The Steel Guitar Forum

For 2 weeks, my new Hybrid is very flat across the board when tuning up. No major temp changes at the studio. I thought the first week was a fluke cuz I just got it. No new strings either. I played my PP at a gig last week after sitting for 2 months and it wa sacry spot on

bob

That is rather strange.... Mine stays almost spot on perfect day after day. Do you have temperature or humidity changes as that would make sense to see some change.

When I lived in MN all my guitars would change a bit with the changes in weather. Here in WY I have not had an issue.

Robert

Robert Parent wrote:That is rather strange.... Mine stays almost spot on perfect day after day. Do you have temperature or humidity changes as that would make sense to see some change.

When I lived in MN all my guitars would change a bit with the changes in weather. Here in WY I have not had an issue.

Robert

Not really. The studio range this time of year is 65-75°'s. I'll keep checking; maybe it just need time to settle after not being played for a while.

thx

When did you last change your strings ?? my two Hybrids stay in tune incredibly well !

Paddy Long wrote:When did you last change your strings ?? my two Hybrids stay in tune incredibly well !

Not sure. The guitar I just got and has sat for a year or so.

bob

Change the strings. Hybrid’s are Notorious for staying in tune. Mine stays in tune for weeks:)

You might check the humidity of the room it stays in. Of course how old are the stings? Like the other owners, my D-10 Hybrid is unbelievable at holding tune. Had a 5 hour studio session last night and when I set it up it was 100% perfect. Checked it throughout the night for each track and NEVER had to touch a string! It’s amazing.

This is a long shot, but, if your tuning gears have a screw that holds each tuning button, it's possible that they might need just a little tightening.

Tightening the button screw will increase the effort required to tune the string, at the same time it will prevent the string from pulling to an out of tune state.

Schaller tuning gears have this feature.

Good Luck,
Eric

Eric Einarsson wrote:This is a long shot, but, if your tuning gears have a screw that holds each tuning button, it's possible that they might need just a little tightening.

Tightening the button screw will increase the effort required to tune the string, at the same time it will prevent the string from pulling to an out of tune state.

Schaller tuning gears have this feature.

Good Luck,
Eric

I'll check again tomorrow. It was so strange 2 weeks in a row almost a whole tone drop across the board, both necks.

Bob Snelgrove wrote:

Paddy Long wrote:When did you last change your strings ?? my two Hybrids stay in tune incredibly well !

Not sure. The guitar I just got and has sat for a year or so.

So let me get this straight - you bought this as a used guitar a year ago, didn't even change the strings which have been on for an undetermined period, then let it sit for a year, and now it isn't holding tuning? Is that the situation?

There are so many possibilities, you've given us almost nothing to go on, save what I just quoted. So what you have here is a platform you know nothing about in terms of its setup.

Just as a quick thing, I'd slack the strings a bit, lube the nut rollers and shaft, turn them a few times to make sure they roll easily; then tune up and stretch the strings a bit by pulling up or down moderately, until they don't detune further, then play it a bit, hitting all the pedals and levers several times, then check the tuning. If that's all fine and the strings aren't just toast (even a lazy SOB like me changes strings more than once a year, so they may be toast), you can let it sit overnight or more, and see if it's better. If not, then you should consider that you really may need new strings and/or the guitar needs a basic lube/tighten-up/setup.

So beyond that, I'd start making sure that everything on the steel (save the neck) is properly tightened - i.e., not loose. This includes tuners, end plates, changer mounting, and so on. I wouldn't tighten the neck because that can change the sound - if it sounds good, I'd leave it alone. If the guitar was in great shape when you bought it, it ought to still be OK, but sometimes things can loosen up in shipping or other rough handling. It's happened to me.

At some point, you will need to figure out what type of strings are on there and change them. If you want to be sure not to have to diddle with the leverages, I'd change strings to the same type (e.g., nickel vs. stainless wrap, wound vs. unwound 6th string) and gauges - changing either may require slight to moderate changes. I'd start by measuring the string gauges with a micrometer, noting both the overall string diameter and the diameter of the core of the wound strings separately - just unwind a bit of the winding and measure the diameter of the unwound core. Myself, I generally just put on the strings I prefer, realizing that I may need to make adjustments, but that's me - many people don't want or don't know how to make those adjustments.

While the strings are off, I'd carefully but lightly lube the roller nut and changer with something like Tri Flow or a light machine oil, check to make everything at the changer end is returning smoothly - just normal setup stuff. Then put on strings, stretch them in and play the guitar in a bit as described above. Make any tuning/leverage adjustments if needed and you know how to do that - otherwise get it to someone who does.

With all that done, if it doesn't stay in tune pretty well, I'd get it to someone knowledgable to see if something is out of whack. Zums are precision machines, I haven't yet met a properly set up one that didn't stay pretty well in-tune for a considerable amount of time.

Well. it has been set up and played a few times at my friend's house. Pretty sure it had new strings when he got it. I don't think anything wrong with the guitar, it just seemed strange the first 2 weeks that it had detuned that much across the board. I'll check tomorrow again.

The main way I know that strings are old is it wont stay or play in tune. Must be old strings.

what type of tuner are you using and are the batteries good?

Bob Snelgrove wrote:I'll check again tomorrow. It was so strange 2 weeks in a row almost a whole tone drop across the board, both necks.

A whole tone drop? Like to D9th? That's very strange.

aliens attack music studio, retune instruments

b0b wrote:

Bob Snelgrove wrote:I'll check again tomorrow. It was so strange 2 weeks in a row almost a whole tone drop across the board, both necks.

A whole tone drop? Like to D9th? That's very strange.

aliens attack music studio, retune instruments

I know. That's why I posted it!

Maybe it's a Concert Bb Zum?

Bob - change the bldi strings mate !!!!!!!!!!!!!!

My guess would be that the strings aren't wrapped around the posts properly, so they're slipping.

b0b wrote:My guess would be that the strings aren't wrapped around the posts properly, so they're slipping.

Yeah, when you change the strings, make sure you put at least 3-4 wraps around the post, probably more on plains.

b0b wrote:My guess would be that the strings aren't wrapped around the posts properly, so they're slipping.

Yea but all of them, equally?

I'm going with the aliens.

Seems to have stabilized.

bob

Very late to this discussion:

Last month someone brought me an emergency case. He drove 5 hours round trip to have me try to get his gigging guitar playable after it suddenly went from reliable to absolutely untunable overnight. That info right there was a strong clue but it still took some time to find the problem (because I was so busy saying WTF !?! that I was not focusing well).
The wood where the changer-side endplate attaches to the body had split. Just a single screw. Later models of this maker used two. With that split, the endplate, changer and all, was moving.

Just throwing this out there. Look for major physical trauma. Under the mica? Someplace where it is not totally obvious? Upside down, grab the legs and wiggle and see if there's anything moving a lot more than it ought to.

Full step drop is not 'just one of those things' and I can't just shrug it off and feel confident about the guitar.