Grateful Dead Music Forum

As the title says Anyone have problems tuning their axe's G and B strings? I haven't played my electrics in a while and I just couldn't get them in tune to play chords Well I guess the deal is and I forgot it till I found it on line is : depending on your tuner and guitar (I have 2 and they both give slightly different readings on these strings( go Figure?) I set G slightly flat and B slightly sharp and Viola my Les Paul is rocking your mileage may differ I was quite frustrated spending a lot of time and getting ready to pull a Hendrix on it in the backyard or buy new tuners as I thought that was the problem I lubed the nut ( no puns here) but now I am in the groove Rockin the Casba
Dwight

Always! Most guitars I have played, the B string is really impossible to get to play in tune, mainly on the few frets (the minor third on an open A minor chord is usually the worst). And with thicker strings that one always tries to bind at the nut! Lube and having the right relief at the nut helps. I don't play much open position stuff so I usually set mine up to play in best possible tuning from the 5th fret up. By nature there are always some trade-offs with tuning on a guitar, although with a little know-how you can get everything to play "acceptably" in tune, depending on your definition of acceptable.

Check the intonation

[quote="Chuckles"]Check the intonation[/quote]
yea get the setup checked i never have that problem

Yeah, absolutely check the intonation because you can get damn close if the guitar is well built and set up. If your standard is "perfectly" in tune at every fret down to a fraction of a cent, though, you won't ever get there on a guitar!

You need to get a really good tuner - that makes a huge differnence, with how much resolution there is for example down to 0.1 cent that you can get from a strobe tuner - most can make the argument it is not necessary, but if you want to set your intonation accurately it's going to help a lot.

Second thing you could do - but you really need to be picky about accurate intonation to do this - is to check out the The Buzz Feiten Tuning System - see http://www.buzzfeiten.com/howitworks/howitworks.htm.

Apparently guitars are inherently F'ed up and cannot accurately be brought into precise intonation - or so some claim - I have only read about this, have not seen it, but logically it makes a lot of sense - they claim that by slightly adjusting the distance of the string length they can correct the issue you are describing.

All that being said - take whatever tuner you have as a starting point, and set the intonation by getting it as close as possible to be in tune on each string at the 5th and 17th frets by slowly adjusting each string length at the bridge so you are perfect at each - for example the low and high E strings should be in perfect A at 5th and 17th.

If it still drives you crazy after that - start saving for a better tuner or a better guitar.

Well I use the open string and the 12th fret to set intonation but I'll check according to the method you suggest and see if there is any difference. I used that to check it on my acoustics also works perfect with acoustics and my electrics and it appears to be very close. I found a web site that suggested a better way to tune. I have 2 tuners a Korg and an Intella tuner they are in unison until you to the g and b strings then they vary from each other. The website of a studio engineer says most small tuners suck but if you have a electric with a rhythm setting put it there and turn the tone down and pluck at the 12 fret you get a steadier reading and it worked! I was able to get a better reading and the G and B string were reading close to spot on within a few cents and the A and G chords sounded smooth which for me are usually the ones if the guitar is out of tune sound sick . I set up my guitars and while not a luthier I do OK. This may sound stupid but I was also moving my guitar up from the basement to my garage room and there is a temp as well as a humidity difference so that could also be a factor. I have read else where that the G and B strings are a common problem with electrics but maybe not everyone has this problem. I was able to jam nicely with my self last night after a few more minor tweaks and it appears to be holding tune nicely right now. It is not an expensive guitar read as I built it from Saga kit money and price seem to eliminate a lot of problems with guitars with playability and tone. The neck relief is good as well as the action and the nut is cut right.
Good to GO!!! thanks for everyone's comments and response. You guys and girls? appear to be a friendly bunch
Dwight

celticguitar666 wrote:appear to be a friendly bunch
Dwight

Wait 'till he really gets to know us!

I received an Earvana 42mm compensated Nut in the mail yesterday, and will install later this week.
We'll see how it does with the tuning issue thing.
I too have a few "Chord vs Tuning" pet peeves.

What are you guys using as nut lube? I use pencil lead for the graphite, as it is easy to apply.

Well I found after last post I was still having some tone issues and holding tune issues. It seems like the nut was still binding strings so a nut problem? I attacked the nut by widening the grooves slightly making them shallower height wise and smoothed them with some 1500 grit sand paper and replaced the strings with some Ernie ball regular Slinky's. The binding and tuning problems appear to be gone. The G and B are tuned to normal pitch and all chords ring clear and with no lube either. I am sure it was probably a combination of problems. I did notice a slight kink in all the plain steel strings in the place where they sat in the nut that also could have been a contributing factor. I really do like the new strings they have a real nice feel and tone. I may have resolved my playability problems now and I can enjoy playing the damn thing for a change instead trying to get it in tune! We will see said the Blind Man
Dwight