Willem186
Hey there guys, I have an HUGE tuning problem with my Les Paul Standard. I purchased this guitar practically brand new, and I can honestly say that I have purchased a "sleeper". It plays astonishingly well, great action and fantastic tone, the only thing that is letting it down is the fact that it does not hold its tuning for longer than a song? What I have been told is, that the strings are new and they need to settle, which is logical, but this is not my first guitar. I expected that to be the case for a day or two. After several days she is still not staying in tune. I did some research online and found that a recurring issue is the fact that the plastic nut is rubbish, leading to said tuning instability. So I filed it a little and placed some graphite in the grooves of the nut, now this did help... a lot. Did it remedy it completely... no. The weird thing is that the amount of cents that the tuning strays by, is very sporadic. Its sharp, then flat, then sharp.... Crazy? The intonation is wonderfully spot-on, really good. Just the tuning, so if anybody can help me with this, it would much appreciated as this guitar is amazing...
Willem Stander
MikeM
Welcome back Willem.
I'd try and take it to a reputable tech for a bone nut. Will improve the tone and the tuning stability - and he should be able to direct you accordingly with what exactly is stopping it from staying in tune.
Bob-Dubery
If it's going sharp then suspicion must fall upon the nut. As Mike says, take it to a good tech to get the existing nut tuned or to get a whole new nut.
Gibsons ain't cheap. If you bought it new you should not feel bashful about taking it back to the store and requesting them to get it sorted at their cost.
Werner-Carstens
I agree that the nut has to be the issue. LP's are supposed to be kings of in-tune so have it looked at. Agree with MikeM about the bone option. Best of luck.
Reinhard
Try a different set of strings, stretch them WELL before final tuning. Also, make sure you get enough winds around the tuning posts. You can even use a technique where you lock the string onto itself. Another trick is to go flat before tuning up to pitch. Otherwise have a teck check and make sure you aren't getting any binding in the nut.
AlanRatcliffe
As Bob says, If it's going sharp, it is almost certainly the nut. One tell-tale is when you hear "pings" as you tune. +1 to Mike's suggestion of a bone nut (a tech could improve the cutting of the existing nut, but if you are going to pay for that, might as well do it properly and get the bone nut too).
Willem186
Thanks a million to all the replies ? How much would a bone nut cost? Unfortunately I bought it off a friend who has a collection of 20 guitars, he bought it and never played it, so he could never have known about the tuning problem, and as a side note, he treats his guitars like gold.
Willem186
Its an Epiphone Les Paul Standard, my friend who is a collector of Gibson guitars has an Explorer, 3 Les Pauls and a Flying V, told me that my little old Epi plays as well, if not better than his standard, that's why I would love for it to be sorted out...
Ian
Hey Willem ,is there any flex in the neck?Some instruments tend to have ''soft necks '' ie they let go a lot quicker than others .If the necks starts to bow ,and the action deteriorates ,this could be the problem.To establish this play any note /s and gently apply pressure to the headstock, both fwd and back .You will hear the notes change .Compare the ammount of effort to a few other guitars.You may be supprised .Good luck
kp247
MikeM wrote
I'd try and take it to a reputable tech for a bone nut. Will improve the tone and the tuning stability - and he should be able to direct you accordingly with what exactly is stopping it from staying in tune.
Sorry to have to throw a spanner in the works yet again but I strongly disagree, based on personal experience! If you use the term "bone" nut loosely it can be misleading. There are many types of bone nut however bone has a tendency to grab the strings and create exactly the problem the you're trying to get rid of! It's hard and it makes the guitar "ring" nicely but is a bitch to deal with if you're bending strings. Great for a bronze strung acoustic guitar, but not a Les Paul. The only bone that doesn't "grab" as much is ivory. What with being in Africa and all do we really want to use ivory?
The best nuts are made by Graphtec, made from a naturally lubricated material they call TUSQ. Check out this link:
http://www.graphtech.com/products.html?SubCategoryID=8
And for good tuning stability get yourself a quality set of machine heads, like the ones for Les Paul made by Gotoh.
AlanRatcliffe
I use the Graph Tech Black Tusq almost exclusively (formerly known as Trem Nuts, which is the usual Tusq - boron polytrinate - with a little Teflon added for even lower friction), but bone has its place.
Bone has a more traditional tone and look and is also self lubricating (as long as it's not the bleached bone which I hate). You do have to cut it properly or it will still bind and it's horrible to cut or file (smells). Tusq and Black Tusq have a more modern, smoother, balanced tone,are a lot more forgiving of the cut, and in the case of the black version, are as low friction as you can find.
Don't discount the tonal differences though - it's make or break for a lot of players.
Bob-Dubery
I don't see why there should be problems with a properly cut bone nut. I've got a warthog tusk nut, cut at McGibbon's, on my Morgan and that stays in tune just fine.
But, ja, the stink. I wasn't there when the blank nut was cut from the tusk, but I heard all about the resulting stench when I went to pick the guitar up.
