Looking for a little help with my g string. Up near the first few frets it always sounds a little out of tune compared to the rest. Even if I tune all the strings at the 3rd fret it still sounds off when fretted at the 2nd. It's unwound and it's a 19... rest are 11, 15, 19, 28, 38, 58.

Anyone esle have the same thing happen, does anyone know how to fix it?



I wonder how many replies there's going to be just to the first sentence.

_________________
Tune Low, Play Hard & Floor it!

Maybe is not positioned right , I guess you expected that.

Serious now... I can't tell you anything other that it might me a bad string, since you say it is only one that has the intonation issue. Is is the dry air in your place plays silly games with the wood? Check intonation everywhere again, I am puzzled

How could it be tuned above 3rd fret and not up? What's up with that 2nd fret wire? Anything looks out of whack in that area visually? Have you tried replacing that string?

A tuner will show that it's in tune, it just SOUNDS out of tune. It's always been like that, it's not this particular string.

For example, with the song "True Lies" by KWS, the lead riff starts on the low E and then movings the riff up to the A string with the progression but when I hammer the A on the G string it sounds out.

I wonder if a wound G will make a difference. Maybe the height of the polepiece?

_________________
Tune Low, Play Hard & Floor it!

Nut slot is too high.

_________________
No no and no

Like others, if it's only out of tune on the first 3 frets, but is in tune the rest of the way up the neck, it would be a new one.

While I'm fairly new to Strats, I've set up well over 100 guitars in the past 30 years. Here is what I'd recommend:
1) if you haven't yet, put on a new set of strings, and don't do anything on the set up for a day or two to be sure the new strings are settled in.
2) double check intonation all the way up the neck (get a decent chromatic tuner). I'm betting it's more out of tune on that string than you think.
3) if it is out in various places on the neck AND the string height is where you like it AND the neck relief is OK, adjust the saddles. (if it's sharp, they need to go toward the bridge (longer), if it's flat, the opposite.

Now, if your intonation is OK and you have ruled out a bad string:
Check the neck relief. You may have it too flat or even a little back bow which is causing the strings to "fret out" on the first cuple frets. (great article on the Fender website about adjusting truss rod to set relief). Basically, capo at fret 1, hold the string down at fret 17 (or 18) and check the gap between the top of the 8th fret and the bottom of the string. It should be around .010" (+/- just a little bit) for most players. Some want a little more, some want a little less. It has been my experience if one goes too far from the .010" number, you're going to get fret buz on the first few frets (too flat) or in the middle (5-10) frets (too much bow).

Now, a bad string has been ruled out
intonation has been double checked and adjusted where necessary
neck bow / truss rod has been checked / tweaked.

Still have the problem?

if yes, I'd say check the nut slot for the G string. (wow, host of possible jokes there)
is it too deep allowing the string to bounce off the first few frets. (does it do this open or only when fretting the first couple?)

Anyway, if you're not comfortable doing any of this yourself, take it to a guitar tech. My guess is your problem has something to do with the setup and is easily fixed.

Jeff

Sounds correct Niki. I think a ninja-nut may be needed!

First, consider the piano. Each note's string(s) are a different length getting shorter as the pitch increases.

Now consider the compensated saddle on an acoustic guitar. It's the B string that gets compensated, right? It's compensated to be a tad flatter. (longer) That is unless you have a continuously compensated saddle like I do but those are pricey and rare so I doubt very many members of this forum have one. Usually it's just the B that gets compensated on acoustics because the saddle itself is usually slanted lending some built in compensation.

Also, take a look at the arrangement of the individual saddles on pretty much any electric guitar. The A is adjusted shorter than the E and the D is shorter than the A. Then when you move up to the G it goes back to pretty close to the same longer position as the low E and gradually gets shorter string by string again.

What do the two kinds of guitar setups have in common? The common factor is that as you go from the low strings to the high strings when you make the change from a wound string to a solid string the intonation adjusment needs to get longer again even though you are still going "up" in pitch.

Electrics usually have a solid G and acoustics usually have a wound G.

That first string after the change in type is typically the one that gives the most tuning problems. Much more careful attention needs to be given to that string. You may find yourself in the position of having to compromise your perfect pitch at 12th fret in order to attain something better sounding below the 5th. Even with that scenario there still won't be a perfect cure. You can get a lot closer if you're willing to modify the guitar to incorporate the Buzz Feiton System but you'll never get it perfect because you don't have the option of relocating fret positions for each string at every fret position.

Check out this link:

http://www.buzzfeiten.com/

_________________

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.

It's not a set up issue.

Now that I think about it, there is a slight groove in the 3rd fret under the G-String.

I'll cut the slot a little to see if it helps.

_________________
Tune Low, Play Hard & Floor it!

On the fret wire itself?

if you have a groove in the fret at 3 and you're sounding different in the first few frets, cutting the slot deeper probably isn't going to fix it and will most likely make it worse.

It's your guitar though, and replacing a nut isn't all that hard or expensive so the worst that can happen is you make it worse and have to have a new nut fitted (or do it yourself). it's not the most expensive error that one can make on a guitar.

jeff

Yes, and to correct myself, the groove is on the 2nd fret (wire). I can notice it if I slide the string back and forth.

_________________
Tune Low, Play Hard & Floor it!

Don't cut the nut slot to compensate for frets in a bad state. Thats correcting one problem by causing another.

If your guitar's G string is out of tune on the first 3 frets, so G#,A and A# are out of tune, the nut slot is too high, end of story. Bridge intonation makes so little difference up to the 6th fret that if you could hear it, you'd notice it on all strings. And probably be compensating the nut or getting a 27fret to the octave fret job done. Also you'd hear it on other strings. It's not the bridge.

First thing to do is to clean the nut slots of your guitar. It's entirely possible that some grime attracted by some lubricant, or graphite is keeping the string from reaching the bottom of the nut slot. If that doesn't work, then try lowering the gauge of string. Though unless you're using silly thick wound things I doubt that will make a difference. A thousandth of a inch on a nut slot cut will make a startling difference to a guitars low fret intonation. Don't bother using one of them Korg or Boss tuners to check low frets for true notes, their simply not accurate enough. Despite what they tell you.

Then get you're frets sorted out.

_________________
No no and no

Thanks Niki.

_________________
Tune Low, Play Hard & Floor it!

Ninjas saves the day!