Les Paul owners check this out

[Inspector #20]

Frets on my 2016 Gibson Les Paul 50's Tribute after 3 months of daily work in the studio and gigging.



Keep in mind that working as a hired session player, you are literally running through lines, composing solos and/or tracking parts - quite literally - all day long, 5 days a week. This puts a tremendous amount of wear on frets.

At one point, i was changing strings everyday to keep from breaking a string in the middle of a job.

When i broke the ball end of a high 'e' string in a set of Ernie Ball Slinky's, the company responded by shipping me 100 sets of Cobalt .010 x .046's.

 

[Inspector #20]

Dude, you must be particularly abusive. It still strikes me as odd.

I literally have never had a string break at the tuning post, with or without using the string-lock method, no matter how hard I bend a string.

I certainly play heavy handed at times, but think about this for a minute...

Imagine being in a recording studio for 8 hours, everyday. You are composing solos, running through passages over and over to get the right feel, you eat lunch with your guitar strapped to you because of deadlines...now, can you imagine how much that guitar gets played in 8 hours???





Then, after an 8 hour beat-down, you take it to a 4 hour live show...



You have to remember, that i wasn't just playing, it was my sole source of income and if i didn't play, my family didn't eat.

That's a total and complete paradigm shift that very few players ever go through.

 

[Metal89]

It was a few years ago I was doing theme music for a twitch channel. So it was constant playing. On the guitar I was recording for 5 hours straight every other day. Gets brutal on the strings, but I’ve always been heavy handed on them when I get into the groove

 

[Inspector #20]

Every time i broke a string its always at the ball end, never anywhere else and it doesn't matter what guitar, always the ball end.

Here's the high 'e' ball end failure that got me 100 sets of strings from Ernie Ball...

 

[jtees4]

Are we still talking about this? I thought Gibson SOLVED this entire problem back in 1957.....no?

 

[Inspector #20]

My box-stock 2021 Gibson Les Pauls is very stable. I have a hard time understanding why people have so many tuning problems.

My backup Les Paul is equally stable. Zero tuning issues, but i pay close attention to saddle size and funnel angles, nut floor fall-away, string cross sectional area above the slot and i never cut a slot more than .0035" over string diameter.

 

[iblive]

My box-stock 2021 Gibson Les Pauls is very stable. I have a hard time understanding why people have so many tuning problems.

My backup Les Paul is equally stable. Zero tuning issues, but i pay close attention to saddle size and funnel angles, nut floor fall-away, string cross sectional area above the slot and i never cut a slot more than .0035" over string diameter.

I have an MIM Strat and two made in China guitars. I have zero tuning issues. I had intonation issues on the G400 till I threw away the OEM bridge and replaced it with a TonePro piece. It’s been spot on since.

 

[Inspector #20]

I have an MIM Strat and two made in China guitars. I have zero tuning issues. I had intonation issues on the G400 till I threw away the OEM bridge and replaced it with a TonePro piece. It’s been spot on since.

The aluminum bridges, that Gibson used to use, are extremely stable. All my Les Pauls have them.

 

[67plexi]

Gibson used aluminum bridges ??? 1950's / 1970's ABR 1 bridges are cast zink then brass plated then nickle or gold plated.
the saddles are brass then plated
the bridge post and thumb wheels are brass on originals
the tail piece is aluminum My 1965 Gibson SG Standard has nylon saddles on the ABR 1 bridge sounds fine.

 

[Inspector #20]

Gibson used aluminum bridges ??? 1950's / 1970's ABR 1 bridges are cast zink then brass plated then nickle or gold plated.
the saddles are brass then plated
the bridge post and thumb wheels are brass on originals
the tail piece is aluminum My 1965 Gibson SG Standard has nylon saddles on the ABR 1 bridge sounds fine.

Yes. And tailpieces.

My 2021 Gibson Les Paul 50's Standard Gold Top has an aluminum ABR-1 with an aluminum tailpiece, as are many of the re-issues.

Its very common to see aluminum bridges on many Gibson models.

 

[ibmorjamn]

Here's a couple of important things to consider for tuning stability.

First of all, the strings must be adequately wound and evenly spaced across the tuning post. This provides adequate and even pressure across the nut floor.

This is generally (3) winds around the post for wound strings and (5) winds for plain strings, regardless of flat or angled headstock.

View attachment 91638

The saddle needs to be cut smooth and 1/2 of the wound string profile should be in the groove. Plain strings should be level with the top of the saddle.

View attachment 91637

The nut slot should be no more than .003" above string diameter and cut with a funnel shape.

