My G String Has An Aversion To Staying In Tune

I actually had to use a tuner because I couldn't get ti tuned by ear, and when the tuner says it's in tune it doesn't sound the same as the D string on the 5th fret, and when I play the G string on the 4th fret it doesn't sound the same as the B string played open, as it should. Plus, it's VERY picky with it's tuning. Even the smallest adjustment will send it way off. What's the problem here?

 

Is it a digital tuner or a chromatic one?

 

Chromatic.

 

U've no i dea how funny the title to this thread is..i dont know if your aware but in the UK a G string is a thong, so u can imagine what i thought wen i saw 'out of tune' !!

 

thats wat i thought too but then i saw it was in the music section and i was liek o lol.. at first i was like is this women on crack??

 

I know what a G-string is, and I've spent quite a bit of time laughing at the fact that it's also the name of a guitar string

 

dude, what kind of strings and guitar are ya plucking?

 

my g string is always popping

 

10 Gauge electric strings on a hollow-bodied Yamaha electric (AEX 500).

 

my g-string always goes out of tune on my '62 Gibson...i don't know why, maybe a design flaw? who knows, but the G always seems to be the first out of tune on my guitar....

 

Likewise the case on my 69 Gibson SG, older guitars do that sometimes. Plus the G is the first non-wound string, and seems to want to slip more than others. I have a nice strat that keeps great tune - i keep it handy for times the SG drops its tune.

There are a few things that can cause it, with varying degrees of difficulty in fixing. Also, most all these follow the trend of double meanings
1. Warped or bowed neck, a truss rod adjustment needed, have your rod straightened by a pro
2. Bad Nut, a bad nut can grip your G string if it has a sharp spot. Try a light file on your nut to smooth the rough place, OR get a new nut from a pro
3. Bridge adjusment/ intonation easily adjusted if you have experience, or can be done handily by a repair shop pro

One thing is for sure, you can keep going if your G string slips, but if it breaks, the music stops!

 

I play a Gibson Les Paul Platinum. My strings only get out of tune when I have a brand new string along with the set of the older strings (like if I break the D string, I put a new D string on and it messes up the tuning). If I break one string, I have to put on a whole new set so it doesn't get out of tune or break as easily. It's a pain in the ass, especially when my wallet is empty.

 

g is also the crappiest one to tune on my washburn lyon (really an oscar schmidt) I just have problems getting sounds in that range tuned I also know that it's going to be the first to break because it's been making fatigue sounds.

 

I'm not from the UK, but I had the same idea. I was thinking "Why, oh WHY, can't I tune my underwear?!? "

 

it could have something to do with ur bridge... i forget the name of them, but my friend's guitar has a "floating" bridge... like where the strings attach to the guitar, below the pickups...

i know if u have one of those kinda bridges its a pretty big pain in the ass to tune... i think u have to tune the outside strings first and work ur way in (like th 1st, then 6th, then 2nd, then 5th, etc etc)

 

hahaha me too!

 

I've got a bass, but my G string always seems the hardest to tune too. All my strings have been sounding dull lately anyways. Maybe I should replace them. What's a good brand of bass strings, anyone know?

 

tremolo bridge, have one but I can calibrate to deal with things like that, I'm really just tempted to get locking tuners......

 

I actually dislike locking tuners, and have always groaned when someone I am jamming with is using them. Nothing like tuning the same string, locking it down, tuning it again, and then hoping it doesnt go too out of tune later. Heavan forbid that guy should break a string... then its another long wait and retune all the other strings twice again!

Some locking tuners work well when new, but you couldnt convince me to do a gig with a guitar that I thought would need an allan wrench mid-set.

 

I've found that G is the hardest to get to sound right with the other strings on a nylon string guitar. i have an ESP with a floyd rose trem (and i agree its an unnecessary pain) and the G is fine, but i had a strat for a while that was like that. I think it has something to do with how you can't tune the G/b strings with natural harmonics, so the b and e strings usually get tuned with pressed notes with the lower strings, or harmonics with each other--sometimes leaving them in tune with each other but not the G or the rest of the guitar. I am completely OCD when it comes to having perfect pitch, and i don't enjoy playing if it sounds off, so i share the frusteration. i'd rather get something like a parker, which has a lot of dif. sounds, a working trem arm, and stays in tune well w/out the floyd rose setup, but they are a little expensive for me.