Is a bridge/nut that can move this much normal?

[David Stewart]

I got the Rogue Jersey Lightning lap steel. Yes, cheapish at $150.

I noticed right away that tuning it was a bit challenging because, if I retuned any string significantly, that pulled all the others out of tune. So I start tuning the high string, and by the time I get to the low string, all the rest are out of tune from each string's being changed; the sum total of the new tensions of the strings as I go along detunes what I just tuned.

So is this normal with lap steels? (It's my first.) Or is it just an extra bendy bridge or nut on this inexpensive instrument?

[John Allison]

Definitely not right...something is loose or possibly just not rigid enough to take string tension. Unless you have a whammy/vibrato bar of some kind, the strings should be solidly attached to something and the bridge shouldn't move.
That model seems to have a string through body. I'd guess your bridge isn't screwed down properly and is tipping forward.

[Steve Ahola]

On my older Rogue EA3's(?) I noticed that about the tuning, too. It did seem to me that it was the wood itself that was flexing a little bit and after a few days it did stabilize. Good luck!

[Peter Lindelauf]

I'll guess it's just the strings, David. Assuming everything else is screwed down and in the right position. Going from no strings to six cranks up a lot of tension. Just had the same experience restringing a 50s Gretsch that I bought with what looked like the original strings on it. It had been sitting with the strings slack and out of tune for years. Maybe decades. Took me three passes with a strobe tuner to get tuned in open E. Started to wonder about the tuners, which are original. The high strings were in, the lows were out...After playing a few minutes had to tune it again. Couple of hours later and the strings are holding tune. One thing that might help (opinions vary) is stretching the strings just a bit as you tune up. Works for me. Also, always tune up to a note--not down. If you know that, pardon me.

[John Billings]

Old Fender string stretcher. I use it whenever I change strings on anything with strings! Don't know if Fender still makes these, but Planet Waves has a quick winder with a stretcher built in to it's handle.

[Steve Ahola]

Old Fender string stretcher. I use it whenever I change strings on anything with strings! Don't know if Fender still makes these, but Planet Waves has a quick winder with a stretcher built in to it's handle.

Wow! I had picked up maybe 6 or 8 of these from the local mom'n'pop music store and didn't realize that it was Fender that made them. I had wondered if I had the only ones in existence. <g>
I find them indispensable for pedal steel because the strings are too darned close. Otherwise I just tug up with my fingers, snapping the high E string more often than I'd like. I used to play with a singer who would change his strings the day before a gig, and would be out of tune all night. I gave him one of those Fender string tuggers but I don't think he ever used it.

(With my Rogues that wasn't the problem, it took awhile for the wood to stabilize and they have stayed in tune ever since.)

[John Billings]

Steve,
Our old bass player put strings on right before a gig. Was going out of tune the whole first set. I gave him my tuner, and told him to get the strings stretched out, and be in tune for the next set. Then I told everyone else in the band to play the first song in B flat instead of A. Bass player thought he was out of tune again and frantically tuned up. The next song, we played in our usual key, and he was now a half step to high. It was hysterical, and he learned a lesson by playing some of the most horrible bass clams I've ever heard. But,,, I don't think he's ever forgiven me!

[Peter Lindelauf]

I had no idea that string pullers existed. What a rube. Good idea.

One other thought might be putting on a quality set of strings, David. My first lap steel was a Chinese Recording King and the strings were like chicken wire. Like your Rogue, I bet, the guitar arrived with the strings detuned or slack, which is the usual way to ship a stringed instrument. Tuning it was a bit of a chore. Definite play in the tuners. Never did replace the strings because I gave the guitar away.

If/when you replace the strings, try replacing them one at a time and tune as you go. You probably won't have the same magnitude of tuning difficulty if you're not restressing the whole body, as Steve pointed out above.

My music room has a small humidifier that I run year round as we're in a fairly arid area. Plus, the room is right above our furnace room with wood/electric stove. Still surprises me that my guitars go out of tune sharp--not flat. Think I need a humidifier with a proper thermostat.