Strange issue tuning my electric guitar?!!?

[garybeck]

can you help me with this?

Lately my electric guitar (Electra X120 MPC) has been doing this funny thing when I tune it.

I tune it just like I do my acoustic. I start at the Low E and then do A, D, ... etc.

When I'm done I go back to the low E string to check it and it is out of tune, HIGH/SHARP.

I tune it again, go to the A string, and it is also HIGH/SHARP. I tune it down. Go to the next string, it's HIGH.

I go through the whole thing a 2nd time, most of the strings are high and I have to downtune them. I get to the bottom string (which I call the High E) and everything should be good to go.

I go back and check the Low E string again and it's HIGH again!!

the other night I sat there for at least 15 minutes just going back and forth just between the E, A, and D string. Every time I come back to the E it is high again.

It's driving me NUTS! WTF??????

Note, I replaced the tuning machines a few years ago. I got them because they said they are really good at locking in and staying in tune. They are the Planet Waves Auto-trim, something like this:
http://www.musiciansfriend.com/accessories/daddario-planet-waves-auto-trim-tuning-machines-3-per-side/361451000001000

also note, my method of tuning, if a string is sharp/high, I always loosen the string below the correct spot and then tune UP.

If anyone has an idea what could be causing this or how to stop it, PLEASE let me know. thanks!!!!!!!!!!!

gary in vermont

[Bill]

It is normal the adjusting one string can affect the others. I start
out by adjusting both the high and low E string so that they resonate
the way they are supposed to. I adjust the D string and the A string off
of the low E, and the G and B strings from the D and A strings. Then I
go back and double-check. This gives me much more satisfactory results
then going from top to bottom 2 strings at a time (the first way
everyone is taught, I think). This method is, of course, much easier if
you know where your notes are on the fretboard. If not, it will help
teach you where they are. Don't memorize the exact details, just the
way that I start (top and bottom E), and work from there. Good luck!

Bill

[RichL]

Could be the strings are binding in the nut slots, meaning there's too much friction for them to come all the way up to their steady-state condition.

One tell-tale sign of this - if you're tuning the guitar and start turning a tuning machine and you hear a little "ping" sound, those slots are gripping the strings too tight. If so, you need to widen those slots out a bit (or have a pro do it).

It's highly doubtful the tuning machines themselves are the issue.

[RichL]

Also, it goes without saying that if your guitar has a whammy bar, all bets are off.

[garybeck]

thanks for the reply!

i am not getting a ping sound, I'm familiar with that... like you will start tightening the string and the pitch doesn't go up until all of the sudden PING and then it's too high.... that is not happening.

also there is no whammy bar.

it's like somehow when I tighten the A or D string, it is having an affect on the E string and tightening it too. VERY STRANGE.

any more thoughts or ideas I would love to hear!

thanks

gary in vermont

[garybeck]

thank you, I will experiment with tuning the strings in different order.

as an aside, I've been playing guitar (mainly acoustic) for over 30 years... and I still don't know which one to call the "high" E and the "low" E. It depends on your perspective. are you talking about the position physically in relation to the ground? Or are we talking high and low in regards to pitch? I always go by pitch. so the "low E" string to me is the one thicker string with the low sound but higher off the ground. I don't think everyone uses the same naming convention that I do, and this creates confusion sometimes.