ESP eclipse keep going out of tune.. guitar gurus?

[aviel]

basicly title says it all.
i have a new ESP eclipse 2, i took it to the store a few time for the mechanic guys to look at the locks etc.
i have a set of 0.12-0.56 strings on it, tuned to drop B, and it keeps going out of tune, its the 3rd time i am changing strings on it, so i've tried with old and new strings and everything.

the strings are ernie ball not even slinky. the strings (specially the lower) keeps going out of tune, what do you suggest?

 

[Lazzari]

Well I use 0.12-0.56 on C#, I think you should use something around the 0.58 area for that low B

 

[aviel]

that may cause it? well i dont know any shop here selling 0.58, i dont think ernie ball have a set like that

 

[Fbarre]

0.56 tuned to B should be fine. If the locking tuners are fine it could be the nut. What was the stock tuning on the guitar? When you tuned it down did you also think about enlarging the nut slots for the bigger strings? If the nut slots are not properly cut for the string gauge that you are using the strings will get stuck in it. If that has been taken care of already try it with some Big Bends Nut Sauce or Planet Waves Lubri Kit and see if that helps. You could also change out the nut to a Graphtech TUSQ nut which is permanently lubricated but requires modification.

 

[aviel]

well the guitar came in E tuning, but i've seen around lot of ESP players at low tuining and it doesnt seem they face any issue

 

[Fbarre]

The string has 3 important contact points, the tuners, the nut and the bridge. If the tuners and the bridge are fine there's only the nut left that could cause issues. If your guitar came in E tuning, probably with 10-46 gauge, you'll need to widen the nut slots if you increase the string gauge by more than one size. Otherwise the strings will not have enough room to move which will cause them to get stuck, which in turn is most likely the cause of your tuning issues.

 

[drew_drummer]

Is it happening when you do bends, or what?

 

[aviel]

nope. just when palm muting or doing some heavy riffing on the low strings (i mean the lows- 6th, 5th and 4th strings)

 

[Lasse Lammert]

Widen the slots

 

[53Crëw]

+1. Thicker strings generally need some nut work.

 

[aviel]

Lasse by slots you mean nuts?. So I see everyone pretty much agrees about the nuts thing. Never did thid before though . Do you suggest to buy a new nut and keep the original one? Isit glued to the guitar? How can I take it off?

 

[drew_drummer]

Don't do it yourself. You'll fuck it up. Get a tech to do it.

 

[aviel]

So basiclly each one of you who took a e tuned guitar had to widen the nuts?

 

[mickrich]

Use the wound string as the file ;-)
Hold the string before and after the nut and "slide" it back and forward and the string windings will file the opening to the right size.
This has always worked for me.

In saying that, I have an ESP Eclipse and it certainly wouldn't be my first choice for B. Scale is too short IMO.
My ESP MI is 25 1/2" scale and strung through body and it holds B perfectly.
I also find a D bass string is great to keep B in tune.

 

[zirkonflex]

No!
Don't fuck with the nut yet. I used (up tp) 60's on my Ninja (24.5. scale, comes in E), and it tuned and intonated well. Have you really streched the strings, then tuned and repeated that a few times? Correctly wound through the tuners (Not to few/many wounds, might happen with thicker strings)?

/ Tuning an Eclipse to B is certainly both doable and reasonable by the way.

 

[aviel]

No!
Don't fuck with the nut yet. I used (up tp) 60's on my Ninja (24.5. scale, comes in E), and it tuned and intonated well. Have you really streched the strings, then tuned and repeated that a few times? Correctly wound through the tuners (Not to few/many wounds, might happen with thicker strings)?

/ Tuning an Eclipse to B is certainly both doable and reasonable by the way.

I didnt to any wound actually around the tuner. Its self locking tuners so I just pull it through and turn the tuner. I dont think I even have one wound around the tuner

 

[Fbarre]

Don't wind the strings around locking tuners, they're not made to have the string wrapped around it. With the nut it depends if you will have problems with it or not when going for thicker strings. Some nuts may have wider nut slots when coming from the factory than others, which might not have any issues when using thicker strings.

What you could do is to get a professional guitar tech to widen the slots on your nut or to have the nut completely replaced with another new nut. Graph Tech nuts for example are permanently lubricated and help to prevent any tuning issues at the nut. If you choose to just have the nut slots widened on your current nut you should also try out the products I mentioned earlier to prevent any tuning issues at the nut.

 

[aviel]

here is a pic of the headstock.
to me it seems the slots are wide enough

 

[aviel]

bump?

 

[blue_fAng]

Maybe you need to re adjust the saddles. Not sure if this helps. How's your action?