside strings out, not from 6 to 1. So assuming the low E is 6 and the high E is 1, tune the strings, in order, 4 - 3 - 5 - 2 - 6 - 1. You might need to take a couple passes to get it balanced. If you tune 6 - 5 - 4 - 3 - 2- 1 you could be in a situation where it just shifts the trem in one direction consistently until things are really out of whack. This is also how I change the strings, fwiw. I pull them off and replace them one at a time, in that order, and bring the new string up to tune each time. This keeps the trem stable in the position you want it during the string change.
# 6 reason why it won't stay in tune....weather. I'm in sw Florida and I play outdoors often. I'm in the middle of doing 4 straight gigs outside (hot as hell too). My #1 is a G&L Comanche and it's super stabile but not necessarily outside. My #2 is Les Paul. I bring both to every gig. Very stabile and the intonation on both is spot on but outside....I find myself retuning during the first song. Then it calms down until a break comes. 15 minutes later when the break is over I have to tune again all from being in an environment without A/C.
My LP Studio, the G string in particular drives me nuts! Apparently an LP issue. It’s had a professional setup by my usual guy and it’s not any better. I have locking tuners on a PRS and they definitely help. I have a Jim Root Jazzmaster and it almost never goes out of tune. If I check it, it’s spot on. I often just pick it up and go. Regarding climate and humidity, live in Scotland. We only have one season!
I would’ve mentioned, if you’re going to “tighten up” the truss rod. DON’T think of it like a nut/bolt that you would turn til tight. Think more of fractions of a turn. Just until there is enough tension on the rod not to move freely. 🤘
Big Bends Nut Sauce in the nut slots and saddle slots, no matter if it’s hard tail or not. Strings need to move freely, so they will settle back to pitch.
I am very surprised I have a Gretsch Country Gentleman and it has a Bigsby tremolo system but in all actuality it stays in June unbelievable I can't believe that it actually stays into I have a graphite nut and I did put graphite where it was necessary
Most of the time in my case, tuning instability stems from the nut. I found widening the slots ever so slightly and putting in a liberal amount of graphite or nut product seems to work pretty well. Filing the slots on a downwards angle to the headstock side to reduce contact area with the string may also work as well. Just as a side note I've always instinctively tuned my B string just a couple cents flat for chords to sound more in tune, a tip for beginners if you find that your cowboy chords (especially D chords) don't sound right.
I have a Gretsch with a Bigsby that will go out of tune if the trem is used for anything more than a light vibrato. I know it's the nut, because I hear it ping during tuning, so it's binding. I tried the graphite trick, but apparently I need to go back in with a nut file next time I change the strings. Your idea about the B string I think is reflected in some of the "sweetened" tunings that some electronic tuners now offer (Peterson strobe tuners, for one).
Missed one biggie Darrell....stretch your strings out properly. I tune up and check intonation often...then stretch them for about 1 minute each. Then tune up and one string at a time play it and put it in tune....then stretch about 30 seconds and check tune again. If it's flat, stretch about 30 seconds and check tune again. stretch it again 30 seconds and check tune. If it's flat, tune it and stretch it again for 30 more seconds. They will be properly stretched when you can stretch one at a time and check tune and if it is still in tune, that string is done. Do that for each string and it will hold pretty well then. I also keep 5 springs on my floating bridges and set the plate level with the body when in tune. I gig every couple of weeks with my band and I'm pretty hard on my strings. You can beat them out of tune easy enough. If they're stretched right they'll hold WAY better. Also...when your strings are just worn out it will be hell to keep in tune. I change strings at LEAST once a month and I live in wyoming where it's really dry. In Florida I had to change strings once a week. Rust and crap wears em out way faster.
Check your intonation before you do anything else, especially if it's an open string vs fretted issue. That is the more likely culprit. Find a great luthier you know and trust and get your guitar set up every year. They know all the little tricks for different instruments. I found a luthier many years ago and kept coming back to him because of the way he was able to dial in my Strat. R.I.P. Jim Mouradian.
String trees: deburr and polish their underside, and oil it. All guitars: tune a string, press the part of the string between the nut and the tuner, make a bend, retune if needed. You need to do it two or three times at most for each string, theiy will be stabilized for a longer time.
I play Fenders, Danelectro, Epiphone, and some off-brands like Glarry, Grote, and HB...all my stuff stays in tune, some surprisingly well, over long periods of play.
I got very lucky, my Cort M600 will stay in tune throughout a gig, even several months if left in case. But I admit, I don’t bend much, and humidity is pretty stabile where I live.
I have a gretsch streamliner with a bigsby, at first when i got it it was horrible to stay in tune. I took your advice in one of your older videos about grafite and wow it fixed the problem, now it rarely goes out of tune now!
All great points! I would also add too many windings on tuning pegs, especially for newer players, which increases the chances of the guitar going out of tune when bending.
I'm with you all the way on friction points and hating string trees. I have rarely found they are needed. If your nut is cut properly, and you wind the string down the post a bit you should not need them unless you play really heavy open position chords. And as soon as you are fretting strings, the trees have no impact. Warning - non-staggered locking tuners can be your enemy. Forget conventional wisdom with locking tuners and leave enough slack so you can wind the string down the post a bit. If you really feel you need trees get something with rollers or a Graf Tech tree. But try living without them first. You don't even have to remove them - just pop the string out from under it and tune up.
