TelecasterSam Posted January 19, 2010 Report Share Posted January 19, 2010 I'm beginning to find this Epi SG a heap of shite.....The fucking thing will NOT stay in tune at all, especially when you capo it..... tried everything, checked saddles, bridge, nut, intonation, tried heavier gauge strings.....????anyone have any ideas? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
neepheid Posted January 19, 2010 Report Share Posted January 19, 2010 The only thing I can see you haven't looked at are the tuners. Perhaps they're not the best, especially if that's a G-310 (bolt neck) rather than the G-400 (set neck). Everything's made to a price after all. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bigsby Posted January 19, 2010 Report Share Posted January 19, 2010 In my experience these things are usually nut related, but if you've had that looked at it must be something else. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TelecasterSam Posted January 19, 2010 Author Report Share Posted January 19, 2010 Tuners seem OK, don't seem to slip or anything....but yeah its a 310 bolt neck..... (pays you're money....etc etc...)I can't get used to the fact it seems so light as well (not like my Tele's)... quite neck heavy too! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bigsby Posted January 19, 2010 Report Share Posted January 19, 2010 SGs are always neck heavy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lemonade Posted January 19, 2010 Report Share Posted January 19, 2010 I once had a guitar that wouldn't stay in tune, it was a fucking nightmare. It would go out of tune mid-song at practice. I ended up changing the tuners to locking tuners, which didn't make a fucksworth of difference, but I changed them from silver ones to gold ones so at least it looked pretty The only way I could get it to stay in tune was to block off the Floyd Rose using the handle of an old toothbrush, and a bit of a coathanger! I ended up selling it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Soda Jerk Posted January 19, 2010 Report Share Posted January 19, 2010 G310's do get quite a bad rep, yeah, especially compared to the g400. It's a shame, because the 310 is cosmetically alot nicer, as it looks more like an SG standard with the full plate on the body.The white ones looks awesome, but I've heard nothing but bad things about them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fish out of water Posted January 19, 2010 Report Share Posted January 19, 2010 a mate had (might still have actually) a G400; similar problems with the tuning. No amount of tweakage would solve it. Expensive piece of driftwood. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Graham Posted January 19, 2010 Report Share Posted January 19, 2010 Could it maybe be your capo? If its pressing the strings too hard against the fretboard it will make the guitar sound out of tune. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
britheguy Posted January 19, 2010 Report Share Posted January 19, 2010 I've got a 400. Changed the tuners to Klusons (well they were already changed when I bought it) and set up the nut as I normally do and I've got no problems. I can leave it for weeks and pick it up and it's still in tunes. The capo problem....not sure what I could be. I always feel i have to retune my guitar for the capo anyway. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pierre Von Mondragon Posted January 19, 2010 Report Share Posted January 19, 2010 As someone quite definitely on the Fender side of things I was tempted to answer that of course it was, inherently, but I'd really like an SG sometime, or a 335 if silly money came my way. Just in addition mind. Machine heads on Epis can seem a bit dodgy, I know someone whos heads repeatedly broke. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TelecasterSam Posted January 19, 2010 Author Report Share Posted January 19, 2010 When i used to teach guitar there was a wee kid who used his dad's acoustic from time to time. The headstock was glued on, and for some reason it played really well and stayed in tune pretty good, the sustain as the on;y thing it lost. My point is the 310's are rubbish i'm afraid.John, you make me laugh...... only the last sentence seems relevant mate ! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sonhenry Posted January 21, 2010 Report Share Posted January 21, 2010 sorry to ask the obvious, might it be something as simple as the way you've got the strings wound on the tuners? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pierre Von Mondragon Posted January 21, 2010 Report Share Posted January 21, 2010 Oh, yeah, especially if your used to vintage Fender style heads where the end goes in the holey bit in the slot. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Old Gold Posted January 21, 2010 Report Share Posted January 21, 2010 If you've put new strings on, give them a good stretch. From personal experience, my Les Paul doesn't take to new ones as well as my Stratocaster for some reason. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Soda Jerk Posted January 21, 2010 Report Share Posted January 21, 2010 If you've put new strings on, give them a good stretch. From personal experience, my Les Paul doesn't take to new ones as well as my Stratocaster for some reason.I find this with hard tails and trem guitars too. I think it must be the strings balancing with the springs in the trem unit perhaps, where as there's no give in a hard tail. I don't know, just going by logic, but it sounds feasible considering I have the same experience you mentioned. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Sloth Posted January 21, 2010 Report Share Posted January 21, 2010 it could be shit machineheads, poor stringing technique allowing strings to slip, new strings or old strings, strings sticking in nut slots. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TelecasterSam Posted January 21, 2010 Author Report Share Posted January 21, 2010 Update:When I re-string, I do use correct post winding.... and ALWAYS stretch my strings fully...(the set on previously were like rubberbands to me, 8 - 42, I think, far too light for me...I'm used to 10,13,17,30,42,52 )I actually think I've found a partial solution......(the tuners DO seem to work loose a bit..must be bad gear ratios or summat?) AND, 2 - 3 strings stick slightly in the nut slots!!Temporary remedy :Rubbed some pencil lead (graphite) into nut slots and tightened retaining screws in the machinehead gear.... seems OK so far....I may also check that my capo is NOT too tight for this SG neck (its really set up for my Tele's)Thanks for the insights guys !! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jon Posted January 21, 2010 Report Share Posted January 21, 2010 Unless you've got a grip as loose as David Cameron on morphine, 8s are bound to go out of tune. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bigsby Posted January 21, 2010 Report Share Posted January 21, 2010 Dunno about that, Jimmy Page used 8s in the 70s, don't recall him having tuning problems on his 59 Les Paul over the course of a three hour set. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jon Posted January 21, 2010 Report Share Posted January 21, 2010 He presumably had a very well set up guitar though. Generally speaking, 8s will be bent out of tune by the pressure of making a chord shape if you're at all heavy handed. The frets on the Epi SG are probably relatively high too, which won't help.Basically, anything less than 10s is just silly. Silly I tells ya. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
toiletbag Posted January 26, 2010 Report Share Posted January 26, 2010 I played an Epi SG for about five years, and it ended up in a really sorry state by the end of it. I hated that fucking guitar. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sonhenry Posted February 5, 2010 Report Share Posted February 5, 2010 He presumably had a very well set up guitar though. Generally speaking, 8s will be bent out of tune by the pressure of making a chord shape if you're at all heavy handed.That has nothing to do with a setup. If you bend them out of tune, that's operator error. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jon Posted February 9, 2010 Report Share Posted February 9, 2010 Aye, but 8s are easier to bend out of tune, especially if your guitar has quite high frets (as a lot of Epi SGs seem to). If you're a beginner or there abouts, using 8s is daft. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bigsby Posted February 9, 2010 Report Share Posted February 9, 2010 Aye, but 8s are easier to bend out of tune, especially if your guitar has quite high frets (as a lot of Epi SGs seem to). If you're a beginner or there abouts, using 8s is daft.Ah, that must be it, Page's 59 Les Pauls must have had small frets. Oh wait... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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