Why My Guitar Always Out Of Tune?

Don't monkey with the truss rod. Check first how you're stringing your guitar. You should be putting the strings on so that they wrap neatly around the tuning post about 3 to 4 turns and don't overlap themselves. There are some good online tutorials on how to "tie" the strings to the post to avoid slippage too. After you put the new strings on you need to stretch them and retune several times. Once you get them on and stretched out good they should stay in tune.

Now, tune the open strings and verify that they stay in tune. If you have a tremolo bridge you may have to go back and retune other strings because as you tighten (or loosen) each string it changes the tension on the bridge and that affects the tuning of the other strings. You have to keep gradually working toward closer and closer to in tune.

Once it's all tuned up, then check your intonation by playing the harmonic at the 12th fret and then actually fretting the note at the 12 fret. They should both be in tune. If the fretted note is flat you need to move the saddle for that string forward (remember fretted flat forward). If the fretted note is sharp you need to move the saddle back. What you're effectively doing is changing the vibrating length of the string so that the 12th fret is right in the middle. This is pretty easy to do on electric guitars. Not much you can do personally if your acoustic guitar intonation is off. An expert can compensate the saddle by cutting it back in spots to change the length of the strings, but that's not something an amateur should attempt.

Anyway, with all that done it should stay in tune fairly well. Again, if you have a tremolo bridge and use it you might get out of tune pretty quickly, especially with some of the cheaper bridges that don't return to center well.

Another potential issue may be if you've put heavier strings on and haven't adjusted the nut slots. Sometimes thicker strings will bind in the slots cut in the nut of the guitar. You might notice little pops and twangs as you're tuning if that's happening. After you get the string in tune and start playing, the string can slip one way or the other at the nut and go out of tune. I always put nut juice (graphite paste) in the nut slots whenever I change strings to help with that.

You might also have cheap tuning machines that just don't hold well. If you do everything else above and your guitar still won't stay in tune, take it into a shop and have it looked at.

Do NOT mess with your truss rod. That is not your problem, from what you're saying.

Okay, there a a few things that make strings go out of tune:

1. New strings. They stretch a lot when you first put them on. Just keep tuning and in a day or so they'll settle down.

2. Improper string installation. Make sure you are installing the strings correctly on the tuners. You want no more than one layer of string wrapped around the post.

3. Neck flexing. A guitar neck should be pulled into a very slight curve by the strings. If you start with the strings way below pitch and begin tuning them one at a time, the neck will be changing shape as you go, so by the time you tune the last string, the first one will be flat and you have to go back and start over. This is normally something you'll only notice if you're making big changes in the tuning, like when you put new strings on, or when you go to a very different alternate tuning. It doesn't mean anything is wrong.

4. Use of the whammy bar. If your guitar has a tremolo unit, it could be that the strings are not returning to pitch properly. Having the tremolo unit set up by a guitar tech might help, but some designs are notorious for doing this and you may never get it perfect.

5. The way things are. Strings go out of tune, it's their nature. ;)

The brand of strings doesn't matter. There are a couple of possible factors that might be affecting your tuning. When you put on new strings, there is always a little slippage until the strings settle in. This may take a day or so. One thing you can do to minimize this is to "lock" your strings to the tuning post. Insert the end of the string through the hole in the post, then bend the end around and back over the incoming string. Here's some instructions for the locking method: http://www.fretnotguitarrepair.com/repair/acoustic... Cheap tuners will also slip, but since you're experiencing this on two different guitars, I'm more inclined to think the method of attaching the strings is a more likely factor.

There is another issue called "intonation." The distance from the nut (at the top of the fretboard) and the bridge is carefully calculated to match the frets. If anything happens to change the geometry of the neck, bridge, and strings, your intonation will be off. The result will be that your open strings will be in tune, but the fretted notes will be off pitch. The most common causes of bad intonation are high strings and a poorly adjusted bridge.

High strings have to be 'bent' to press them down to the fretboard. There's no difference between bending a string down or sideways....if you bend a string, you're altering the pitch. The way to lower the strings is to adjust the truss rod to the proper relief, then raise or lower the bridge. Have a pro do this if you don't know how.

Most acoustic guitars don't have adjustable bridges. Electric guitars usually have sliding saddles under each string that move forward and back. To adjust the intonation, check to see that a 12th fret harmonic is the same note (an octave higher) as the fretted note in the same place. Adjust the saddle forward of back until it reads the same on a tuner.

Bottom line: If your problem is that the open strings won't stay in tune, you have slippage. If the open strings stay tuned, but the fretted notes are off, you have intonation problems.

There are some variables to consider about this.

The first is the conditions you have your guitar in. Guitars can be ruined if they are in too warm or too cold temperatures, so make sure the temperature is fine for your guitar.

The second is that the strings probably need some stretching so they adjust. Make sure you stretch the strings on the 3rd, 5th, 7th, 12th, and 15th fret before you tune.

The third is that the strings are new, so they'll need some time to adjust.

And finally, if you the guitar is still out of tune either change the strings or go to a guitar shop and maybe they can identify the problem for you.

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Your tuning machines may be loose. It may be an inexpensive guitar? If you are storing it in a damp, cold or drafty area this could effect it as well. And are they the strings met for that type of guitar?

Do check the neck for absolute straightness. Hummm. If the strings are new they do go out of tune a bit, up to several tunings.

Also, all string instruments are tuned before playing because they do go out of tune a bit. If it is a reputable instrument...the more you tune the more it is likely to stay in tune, but do not count on it.

Always tune before playing especially with other players. Good luck.

I agree with Layne. I'll put money that it's slightly out of tune. It may be in tune as far as the relationship between the strings, but I doubt it's fully in tune with the actual notes. It may be close, but not perfect. And yeah, if you don't play it a lot or if you just play basic chords then it's going to stay in tune better simply from not being worked enough.

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You need to keep tuning until it is in tune. Are you stretching new strings before you try to get it perfectly in tune?

Thanks everyone for the answers!