Weird. I have close to no such issues on my guitars. Yes, I had to resort to GraphTec nuts, roller saddles, String Butlers or even a Nut Buster in one case, but that about fixed everything. And I have at least 3 really cheap Harley Bentons, and _all_ of my (electric) guitars have trem systems.
Thanks Darrell, this was very enjoyable and informative. I have a Squire Bullet strat that I abuse daily and it holds tune rather well. I blocked the trem. Love that Gretsch! 🔥🎸
A big part of the problem I never see anyone talk about, is tuning by ringing out rather than tuning to the pluck. That transient may be sharp compared to when it gently rings out, but the transient is what you hear. If you play super soft to tune, then play a song less softly than gentle, it WILL be sharp. Especially the G string since it's the worst offender at being sharp on the transient.
The previous owner of my guitar put locking tuners and a ball-bearing nut on it. World of difference, especially since I went from a cheap Squier to an American strat.
Awesome stuff as always! One thing I found is decked. Tremlows always cause me tuning issues if I use the bar at all. I even have a super v blade runner and when I had it floating it was fantastic. Switched it to decked due to my current set of guitars and it never stays in tune after a bomb
Great video Darrell. Nope , didn’t guess the Gretsch as being always in tune. The truss rod tip was excellent, never thought of that. And BTW you were mentioned on Todays That Pedal Show (TPS) Video on Mick’s Strat Vlog about the Strat trem system set up issues.
My two Epiphones stay in tune for long periods. The Fender strat until I had it serviced would go out of tune as soon I did any playing. Now holds tune for time to play a few tracks.
The vintage Washburn Wonderbar 2001 is a rare 80’s big block leaf-spring trem and locking nut system that is AMAZING for staying in tune after many pulls and dive bombs. It can be mounted directly onto a hardtail guitar with the only mod being 4 screws and maybe a neck shim!
@DarrellBraunGuitar...my ‘83 Washburn Force 2 hardtail was bought with the Wonderbar trem and locking nut already installed. I removed the pickguard and electronics and started again from scratch. The new pickguard came from a piece of scrap.080 natural blk. styrene. 2 newer Washburn @ 7 and 13 ohm buckers were installed and a single coil @9 ohms routed in between. On/off/on Dpdt switches for the buckers. Split coil or full neck pup. Phase reversed or full bridge pup. Push on or off button for mid pup. Separate vol controls and dual master tone. Adjustable treble bleeds. User friendly layout. Stainless steel zero fret compensated slightly for better intonation. 22nd fret added. Scooped lower horn for more reach. My only electric. My last electric ever. Flip a switch to change thru so many different tones. 13 very usable combinations that can be tweaked with volume controls. Not for sale, I’m taking this one with me…..☠️
I almost quit when I was younger, I spent $1000 on an Ibanez with a Floyd Rose, but was so frustrated with having to tune it every time I picked it up. I was clueless, but we also didn’t have the internet back in the 1900’s. I use Nut Sauce on all my nuts. ✌🏼
WARNING****************************A spammer is trying to lure us in using Darrell's handle and picture with the message "I've got something for you." It's bogus of course. They offer to ship you a guitar and you just have to pay for shipping with your credit card. And then you have to say good bye to that card.
Bought a Fender American Ultra Luxe Strat back in January. Finally changed the strings and oiled the fret board. It stays in tune beyond expectations. Edit…. I live in southwest Florida and the humidity doesn’t change much here so that consistency may be a contributing factor.
If you like to bend notes, you really need to try an EverTune before you buy. I got rid of mine. If I were rich, I would have kept it for recording rhythms.
I bought the cheapest PRS SE, Standard 24, and after a custom hand cut nut, locking tuners, and about of week of playing with trem and string tension, she stays in tune. This was hard, and I knew what I was doing.
I had this guitar for like 10 years -- suddenly it is impossible to tune it! I've tried everything from online tuners etc. After I have got all the strings perfect. and then I play a D and it's totally out of tune -- my Ds NEVER sounded like this! I am now down to that my be hearing ability is the problem. As I said I've played this guitar for 10 years and it never took more than 2 minutes to tune it perfectly to my satisfaction. What is going on here? Has a demon possessed my guitar??? P.S. No, I did not change strings or anything. It was like from one day to the next, and nothing changed in between... Addendum: It's a classic guitar with nylon strings...
My Floyd Rose equipped guitars have the best tuning stability of anything I own. Hands down. I play mostly metal, so I abuse the trem, liberally, too. 🤷🏻♂️
Here's what I've found to be the reasons why guitars won't stay in tune, 1, Tuners with backlash, 2, Tuners with shaft-wobble, 3, Tuners with slightly loose-fitting buttons, 3, Strings binding/sticking in/on the nut, 4, Floating bridges not returning to zero, 5, Bridge not positioned correctly on the guitar for proper intonation, 6, 1st-fret action too high, 7, Hardware made of metal that's too soft for the job (we can blame the bean-counters for that), 8, Overall poor design of the guitar, 9, Too much break-angle going over the nut, 10, strings splaying-out over the nut instead of going straight, 11, Warped/twisted neck, but the two main causes are issues with the tuners and the nut.
