Teisco constantly out of tune

vivalastblues · Post by **vivalastblues** » Wed Apr 04, 2012 11:37 pm

Is there anything I can do about it?

It's similar to this style of bridge etc:

Gregg Juke · Post by **Gregg Juke** » Thu Apr 05, 2012 4:25 am

Are you concerned about collectibility/re-sale? If you don't mind changing hardware, you could try-- a) a locking nut, b) new tuners/machine heads, &/or c) a new bridge. Also, when's the last time the strings were changed?

GJ

vvv · Post by **vvv** » Thu Apr 05, 2012 4:36 am

Is the neck tight?

Is the bridge tight?

Are the tuners tight, both in mounting and internally?

No disrespect, but tuning probs can often be the result of poor winding technique.

Sometimes a little graphite (use a razor-knife to scrape a pencil) in the nut and bridge slots can help.

A change in string gauge might help, up or down.

Sometimes a change in string brands, also.

Finally, some guitars just don't take string-bending and hard-playing very well (generally related to something listed above).

bluesman · Post by **bluesman** » Thu Apr 05, 2012 5:29 am

I have had good luck with heavier strings with a wound third or G string. I have an old silvertone that I use heavy flatwounds on with a wound G ....sound great & plays in tune. A very different sound which I enjoy.

inverseroom · Post by **inverseroom** » Thu Apr 05, 2012 6:47 am

I've replaced the tuners on a Teisco and had excellent results. The low-end Teiscos really had shitty tuners.

vivalastblues · Post by **vivalastblues** » Thu Apr 05, 2012 7:02 am

Everything seems tight. The tuners definitely seem shitty though. And as for the strings, they haven't been replaced in a logn time. But could that really be the problem? I guess it could. I'll replace and report back.

A.David.MacKinnon · Post by **A.David.MacKinnon** » Thu Apr 05, 2012 12:07 pm

I have a few Teiscos and the tuners are always bad. I'm sure they were bad right out of the factory and that was 30 odd years ago.
Other things to look at are weather the bridge is really in the right spot and weather the nut is in the right spot. Sometimes the bridge is too far forward or backwards preventing proper intonation. Sometimes the nut is too far back or forward. That means that if the guitar is properly intonated and the open string are in tune it will be out of tune as soon as you fret a string.
I've had both issues pop up. A good tech should be able to sort both issues out for you.

Nathangrn · Post by **Nathangrn** » Thu Apr 05, 2012 3:22 pm

If the nut is too tall it can also throw off your intonation.

I have a lot of experience with cheap guitar tuners. The secret is to wrap the strings on the tuners right, put graphite (pencil lead) in the string grooves on the nut, and always start with the strings flat when tuning, this makes the gears mesh so they don't slip. If you pass the note up tune down a bit and tighten it back up.

JGriffin · Post by **JGriffin** » Fri Apr 06, 2012 3:42 pm

Nathangrn wrote:always start with the strings flat when tuning, this makes the gears mesh so they don't slip. If you pass the note up tune down a bit and tighten it back up.

This technique should be used regardless of the quality of the guitar and tuners.

vivalastblues · Post by **vivalastblues** » Fri Apr 06, 2012 5:48 pm

What do you mean by making the string flat? How can you allow for slack if the string is held completely flat? We may be talking about two different things here...

JGriffin · Post by **JGriffin** » Fri Apr 06, 2012 6:31 pm

vivalastblues wrote:What do you mean by making the string flat? How can you allow for slack if the string is held completely flat? We may be talking about two different things here...

Flat as in make the note flat, as opposed to sharp. If you're tuning an E string, and it's slightly sharp of E, turn the tuning peg to make the note slightly flat of E and then bring it back up to be in pitch. As opposed to simply taking it down to pitch from that slightly-sharp state.

vivalastblues · Post by **vivalastblues** » Fri Apr 06, 2012 6:57 pm

Oh right, I thought we were talking about when actually stringing the guitar.

Scodiddly · Post by **Scodiddly** » Fri Apr 06, 2012 9:42 pm

I put a set of decent tuners in my Teisco many years ago, and also replaced that bar-style string tree with the more standard kind. Then I hobbled the tremolo bridge by replacing the spring with a chunk of copper pipe. It's been pretty solid ever since.

vivalastblues · Post by **vivalastblues** » Sat Apr 07, 2012 7:42 am

Bet it still feeds back like a bitch though when there's any distortion pedal involved? I like these guitars but man they really don't work too well in loud rock bands with lots of distortion.

Jim Williams · Post by **Jim Williams** » Sat Apr 07, 2012 9:05 am

I had a couple in the late 1960's. Made with plywood, they were almost indestructable.

We used them as props. I couldn't afford to smash and burn Stratocasters, but a fifty buck Del Ray? Absolutely!

I could bang it around and it never broke. Never stayed in tune, but that wasn't the point using one.

I also had a power blue bass with a metal chrome pickguard. That finish would not burn. I would fill the jack hole with ol' Ronson lighter fliud, plug it in, light it up and create havok.

Afterwards I would wipe off the black marks, looked like new again!

I eventually sold it to a guy never telling him the history it had. In 20,000 years there will only be cockroaches and Teisco Del Ray guitars, still out of tune.

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Teisco constantly out of tune

Teisco constantly out of tune

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