hi,

i know this is fender strat section, but its very active and full of sound advice so forgive me.

ive just brought an epiphone sheraton 2. she is sweet. but drops out of tune alot, it has had new strings but they have been streched.

i noticed the tuning pegs are very easy to turn, on all my other guitars they are stiff to turn, could this be it??? they are grovers so they are pretty decent.

just for the record i have a highway 1 strat, which are roughly the same price as the sheraton 2 in the uk. the quality of the strat compared to the epi is far more supreme. im very very happy with the epi, it has all the thrills multiple binding gold hardware blah blah blah and is dam good looking, then you get close and you see shoddy workmanship. if its due to being made in china rather than usa like the highway i dont know. all i know is fender midrange guitars are amazing value compared to epiphone/gibsons efforts. anyway back to the tuning. any ideas?????

lube the nut and make sure the strings are "locked" when installing them on the pegs.

IF the pegs turn real easy you can try tightening the screws (knobs)

I have a MIK Epi Casino (love it !!) and it stays in turn just great !
D'Addario EXL115 (11's)



http://www.fretnotguitarrepair.com/stringing.htm


http://www.jazzguitar.be/how_to_string_a_guitar.html

Hi louis1, I have a Korean made Sheraton and the workmanship is excellent. A lot of people say the early Chinese built Epiphones are not as good as the MIK, but have improved in time. I tried a Chinese Epi dot and I could'nt keep it in tune, so I bought the Sheraton. Try what the previous poster suggested, if that does'nt work take it to a good guitar tech. Good luck.

When you check your tuning is it the same one or two strings that are going out. If that is the case I would say it is coming from the tuning pegs.

I've owned a few Gibson style guitars in my life and I have noticed that with 3 on a side headstocks, that the "B" or "G" strings always go out of tune quickly.

The only sure for the problem I've found is do one of two things:
1. Graphite nut or a good bone nut.
2. Deal with it.

I hope this helps.

Paris

Louis
I have been playing and collecting guitars for several decades, and my son plays professionally, and teaches in a music school. The single biggest complaint, comment, and frustration feedback that we always get from friends, players, and students that buy inexpensive guitars is "they don't stay in tune"

If you think about it in the simplest form...all guitars are generally made out of wood and steel and plastic. Of coarse labor costs in other countries like China, Korea, Mexico, and even Japan are less than they are in the states or in the UK, but this is not the bottom line. These manufacturers have to compromise the materials that they use in order to produce the guitar for such reasonable pricing.

IMO cheap tuning machines are the number 1 culprit. Machine heads sell for anywhere from $15.00 US for a set to well over $100.00 US for a set. The Epiphone Sheraton 2 sells in the states for $599.00...loosely based on Gibson's ES335 which sells for around $3000.00. There is a reason for this (and it ain't all labor) they have to cut lots of corners.

I do like the Sheraton...I think it is a beautiful looking guitar, fairly nicely finished, and certainly reasonably priced. If you enjoy the guitar, the way it feels, plays, and sounds...I would absolutely consider upgrading to a set of quality high end tuning machines. It will be worth the investment, and the guitar will stay in tune. Lubricating the nut and bridge saddles IMO might help a little, but that is only compensation for inexpensive materials and loose build quality.

I have a 2008 Epiphone Les Paul Standard with those Grover tuners, and not a problem with Tuning. Because I favor my strat so much, I can say that I can pull my Les Paul out of the closet and not worry about checking the tuning..... Two biggest problems I've experienced with tuning are nut slots being undersized and strings not being wound properly....

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thanks everyone.

its been a week since ive had it now. iiiii lloooovee my sheraton 2. am going to upgrade the pegs straight away. i put locking tuners on my strat, dont think i could live without them now. think i will get a set of gold grover locking tuners for it.... was going to upgrade the pups to classic 57s, but dont think i will now, im so satisfied with the stock pups, bit of keeley compression and it sings.... at the end of the day though im a strat man through and through and will always return to it. just really enjoying sumfing different for now....... gonna get tele next, then les paul, then prs, lol

Oops

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Just think of how awesome a guitar player you could have been by now if you had only spent the last 10 years practicing instead of obsessing over pickups and roasted maple necks.