Gibson SG tuning stability tips?

[JSett]

Stretching strings isnt something I've had to worry about with the Fenders but I was sure to do it on this. It's been, what, a week now since it landed and the strings should have settled by now.

I'm going to have a tinker tomorrow and see if there's any room for improvement with what's there before committing to new parts

[JSett]

I have also noticed that I can pull it noticeably sharp just from holding it a little too firmly. No wonder Les Paul didn't want his name on it

[MechaBulletBill]

I don't have a ton of experience with SGs, though. I owned a Norlin era one like twenty eight years ago. It sucked, totally narrow nut on there.

sounds like my kind of guitar!

[JSett]

I don't have a ton of experience with SGs, though. I owned a Norlin era one like twenty eight years ago. It sucked, totally narrow nut on there.

sounds like my kind of guitar!

Me too. The narrower the better

[jvin248]

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Tune a guitar on its back and then check tuning in playing position -- it will be off due to gravity pulling the neck when on its back.

Only use dry graphite 'lock lube' on the nut slots. Oils/grease attract dirt/grit and increase friction. Graphite impregnated nuts are often soft and the strings dig in increasing friction, so it's best to have a hard nut and use graphite powder.

Only 'tune up' to pitch. If you lazily catch tuning on the way down then slack is built up and it will release at the first strum.

D-G strings especially, try to have the strings leave the top of the tuner pegs to lower the break angle.

Top wrapping the stop bar is good, you will scratch the stop bar surface over time, Billy Gibbons has done this for decades.

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[JSett]

Tonight I went through everything again. I did a really fine detailing job on the nut all the way from 1000 to 6000 grit emery. Did the same down on the bridge saddles. Those fuckers are polished smooth as silk now. Lubed it all up and put new strings on - top-wrapped over the stop bar. Readjusted truss rod, tightened all tuning keys/ferrules etc.

Tuning stability seems greatly improved. It's not perfect, but it is significantly better. I'm going to give it a good thrashing now and see how it sticks with vigorous playing.

I have ordered a bunch of parts for some mods tonight too. Build thread to follow when they all land

[Larry Mal]

Tuning stability seems greatly improved. It's not perfect, but it is significantly better. I'm going to give it a good thrashing now and see how it sticks with vigorous playing.

"Gibson: There's A Good Guitar In There Somewhere"

[JSett]

"Gibson: There's A Good Guitar In There Somewhere"

Hah! Very true.

I've definitely been spoiled over the years with Fender's much more forgiving build types. This is for sure a very finicky guitar - and that's saying something considering how we here on OSG chose the most finicky of all the Fender worlds to obsess over.

I'm still amazed at how grip and movement sensitive it is...just moving the guitar around a little as you play causes the whole tuning to vibrato, let alone manhandling it as I tend to do as I play. Very much a guitar for those who stand very still on stage* and have a light hand - which I am not one of.

I think I'll hold back on any mods until I've had a chance to play it in a band setting. If that bending is too much in an 'active' environment it might have to be either a) a home only/recording guitar or b) swapped for a Les Paul

*(how Angus Young manages it I'll never know)

[marqueemoon]

Only A Gibson Is Good Enough*

*Once you fix everything that’s wrong with it from the factory.

[marqueemoon]

Is it still gonna be Authentic after all this?

[Larry Mal]

I'm still amazed at how grip and movement sensitive it is...just moving the guitar around a little as you play causes the whole tuning to vibrato, let alone manhandling it as I tend to do as I play. Very much a guitar for those who stand very still on stage* and have a light hand - which I am not one of.

Maybe it'll be like some kind of natural vibrato for you, you know?

[JSett]

Is it still gonna be Authentic after all this?

Lol, that video is haunting

I'm still amazed at how grip and movement sensitive it is...just moving the guitar around a little as you play causes the whole tuning to vibrato, let alone manhandling it as I tend to do as I play. Very much a guitar for those who stand very still on stage* and have a light hand - which I am not one of.

Maybe it'll be like some kind of natural vibrato for you, you know?

Yeah, it probably wont work for my band but I can definitely enjoy it at home and play with it's idiosyncrasies. I have seen Ian MacKaye use it to great effect

[cincinnatiharry]

Hey, I am Gibson fan. The nut needs to be cut right and that’s gonna help a lot. Get a luthier to check it out (not a “guitar tech” but an actual luthier). I fixed the tuning stability on my Gibson guitars that had tuning stability issues by doing these 3 things.

1.) getting a new nut cut by a luthier.
2.) getting locking machine heads (the kind that can just be swapped out, no reaming needed)

Those two things helped a lot and got me 99% of the way there.

3.) used a wound 3rd and 10s flat wound strings. Round wound strings were not a thing until the early to mid 70s so until then all strings were flat wounds. Next, all string sets had a wound 3rd. It wasn’t until Earnie Ball came around swapping individual strings in banjo string sets for guitar string sets did we have a unwound 3rd.

These guitars were designed using a wound 3rd and flat wounds.

I realise this would be considered a controversial statement by some but if you try the above you’ll be very surprised.

[hulakatt]

I don't own a Gibson but I used to work in a shop and every Gibson we got in we'd wrap the strings over the top of the stopbar, gives them a better break angle and helps with tuning. We'd usually have the stopbar as low as it would go and just wrapped the strings over, worked wonders.

Same here. Easiest way to avoid the strings touching any part of the bridge other than the saddle/break point. I also go for more wraps of the strings around the tuners posts as opposed to less, as many as I can fit before it touches the washers. Anything other than that really is just the cut of the nut and Gibson's really are pickier about that than any other guitar I've owned.

[MechaBulletBill]

top wrapping at the stopbar seems like compensating for an incorrect neck angle and the problems that causes. part of me (and i'm sure part of many offset fans that use the stock floating offset bridges!) like the idea of just sticking to the intended use for these things. top wrapping is not, as far as i know, the intended way to string up one of these guitars.

but whatever works works!

used a wound 3rd and 10s flat wound strings. Round wound strings were not a thing until the early to mid 70s so until then all strings were flat wounds. Next, all string sets had a wound 3rd. It wasn’t until Earnie Ball came around swapping individual strings in banjo string sets for guitar string sets did we have a unwound 3rd.

These guitars were designed using a wound 3rd and flat wounds.

i don't know that they were specifically designed for flats or roundwounds as both were available for as long as these types of bridges have been used.