G string blues.

What’s the exact problem you’re having?
And are you interested in a wound G?

I’ve been playing D’addario for about a decade or so and never had problems, I use a wound G though

 

Try these? I recently switched from d'addario. Like these a lot (although I play 10's) the 10's feel like 9's to me. I imagine the 9's are really smooth.

https://www.musiciansfriend.com/acc...MI9fewkLqa5QIVDcRkCh2mVw43EAQYAyABEgK6q_D_BwE

 

Not what I thought this thread was gonna be about.

 

The 150R's came on my new CS Telecaster. I talked to my luthier about them as I've been playing d'addarios for 28 years...found out he had just made the change as well. I really like them. Let me know what you think.

 

The G string is sometimes difficult to intonate, especially if you have the vintage 3 saddle bridge. In my Tele I've somehow achieved close to perfect intonation without compensated saddles, but it took me some screw twisting and turning.

 

I have thought the same about the G string as well. I use the D'Addario 10's Regular Light EXL-110 strings. I seem to notice the problem more on my 25.5 scale guitars and it was worse on the 9's Custom Light sets I used back in the day. B string is hard to tune because all it takes is a slight nudge to knock it out of tune.

It could possibly be a bridge saddle problem or it's just that certain string gauges/sizes are more finicky.

 

The "G" to me is the most fussy out of the six! on my Strats it likes to go sharp when I use my Trem's. on my Teles its ok - I do use 10's and 11's and Compisated saddles and in the Nut-i'll use Guitar-Grease from StewMac

 

Yeah I would look to the saddle before assuming that a brand of strings suddenly has bad G strings.
Could be some worn frets too, more info on how many guitars have exactly what problem at what frets.
If just one guitar playing open chords then it could be some low worn frets and' or a groove in the saddle.
The G is odd with pitch, so the mechanics have to all be dead on

 

I have staggered tuning posts, (2 tall, and 4 short), on my Tele, and the way I found around that pesky unwound G string was to change the angle from the post, to the nut, plus I also have compensated brass saddles on the bridge. I know it sounds goofy, but it really made a difference...for me anyways...these pics (hopefully) illustrate what I mean. I swapped the #5 (A) long post, for the #3 (G) short post, and #3 string intonated a lot better...just a thought! P.S, I also use super slinky 9's. You can sorta see at the nut, that the G string is at a flatter angle from the post to the nut, compared to the rest of the strings.

 

There are always problems with the plain G string: intonation,unbalanced sound etc.
The less problematic G string can be found in the classic vintage 010-038 set everybody used during the late 60s & the 70s.
The .010, .013, .015, .026, .032, .038 set is a life saver.
If it rattles or sounds wimply try winding at least 7-8 wraps around the post so the "behind the nut" angle increases.

 

Guitar was designed for a wound G (the three saddles have pairs of wound or unwound strings, a wound D/plain G pair doesn't even approximate with a shared saddle), so it sounds best with a wound G, it's not complicated.

 

If we're talking Tele with a traditional 3 saddle bridge, I agree with MatthewK above. Without compensated saddles, your going to have problems with a plain G and wound D. However, compensated saddles help, a lot. I've tried several brands. These are the best I've found - from Killer Guitar Parts.



Then, as others have said, it comes down to technique. Too much fretting pressure on the string, especially near the nut (and even more so if the nut is cut high), and you're going to be stretching that string sharp. It's just the nature of the beast. Easy does it!

 

If the nut and bridge check out okay, I wonder if a "sweetened" tuning might be helpful. Maybe tune your g slightly flat and see how sounds.

I sold a great guitar once because of the same problem. I did not know anything about intonation, break angles, or nut slots back then, I just gave up. It was a 1981 Ibanez Artist! oops!!!

 

your basic problem was and still is a poorly prepared nut slot. The deeper breakover angle was causing the string to witness improperly at the nut...and your intonation was off.

uncompensated three saddle bridges are problematic. Intonation has to be achieved with not just a length adjustment but with small adjustments taking certain strings slightly out of the correct radius. As Guitar Kid said, one has to spend some time with adjustments and live with the results, which cannot,possibly be as good as with six saddles or well-compensated three saddle bridges.

also, vintage staggered Fender pickups exacerbate G string issues by making that plain G string the hottest string regarding output....it sticks out like a sore thumb. This is where the design comes in....those vintage stagger pickups were designed for wound G strings, which have lower output than do plain G strings.

and...there are those who hold tht a plain G string cannot pull enough tension at pitch to come to an accurate intonation? I can get any of the various bridges close enough for almost anyone. Six saddles are better than any alternative when it comes to really accurate intonation.

 

Have you tried lowering the pickup height? Perhaps you have a magnet pull issue.
Also, ho many windings on the tuning post? You want to make sure the break angle in maximized.

I use SIT Strings.

 

Wally said most of I was going to say! On humbuckers with adjustable pole pieces, you can recede the G pole into the pickup body to create balance. Not so easy on Strats or Teles. Some people choose an unwound G from a lighter set (ie. use the G from a set of .008's or .007's). Slightly less output, but it also feels odd in terms of tension.

Again, the string angle to tuner and the cut of the nut are important. Sometimes the large round brass saddles can have a string slot cut in that solves buzz and improves compensation slightly.

Your "out of tune/dissonant" issue might also be from a less than ideal setup. Nicely crowned frets, flat-ish neck relief and a low action always help with dialing in intonation.