Why do my strings go # ?

[Berkleo]

When I pick up my guitar(s) after say a day or so and tune up, my strings are always on the # sharp side of in tune. I would have thought if anything the opposite would be true and string tension would be pulling them flat. Everything is humidified and the temp stays pretty constant.

[DonK]

When I pick up my guitar(s) after say a day or so and tune up, my strings are always on the # sharp side of in tune. I would have thought if anything the opposite would be true and string tension would be pulling them flat. Everything is humidified and the temp stays pretty constant.

 

Your strings wouldn't pull flat, they'd pull sharp. In any event, I've seen it go both ways. Left for a few days unplayed, one guitar will be sharp, another will be flat. The only consistent phenomena I've observed is the expected one: the longer I've had the guitar, and thus the older it is, the more stable it is. Humidity in your house could make it go a particular direction, but it could also be one or more of your guitars isn't as seasoned as others.

[Berkleo]

 

Your strings wouldn't pull flat, they'd pull sharp. In any event, I've seen it go both ways. Left for a few days unplayed, one guitar will be sharp, another will be flat. The only consistent phenomena I've observed is the expected one: the longer I've had the guitar, and thus the older it is, the more stable it is. Humidity in your house could make it go a particular direction, but it could also be one or more of your guitars isn't as seasoned as others.

 

 

Okay so "pull" was the wrong choice of verb. But by going sharp wouldn't it imply that the strings are tightening and wouldn't the more natural inclination be towards getting looser thus flatter?

[redhawks2]

All my guitars do that and I can't figure it out. It makes no sense to me that a guitar would sharp up after being left unplayed for a while, couple of days or so. ??? weird.

[VengefulTikiGod]

Guess: When you play, your hands warm up the strings. The metal expands, your strings go out of tune, you tune up to compensate. You then don't play that guitar for a few days. The metal in the strings, now cooler, contracts, adding tension and making them go sharp.

 

Also, it's possible some parts of the room might be cooler than others, namely, the area where your guitar lives?

 

All wild guesses. But yeah, DonK is right, older guitars are definitely going to be more stable.

[Guitar Hack]

Mine does that too sometimes but we have a set back thermostat which seems to affect that. ie. the temp during the day when no one is home is 65 degrees and then at 3:00 p.m. the temp kicks up to 72 degrees. This expansion and contraction of the guitar seems to affect it especially if the guitar hasn't had a chance to fully warm up yet. Or if you tune the guitar when it is a little cold and it then warms up it could be sharp.

[Queequeg]

IMHO, changes are more likely due to the guitar i.e: the wood, as Guitar Hack suggests, rather than the string(s).

And DonK's suggestion that older guitars are more stable is spot on. The best manifestation of this right here on this forum surrounds the humidity-related problems. Often, someone with an old guitar will post that they never do anything to protect their old guitar against the elements, and never have any problems. Some even suggest that this humidity talk is over-stated and hyped by the makers. Yet, owners of new and newer instruments (particularly those with solid tops, backs & sides) ignore the professional advice at their peril.

[happy-man]

I've always attributed it to temperature and humidity.

 

My home A/C runs most of the year (humid, hot south Florida) and the temp is set at about 78-79. When I use my guitars at home they are extremely stable. I keep them in cases or gig bags. At home I almost never have to mess with the tuning, but when I leave the house... I play regularly at an open mic. If I go outside to warm up it's almost useless to tune because as soon as I go back in the joint the guitar will change again. I've had tuning change very quickly once when I was playing under an air vent that was blowing cold air. Of course if your strings are old they won't stay in tune as well.

 

Scott O

[iago]

When my strings are new they seem to go sharp. When they are old they seem to go flat.

[dhoenisch]

My music room tends to be cooler than the rest of the house in the winter time, so the strings are always on the sharp side if left untouched for a couple of days. On the other hand, the strings on my "recliner" guitar don't go sharp, being in a warmer room even if it is left untouched for a couple of days. I don't seem to have this issue as much in the summer time as I do in the winder time as the house seems to be pretty consistant in the summer time, as far as temperature from room to room.

 

Dan

[whit townsend]

Metal (strings) is more reponsive to temperature changes than wood.. You play a warmed up in tune guitar and put it down. It cools off. The strings contract more than the wood, therefore # tuning when you pick it back up.