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If it's not one thing it's another....

Now my guitar will not stay in tune.. I have 9-46's tuned to Eb and it just will not stay.. I tuned it 6 times, stretching each string 6 times before retuning. And yet the damn thing isn't failing to go out of tune continuously!!! What can I do?

Is your bridge set up correctly... floating or resting on the body? Is your intonation correct? Are the strings binding in the nut? Are the tuners tight enough?

To the best of my knowledge, yes the intonation is right, the strings are not binding... except the G but that hasn't caused me any grief until now, and the tuners should be tight enough... It's a stoptail guitar with a one piece bridge and string-thru. You can sort of see the bridge in my avatar.

possibly your problem is 9's in Eb? thats....really loose.

I use 9's in D on my telecaster, No problem what so ever here, It holds tune as good as my Warlock with a floyd.How new are your strings? Maybe they just haven't properly streched?

Lighter strings, especially cheap ones, do tend to get out of tune real easy. I had the same problem a while back. I finally switched to D'Addario strings and take care of the problem. If your frets are high, like the Fender vintage style, you will get out of tune also very easily when you press hard with you fingers. You may want to change to fatter and lower frets when it's time for a fret job.

even if you don't think the strings are binding in the nut, try and put some graphite in the nut slots. just take a sharp #2 pencil and just sort of quot;drawquot; in the slots for each string. i do this to all of my guitars, and tuning problems are almost non-existant for me. it takes 2 seconds, and at the very least your strings will slide a little more smoothly when you're tuning up.

In general, 9-46 tuned to eb is going to be pretty rubber bandy. How heavy is your technique? -if you play hard, heavier strings would definitely help tuning stability...

It might be that your strings just aren't wrapped around your tuners correctly. Every time you strike the strings, they'll go out of tune a bit.

Does your stoptail have individual saddle adjustment? If not, it's tempered to be used with 9s and 10s in standard tuning. Anything else will be slightly imperfect.

9's shouldn't really be tuned to Eb....you should move to 10's or 11's for better tension and tone.

If you DO have individual saddles, you can use any guage and tuning, as long as your nut slots are cut right.

Go to Rainmakers Intonation thread in the Vault. I did a post on setups that will give you all the info you need. Copy it, and read it while you're doing the setup.
Guitars go out of tune for 3 reasons.
1. Intonation isn't perfect.
2. The not slots are too high, too low, or too tight.
3. The strings are getting slacked between the tuners/nut or string ball/saddles, from not being strung properly or stretched properly.

Your problem sounds like the intonation is out, and possibly the nut slots too high or binding.

For everyone's information, I'm using DR TiteFit strings... which are not cheap at all, and I've stretched them plenty...


Originally Posted by Gearjoneser
9's shouldn't really be tuned to Eb....you should move to 10's or 11's for better tension and tone.

I'm with GJ, if you go up to 10's or 11's you'll probably have better luck with tuning. I've never had any luck with tuning down on 9's, even if its just to Eb or drop D.

Thanks guys, I will definitely check the intonation with your methods GJ.

Interestingly enough, at band practice yesterday, I think the strings stayed in tune for the most part... better than they had the day before, in the same tuning, and even in drop C#.... I'll still intonate my guitar though. thanks.


Originally Posted by Metalman_666Thanks guys, I will definitely check the intonation with your methods GJ.

Interestingly enough, at band practice yesterday, I think the strings stayed in tune for the most part... better than they had the day before, in the same tuning, and even in drop C#.... I'll still intonate my guitar though. thanks.

If you're goffing around with tunings you're varying the level of stress on the neck. It's possible that with a thinner neck that it's just taking time to adjust to the different tensions.


Originally Posted by SkarekroughIf you're goffing around with tunings you're varying the level of stress on the neck. It's possible that with a thinner neck that it's just taking time to adjust to the different tensions.

This is a good possibility I guess.. but I will definitely switch two 10's in awhile... I don't want these pricey strings to go to waste...