good tuners/strings/frets for bending

[scoots]

i'm sure this subject is covered once a month but why not ask my tdpri bros directly on Chistmas?(shhh...i should be helping wrap) i do alot of bending, and it seems i'm re-tuning after every/every other song. i play an am dlx and use fender strings. i like these strings. are the tuners that come on this guitar pretty decent? could it be they just need tightening up? or are there better tuners out there?(that don't require drilling? no new holes in the corona tele)how about strings? are there better strings to use for this? also, i do alot of this wrenching off the first 3-4 frets, and these frets are pretty chewed up. this along with the 7th-9th fret area for working out of d here. i've owned the guitar since feb 07 and just on a personal note i would have to say i would have liked to see these frets last longer than this. a guy shouldn't have to alter his playing style to accomodate the durability of his guitar, i don't really want to think about frets jobs every couple years. it ain't like this is a "bob's warehouse tele copy" either, this is an am dlx("am dlx" stands for "too much money in the first place") is there an answer for this? thanks you guys, and Merry Christmas!

[Jammin'John1]

Big Frets=JUMBO frets
12" radius
Heavier strings= .011's (at least 10's)

That said,my Tele's have 7.25 & 9.5 radius,vintage,medium jumbo,&jumbo frets with 11's and they stay in tune and bend just fine.


JJ

[scoots]

yeah, i've got the c neck(9.5?), this seems to be a pretty big neck and i run 10s, i dunno

[Jammin'John1]

Then you are all set....................you just have to practice a lot.




JJ

[Heritage]

Are you lubing your nut at string changes? That made a huge difference for me. Simple chapstick works great. Also, it's worth checking that the nuts that hold our tuning machines in place are snug. This morning I dealt with my -335's annual winter temper tantrum and was suprised to find all the posts were loose due to the retaining nuts backing out. Must've forgotten to check them during the summer temper tantrum ;)

Strings are so personal that I don't like making recomendations, but I've found that D'Addario's .012-.052 Jazz Light Gauge work well for me. I'm a bender too and I find them to be very stable and (after a week or two of hell while building your hand strength) very easy to control.

[scoots]

i'll try that Heritage, cool. torqin' on 12s? wow, hardcore bro

[jefrs]

My 'first' set of strings did chew the frets up, they were Fender, and I found them rather hard. Since them I've polished the frets up and used many other sets with no further problem. I will eventually wear the frets flat but it will be a polished surface, not bitten into. I tend to use (10s) either a 'pure nickel' type or Thomastik-Infield Powerbrights which are tin(?) plated, perhaps these are softer on the frets. Both bend well without tuning problems.

Of possible interest the jazzbox is strung with Thomastik 'Swing' flatwound medium-light 12-50 but they feel softer and bendier than their Be-bop roundwound extra-light 11-47, or indeed any other flatwound or jazz strings I've used.

[brokenjoe]

I use .09s, bend a lot (lots of two full tone bends) have small frets -'52 RI standard size, and am in tune almost always.

Your nut could be cut improperly, or your tuners could be slipping. It could also be how you restring your guitar. Any overlaps?

[DrAndy]

if the rest's ok, it shouldn't matter what size your strings are...
A good nut and saddles are important. In my experience Graphtech'll do it, as they don't need lubricating and reduce breakage of your strings. Bone is made up of many small, straight fibres and actually is an awful material for nuts as it grabs a hold of the strings. Brittle as you like too! Nice tone but not very practical. The standard plastic nut has nothing going for it.
And solid machineheads are important too. I've found Planet Waves, Kluson TonePros and Gotoh to all do the job beautifully in the past.
Just make sure when you change the strings you stretch them in too.
Bend away to your heart's content!

[mellecaster]

Originally Posted by DrAndy

Bone is made up of many small, straight fibres and actually is an awful material for nuts as it grabs a hold of the strings. Brittle as you like too! Nice tone but not very practical.

As one who has been in this Game of Repairing and Setting up String Instruments for about 6 more years than you have been on Earth...who in the World told you that ??

[jefrs]

Originally Posted by mellecaster

As one who has been in this Game of Repairing and Setting up String Instruments for about 6 more years than you have been on Earth...who in the World told you that ??

+1

Bone's lovely stuff. Better acoustic properties than most synthetics. And rather softer than steel, so guess which bit wears what.

[DrAndy]

Sorry guys not looking to tread on any toes. I'll explain myself;
lamellar bone is a dense matrix of mineral-laced sheets of connective tissue over-layed on each other in a cross-grained fashion. Like plywood.

Whereas it's really strong and everything the guys I know who've used bone nuts find that it's had a habit of 'sticking' the strings when they're tuning up, and as such not being as stable as something that naturally lubricates itself, like graphite. Those guys now use composite nuts.
Bone is also really brittle because, not being in the body, it's not having its minerals/connective tissue maintained so to speak.

And I know bone is softer than steel, that's why the strings eventually dig their slots deeper and snag against the cross-fibres.

