Do you GFI Ultra players experience detuning tendencies ?

[Bent Romnes]

Georg, maybe it would help if you could check one out in person. Gustav Haugedal in Skien has an Ultra SD 10 E9
Maybe it wouldn't hurt to pay Gustav a visit...just a nice Sunday drive for you
His # is 35521537

Edited: To me the S 10 on a double body is far more stable. I believe this goes for any make of steel.

[Sonny Priddy]

I've Been Playing A SD10 GFI For 4 Or more Years Never Had A Problem Stays In Tune Great. One Of The Best Guitars I've Ever Had. SONNY.

[Brett Day]

My GFI Ultra D-10 stays in tune very well.

Brett

[richard burton]

There are very few steels that don't exhibit detuning.

I use a wound sixth and a certain method of tuning to get around the 'cabinet drop' issue.

I was very pleasantly surprised to notice that my new (to me) Marlen pull-release steel has virtually nil detuning issues, amazing

[Chris LeDrew]

However, that EXPO was detuning noticeable on string 6 when I pushed P1 and/or LKL to raise string 5 and 10 and string 4 and 8. String 6 then returned to true note when I released pedal/levers for the other strings.

I've had this happen on several newer model steels I've owned, but the old Sho~Buds and my new Jackson DO NOT have this tendency, thank goodness. It's a pain in the rear end. Makes the relative minor in the open position very gnarly, and ruins the A-F raise. Almost enough of a reason to sell a guitar, although I guess compensators can help.

[Bent Romnes]

Georg, do you know how bad this steel de-tuned? Are you saying 5 or 6 cents?

we can(and have to) live with a couple of cents cab drop. Looks like every steel has it.

I suppose if you built one out of an 8" I-beam there would be no drop. But it's this thing about balancing weight and de-tuning.

It is interesting to know that some steels need compensators while others don't.

My homebuilt prototype, built out of 7/8" birdseye maple has very little drop...2.5 cents on a bad day. But the weight is a bit high...41 lbs.

[Dennis Wood]

I purchased a GFI U12, from a forum member about 2 months ago. I couldn't be more satisfied with this guitar. I haven't taken my Sierra to a gig since receiving the GIF. I have three pulls on my A pedal and three pulls on my zero pedal. Very little detuning. I bought the GFI to have a spare guitar to leave setup at home, but it is so light, easy to set up and sounds great, it has become my main gigging guitar. I like my GFI so well, I plan to buy another GFI U12 sometime in the near future.
DW

[Jim Sliff]

I have an Ultra S-10 the was originally tuned to E9, but has since been changed to a crazy iteration of Sneaky Pete's B6. I mention the tuning/copedent because it relies heavily on FOUR splits to get all the changes I use.

In E9 it had zero "detuning" or cabinet drop. I was concerned more in B6 with the splits, as I might not notice a small drop in E9 but a split would be horrible with the tiniest bit of detuning.

I don't have strobes but a tech friend (with an extremely busy full-time shop) does, and we hooked the Ultra up to multiple strobes set for certain frequencies after making the change (which was accomplished with an incredible amount of support from both Ed Bierly, who worked out the layout, and GFI who supplied parts and added a few tweaks to make it work flawlessly). We wanted to tune the changes first, then the splits, then play every change/split and see what effect it had on OTHER strings.

There were NO changes anywhere. Not even the slightest drop - or raise. So not only do the splits hit the intended notes dead-on, nothing else is tossed out of whack.

I can't say anything about the Expo, never having seen one - but the Ultra is the only guitar I've played other than my old Fenders that exhibits absolutely zero "detuning".

[Tor Arve Baroy]

I`ve got a GFI expo in great working condition in Kvinesdal!
You are welcome to take a trip over and try it if you want

I am also a steel-tech for guitarhuset.no....but I can tell you that I have had nothing to do with the mecanics that display model, but I am aware of the fact that it aint to great....

You can contact give me a call one day if you want!

[Donny Hinson]

There is the possibility you may be pushing far too hard on the pedals. Activate the pedal with your hand, and then use only enough force for the pedal to hit the stop. Then come back and tell us how much drop you have.

[Bent Romnes]

Donny, shouldn't the stop be strong enough to withstand normal knee pressure + a little bit?
Hand pressure..just til it stops, is unrealistic and unusable for testing the way I see it.
The mechanism has to be able to withstand the knee pressure since, in the heat of the moment on stage, during a fast song where you hit a knee with great speed, there is no time to think about gentle pressure.

[John Poston]

I had this very problem on an Ultra S10. I bought it used and had to change a unique Bb setup to normal E9. It worked great for years and then this problem appeared. I've changed the setup a few times so possibly due to something I did incorrectly.

The company has been very helpful and it actually should be getting there today for them to take a look at. Maybe in a couple days I'll have more to report on.

[Steve Norman]

Im a gfi d10 ultra owner for about 4 years. Only problem I have had is with the 6 string returning a few cents sharp after releasing my RKL. My cab drop is not bad during a/f or ab at all. hard to believe it drops 20 cents without some kind of hang up or loose part. could spring tension be an issue? maybe the 6th spring needs a little tightening. I honestly think its a fluke as most people I talk to regard GFI as some of the best built guitars out there. The Expo is there cheaper line, but 20 cents sounds more like a problem uncommon to any pro built guitar. I would flip it over and see if a changer is moving that shouldnt be when the a/f is engaged.

BTW I am pretty rough on mine as well so they are well built.

[Jim Peters]

I had an intermittent problem with a keyless Ultra S10. It had a Franklin Pedal, which seemed to have something to do with it, but it didn't do it all the time. drove me nuts! Never did figure it out. JP

[John Coffman]

All steels tend to detune a little. Some more than others. GFI steels are about as good as it gets unless you want to step up to a Zum. I love my GFI Ultra. Never a tuning issue and it plays well. My Thomas steels have less cabinet drop but weigh about 20 to 30 more lbs. Most people can not even hear 10 cent in change. I think too many people worry about little issues and miss the joy of just playing. Steel guitars have mechanically come a long way were there is many great guitars on the market. They are sometimes to perfect. MTCW

[David Doggett]

My Zum S12U has a few cents cabinet drop, and so has every other top brand I have owned. If the Es drop less than 5 cents when the A and B pedal are pressed, that's tolerable, and about as good as it gets. 12-string unis drop a little more than 10-strings, because many of the pedals raise three strings, and the extra one is lower and heavier gauged.

The cabinet can flex, especially at the changer cut-out, which is the weakest spot. In fact, some builders say complete elimination of cabinet flex kills resonance and tone. But also, there is inevitably tiny slack or flex in the hardware, such as the changer axle, nut rollers, tuners, pull rods, hex tuners, and possibly the attachment sites of the changer and keyhead. These individually imperceptible tolerances add up with the cabinet flex.

If the drop is more than about 4 cents (1 Hz) on a modern pedal steel, there's probably something wrong. I doubt if any of them are more than that when they come from the factory.

[CrowBear Schmitt]

a steelin' buddy here i know well has a 2004 GFI D10
his horn has a detuning tendency on string 6 ( minus 4 cents)when he engages pedal A on string 5 & 10
he finds that the chord noticeably is out of tune on string 6
once he lets go of pedal A, string 6 (G#) comes back in tune