I brought in my J-45

[b1j]

Love that guitar, but I have trouble keeping it in tune. The symptom is, with the G string mostly, as I tighten up on the tuning peg, the string doesn’t get sharper. If I then press down outside the nut, of course, the string gets much sharper. This has led me to suspect that the nut slot is too tight.

I’ve asked the guitar tech to check the slots and ease them if needed, but not lower them. The action is fine in the lower frets.

I assume this is a pretty common adjustment.

[LawrenceMollard]

Yeah, it sounds like you have diagnosed the problem accurately.

I'd say having the nut worked on is pretty normal for any guitar.

[CharlieBman]

Normally when there is pinch or binding point between the nut slot and a string, at a certain point you will here a little ping as the string tension exceeds the friction of the binding point. If you hear this ping as you continue to increase the tension on the string via the tuner, then it's most certainly a nut slot issue that's easily fixed.

If you do not hear it and the string does nothing as you keep tuning it up, it may be a bad tuner. Your guitar tech should be able to determine what's going on pretty quickly.

[phavriluk]

In this particular discussion, we can discount the notion of tuner 'slippage'. Can't be. There's a worm gear on the handle shaft and a spur gear on the string shaft, one part driving the other. No fasteners in between. Whether the tuning knob is spinning on the handle shaft, that's easy enough to figure out. But slippage, no, tuners don't slip.

[b1j]

Originally Posted by phavriluk

In this particular discussion, we can discount the notion of tuner 'slippage'. Can't be. There's a worm gear on the handle shaft and a spur gear on the string shaft, one part driving the other. No fasteners in between. Whether the tuning knob is spinning on the handle shaft, that's easy enough to figure out. But slippage, no, tuners don't slip.

I don’t suspect there’s anything amiss with the tuners. These are Waverly 21:1 open tuners I had Gryphon Strings put on for me last year to replace the factory set, 3-on-a-strap Grovers.

I’m eager to see how it works tomorrow.

[abn556]

Its quite easy and inexpensive to open up your nut slots. Go to Ace Hardware and ask them for a set of torch files. They are round files in various sizes that work well for filing nut grooves. The set of torch files are $10-12 and there are free videos on YouTube showing now to do it.

[dilver]

Not to be insulting, but do you stretch your strings properly when putting on a new set?

[TheGITM]

Originally Posted by abn556

Its quite easy and inexpensive to open up your nut slots. Go to Ace Hardware and ask them for a set of torch files. They are round files in various sizes that work well for filing nut grooves. The set of torch files are $10-12 and there are free videos on YouTube showing now to do it.

Ace is the place.

[kizz]

Next time you can try taking a loose piece of string of the same thickness and run it back and forth pointing towards the tuner in the nut slot, it works in most cases.

[b1j]

Got it back, and it tunes smoothly now. The repair guy said he felt the bottom of the slots was a bit rough, and he did not soothing than widening. He also carved little angles in tuner side of the G and D string slots, to direct those strings a bit more toward their respective tuner pegs.

[Micawber]

Originally Posted by b1j

I don’t suspect there’s anything amiss with the tuners. These are Waverly 21:1 open tuners I had Gryphon Strings put on for me last year to replace the factory set, 3-on-a-strap Grovers.

I’m eager to see how it works tomorrow.

b1j, how did the Waverly tuners workout? Were they a direct fit, any visible marking where the originals were?

[b1j]

Originally Posted by Micawber

b1j, how did the Waverly tuners workout? Were they a direct fit, any visible marking where the originals were?

Not in the holes. But where the strap tuners were, there are lines in the nitrocellulose on the back of the headstock. I just realized I don’t remember the last time I looked at the back of the headstock

Before they put them on, Gryphon confirmed they would fit. I may have bought the tuners first and brought them in, just so they’d have them in hand when they rendered their opinion. As renowned as Gryphon is, it’s not a Gibson house.