As always fantastic Darrell.. 👏 About those string trees, I have one in my strat, and I used to think that making them perfect straight and the screw so tight makes the guitar more stable in tune but I found that you HAVE TO lose the string tree screw just a little, it would be enough if after some playin you notice that its a bit rotated, you know: give some democracy to the B and high E string, they will handle each other :)))))
I own a Gretsch and I felt that would be the one...lol. Mine, however, will need a locking nut because it does not have the locking tuners. I have a Bigsby, which could also be the problem on my G2655T P90 CB Jr. Going to replace the strings with some Ernie Ball Cobalt 10's today and see if they have a Floyd Rose Locking Nut in stock at my local music store. I don't use the Bigsby, but, loved the look of the hollow body and the store wanted to get rid of this model, so the price was right. Might just take it in to trade for another Gretsch at a Guitar Center. Not in any hurry.
Main reason why guitars won't stay in tune? They're complex instruments involving parts that move, stretch, expand, and contract. OF COURSE they go out of tune. No guitar is immune to this. It's a wonder any guitar stays in tune longer than one song, IMO.
of all my guitars, including Gibson and Fender, my 1980's Washburn Falcon, always stays in tune. My Gibson, sheesh, is there any point at all in Gibson having a quality control department? Because they are not doing their job, which is shocking considering the obscene prices they charge.
Locking tuners, Locking saddles, Done. Its that simple, Wilkinson locking saddles with good quality locking tuners basically are all it takes. And Also some form of lubricant in the nut.
I've basically tried everything under the sun to keep my guitars in tune, I've stretched my strings out to the point where one literally broke, I've lubricated the hell out of all points on my guitars where there's friction, I've adjusted my guitars properly, absolutely nothing worked to fix the tuning instability on any of my guitars, even tried installing Fender LSR nuts on my two Fender guitars, a USA Strat and a Mexican Tele, that only made the tuning instability worse not better, even had tuning issues with a Floyd Rose equipped guitar too.
I went into GC a couple of weeks ago and tried every HSS they had under $600...none of them could hold tune. Admittedly it was probably intonation on some of them, but it was pretty disappointing. Also makes me question all these rave online reviews of $300-400 guitars. Really seems like you need to spend at least $700 to get a decent guitar.
Some gibsons have fret spacing problems because they us the wrong divider to set the frets. They used 18 and it should be 17.817. If you got one of these the only fix is a new fretboard. Check your fret spacings with steward mcdonads online fret calculator to see if every fret matches the calculator. I had a 1968 les paul with this problem and it was impossible to tune because of bad fret spacing measurements. Gibson called it compromised spacing. Should have been called dumb spacing, and some say they still do this so check yours?
My fender squire inffinity 199 made in Taiwan stays in tune because I blocked the tremelo and added locking type tuners. I must address now the 60 cycle hum. What a pain.
OMG, when I saw your guitar, I have one , not exactly the same , I have not the ever tuned, I don't play mine anymore. The D and A open chords NEVER stay in tune. Thank you Darrel. Evertuned or evertune, however you call them, you get the point.
I took my BC Rich Mockingbird out of its case, with 1 year old strings on it, and with a Floyd Rose, and it was perfect in tune since the last time I grabbed it, a long time ago.... So I was thinking playing it more often than my others guitars ..... !!!!!
I love this channel... But I knew from the off I was going to have trouble lol.. I'm from the UK so.. 15 minutes of Toon instead of tune was going to cause me anxiety lol..
A lot of players waste their time and money replacing their tuning keys when the problem is with the nut. Even if the slots are the proper depth the guitar may go out of tune after bending or tremolo use by way of the strings binding in the slots. It’s always best to check that the nut slots are properly back-filed, smoothed and lubricated before spending a lot of money on new tuners. This is especially problematic with guitars that have a steeply angled peghead, because there is more downward tension on the strings in their slots. On my Les Paul I wind the strings upward on the tuner posts instead of down. This reduces the tendency of the strings to hang up in the nut slots. I don’t use graphite for lubrication because I don’t think it works very well, and I don’t like the way it looks. My favorite lube is plain lip balm. It works great and it doesn’t show like graphite. Whenever I put on new strings I gently stretch them from end to end, play the guitar a little while to make sure they are all stretched out, then detune just enough so that I can pop the strings out of their slots and put a small amount of lip balm in each one. Then I tune up, play some more, and re-check the tuning. I seldom have any trouble with tuning after that.
@@diogomartinsmota5478 Tall fretwire by itself wouldn’t cause intonation problems. But if you have a heavy touch with your fretting hand then you will have a tendency to play sharp. So if you want to take full advantage of jumbo frets you need to have a light touch, particularly if you’re using very light gauge strings.
@@lumberlikwidator8863that is why i ask my luthier to remove fret height and replace the 9's with 11's flatwounds on my Jaguar. Vintage Fenders didn't came with that tall frets, it was in the 80's or something that this thing has started, and some or most players don't even know that they can play with a heavier touch because they don't know that small frets existed before
All my Floyd Rose equipped Guitars stay in tune for years. My non Floyd Rose guitars is another story except for my music man majesty can't knock that thing out of tune .
