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adam-antium

Well-known member
Joined
Jan 11, 2008
Messages
63
hi guys,

havnt posted on here in a while. i have a bfr jp this guitar usually never goes out of tune even after giging or a long 4hour jam session, but recently im having serious problems where two or three strings may go quiet a bit out of tune, i have changed the strings and still the same problem. the only thing i can think of is that i have been doing a drop D tuning for one or two songs in our set and im thinking i have messed up the neck balance?? could the truss rod need adjusting? should a person who has never adjusted or fixed a truss rod (ME) try doing this them selves or do i need to bring it to a guitar specialist??

any help would be great guys thanks.

Adam.
 

TNT

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Joined
Aug 18, 2005
Messages
3,576
Location
Oakland - Raider Nation!
I wouldn't really mess too much with the TR unless you have at least some experience. Remember, though when you kick it down to D, it relieves some small amount of tension on the neck, so a micro more "relief" is present, however not enough to throw anything off (if everything is set up correctly).

It's just that you have played it now for awhile and it simply needs to be tweaked a tad (kinda like a little tuneup on a car to get it running perfectly again).
 

DrKev

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Jul 8, 2006
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Location
Somewhere between Paris, Dublin, and Buffalo
Hi Adam,

The truss rod shouldn't affect tuning like that. I wouldn't even consider the truss rod part of this problem at all.

First, is this a problem with brand new, good quality strings? If not, you may simply need to change your strings more often. If yes, we'll move on....

Of course, (and I'm sure you know this) with any floating bridge when you drop the tuning of one or two strings you'll still have to retune everything else too. As you drop the e-strings from E to D, the bridge moves and the other strings will raise in pitch a little, each string will be out by different amounts. And yes, the same process happens in reverse going from drop-D to standard E. If you already realise this and deal with it, then that's not your problem either.

Which leaves friction as the most obvious culprit. I always apply a little lubrication to the nut slots and saddles. Personally, I use 3-n-1 oil, applied with a tooth pick or small pin to the nut slots and a drop or two on a cotton swab for the saddles. Whatever you use, only apply the smallest amount, clean up any excess, and clean the old lube off every couple of string changes too. There are lots of choices for lube - mineral oil (like 3-n-1), chapstick, vaseline, and pencil lead are all great choices.

If that doesn't help, I wouldn't do anything else, and as ScreaminFloyd says, get in touch with customer service and they'll set you right.
 
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adam-antium

Well-known member
Joined
Jan 11, 2008
Messages
63
thanks everyone, some intresting points. the strings are brand new, i changed them when the problem started thinking maybe they are just over due a change, changed them gave them time to settle and still the problem is there. also because i have spent so much time messing with it tuning and tuning and again tuning i have noticed a bit of fret buzz when making bar chord shapes on the 5th 7th fret forgot to mention that:( i will contact the help guys and see if they can sort me out. i actually think it may just need a good service from someone who knows there stuff. i am pretty handy with minor things with guitars, but this guitar is too precious to me and really dont feel comfortable messing with it..
 
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