Tuning Pegs
Greetings everybody, good to see you again in this Beginner Guitar Lessons blog. I assume you already know how to tune a guitar. One of the guitar tuning problems you probably have is your guitar keeps out of tune, where after a certain amount of tension is put on the string the tuning peg goes back releasing the string back to its previous condition. Whilst you think that the tuning pegs need replacement, sometimes they just need this little adjustment:
Look at the center of the tuning mechanical gears. If you are lucky you will see the adjustment screws. They are bigger than the other 4 screws attaching the tuning pegs to the headstock. The adjustment screws function is to hold the knobs onto the pinion shafts (where you insert and coil the strings) and at the same time they adjust the mechanical gears to allow no play in the tuning pegs when you are doing the string tuning.
Giving no tension applied on the string tighten up the adjustment screw. The tighter you go the more difficult you turn the peg so set it just enough until you feel a light drag or resistance when you turn the peg.
If this adjustment does not help then maybe you need to replace the tuning pegs. Find some tips below before you end up messing your headstock:
- Look for similar tuning pegs. Prevent modifying the headstock if possible. Some tuning pegs assemblies have bigger pinion shaft or different screw spacing. Failed to find similar replacement means you have to drill the headstock.
- Understand the gear ratios. You can find 14:1 or 18:1 gear ratios available for example. Higher gear ratio means you will have more precise tuning control but changing strings will take more time compare to lower gear ratio, this is due to more peg turns needed to complete one pinion shaft rotation.
- If you think you can’t do the replacement find an expert. Drilling the headstock should be done carefully to prevent cracks.
To Your Guitar Success,
-TJ-
Beginner Guitar Lessons Admin
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