I have a Switch (remember them?) Vibracell composite guitar with factory graphite nut and roller saddles on the floating trem. I live in NH where winters are cold and dry, and summers are hot and humid, and I've never had to touch the truss rod. That guitar will not go out of tune even if I leave it in direct sunlight. I'd love if a company re-introduced composite guitars that actually looked good; the resonance and sound of the Switch is as good as any other guitar I own.
Does anyone know how to fix a sensitive tuning machine? My low E string tuning machines changes 20 cents with just a slight turn. None of the other tuning machines are like that so I don’t know what the problem is.
Hey Darrell, would you be open to featuring or mentioning Sweet T Guitars on your channel? He builds incredible instruments by hand, out of South Carolina!
No mention of the importance of a straight string pull-through the nut. Even showed a Les Paul with a device on the headstock to achieve the straight pull-through.
Good video! Every so often it’s good to hear a refresher of the basics. It’s easy to forget that in most cases, the best solution is the easiest solution.
I have an LTD that actually stays in tune rather well, even if I don't touch it for a week or two at a time, but yes, it's a rare thing to find any guitar that stays in tune for a long period of time!!!
amusingly, i have a synsonics guitar that holds tune realllllly well. a cheap little pos budget student guitar. made by gretsch, under a budget label. lame trem, single row tuners on a single mounting plate al a older acoustics, the works for low budget quality.. still does better than every other axes i have save my cheapo bass. which is close. even my midrange ibanez. its ridiculous.
I have found on a floating trem if you go out of tune after a bend or something while playing, just mute the strings do a couple of quick dive bombs and it will usually settle everything back in tune.
A quick fix for high nut slots is to tune to Eb and capo the first fret. You lose one fret at the high end and all your fret markers are off, but you’ve basically replaced the nut with a zero fret.
You forgot the number one reason. When you tune a string, you have to tune up to pitch. I have seen many who tune back down to a note. It will detune if you are not tensioning up to a note.
Only one of my guitars will ALWAYS be in tune! Did any of you get it right? let me know!
Enjoy :)
An Evertune bridge guitar?
@@benjaminchang5417 I would never have believed it was a Gretsch. The only one I ever had experience with couldn't stay in tune for a single song, let alone an entire set.
I have guitar which loosing tune in opposite direction. Strings are not getting loose but tighten over time. This happens for years. Summer, winter - doesn't matter.
Any explanation?
I bought a Ibanez RG-series guitar with Floyd Rose that came tuned out of the box and stays in tune very well.
My budget Aria strat guitar as well
Most amazing was a Washburn copy of a Charvel super strat that i bought in the late 80's ... no matter how much punischment i gave the floyd rose ... it always stayed in tune and i never broke a string
I didn't know the brand, but my first guess was a guitar w/ an Evertune bridge... and turned out to be right!
I feel you should've mentioned intonation as well, because that's another scenario where you can tune it up with a tuner perfectly, but of course some chords will be out of tune.
I was kind of expecting the same thing...
that was my first guess
intonation will be a issue
But if, for example, the nut is cut badly, and the strings are too high at the nut, or stick?
You have to fix the nut first. And the action. And stretch the strings. And sort out the "vibrato" bridge
Setting the intonation will not matter if any of the above are broken
And tall fretwire, probably the biggest contributor to sharp notes, chords .. every Squier these days comes with tall frets .. they call it narrow tall/ vintage jumbo but even that is not as true as it seems because Dunlop 6230 are the real narrow frets. True vintage frets.
Change tuners ??? c'mon
I live in Las Vegas, I have a big collection of guitars and i keep them in a humidified room. When I take one out, it will drop 1/4 step flat within 30 minutes. Put a Floyd Rose or anything else on it and it won’t help one bit. Humidity is the greatest threat to stable tuning.
Las Vegas is death for guitars. I thought mine were dead until I moved.
Not really, change in temperature and humidity messes with the tuning, not the low humidity itself. Acoustics are quite succeptable to low humidity, when it comes to quality elecrics, they should be fine is most conditions on earth but they need a little to acclimate if the temp and humidity changes. For a Vegas desert strummer I would look into carbon composide acoustics and electrics and leave the collection in controlled environment
I get the same issue in Wisconsin.
Temperature fluctuations as well...
I have around 20 guitars in a humidity controlled room, temp is fairly constant. 4 of these are 12 string one acoustic. 3 acoustic, a few hollow or semi hollow, most were ubder 1k, so not top line. They all stay fairly in tune, with very minor tuning required at any time. Definitely the humidity and temp are tge single biggest issue with guitars!
I bought my ESP Eclipse 2 with an Evertune. I’ve had it for 2 years. It absolutely stays in tune-just like you said. In fact, I bought it on your recommendation. I have saved a ton of time NOT tuning my guitar! 😀
Your channel is very educational thank you I enjoy your videos
A tip for floating trems... tune them from the inside strings out, not from 6 to 1. So assuming the low E is 6 and the high E is 1, tune the strings, in order, 4 - 3 - 5 - 2 - 6 - 1. You might need to take a couple passes to get it balanced. If you tune 6 - 5 - 4 - 3 - 2- 1 you could be in a situation where it just shifts the trem in one direction consistently until things are really out of whack. This is also how I change the strings, fwiw. I pull them off and replace them one at a time, in that order, and bring the new string up to tune each time. This keeps the trem stable in the position you want it during the string change.
