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Music Man JP6: how I fixed my tuning stability problems

R

Rachmaninoff

Well-known member
Joined
Jul 13, 2014
Messages
230
Location
Brazil
Hi everyone,

This is my 1st post here! :D

I'm a 15+ years Ibanez player (think Floyd Rose), and last week I've got my first Music Man. After setting up my JP6, it was going out of tune after a bend... if I tune again, then it wouldn't go out of tune anymore. Then if I used the whammy bar, it went out of tune... if I tune again, then it wouldn't go out of tune anymore. Then if I bend a string again... out of tune, and so on.

So it seems that I finally fixed the problem by reducing the friction on the saddles. I thought this could be useful to someone else, so I've documented the process with a video, here it goes:


I had a 2-hour gig yesterday with this guitar exclusively, and it held the tune perfectly. Very light and comfortable instrument, indeed.

Cheers!
 
When I called Customer Service about a similar issue on my Majesty, they told me to buy some Big Bends Nut Sauce. It worked. :)
 
I heard about Nut Sauce, but I couldn't find it here in Brazil, and I had a gig yesterday... so I couldn't wait. Also, it would be too expensive, I guess.
 
I've used balm sticks with success, not that nut sauce is somewhat better, you also need to clean out old balm stick material from time to time.

To annotate the video, I would also put vaseline/nut sauce/balm stick under the tremolo blades where the term hits the surface as that's another friction point that could cause tuning instability.
 
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I will continue to preach about the effectiveness of Big Bends Nut Sauce whenever this topic comes up. It is the best stuff I've tried over the many years of trying to get things to stay in tune. Great product.
 
Over the years I've tried everything. I no longer recommend anything liquid (as too much could penetrate things that should not be, such as wood or string windings or piezo components). White lithium grease is my current go to (applied with the corner of a business card) but honestly, chapstick and pencil graphite always did a great job for me too (and there is chapstick in my gig bag for emergencies).

And whatever you use, only use the minimum amount that you think you can get away with. You can always add more if necessary.
 
Stew mac has a product called "guitar grease" that I think is wax with graphite, so it's like a paste. Works great. Also graphitall is nice, but can get a bit messy.

It's important to remember to make sure your nut slots are smooth and that your saddles are lubricated, especially in a tremolo-equipped guitar. On hardtail guitars,usually I only put lube on the nut, but on some I do it on the bridge as well, because there is a lot of string behind the bridge on some hardtails, and you will get movement over the bridge when bending.

Another thing to remember: oil the pivot points of the tremolo. Stewmac makes a needle oiler for that.

And NO I don't work for stewmac, but they have some great stuff for keeping your guitar in top shape.
 
I felt that my Piezo tone suffered some when I used grease on the saddles. Anyone else notice this? It is probably all in my head.
 
Several luthiers I know suggest a very simple inexpensive and effective solution.

They said loosen all the strings (one at a time) and where they pass thru the nut, rub them with a sharpened pencil. Graphite acts as a dry lubricant.
 
You could also purchase dry graphite at most hardware stores as it's used for fixing stubborn locks. My only gripe is that graphite smears but that''s a small nuisance compared with keeping the guitar in tune during the gig. There's also a recipe of using a mixture of something slippery and graphite as a combination on the nut and bridge.

Also, the more often you replace strings, the better turning (and intonation.). Also due to the nature of physics imperfections you could sometimes get a string set that does not hold tunings as well as a majority of the same brand.
 
I like the pencil technique since I have a lot of control when applying a small amount by "drawing" on the strings where they intercept the nut.

Each to their own. ;)
 
idoc said:
I felt that my Piezo tone suffered some when I used grease on the saddles. Anyone else notice this? It is probably all in my head.
Click to expand...

Piezo saddles work on pressure, so I believe it shouldn't make any difference.

Anyway, I didn't use it on the saddle itself... I used it at the friction point behind the saddle.
 
Hey guys, I have the same problem with my JP6. Changed from 9s to 10s, tuned to standard D and the tuning stability went crazy on the low E string when I use the whammy bar.

Question.

I already have my strings in tune, can I just detune the strings to the point I could remove them from the nut, apply the graphite and then tune it back to normal? I mean does this method have any effect on the string durability at the bending points such as at the locking tuner and at the saddles?

Thanks
 
ksandvik said:
You could also purchase dry graphite at most hardware stores as it's used for fixing stubborn locks. My only gripe is that graphite smears but that''s a small nuisance compared with keeping the guitar in tune during the gig. There's also a recipe of using a mixture of something slippery and graphite as a combination on the nut and bridge.

Also, the more often you replace strings, the better turning (and intonation.). Also due to the nature of physics imperfections you could sometimes get a string set that does not hold tunings as well as a majority of the same brand.
Click to expand...

Friction is your enemy.
I've used a paste made up of silicon grease and sanded a pencil point on some sandpaper and mixed it (the graphite) into the grease. Kept it in a small container the size of a 10p/quarter/dirham/euro... ...
The "container" is an old machine tool, die holder. Has a flip off lid. The unquent mix I have made is used sparingly and my mix seems to have lasted for ever!!
I apply small amounts using a cocktail stick to the nut and trem pivots. I don't put anything on the piezo saddles.
 
how about those self loobing or graph tech saddles anyone try those yet?

wheres the best place for aftermarket stuff I have a hard tail and cant find ANYTHING, looks like a strat plate and saddles but the mounting is different?
 
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