guitar set-up pros...question

[ramonesfreak]

got a problem. in 24 years and alot of guitars, i have never experienced this and its making me insane

when my guitar sits, it goes almost a full half-step sharp

guitar is a newer gibson SG. fixed bridge NO TREM. 100%stock.

now, your first instinct is that the neck is bowing backwards slightly because the truss rod is perhaps, too tight? what else could it be i thought

well, the truss rod is perfect and, i play it alot and the neck has not moved AT ALL. for 1 year i have watched this situation. the neck is not moving

i have researched this alot and find instances where there may be some sharpness develop from an improperly set up trem unit, or i can imagine an acoustic's top sinking drastically to the point of pulling the string without buzzing on the frets but even that is unusual

i always put slinky 9 strings on this. if anything, they stretch and go flat, not sharp


any ideas?

[LWJ]

What we have here is a expansion / contraction coefficient difference. (Damn, that sounds pretty smart, huh?) The only explanation is that after it is tuned, the strings contract relative to the body/neck, OR the body expands relative to the strings.

Now, how this is happeing? I can't really explain. My only thoughts have to do with tempurature.

[ramonesfreak]

or humidity?
interesting. your on to something i think

[ramonesfreak]

humidity seems unlikely. in order for that to make them sharp (tighter), the wood would have to be more saturated with moisture. however, this has been happening all winter in my downstairs which is very low humidity. no humidifier and an avg temp of 70. so if anything, the guitar is dry which would cause it to shrink and get flat (looser)
hmmmm

[sammyg2]

Tuning elves sneaking in at night. They do it to me too, but they tune mine flat

Sorry.

Metal strings contract and get shorter as they cool down.
Your hands are warm which "could" warm up the strings.
Maybe you are tuning it when the strings are warmed up from playing and they cool off later? maybe the temperatures are cooler later, and the strings contract more than the wood?
That's all I got.

[ramonesfreak]

well, i could rule out humidity and temperature swings, by leaving the guitar in the case between playing...ugh i hate that

perhaps its Zuul the minion of Gozer. i should see if anything is living in my refrigerator

[T77911S]

my ibanez will do the same thing, kinda.
may be an issue with the nut or tuners. try some graphite, like from a pencil lead, in the slots on the nut. you may consider new tuners. not sure if the sadles on the bridge would cause it but may be something to look into.

[Big Ed]

My SG does the same thing. Dunno why.

[rouxroux]

It's the "automatic capo"!

..."But it was in tune when I bought it"......don't sweat the small stuff.

[sammyg2]

Originally Posted by srandallf

perhaps its Zuul the minion of Gozer. i should see if anything is living in my refrigerator

Back when I was a bachelor, I had some yogurt in the fridge so long it came alive so I taught it to sing opera. Talk about culture

ba da bing.

I also grew my own bath mat

[daepp]

My strings always get sharp when they sit. My brother and I have marveled at it for years.

This much I can tell you - owning Taylors and Martins, they are always preaching humidity management. FWIW

[T77911S]

my takamine almost never went out of tune. when i played at church, i would take it in and the the stage was usually pretty cold, i would open it and set it down, then later i would tune it and more often than not, it was in tune.

i think i would also check the T rod again.

[IROC]

OK, here's a data point. I have an SG (bought new 26 years ago) and a Les Paul (bought new about 3 years ago). They both have the same strings installed (10-46s) and I have them mounted on the wall in our bonus room right next to each other.

I can pick the SG off the wall any time, plug it in and it's in tune. The Les Paul is never in tune. And it's never off in the same way - sometimes sharp and sometimes flat.

I dunno.

[nostatic]

Originally Posted by IROC

OK, here's a data point. I have an SG (bought new 26 years ago) and a Les Paul (bought new about 3 years ago). They both have the same strings installed (10-46s) and I have them mounted on the wall in our bonus room right next to each other.

I can pick the SG off the wall any time, plug it in and it's in tune. The Les Paul is never in tune. And it's never off in the same way - sometimes sharp and sometimes flat.

I dunno.

umm, err....Gibson sucks?

Well, half sucks

[911Freak]

My educated guess would be:

Friction: lube with graphite powder (as previously mentioned)

Tuners: next time you change strings, check for looseness - any binding, out of round or anything bent on your tuners.

See if you can narrow it down to one or two sloppy tuners (most likely)

Less then quality tuners (even top of the line guitars cut costs on tuners, upgrade)

Here's to endless hours of pickin & grinin

Good Luck, hope you guys solve the mystery

[flatbutt]

Scott, is the basement a constant 70? or is the therm on a timer cooling the basement overnight?

[ramonesfreak]

the room its in fluctuates in the winter time between 65 while at work and 70 in the evening. I dont humidify that room because my only humidifier is upstairs and being used for my acoustic.

the stock "tulip" tuners on the SG standard are not the greatest thats for sure

however, when i go to play, i check with an electric tuner and EACH string is about the same amount sharp. I end up having to tune each string DOWN

In fact, if i just play it and dont check, you wouldnt know its out of tune because each string is in tune with one another...all equally sharp

i think this is very odd. how in hell can a string tighten? how can they all tighten at once?

is something metal (the metal bar stop behind the bridge) expanding and contracting? this is my only real guess but that seems very unlikely

there is no way that the wood body and neck are getting longer and shorter longer shorter etc.. no way

i do graphite my nuts (on my guitars), so there is no binding of strings

the room its in, has 5 other electrics in it as well and this does not happen. some go flat but thats normal

maybe it is the truss rod...but then again, i would be noticing the action changing, even if slightly since my SG is set up with extremely low action.....

[ramonesfreak]

Originally Posted by DAEpperson

My strings always get sharp when they sit. My brother and I have marveled at it for years.

This much I can tell you - owning Taylors and Martins, they are always preaching humidity management. FWIW

if your saying that your acoustics go sharp...thats not so strange because the tops do fluctuate. my santa cruz 12-fret has a HUGE top and it goes up and down drastically depending on how consistent i am with the humidifier

electrics solid body guitars however, dont really move unless stripped of laquer or whatever protective finish is on it

[Heel n Toe]

It has to do with the position of the moon in relation to where you are. It's like the tides. I thought everybody knew this. Get yourself one of those Farmer's Almanac calendars.

[Vipergrün]

My Gibson Les Paul Studio does the same thing. It's temp related, perhaps humidity too. The guitar lives on a stand in an upstairs room. I have to re-tune every day after work.