My ‘52 Fender Tele reissue is pretty damn stable.
# 6 reason why it won't stay in tune....weather. I'm in sw Florida and I play outdoors often. I'm in the middle of doing 4 straight gigs outside (hot as hell too). My #1 is a G&L Comanche and it's super stabile but not necessarily outside. My #2 is Les Paul. I bring both to every gig. Very stabile and the intonation on both is spot on but outside....I find myself retuning during the first song. Then it calms down until a break comes. 15 minutes later when the break is over I have to tune again all from being in an environment without A/C.
Almost all new guitars have to be set up and nut slots are part of that process. I bought a new Martin that had been Pleked that needed adjustment.
My LP Studio, the G string in particular drives me nuts! Apparently an LP issue. It’s had a professional setup by my usual guy and it’s not any better.
I have locking tuners on a PRS and they definitely help. I have a Jim Root Jazzmaster and it almost never goes out of tune. If I check it, it’s spot on. I often just pick it up and go.
Regarding climate and humidity, live in Scotland. We only have one season!
I would’ve mentioned, if you’re going to “tighten up” the truss rod. DON’T think of it like a nut/bolt that you would turn til tight. Think more of fractions of a turn. Just until there is enough tension on the rod not to move freely. 🤘
I didn't guess Gretch, but I did guess it will be your guitar fitted with an Evertune----that counts, right?---LOL!
Big Bends Nut Sauce in the nut slots and saddle slots, no matter if it’s hard tail or not. Strings need to move freely, so they will settle back to pitch.
Yes and it has such a great name😂😅🤣.
I am very surprised I have a Gretsch Country Gentleman and it has a Bigsby tremolo system but in all actuality it stays in June unbelievable I can't believe that it actually stays into I have a graphite nut and I did put graphite where it was necessary
Most of the time in my case, tuning instability stems from the nut. I found widening the slots ever so slightly and putting in a liberal amount of graphite or nut product seems to work pretty well. Filing the slots on a downwards angle to the headstock side to reduce contact area with the string may also work as well.
Just as a side note I've always instinctively tuned my B string just a couple cents flat for chords to sound more in tune, a tip for beginners if you find that your cowboy chords (especially D chords) don't sound right.
I have a Gretsch with a Bigsby that will go out of tune if the trem is used for anything more than a light vibrato. I know it's the nut, because I hear it ping during tuning, so it's binding. I tried the graphite trick, but apparently I need to go back in with a nut file next time I change the strings.
Your idea about the B string I think is reflected in some of the "sweetened" tunings that some electronic tuners now offer (Peterson strobe tuners, for one).
No... do not 'go back in' anything. Take the guitar to a skilled setup guy to remedy the problem(s).
Missed one biggie Darrell....stretch your strings out properly. I tune up and check intonation often...then stretch them for about 1 minute each. Then tune up and one string at a time play it and put it in tune....then stretch about 30 seconds and check tune again. If it's flat, stretch about 30 seconds and check tune again. stretch it again 30 seconds and check tune. If it's flat, tune it and stretch it again for 30 more seconds. They will be properly stretched when you can stretch one at a time and check tune and if it is still in tune, that string is done. Do that for each string and it will hold pretty well then. I also keep 5 springs on my floating bridges and set the plate level with the body when in tune. I gig every couple of weeks with my band and I'm pretty hard on my strings. You can beat them out of tune easy enough. If they're stretched right they'll hold WAY better. Also...when your strings are just worn out it will be hell to keep in tune. I change strings at LEAST once a month and I live in wyoming where it's really dry. In Florida I had to change strings once a week. Rust and crap wears em out way faster.
Check your intonation before you do anything else, especially if it's an open string vs fretted issue. That is the more likely culprit. Find a great luthier you know and trust and get your guitar set up every year. They know all the little tricks for different instruments. I found a luthier many years ago and kept coming back to him because of the way he was able to dial in my Strat. R.I.P. Jim Mouradian.
String trees: deburr and polish their underside, and oil it.
All guitars: tune a string, press the part of the string between the nut and the tuner, make a bend, retune if needed. You need to do it two or three times at most for each string, theiy will be stabilized for a longer time.
I play Fenders, Danelectro, Epiphone, and some off-brands like Glarry, Grote, and HB...all my stuff stays in tune, some surprisingly well, over long periods of play.
Maybe you need a new tuner... 😁
he spends all that time on tightening the truss rod and does not talk about the tuning machines.
Cowboy chords 😂 In Germany we call these nanny chords, literally translated.
I got very lucky, my Cort M600 will stay in tune throughout a gig, even several months if left in case. But I admit, I don’t bend much, and humidity is pretty stabile where I live.
Great video Darrell! Finger pressure was an eye opener for me!
I have a gretsch streamliner with a bigsby, at first when i got it it was horrible to stay in tune. I took your advice in one of your older videos about grafite and wow it fixed the problem, now it rarely goes out of tune now!
All great points! I would also add too many windings on tuning pegs, especially for newer players, which increases the chances of the guitar going out of tune when bending.
