Guitar Out Of Tune

Guitar Out Of Tune With New Strings? Why?

Many reasons. Here are a few tips that will help. You need to tune “UP” to a note rather than try and tune down to it.
The nature of stretching of a guitar string causes it to go out of tune.
So when tuning your guitar be sure and tune down or past the not so it’s flat. The next step is to tune it up until the correct pitch is attained. There is slack in the strings and it’s necessary to get that out first before you tune it.
Tuning “down” first, then up, will help eliminate string slack in the string to keep it tight when pulling the string back up to pitch.

Guitar Out Of Tune With New Strings?

New strings generally want to stretch back to the way they were in the package before installation. This so-called string “regression” is normal. Stretching a string is not normal for a string. Asking a string to do something unusual evokes the response from the string that says,”I don’t want to change”. A guitar out of tune is a problem.

Now that you understand the nature of strings you can deal with it effectively. When adding a new set of strings be sure to gently pull and stretch them by hand with a few light tugs to get them going in the right direction and to mitigate the regression process. When you add the new strings and pull them lightly your helping to “seat” the guitar strings.
Seating them is part of the process to get them normalized and used to staying where they will ultimately be tuned.

A guitar out of tune is a problem…..

Adding some lubrication to the nut slot, the bridge saddle as well as under the string tree area where the strings touch will also help.
The tuning process involves several tunings and not just one. Be patient as it may take 3-4 tunings and playing in between each tuning to help get the strings seated. It seems that you can take a new set of strings out of the pack and tune then immediately, but in doesn’t work that way.

One of the best ways to add strings before a “Gig” is to add them, stretch them and over-tune them slightly and leave them that way overnight. In this way when you get to the gig they will be pre-stretched and the likelihood of staying in tune will be much greater. They will stabilize overnight and remain more stable when the time comes to play.