View attachment 91639

There should be a "fall away" cut into the floor starting at about 2/3rds of the distance across the bottom of the nut floor.

View attachment 91640

Saddle slots must be polished smooth.

View attachment 91641

That low E looks like maybe 2 wraps at best. I never go much more but lately I have been trying to do a bit more for stability.
Good stuff on the nut and bridge!

 

[Inspector #20]

That low E looks like maybe 2 wraps at best. I never go much more but lately I have been trying to do a bit more for stability.
Good stuff on the nut and bridge!

Here's the factory winds on my 2021 Gibson Les Paul 50's Standard Gold Top



I prefer more winds around the post on the plain strings as the taper of the post is what locks the strings in place.

 

[Inspector #20]

Now, on my Stratocaster, the amount of winds are chosen specifically to add some down angle across the nut.



Note the intentionally longer low 'E' tuner, specifically selected for this purpose...



And the "funnel" shape of the low 'E' floor angle is cut to mimic the down angle across the nut.





This is what gives you tuning stability - not using a lock-wind on the string at the tuning post, and not the mechanical effect of a locking tuner.

 

[Inspector #20]

@ibmorjamn - Fender has NO specifications on funnel angles. The Fender specs aall madate flat cuts - and its why tuning is such a problem on Fender guitars - even without a tremolo.

Here's one of the nuts i cut by hand to my personal specs on the Jackson Warranty Line in 2022:



A few of the managers took notice and i began sharing my methods with the team, but i do not believe there was any widespread adoption of this methods, because Fender's own setup publication states that tuning stability is NOT an evaluated criterion.

 

[Inspector #20]

Getting back to Les Paul specifics. Here's the fall away angle on the scratch-made nut on my Les Paul replica.

Note the funnel angle (called a Picard Horn) on the floor profile of the nut.



The floor profile is correct when the string is in contact with approximately 2/3rds of the floor only.

 

[Session 5]

Boomer strings, I have tried, as a matter of fact before I tried Boomers, my guitar tech said to me if you are happy with D'Addario 10-46 Nickel Wound , you wont be happy with the Boomers. I tried them anyway, I should have taken his advice, he was right..There is a reason why D'Addario 10-46 are the #1 selling electric guitar strings..

Have yet to break one yet 81/2 years of playing..and have never had a problem tuning them up, I wrap 2 to 3 wraps, then i tug a bit all the way up each string, tune up and way I go..

 

[Inspector #20]

Boomer strings, I have tried, as a matter of fact before I tried Boomers, my guitar tech said to me if you are happy with D'Addario 10-46 Nickel Wound , you wont be happy with the Boomers. I tried them anyway, I should have taken his advice, he was right..There is a reason why D'Addario 10-46 are the #1 selling electric guitar strings..

Have yet to break one yet 81/2 years of playing..and have never had a problem tuning them up, I wrap 2 to 3 wraps, then i tug a bit all the way up each string, tune up and way I go..

You're lucky!!!

I broke NYXL's mid show on a brand new set.

The music academy was always breaking D'addarios, so i got them hooked up with Enie Ball.

No more strings breaking...

 

[Clockworkmike]

You're lucky!!!

I broke NYXL's mid show on a brand new set.

The music academy was always breaking D'addarios, so i got them hooked up with Enie Ball.

No more strings breaking...

I liked the NXYL a LOT but began breaking them after a few months. They kept their sound which I can give them that, but Paradigms kept sound and would not break. I got a set on the G&L that's been played very heavily for the past 4 months and they act brand new which is insane. Kinda made me a convert overnight lol

Until something shows up better, I have no plans of switching anytime soon. Would play NYXLs again but only if I ran out of the Paradigms basically lol

 

[ibmorjamn]

Getting back to Les Paul specifics. Here's the fall away angle on the scratch-made nut on my Les Paul replica.

Note the funnel angle (called a Picard Horn) on the floor profile of the nut.

View attachment 92177

The floor profile is correct when the string is in contact with approximately 2/3rds of the floor only.

That could explain why some G's have issue. To much floor contact or just string angle.

The last strings I put on a Strat I used the same method to put down angle from the nut. I used to wind them from the bottom up. Never thought about it much.

 

[Session 5]

You're lucky!!!

I broke NYXL's mid show on a brand new set.

The music academy was always breaking D'addarios, so i got them hooked up with Enie Ball.

No more strings breaking...

I can't be too lucky, they wouldn't be selling them at the pace they are. I change them as soon as they become dull sounding, which is about every three months, I have used hundreds of them and not one issue..