I'm with you all the way on friction points and hating string trees. I have rarely found they are needed. If your nut is cut properly, and you wind the string down the post a bit you should not need them unless you play really heavy open position chords. And as soon as you are fretting strings, the trees have no impact. Warning - non-staggered locking tuners can be your enemy. Forget conventional wisdom with locking tuners and leave enough slack so you can wind the string down the post a bit. If you really feel you need trees get something with rollers or a Graf Tech tree. But try living without them first. You don't even have to remove them - just pop the string out from under it and tune up.
I am just not a Les Paul guy, never have been. I play my Tele more than anything...thanks for the tips!! 👍
You sound like me. Never liked the Les Paul. But I love my Teles.
@@danielhartman5086 if it ain't broke don't fix it 🤷 I also love my Tele!
After the nuclear Armageddon all that will be left are cockroaches and telecasters (and they’ll be in tune).
I never noticed how exceptionally white Darrell's teeth are
Weird. I have close to no such issues on my guitars. Yes, I had to resort to GraphTec nuts, roller saddles, String Butlers or even a Nut Buster in one case, but that about fixed everything. And I have at least 3 really cheap Harley Bentons, and _all_ of my (electric) guitars have trem systems.
Thanks Darrell, this was very enjoyable and informative. I have a Squire Bullet strat that I abuse daily and it holds tune rather well. I blocked the trem. Love that Gretsch! 🔥🎸
I feel personally attacked for my strong grip...😂
Haha you just used the word "zingy" lol that made me laugh 😂
the epiphone firebird stays in tune pretty darn well. shocked me considering I use a Capo with it
A big part of the problem I never see anyone talk about, is tuning by ringing out rather than tuning to the pluck. That transient may be sharp compared to when it gently rings out, but the transient is what you hear. If you play super soft to tune, then play a song less softly than gentle, it WILL be sharp. Especially the G string since it's the worst offender at being sharp on the transient.
That’s a great point!
That’s why I want an ever tune, so damn bad !!!!!!!!
I had not even watched this yet when I stated I need an evertune!
The previous owner of my guitar put locking tuners and a ball-bearing nut on it. World of difference, especially since I went from a cheap Squier to an American strat.
Awesome stuff as always! One thing I found is decked. Tremlows always cause me tuning issues if I use the bar at all. I even have a super v blade runner and when I had it floating it was fantastic. Switched it to decked due to my current set of guitars and it never stays in tune after a bomb
Great video Darrell. Nope , didn’t guess the Gretsch as being always in tune. The truss rod tip was excellent, never thought of that. And BTW you were mentioned on Todays That Pedal Show (TPS) Video on Mick’s Strat Vlog about the Strat trem system set up issues.
My two Epiphones stay in tune for long periods. The Fender strat until I had it serviced would go out of tune as soon I did any playing. Now holds tune for time to play a few tracks.
The vintage Washburn Wonderbar 2001 is a rare 80’s big block leaf-spring trem and locking nut system that is AMAZING for staying in tune after many pulls and dive bombs. It can be mounted directly onto a hardtail guitar with the only mod being 4 screws and maybe a neck shim!
@DarrellBraunGuitar...my ‘83 Washburn Force 2 hardtail was bought with the Wonderbar trem and locking nut already installed. I removed the pickguard and electronics and started again from scratch. The new pickguard came from a piece of scrap.080 natural blk. styrene. 2 newer Washburn @ 7 and 13 ohm buckers were installed and a single coil @9 ohms routed in between. On/off/on Dpdt switches for the buckers. Split coil or full neck pup. Phase reversed or full bridge pup. Push on or off button for mid pup. Separate vol controls and dual master tone. Adjustable treble bleeds. User friendly layout. Stainless steel zero fret compensated slightly for better intonation. 22nd fret added. Scooped lower horn for more reach. My only electric. My last electric ever. Flip a switch to change thru so many different tones. 13 very usable combinations that can be tweaked with volume controls. Not for sale, I’m taking this one with me…..☠️
Have you given up on worship song?
I almost quit when I was younger, I spent $1000 on an Ibanez with a Floyd Rose, but was so frustrated with having to tune it every time I picked it up. I was clueless, but we also didn’t have the internet back in the 1900’s. I use Nut Sauce on all my nuts. ✌🏼
An infomercial! Really?
I just got my String Butler installed Today. I seen it from one of your videos. Got in in the mail an on the guitar right away. Thank you sir.
My 1969 Fender Mustang stays in tune GREAT and is ready to play every time it's picked up........
WARNING****************************A spammer is trying to lure us in using Darrell's handle and picture with the message "I've got something for you." It's bogus of course. They offer to ship you a guitar and you just have to pay for shipping with your credit card. And then you have to say good bye to that card.
Bought a Fender American Ultra Luxe Strat back in January. Finally changed the strings and oiled the fret board. It stays in tune beyond expectations. Edit…. I live in southwest Florida and the humidity doesn’t change much here so that consistency may be a contributing factor.
If you like to bend notes, you really need to try an EverTune before you buy. I got rid of mine. If I were rich, I would have kept it for recording rhythms.
I bought the cheapest PRS SE, Standard 24, and after a custom hand cut nut, locking tuners, and about of week of playing with trem and string tension, she stays in tune. This was hard, and I knew what I was doing.
Had the same problem. Shockingly bad.
