Guitar Tuning Issues

The One thing worse than an out of tune guitar is a guitar that wont stay in tune. Out of tune guitars aren't just a small problem, they're an epidemic. Im sure over the years everyone reading this has experienced these types of problems, so over the next few days I will be addressing these issues.

There are several reasons why a guitar wont stay in tune. First of all, and this may seem obvious, the strings may not be stratched properly. String stretching should be the first item on your check list when trying to identify the source of your tuning issues.

Once you've restrung with a fresh set of strings, tune the guitar to proper pitch with a guitar tuner. Then stretch the strings one at a time by fretting with your finger around the third fret while reaching under the string with your picking hand and tugging up off the fretboard about an inch to an inch and a half. The distance between your hands should be about three or four frets apart, and work your way up the neck to about the 15th to 21st fret while maintaining that three to four fret increment between your hands. After one pass up the fretboard, retune, and note how much the new string fell flat during the operation. If you repeat this process about three times, you'll find that the string will fall flat less and less until your able to complete a pass with very little detuning as a result of your stretching. At this point, the string is properly stretched and you should repeat the process with the other strings.

When you've finished with all the strings, tune the whole guitar as you normally would, and check it by playing chords and bending some notes to make sure there's no slippage occuring. If there is, its reasonably safe to say that it aint the strings.

I'll be back soon to continue on this issue, and go over tuners. Keep Rockin