Tuning Woes Story

[Heywood Jablomie]

My new-ish A & L Dread had been driving me nuts with tuning problems, especially when using a capo, which I do a lot. During a jam, I was constantly needing to tweak the tuning, especially when using the capo and after taking it off. It was a major PIA. I incorrectly concluded that the tuning machines were at fault, and wasted my money on a new set of Grover Rotomatics to replace the stock no-name tuners, which did absolutely nothing. Thinking that there might be something structurally wrong with the guitar, like a bridge or nut problem, I started checking the intonation of each string, something I hadn't thought to do on an acoustic since there's no adjustment. The G string was WAY out. WTF? So, I wracked my brain trying to think of how that could be. The guitar has a compensated saddle, so shouldn't that be even better than the straight saddle found on many guitars? Maybe it's the strings - I know that a bad string may not intonate properly. But the strings were pretty new, and anyway, the problem existed before with different brand strings. Wait a minute - I've been using 11s ever since I bought the guitar, replacing the stock 12s right after I brought it home from the store. I Googled something like "light gauge acoustic tuning problems", and sure enough, there were many reports about problems similar to mine. So, I installed a new set of 12s, and BINGO! All perfect again, capo or no. I jammed with Dave last night, and the guitar only needed one tuning tweak all night, which ain't bad with a brand new set of strings. I kinda feel embarrassed (I'm not a noob) due to my own ignorance, but I learned a valuable lesson for sure. And I like my guitar again.

Speaking of brand new strings, there's something interesting about the strings I just installed, DR Sunbeam phosphor bronze wound on round cores, which I'd never used before. For some reason, I read the destructions that were on the inside of the package, which recommended that they not be stretched as much as you would other strings, even suggesting that you try not stretching them at all. So, I tried the not stretching thing, and they stayed in tune after only a couple of minor retunings. Hmmmmm.

BTW: Anybody wanna buy a set of perfectly good no-name tuners? :thwap

[lou]

Isn't it funny how even though we may have played for to many years we never think about sometimes what should be obvious to us.
Glad it worked out for you. I have never tried the DR Sunbeam round cores and may try a pair or two out and see how they work on my guitars, I am always up for a new brand to try and the nice thing is if I don't like them I can always go back to what I had been using before :thumbsup . lou

[Eric]

That's useful information, and I'm glad you've worked things out. I'm becoming more amazed all of the time by how much difference strings can make in guitars. It seems like it should be obvious, but it's not...for me, anyway.

[Heywood Jablomie]

I've been playing for over 45 years, but my technical guitar education actually started 3 years ago, when I decided to reinvigorate my musical hobby after many years of just having an old acoustic that I only played occasionally. Interestingly, I made the same wrong-gauge string mistakes with that old Yamaha 3 years ago, leading me to ditch it in favor of something else (no biggie because it needed fret work and a neck reset anyway). Between guitar forums and my own experimentation I've learned quite a bit, but obviously not everything about the very subtle nuances of guitars, especially when they seem to defy logic. I'm beginning to understand what it might take to be a genuinely good guitar tech, which explains the many stories I've read about mediocre or downright incompetent techs. Stringed instruments are not just the sum of their parts and specifications to be approached in an academic manner only. The interrelationships of the components offers many possible permutations, many of which often cannot be predicted, regardless of whether the result is good or bad. That's the reason it's often so difficult to help another forumite with quirky problems or with "improvement" advice. And it's also the reason that trial-and-error is often necessary.

[Tig]

Thx, that's really useful info that I haven't heard about with acoustics. Looks like I'll stick to my 12's on my A & L.

[omegadot]

This is less silly than when I switched two strings when restringing my baby strat.

[deeaa]

The G string is what changes the most in size in many string sets. The guitar was simply built for a thicker G, as many acoustics are.

It could be vice versa too. Many acoustics, say some Yamaha for instance, are built for lighter playing and may well work better with 11's and get a bad intonation with thicker ones. All you can do is find out what gauge works for what guitar. Or, you _could_ also keep a couple of bridge bones around, one for lighter, one for heavier gauge, and just keep changing that along with the strings.