Inconsistent 5 string raise from B to C# driving me bonkers

Jim Pollard · Post by **Jim Pollard** » 23 Jun 2023 1:34 pm

So I've been playing just a little over a year and never had a problem but recently I've begun to notice myself playing just HORRIBLY out of tune at times. So at first I'm like "back to basics for you my friend" intonation practice etc. Which never hurts... but eventually I've come to notice that the 5 string was the culprit and it would be sharp one moment with the A pedal down and flat the next. So my first thought was the string is getting ready to quit so I replaced it. Still same problem. Noted some popping noises at times in the changer so I gave everything a drop of oil. Much nicer. No more popping. Still same problem. Checked the A pedal and made sure it had room to always be pushed to the same place. No problem there. Also noted that this is a problem with the C pedal raise for this string as well. Oh yes. Checked that the roller nut was moving freely. So what's next on the troubleshooting list?

Ken Pippus · Post by **Ken Pippus** » 23 Jun 2023 1:40 pm

Overtuned ?

See the sticky above.

Bengt Erlandsen · Post by **Bengt Erlandsen** » 23 Jun 2023 2:33 pm

Too tight return spring on the lowering finger ?
Is there a B-Bb on some lever or a Franklin pedal that lower the same string B-A. If There is an "overtuned" nylon tuner on the lowering finger then that nylon tuner might become a pivot point for the return spring to create weirdo out of tune problems when the A or C pedal is pressed.

I have also seen the nylon tuner for the raise slip because the pullrod was much thinner than the hole in the raise finger allowing the pullrod to move too much inside the hole. Once the raise finger activated and started to angle, the nylon tuner would slip and the pullrod seemed to drop just a little bit downward causing the raise finger to go ever so slightly flat.

Best of luck finding what cause the issue and hopefully it is an easy fix.

B.Erlandsen
Zumsteel S12extE9 7+7

Jim Pollard · Post by **Jim Pollard** » 23 Jun 2023 2:41 pm

Overtuned looking like a good bet. I loosened the nylon tuners and added a bit more pull at the lever stops. Will keep messing with it. Thanks!

Ron Pruter · Post by **Ron Pruter** » 24 Jun 2023 6:52 pm

Bengt. Next time the note is flat, keep your pedal down and reach around and under your right side and with your right index finger, push the bottum of the changer finger to your right. If the note goes up, your return spring is too loose. It's not staying seated during raises, as it should. Tighten it a couple of turns and try again.
BTW, what kind of guitar is it? You may not have a simple screw to turn to tighten it.
It's probably not over-tuning which shortens your travel and would never go too sharp, some times. The fact that is also problematic with the C pedal makes me petty sure of my solution.Ron

Jim Pollard · Post by **Jim Pollard** » 26 Jun 2023 4:43 am

Still remains to be seen but the adjustments I made seem to have done the trick. My c# hits just right every time now. We'll have to see if making this post jinxes it and it's back to it's tricks when I go to practice tonight. This is on a Justice S10 so just for my own reference I'll take a look and see if I see a way to tighten just the return spring.

Thanks for the advice ya'll!

Jim