I am aware that bone has many more fans in terms of acoustic properties than whatever else. But personally I played around with both and I'll be honest didn't really notice the difference. But that's most likely my lack of ear experience. And maybe me and my mates just had a bad experience of bone nuts!

I'll shut up now as this probably isn't helping the guy who asked the original question. Many apologies to all who I have upset.

[mellecaster]

Originally Posted by DrAndy

Whereas it's really strong and everything the guys I know who've used bone nuts find that it's had a habit of 'sticking' the strings when they're tuning up,





I'll shut up now as this probably isn't helping the guy who asked the original question. Many apologies to all who I have upset.

No need to apologize, and I really wasn't upset (Honest)...you were just stating your opinion from what you had personally discovered, and that is fine...I just thought I would challenge your statement, and didn't mean to appear as a "Know it all"...but if a Bone nut is made properly w/ round bottomed slots and about .004 or .005" wider than the string, there will not be any tuning problems or sticking...believe me, if there was...I'd be out of Business......

[DrAndy]

I reckon the boys could've done with getting their nuts off you rather than the hack they went to!
"get their nuts off you"; that sounds naughty...
I by no means know it all, I just get very excited by guitar talk.

ANYWAY. A good nut is very important to your question Mr Poster!

[teleamp]

SS frets... smooth as glass and will not wear.

[Mr Ridesglide]

Odd that the guitar does not stay in tune. Years ago I started playing Fender guitars gigging because they were so good at staying in tune. I have been using burnished strings in the past 10 years or so as they're nice right out of the box, and don't need a lot of pre playing stretching. I'd bring that guitar down to Willie's in St. Paul for a tune up. They'll check the nut, tuners, bridge... everything out for you. You'll be happy you did!

[mellecaster]

Originally Posted by Mr Ridesglide

I'd bring that guitar down to Willie's in St. Paul for a tune up. They'll check the nut, tuners, bridge... everything out for you. You'll be happy you did!

That's quite a drive from the UK....??

[DavyA]

I just went through a period of not having my '52ri stay in tune. I have improved this situation by making sure I have lots of wraps (5-6) around the post when I install strings. Try it and see if that helps!

Have fun!

[scoots]

more wraps next stringing, hopefully it's something just that simple. if not, i'll have to bring it somewhere. i've heard good things about willies guitars. i've got a guy in forest lake that i've been going through, he's one of the few techs in the area i know that does warranty stuff for fender, at least with their amps i know for sure. started gigging again as this tele is my primary tool. stainless steel frets are very interesting to me, my frets take a beating. appreciate all the input here gentlemen...

[DrAndy]

ooh let me know how the stainless steel frets work out!
Cheers,
Andy

[jefrs]

Originally Posted by DrAndy

Sorry guys not looking to tread on any toes. I'll explain myself;
lamellar bone is a dense matrix of mineral-laced sheets of connective tissue over-layed on each other in a cross-grained fashion. Like plywood.

Whereas it's really strong and everything the guys I know who've used bone nuts find that it's had a habit of 'sticking' the strings when they're tuning up, and as such not being as stable as something that naturally lubricates itself, like graphite. Those guys now use composite nuts.
Bone is also really brittle because, not being in the body, it's not having its minerals/connective tissue maintained so to speak.

And I know bone is softer than steel, that's why the strings eventually dig their slots deeper and snag against the cross-fibres.

I am aware that bone has many more fans in terms of acoustic properties than whatever else. But personally I played around with both and I'll be honest didn't really notice the difference. But that's most likely my lack of ear experience. And maybe me and my mates just had a bad experience of bone nuts!

I'll shut up now as this probably isn't helping the guy who asked the original question. Many apologies to all who I have upset.

No offence taken. You information regarding the structure of bone is very interesting. Thus I must explain too. Many, many years ago, conducted research on physical properties of materials by ultrasound. Probably familiar with medical ultrasound scanners. Briefly, you can identify defects in material by the way sound passes through the material and you can predict its physical properties. Conversely the physical properties dictate the sonic properties. Materials transmit or absorb sound at different frequencies, they can therefore act as tone controls to subtract from unwanted frequencies and pass desirable ones. Sintered steel (cast steel) is almost perfectly transparent to sound, often too transparent of undesired tones. Bone is a material with desirable properties. Plastic has undesirable absorbent qualities. Unfortunately, Tusq, Graphtech, graphite and other such nuts are all plastic composites, better than pure sound-deadening plastic but to my ear still sweeten the note. Bone has a grain and bone is variable in quality, thus can take more work than composite material to get it right, poor material being rejected, there is a degree of craftsmanship involved in providing a good nut not found in off the peg guitars. A important plus for bone is that it can be polished up to jewellery bling standard.

[pagecaster]

Originally Posted by brokenjoe

I use .09s, bend a lot (lots of two full tone bends) have small frets -'52 RI standard size, and am in tune almost always.

Your nut could be cut improperly, or your tuners could be slipping. It could also be how you restring your guitar. Any overlaps?

A T.O guy!
I sure hope u sir got some tickets to see beck and clapton play in feb at the acc