Trying 11s - Strings Going Out of Tune

[firstbassman]

As i've posted before, I am not the world's greatest guitar player.
One problem I have is squeezing too hard so that an open D chord comes out way too sharp.

Switching from factory 9s to 10s helps this problem.
Therefore I thought trying 11s would be that much better.
So, I tried a set of 11s on my 380L.
Initial impression was favorable however ...

I was playing around for about an hour or so last night ... lots of string bending blues playing and I noticed the guitar was getting out of tune ... very quickly ... like after one minute of playing.

The strings were getting way flat ... the G being the worst offender.

Is it possible the tuners are not made to hold back on so much string tension?
Any other ideas? Solutions? Replace the tuners? If so, with what?
Or is there a way to "tighten" them?
Etc.

PS: Please don't say to go back to 10s.

Thanks! - Mark

[tennis_nick]

As i've posted before, I am not the world's greatest guitar player.
One problem I have is squeezing too hard so that an open D chord comes out way too sharp.

Switching from factory 9s to 10s helps this problem.
Therefore I thought trying 11s would be that much better.
So, I tried a set of 11s on my 380L.
Initial impression was favorable however ...

I was playing around for about an hour or so last night ... lots of string bending blues playing and I noticed the guitar was getting out of tune ... very quickly ... like after one minute of playing.

The strings were getting way flat ... the G being the worst offender.

Is it possible the tuners are not made to hold back on so much string tension?
Any other ideas? Solutions? Replace the tuners? If so, with what?
Or is there a way to "tighten" them?
Etc.

PS: Please don't say to go back to 10s.

Thanks! - Mark

Couple thoughts.

a. I can't think of many guitars that comes from the factory with 9's, what kind was it?

b. The problem your encountering with the string going flat tells me that it's probably slipping at the tuner. This could be due to the string "setting" as it's sometimes called, and goes away after a short while, basically the string slips slightly until it seats itself correctly.

c. The most common cause of slipping is due to improper stringing, and this is a problem with beginners to advanced players alike. Do you have a picture of how the guitar is strung around the post?

d. I think we can take the nut out of the equation, because a poorly cut nut tends to make the string go sharp.

e. A bum tuner is rare, I'm talking hens-teeth rare, they should be able to handle anything you throw at them as long as they're stung up correctly, we'd really have to see how you've wrapped the string around the post.

[jingle_jangle]

Nick's analysis is spot-on.

I'd like to add:

Bum tuners are rare, and 99% of the time, it's the key on the tuner slipping on the shaft. Tuners are basically worm gears, and due to this design cannot slip except the odd occasion when vibration causes this.

The strings are going flat because you've got to stretch them thoroughly when restringing. You can try Googling "string stretching" for tips on how to do this.

[firstbassman]

Thanks guys!!!

Nick, my Ibanez's all came with 9s, my Telecaster came with 9s, my SXs (Rondo) came with 9s.
I assume the 380L did but I didn't pay that much attention to them.

Yes, Paul, I'm aware of stretching the strings.

I guess it's a matter of how much stretching is enough.

I've played about an hour's total actual playing on them.

I guess that's not enough.

Thanks again. Much, much appreciated.

[tennis_nick]

That's odd, the Ibanez I can understand, but most Tele's (and all Ricks IIRC) come with 10's.

When I first put a set of strings on I'll just do mad bends for 15-20 minutes and tune and repeat.

[firstbassman]

The MIM Fender Standard Telecaster does, indeed, come shipped with 9s:


http://www.fender.com/products//search. ... 0145102380


http://www.fender.com/products//view_sp ... r%26reg%3B


The 380L, as I said, I didn't pay very much attention. I did notice, however, that the open chords (especially on the high strings) was extremely sharp and it also seemed that the nut was way higher than the fretboard. So my Tech cut it down a little bit.

[antipodean]

When I first put a set of strings on I'll just do mad bends for 15-20 minutes and tune and repeat.

That'll do nicely. As Nick says, you need to bend those strings savagely, retune, and do it again, retune, and do it again...until you find the need to retune has been pretty much eliminated.

[beatlefreak]

Let's go back to proper string winding. You should only have 2-3 wraps of string on each post. More than that, and you'll have slippage for some time to come. Each wrap should be concentric, with no overlap on previous wraps.

[jdogric12]

Plain G or Wound? I've never been able to get plain G's in tune. I always go wound, even on a set of 10's (with a 17w or 18w).

[robbo63]

I used GHS 11s on my 330 for years without tuning problems, so I'll agree that it's not the gauge, it's likely the stretching or winding as mentioned by others.

[JakeK]

I can't stand anything less than 10s on ANYTHING, and I can't stand anything heavier than 11s. Tried 11s on the 1997, didn't like 'em as much as I'm digging the Thomastik-Infeld 10s right now...10s are my perfect gauge, I think.

[beatlefreak]

Have to agree with the 10's. 12's for a short scale.

[antipodean]

Have to agree with the 10's. 12's for a short scale.

Real men use 13s...

to floss their teeth!

[JakeK]

Evan, on what guitar do real men use 13s? I'd use them on a 325, no doubt.

[jps]

A friend of mine uses 13s on his Eastman jazz box.