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Topic: pedaling flattens open string |
William Liguori
From:
New York, USA
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Posted 31 Dec 2018 10:35 am |
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| Hi folks. Another beginner here. I have A GFI student guitar. Trying to tune pedals, very hard to turn nylon nuts. I noticed that some open strings (mainly looking at the 6th string right now) flatten when pressing down the A pedal. What should I be looking at? Thanks. |
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Larry Dering
From:
Missouri, USA
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Posted 31 Dec 2018 10:46 am
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| Have you tried backing off the nut all the way then retune the string then adjust the nut with pedal down? Otherwise your springs may not be holding the finger against the stop when pressing the pedal. How old are the strings? |
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Donny Hinson
From:
Glen Burnie, Md. U.S.A.
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Posted 31 Dec 2018 10:57 am
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How much is it flattening? If it's a small amount, less than 5 cents, and it doesn't affect your actual playing, you can ignore it. (The problem with digital tuners is that they show problems that don't affect how the guitar sounds when played.) Flattening issues, commonly known as "cabinet drop", are also exacerbated by how hard you press the pedals. Use no more force than necessary.
The moral of the story is...trust your ears, and not a tuner. |
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Dick Wood
From:
Springtown Texas, USA
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Posted 31 Dec 2018 11:21 am
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You mentioned the nylon nuts are very hard.Sounds like you slowly but surely over tightened them and they're up against the finger. Back them off,tune open then tune the pedals and or knee levers. If you find there isn't enough travel to tune them then it's most likely possible you need to increase the pedal travel a small amount.
This all assumes you've not put the wrong gauge strings on such as a wound 6th versus a plain 6th etc.
Let us know what you find.
_________________
Cops aren't paid much so I steel at night. |
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Danny Letz
From:
Old Glory,Texas, USA 79540
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Posted 31 Dec 2018 12:39 pm
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| And remember the GFI Student is a pull release changer which requires a special tuning procedure. I you don’t have those instructions, get them off the website. |
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Leo Grassl
From:
Madison TN
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Posted 31 Dec 2018 8:03 pm
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| The 6th string is notorious for going flat when the A pedal is depressed on all guitars. It is usually the string most affected by cabinet drop. You'll notice that your E strings and possibly other ones also go flat when A and B pedals are pressed down. This is normal and most guitars have some degree of drop. The amount of drop varies in different guitars. Even two guitars of the exact same make and model may have different amounts of cabinet drop. |
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Dan Beller-McKenna
From:
Durham, New Hampshire, USA
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Posted 1 Jan 2019 4:15 am
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| If you have a plain sixth string, switch to a wound (.022). That will cut down on the amount of drop. |
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Richard Sinkler
From:
aka: Rusty Strings -- Missoula, Montana
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Posted 1 Jan 2019 7:11 am
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| Donny Hinson wrote: |
How much is it flattening? If it's a small amount, less than 5 cents, and it doesn't affect your actual playing, you can ignore it. (The problem with digital tuners is that they show problems that don't affect how the guitar sounds when played.) Flattening issues, commonly known as "cabinet drop", are also exacerbated by how hard you press the pedals. Use no more force than necessary.
The moral of the story is...trust your ears, and not a tuner. |
This is exactly why I don't keep my tuner hooked up to my guitar when playing. I never look at the tuner unless I am tuning up, or I hear something is off. I would just turn my tuner off and place it somewhere (usually on my amp). There's really no need to be looking at your tuner while playing unless you have a guitar that won't stay in tune.
By saying "while you are playing, I mean in between songs".
Tight nylon nuts are a lot better than loose nylons. My Mullen has tight nylons. My Carter has tight nylons. I think you will find many guitars that players here own have reasonably tight nylon tuners. I find that little round knurled tuning tool a joke. William's gives you a tool that has a handle, kind of a "T" shape (it's what I use). More leverage. There are other options like a screwdriver type hex driver. There was someone on the forum that made a larger diameter version of those round tuning tools. I want to say his name is Carl something. I lost mine somewhere. It was pretty good. I wouldn't mind having another, but I don't think they are available.
You can also drop a half a drop of light oil in the nut.
_________________
Carter D10 8p/8k, Dekley S10 3p/4k C6 setup,Regal RD40 Dobro, NV400, NV112 . Playing for 54 years and still counting. |
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Richard Alderson
From:
Illinois, USA
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Posted 1 Jan 2019 8:56 am
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Dick Wood wrote as follows
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| You mentioned the nylon nuts are very hard.Sounds like you slowly but surely over tightened them and they're up against the finger. Back them off,tune open then tune the pedals and or knee levers. If you find there isn't enough travel to tune them then it's most likely possible you need to increase the pedal travel a small amount. |
This might be true, but GFI nylon tuners are always hard to turn, its a characteristic of GFI's.
_________________
Derby SD-10 5x6; GFI S-10 5x5; GFI S-10 5x5; Zum D-10 8x7; Zum D-10 9x9; Fender 400; Fender Rumble 200; Nashville 400; Telonics TCA-500. |
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