I had this guitar for like 10 years -- suddenly it is impossible to tune it! I've tried everything from online tuners etc. After I have got all the strings perfect. and then I play a D and it's totally out of tune -- my Ds NEVER sounded like this! I am now down to that my be hearing ability is the problem. As I said I've played this guitar for 10 years and it never took more than 2 minutes to tune it perfectly to my satisfaction. What is going on here? Has a demon possessed my guitar???
P.S. No, I did not change strings or anything. It was like from one day to the next, and nothing changed in between...
Addendum: It's a classic guitar with nylon strings...
My Floyd Rose equipped guitars have the best tuning stability of anything I own. Hands down. I play mostly metal, so I abuse the trem, liberally, too. 🤷🏻♂️
"It didn't fix everything because, you know, les pauls are les pauls,"
That couldn't be any more truthful lol
Here's what I've found to be the reasons why guitars won't stay in tune, 1, Tuners with backlash, 2, Tuners with shaft-wobble, 3, Tuners with slightly loose-fitting buttons, 3, Strings binding/sticking in/on the nut, 4, Floating bridges not returning to zero, 5, Bridge not positioned correctly on the guitar for proper intonation, 6, 1st-fret action too high, 7, Hardware made of metal that's too soft for the job (we can blame the bean-counters for that), 8, Overall poor design of the guitar, 9, Too much break-angle going over the nut, 10, strings splaying-out over the nut instead of going straight, 11, Warped/twisted neck, but the two main causes are issues with the tuners and the nut.
As always fantastic Darrell.. 👏
About those string trees, I have one in my strat, and I used to think that making them perfect straight and the screw so tight makes the guitar more stable in tune but I found that you HAVE TO lose the string tree screw just a little, it would be enough if after some playin you notice that its a bit rotated, you know: give some democracy to the B and high E string, they will handle each other :)))))
I own a Gretsch and I felt that would be the one...lol. Mine, however, will need a locking nut because it does not have the locking tuners. I have a Bigsby, which could also be the problem on my G2655T P90 CB Jr. Going to replace the strings with some Ernie Ball Cobalt 10's today and see if they have a Floyd Rose Locking Nut in stock at my local music store. I don't use the Bigsby, but, loved the look of the hollow body and the store wanted to get rid of this model, so the price was right. Might just take it in to trade for another Gretsch at a Guitar Center. Not in any hurry.
Main reason why guitars won't stay in tune?
They're complex instruments involving parts that move, stretch, expand, and contract. OF COURSE they go out of tune.
No guitar is immune to this.
It's a wonder any guitar stays in tune longer than one song, IMO.
of all my guitars, including Gibson and Fender, my 1980's Washburn Falcon, always stays in tune.
My Gibson, sheesh, is there any point at all in Gibson having a quality control department?
Because they are not doing their job, which is shocking considering the obscene prices they charge.
I am NOT about to "fix" my favorite excuse. And string trees? I don't need no stinkin' string trees...
Locking tuners, Locking saddles, Done. Its that simple, Wilkinson locking saddles with good quality locking tuners basically are all it takes. And Also some form of lubricant in the nut.
I've basically tried everything under the sun to keep my guitars in tune, I've stretched my strings out to the point where one literally broke, I've lubricated the hell out of all points on my guitars where there's friction, I've adjusted my guitars properly, absolutely nothing worked to fix the tuning instability on any of my guitars, even tried installing Fender LSR nuts on my two Fender guitars, a USA Strat and a Mexican Tele, that only made the tuning instability worse not better, even had tuning issues with a Floyd Rose equipped guitar too.
I went into GC a couple of weeks ago and tried every HSS they had under $600...none of them could hold tune. Admittedly it was probably intonation on some of them, but it was pretty disappointing. Also makes me question all these rave online reviews of $300-400 guitars. Really seems like you need to spend at least $700 to get a decent guitar.
Some gibsons have fret spacing problems because they us the wrong divider to set the frets. They used 18 and it should be 17.817. If you got one of these the only fix is a new fretboard. Check your fret spacings with steward mcdonads online fret calculator to see if every fret matches the calculator. I had a 1968 les paul with this problem and it was impossible to tune because of bad fret spacing measurements. Gibson called it compromised spacing. Should have been called dumb spacing, and some say they still do this so check yours?
Could use it for slide and no fretted notes.
Just don’t use the frets for where to play, just your ears (which you should use anyway)
My fender squire inffinity 199 made in Taiwan stays in tune because I blocked the tremelo and added locking type tuners. I must address now the 60 cycle hum. What a pain.
OMG, when I saw your guitar, I have one , not exactly the same , I have not the ever tuned, I don't play mine anymore. The D and A open chords NEVER stay in tune. Thank you Darrel. Evertuned or evertune, however you call them, you get the point.
I took my BC Rich Mockingbird out of its case, with 1 year old strings on it, and with a Floyd Rose, and it was perfect in tune since the last time I grabbed it, a long time ago.... So I was thinking playing it more often than my others guitars ..... !!!!!
I love this channel... But I knew from the off I was going to have trouble lol.. I'm from the UK so.. 15 minutes of Toon instead of tune was going to cause me anxiety lol..
