Staying in tune...

[worthmoremusic]

I'm just saying, there are things you can do before going straight to the nut to at least eliminate possibilities. Don't store it in a gig bag is another thing...have you tried that? It's troubleshooting 101; hit the low hanging fruit first in an attempt to find the root cause. Shotgunning parts at it is an undefinitive approach.

Right...in the above response to you I said I was going to try not leaning against the wall and not putting it in the gig bag and see what happens. Things is due to low humidity in my place, it really should be kept in a case with a D'Addario Humidity park....but I ill try leaving it out of the case tonight.
Tried to post a photo of my SE CE's nut but cannot seem to...the slots appear to have less wiggle room on mine.

 

[worthmoremusic]

I'm just saying, there are things you can do before going straight to the nut to at least eliminate possibilities. Don't store it in a gig bag is another thing...have you tried that? It's troubleshooting 101; hit the low hanging fruit first in an attempt to find the root cause. Shotgunning parts at it is an undefinitive approach.

Absolutely ! FYI...yesterday all day, and all night I left the guitar out of the gig bag and this morning STILL needed a bit of a tuning...so I cannot say the gig bag is the culprit. Interestingly enough, so many pros keep referring me towards the neck; specifically the nut...and possibly the bridge. Anyway....The process of elimination continues.

 

[RC Mike]

Am I the only one that doesn’t see a problem here? I tune each of my guitars before I play them. I don’t expect them to stay in tune overnight—I expect them to stay in tune while I play. Wood and metal all expand and contract differently with the temperature changes that usually happen overnight.

 

[Daryl Jones]

Just for giggles, try a light stroke with a pencil lead on the nut slot. Quick and easy test to see if the string binds (or more precisely not binds) afterward.

 

[worthmoremusic]

Just for giggles, try a light stroke with a pencil lead on the nut slot. Quick and easy test to see if the string binds (or more precisely not binds) afterward.

 

[worthmoremusic]

Am I the only one that doesn’t see a problem here? I tune each of my guitars before I play them. I don’t expect them to stay in tune overnight—I expect them to stay in tune while I play. Wood and metal all expand and contract differently with the temperature changes that usually happen overnight.

Normally I would agree...and yet my '62 Strat stays in tune for more than a day despite never being in a case. True both wood and metal expand and contract seasonally. However, when it comes to expansion, wood and metal differ quite a bit. Metal is going to expand more than wood, thanks to its properties. Metal is a better conductor of heat than wood, meaning that it will absorb heat more readily. This makes metal expand more when exposed to heat. Humidity breaks havoc on wood.... Anyhoo, it's not a problem, just more of a a nuisance that seems to affect my PRS more than my other guitars. Just sayin'.

 

[whit]

Am I the only one that doesn’t see a problem here? I tune each of my guitars before I play them. I don’t expect them to stay in tune overnight—I expect them to stay in tune while I play. Wood and metal all expand and contract differently with the temperature changes that usually happen overnight.

Same. Never had a guitar that didn't benefit from touching up the tuning each day. That includes 3 PRS cores and 2 SEs.

 

[deathworlder]

Original strings? If not what's on there?
Original tuners? If so, are the strings lock wrapped in some manner?

 

[Tom Bradovich]

Am I the only one that doesn’t see a problem here? I tune each of my guitars before I play them. I don’t expect them to stay in tune overnight—I expect them to stay in tune while I play. Wood and metal all expand and contract differently with the temperature changes that usually happen overnight.

I with you on this. I store my Thinline in a hard case upstairs under the bed. Music room downstairs, always colder than up, so I'll heat it up a bit with an electric space heater. I'll put up the TL in the stand and let it acclimate for a while before I pick it up.

Each time I have to tune up. Sometimes it's sharp a bit, sometimes flat. I don't care, as long as it stays in tune while I'm playing.

 

[Daryl Jones]

Am I the only one that doesn’t see a problem here? I tune each of my guitars before I play them. I don’t expect them to stay in tune overnight—I expect them to stay in tune while I play. Wood and metal all expand and contract differently with the temperature changes that usually happen overnight.

Some of my guitars will stay in tune for days, typically my acoustics are the most stable that way. It depends on how much exercise they get I find. But yes, small tweaks and adjustments are certainly to be expected IMO. The neck is subject to stress from the tension, and strings are elastic to a degree (plus we torture them constantly) and these things simply cannot stay in a perfect state 100% of the time.

 

[RossF]

Am I the only one that doesn’t see a problem here? I tune each of my guitars before I play them. I don’t expect them to stay in tune overnight—I expect them to stay in tune while I play. Wood and metal all expand and contract differently with the temperature changes that usually happen overnight.

No, I feel the same way.

I don't really feel I know a guitar very well until I know which strings are going to be out and by how much when I put it on the tuner in the morning. And no two are the same.

 

[Prs Mods too]

I just skimmed the thread quickly so apologies if this has been addressed.

Have you tried just playing the guitar for about 5 minutes without tuning to see if once it warms from body heat it'll return to proper tuning?

 

[gush]

When my nuts bind, my voice changes by more than a whole step.

Thats why you keep em in gig bag.

 

[sergiodeblanc]

-I always start below the pitch and tune up.... My understanding regarding tuning issues is that any number of things can be the cause. Here are just a few:
- uneven frets
-improperly adjusted neck can cause intonation and tuning issues
-strings can and sometimes do get hung up at the nut or bridge if the slots aren't cut properly.

I often wonder if something happened during shipping...

I'm not a heavy or hard player..definitely not what anyone would call a shredder by any stretch of the imagination...I actually have a fairly light touch in comparison to many players and IF I do bend a string, it might be a 1/2 step if even that much. More and more I'm beginning to think it could be the fact that the headstock and tuners are resting against a wall overnight..although in a gig bag and the G string tuner is getting pushed, or moved.
Think I will try an experiment and leave it out of the case tonight and not resting against a wall...or just leave it in the case and not leaning against the wall but rather lying flat.

Also not sure if temperature and or humidity plays a part here...I know those things can and most often do reek havoc with wooden instruments..and for electric guitars the neck and frets especially can become affected.

I have seen tons of UTube videos and read several articles about how it's always the G string that goes out of tune....and usually remark about it's often the nut. Who knows....

The odd thing is, once out of the gig bag, re-tuned and if the guitar sits out all day it's fine....however the next day if I'm not playing one of my other guitars and reach for the PRS, simultaneously I reach for the tuner cause I KNOW I will need it !

Anyway...just airing some thoughts. You know, process of elimination.

Maybe one day I'll make the 2.5hr o/w trek to John Mann's Guitar Vault who is a dedicated PRS dealer and see what he says about this issue AND check the tone knob which has zero resistance as compared to the volume... OR to a luthier I once went to a bit closer to home. It's not a major thing re-checking the tuning daily, just has become a bit of a mystery that's all...

Man, I could almost read this without my glasses.

 

[Headset]

I have PRS guitars with the bone nut and the synthetic nut. Once I’ve stretched and played in some new strings all of the guitars will stay in tune for weeks at a time. I’m a heavy handed player so occasionally my G string will go a couple cents off in the middle of a long playing session. I just bend the string and it’s back in tune. It sounds like your humidity and/or temperature could be varying widely enough to cause some instability. I keep my studio room window blinds shut at all times and the door to the room mostly remains closed.