Guitar doesn stay in tune

[I NEED HELP123]

Hello everyone,

in December I got hit by a car and i had my guitar with me. the guitar has a big dent and I thought the guitar had no other damage. I have been playing it for a while now and the guitar just doesn't stay in tune.


I had a gig last month, i tuned my guitar before I had to go on stage. When I got on stage and started playing it sounded very weird. When I got off stage I wanted to see if my guitar was in tune. The low e and g string were almost 1 whole step down

The guitar has a blocked vintage tremolo

Could somebody tell me what could be wrong?? Could you also include a pricetag???

 

[eclecticsynergy]

Re: Guitar doesn stay in tune

It would help to know what kind of guitar we're talking about. And where the dent is.
Does it have a bolt-on neck that might have shifted, or have a bit of play in it?
Could the tuners have been damaged? or the nut?
Have you inspected the tone block and the bridge & saddles? and has it been restrung since the impact?

 

[I NEED HELP123]

Re: Guitar doesn stay in tune

It might help to know what kind of guitar we're talking about.
Does it have a bolt-on neck that might have shifted, or have a bit of play in it?
Could the tuners have been damaged? or the nut?
Have you inspected the tone block and the bridge & saddles? and has it been restrung since the impact?

thx for the reply,

the guitar is a Yamaha Pacifica 112vcx

it has a bolt-on neck

The neck has no noticeable play, but there is a gap on the left side of the neck pocket. It was already there before the accident.

The tuners work, the nut is fine. Tone block looks good. saddles look good.

yes it has been restrung since the accident, I think I even gave it a fresh setup.

 

[Lovegun]

Re: Guitar doesn stay in tune

Is it a bolt on neck? Could the neck screws became just a bit loose and the neck is moving slightly? Are the E and G string tuners firmly in Place and working like they should? Is the bridge firmly in its place and not moving? I would check those things first.

 

[I NEED HELP123]

Re: Guitar doesn stay in tune

Is it a bolt on neck? Could the neck screws became just a bit loose and the neck is moving slightly? Are the E and G string tuners firmly in Place and working like they should? Is the bridge firmly in its place and not moving? I would check those things first.

screws are tight. bridge isn't moving.

 

[Lovegun]

Re: Guitar doesn stay in tune

screws are tight. bridge isn't moving.

Are the tuning posts firmly in place with no movement when you play and the tuning gear has not become loose? Have you streched the strings properly? Could it be a bad patch of strings ( e and g)?

 

[eclecticsynergy]

Re: Guitar doesn stay in tune

I too would suspect the tuners, especially since the low E and G went flat while the other four strings didn't.
Where on the guitar was the point of impact?

 

[Chistopher]

Re: Guitar doesn stay in tune

The accident might have moved the neck a bit. Try loosening the screws that attach the neck to the body about one and a half full turns, tune to pitch, and then tighten them. If the guitar didn't have any problems before that, this could be the solution.

 

[I NEED HELP123]

Re: Guitar doesn stay in tune

I too would suspect the tuners, especially since the low E and G went flat while the other four strings didn't.
Where on the guitar was the point of impact?

All strings went out of tune but especially the low E and G string were out of tune.

When I'm home I will check for the tuners. The guitar was hit on the bottom right corner.

thx for the reply

 

[I NEED HELP123]

Re: Guitar doesn stay in tune

The accident might have moved the neck a bit. Try loosening the screws that attach the neck to the body about one and a half full turns, tune to pitch, and then tighten them. If the guitar didn't have any problems before that, this could be the solution.

Thx for the tip, I will try that.

 

[I NEED HELP123]

Re: Guitar doesn stay in tune

Are the tuning posts firmly in place with no movement when you play and the tuning gear has not become loose? Have you streched the strings properly? Could it be a bad patch of strings ( e and g)?

Thx for the reply

I use ernie balls so I think the strings should be good. I will check for the tuners

 

[Chris Pile]

Re: Guitar doesn stay in tune

I use ernie balls so I think the strings should be good.

Brand doesn't matter.... Strings are the cheapest pieces of metal on your guitar, usually about a nickels worth of steel. Change them first, to eliminate the obvious.

 

[ehdwuld]

Re: Guitar doesn stay in tune

Tremolo?
Check the spring claw

Bet the screws are stripped

 

[I NEED HELP123]

Re: Guitar doesn stay in tune

first of all, thanks for all your suggestions and tips guys!!:yourock:

Today i had time to have a good inspection of the guitar. I took the strings off, and gave the guitar a good wipe down.

I checked the tuners...... the tuner posts just wiggle around. so the tuners are definitely no good. Could that be caused by the accident or is it just poor quality??

the bridge claw screws were fine. I think that will not make a diffrence anyway because I blocked the trem.

Then i saw this..... :boggled:







One looks like a crack in the neck. I'm not sure about the other one.

Can I still play it like it is??

 

[Chris Pile]

Re: Guitar doesn stay in tune

Your tuners wiggle around? Tighten them.

Crack? No. It's called grain pattern.

Keep looking.

 

[I NEED HELP123]

Re: Guitar doesn stay in tune

I took the neck off just to be shure if it was grain pattern. And your right. Then I saw this.




That's no grain pattern. I think that's the culprit.

 

[Chris Pile]

Re: Guitar doesn stay in tune

Easy reglue. However, the neck screws should have kept it from shifting very far. I think your tuning problem should be taken care of now.

 

[I NEED HELP123]

Re: Guitar doesn stay in tune

Easy reglue. However, the neck screws should have kept it from shifting very far. I think your tuning problem should be taken care of now.

I agree. Thx everyone for the help!

 

[ehdwuld]

Re: Guitar doesn stay in tune

Broke.out the neck pocket, didn't see that

Looks like you have a game plan

Keep us updated

 

[Esther Bertram]

Re: Guitar doesn stay in tune

All strings went out of tune but especially since the low E and G string were out of tune and screws are tight.