A lot of players waste their time and money replacing their tuning keys when the problem is with the nut. Even if the slots are the proper depth the guitar may go out of tune after bending or tremolo use by way of the strings binding in the slots. It’s always best to check that the nut slots are properly back-filed, smoothed and lubricated before spending a lot of money on new tuners. This is especially problematic with guitars that have a steeply angled peghead, because there is more downward tension on the strings in their slots. On my Les Paul I wind the strings upward on the tuner posts instead of down. This reduces the tendency of the strings to hang up in the nut slots. I don’t use graphite for lubrication because I don’t think it works very well, and I don’t like the way it looks. My favorite lube is plain lip balm. It works great and it doesn’t show like graphite. Whenever I put on new strings I gently stretch them from end to end, play the guitar a little while to make sure they are all stretched out, then detune just enough so that I can pop the strings out of their slots and put a small amount of lip balm in each one. Then I tune up, play some more, and re-check the tuning. I seldom have any trouble with tuning after that.
what about tall fretwire ? tall frets, every Squier comes with those tall frets shipped with 9's
@@diogomartinsmota5478 Tall fretwire by itself wouldn’t cause intonation problems. But if you have a heavy touch with your fretting hand then you will have a tendency to play sharp. So if you want to take full advantage of jumbo frets you need to have a light touch, particularly if you’re using very light gauge strings.
@@lumberlikwidator8863that is why i ask my luthier to remove fret height and replace the 9's with 11's flatwounds on my Jaguar. Vintage Fenders didn't came with that tall frets, it was in the 80's or something that this thing has started, and some or most players don't even know that they can play with a heavier touch because they don't know that small frets existed before
All my Floyd Rose equipped Guitars stay in tune for years. My non Floyd Rose guitars is another story except for my music man majesty can't knock that thing out of tune .
I have a Switch (remember them?) Vibracell composite guitar with factory graphite nut and roller saddles on the floating trem. I live in NH where winters are cold and dry, and summers are hot and humid, and I've never had to touch the truss rod. That guitar will not go out of tune even if I leave it in direct sunlight. I'd love if a company re-introduced composite guitars that actually looked good; the resonance and sound of the Switch is as good as any other guitar I own.
Does anyone know how to fix a sensitive tuning machine? My low E string tuning machines changes 20 cents with just a slight turn. None of the other tuning machines are like that so I don’t know what the problem is.
Hey Darrell, would you be open to featuring or mentioning Sweet T Guitars on your channel? He builds incredible instruments by hand, out of South Carolina!
My Yamaha Pacifica 611HFM stays on tune, great value for money
No mention of the importance of a straight string pull-through the nut. Even showed a Les Paul with a device on the headstock to achieve the straight pull-through.
My ‘87 MIJ Squire strat holds tune better than any guitar I’ve ever had. Just crazy.
Good video! Every so often it’s good to hear a refresher of the basics. It’s easy to forget that in most cases, the best solution is the easiest solution.
I have an LTD that actually stays in tune rather well, even if I don't touch it for a week or two at a time, but yes, it's a rare thing to find any guitar that stays in tune for a long period of time!!!
amusingly, i have a synsonics guitar that holds tune realllllly well. a cheap little pos budget student guitar. made by gretsch, under a budget label. lame trem, single row tuners on a single mounting plate al a older acoustics, the works for low budget quality.. still does better than every other axes i have save my cheapo bass. which is close.
even my midrange ibanez.
its ridiculous.
You know I figured the first thing that you would say would be temperature.
I have found on a floating trem if you go out of tune after a bend or something while playing, just mute the strings do a couple of quick dive bombs and it will usually settle everything back in tune.
A quick fix for high nut slots is to tune to Eb and capo the first fret. You lose one fret at the high end and all your fret markers are off, but you’ve basically replaced the nut with a zero fret.
I stay in tune extremely well with a €400 guitar even with an abuse of Wilkinson.
humidity & barometric pressure, weak batteries in the tuner, crappy strings
The whole time I was like a guitar with evertune. But never came up with which brand it would be. Lol!
Proper tuning , I've seen many tune down , always tune up too the note and Cheap Tuner's.
All of mine stay in tune. You never addressed the string wrap on the tuning peg lol...
Most of my guitars rarely go out of tune. Some only need tuned every few weeks and I play them all regularly.
Thank you for showing are young player this, they need to learn this bro.
Donner Telecaster, I have had in my basement untouched for three months. I can guarantee that it is in tune right now.
Do you think painted necks can hold better tuning?
I guess you rather play out of tune guitars than this guitar....almost a year on the wall means you don't like the sound or the feel 🤔
i have a 1973 gretsch chet atkins country gentleman and it stays in tune very well
You forgot the number one reason. When you tune a string, you have to tune up to pitch. I have seen many who tune back down to a note. It will detune if you are not tensioning up to a note.
I have a Gretch acoustic I picked up at a flea market and I don’t care for it but, it’s still in tune after months of sitting in the case
You mean I've been playing out of tune all of these years?! 🤣
Reason 6: you don't stretch your strings.
Haven't even started the vid yet,
and my guess for that last one is the EverTune.
I use the evertune bridge and it never goes out of tune , can you do some content on the evertune bridge it would be appreciated 👍🎸
Darrell could a tuning issue on a gibson sg just be the nut being cut wrong or the material?
Floyd Rose with locking nut stays in tune pretty well!
Great video nice to see more tips. Always good to have some simple reminders for keeping guitar intune.