• Guys, we've spent considerable money converting the Les Paul Forum to this new XenForo platform, and we have ongoing monthly operating expenses. THE "DONATIONS" TAB IS NOW WORKING, AND WE WOULD APPRECIATE ANY DONATIONS YOU CAN MAKE TO KEEP THE LES PAUL FORUM GOING! Thank you!

2018 gibson les paul HP will tune to E but not Eb

livinfree

New member
Joined
Apr 14, 2018
Messages
4
Hi,
Yesterday, After a long hard decision between the traditional and the HP, I ended up getting the 2018 Les Paul HP in cobalt.
It came tuned in E and was almost perfect. However, as i mostly play songs by slash or guns n roses, I normally play in Eb. When attempting to tune it down to that though, it is almost impossible to get it correct.
The guitar has locking grover tuners and no auto tune. when tuning, I can get all of the strings in tune but when I go back to the 6th to check everything is still in tune, the E A and D strings are all only just still in the flat range and almost back in standard tuning, no matter how many times i stretch the string and retune. Each string seems to have a big effect on the others.
The guitar is great to play and looks stunning but the tuning is a real issue.
Is there a way to fix this or should I take it back to the store and ask them to look at it.
It still has the original strings on it from gibson. 9s I think.
I thought it could be because the strings are thinner but havent changed them yet.
Any help appreciated.
Thanks
 

kevinkjs

Member
Joined
Mar 7, 2013
Messages
56
Don't worry. The first thing I would do is get new strings, not that this is contributing to your problem, but it's always good
to start with a fresh set. Since you are tuning to Eb, there will be less tension on your guitar's neck and it will have a tendency
to want to "straighten" out more, which will pull your strings pitch up higher. Sometimes the wood of your neck needs time
to "settle" and adjust itself to the lower tension. Also the reaction of the lower strings is never in sync with the unwound ones
due to their difference in thickness. Put on and stretch your favorite brand of strings and let the neck adjust for a day or two,
re-tuning once or twice a day and you should be good to go. There is nothing in the laws of physics or parts on your guitar
that would hinder you tuning to Eb. Cheers.
 

livinfree

New member
Joined
Apr 14, 2018
Messages
4
I never even thought about the neck wanting to straighten with less tension but it makes sense. will try doing that then and hopefully it sorts itself our over a few days.
thanks.
 

Billy Porter

Well-known member
Joined
Mar 16, 2005
Messages
1,129
Hi,
when tuning, I can get all of the strings in tune but when I go back to the 6th to check everything is still in tune, the E A and D strings are all only just still in the flat range and almost back in standard tuning,
Thanks

What do you mean by 6th?

If you mean fret then you should be using the 5th (4th for B-G string)

Apologies if you mean something else
 

Mark Stone

New member
Joined
Jun 16, 2017
Messages
25
This is what it's like to tune a floating bridge guitar. (Floyd Rose for example.) I've never experienced it to this degree on a fixed bridge guitar. Maybe it's because the guitar is so new? I doubt it, but I've never owned a brand new guitar.

I would approach this the way I would a Floyd Rose Ibanez. When tuning up (or down) a step, shoot "past" your target note. Example: You want to tune to Eb. So tune the 6th string down somewhere between D and Eb. Then see where they end up once you've tuned all the strings. Repeat as required, bearing in mind that the closer you are, the less of an "offset" you will need. Depending on experience, this should only take a few minutes.

Best of luck!
 

Big Al

Well-known member
Joined
Apr 24, 2002
Messages
14,537
Any guitar you down tune a half step will do that. Consider, the guitar is tuned to E, you loosen the low E down a half step, considerably less tension. It scopes out perfect, BUT THE OTHER STRINGS ARE A HALF STEP HIGHER!! YIKES! now each string you lower tension to drop pitch changes the necks tension and effects all the strings pitch. By the time you loosen the last string the first string you tuned is now at a higher tension relative to the other strings and will be sharp.

Welcome to the jungle! Have patience you'll get it.
 

livinfree

New member
Joined
Apr 14, 2018
Messages
4
What do you mean by 6th?

If you mean fret then you should be using the 5th (4th for B-G string)

Apologies if you mean something else

Yeah what i meant was the 6th string but it seems to tune better now that i changed the strings and left it in eb for 2 days.
 

kevinkjs

Member
Joined
Mar 7, 2013
Messages
56
Listen livin free, like someone else replied, just be patient, we've all have been through this.
If you still have trouble or any concerns, questions, etc., just post back to us and we'll help
you any way we can. I will personally check this post every day to make sure your problem
is a thing of the past. That's what we do here my friend, we are here for each other. Cheers.
 

livinfree

New member
Joined
Apr 14, 2018
Messages
4
thank you for all the replies. the problem seems to be resolved now. maybe it was the neck needing time and the strings needing to be stretched a bit more but between that it's seems to be fine now.
thanks.
 
Top