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I have a fairly good electric archtop hollow-body, an Ibanez Artcore AF95. I had played it for nearly a year with no problems -- then, suddenly, it would not stay in tune; in fact, it can't even *be* tuned, as it goes out (pulls way sharp) before I can get all six strings tuned to an electronic tuner! The worst string for going sharp is the low E. But none of them will stay in tune as they used to.
Now, let me tell you what precipitated this problem. If, when I'm tuning a guitar, a string is just slightly sharp, I'll often use my pick, or thumb, to push the string downward, toward the floor, thereby stretching the string just a bit, taking out the sharpness. Better this, I figure, than dropping the pitch and starting all over.
A few weeks ago, I did this, and I must have pushed the string (low E) downward with too much force, as I am pretty sure I felt the wooden bridge (movable) slide down the face of the guitar. I flipped out for a second, but upon examination, I saw that all seemed in place as it was. The bridge had come back to position due to the "pull" of the strings, I suppose.
Ah, but now the guitar was entirely out of tune. Not only that, but I had to reset the intonation completely (it has a tune-o-matic saddle).
This is when the tuning nightmare began. Not since this have I been able to keep the strings from pulling sharp -- especially that low E string. I can tune it and just sit, not even touching the guitar for a few minutes, and it will have gone sharp all on its own.
Our local small-town "luthier" is INEPT, and thinks all guitar problems can be fixed with a big crank of the truss rod. In other words, I am NOT taking this guitar to him. I need your help! Please help. If I need to put the guitar in a shop, I can take it to Lexington, where Bob Willcutt's fabulous shop is located. But I'm hoping it's something I can fix myself.
Thanks for your time. I look forward to your response, as this Ibanez had become my main guitar -- I miss it very badly.
1 comment:
I have a fairly good electric archtop hollow-body, an Ibanez Artcore AF95. I had played it for nearly a year with no problems -- then, suddenly, it would not stay in tune; in fact, it can't even *be* tuned, as it goes out (pulls way sharp) before I can get all six strings tuned to an electronic tuner! The worst string for going sharp is the low E. But none of them will stay in tune as they used to.
Now, let me tell you what precipitated this problem. If, when I'm tuning a guitar, a string is just slightly sharp, I'll often use my pick, or thumb, to push the string downward, toward the floor, thereby stretching the string just a bit, taking out the sharpness. Better this, I figure, than dropping the pitch and starting all over.
A few weeks ago, I did this, and I must have pushed the string (low E) downward with too much force, as I am pretty sure I felt the wooden bridge (movable) slide down the face of the guitar. I flipped out for a second, but upon examination, I saw that all seemed in place as it was. The bridge had come back to position due to the "pull" of the strings, I suppose.
Ah, but now the guitar was entirely out of tune. Not only that, but I had to reset the intonation completely (it has a tune-o-matic saddle).
This is when the tuning nightmare began. Not since this have I been able to keep the strings from pulling sharp -- especially that low E string. I can tune it and just sit, not even touching the guitar for a few minutes, and it will have gone sharp all on its own.
Our local small-town "luthier" is INEPT, and thinks all guitar problems can be fixed with a big crank of the truss rod. In other words, I am NOT taking this guitar to him. I need your help! Please help. If I need to put the guitar in a shop, I can take it to Lexington, where Bob Willcutt's fabulous shop is located. But I'm hoping it's something I can fix myself.
Thanks for your time. I look forward to your response, as this Ibanez had become my main guitar -- I miss it very badly.
All the best,
L. W. Whitaker
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