Wide headstock and tuning instabilities?

[Daniel Beckley]

Hi all,

I am new to this forum and a relatively new Eastman owner. I bought a T64V with bigsby on the second hand market last year and I am truly smitten with the guitar. The only issue I have is tuning instability which I put down to string angle through the nut (especially on D & G strings) due to the wide headstock. This means having to retune after bends or light bigsby work which can become tiresome.

As far as I can tell, Eastman have now moved away from the wide headstock, presumably for this reason.
Has anyone noticed the same problem and if so, do you have any advice on how to overcome the issue?

Kind regards,
Daniel

[AlanSam]

Hi Daniel -  and welcome to our site. I'm afraid I can't help you with your problem, but somebody with more knowledge will doubtless weigh in.

[Chris Pile]

In my experience, it is far more likely that the source of your tuning problem is the bridge - not the nut or peghead. I usually recommend installing a roller bridge to replace the tune-a-matic style bridge for my clients who have tuning instability with Bigsbys. They are usually inexpensive to purchase, and drop onto the stock posts. Restring, set your action, and intonate - you should be golden.

[Daniel Beckley]

In my experience, it is far more likely that the source of your tuning problem is the bridge - not the nut or peghead. I usually recommend installing a roller bridge to replace the tune-a-matic style bridge for my clients who have tuning instability with Bigsbys. They are usually inexpensive to purchase, and drop onto the stock posts. Restring, set your action, and intonate - you should be golden.

Thank you Chris, I hadn't actually thought of that but it makes perfect sense - I'll be ordering one today!

---

Hi Daniel -  and welcome to our site. I'm afraid I can't help you with your problem, but somebody with more knowledge will doubtless weigh in.

Thanks Alan,
And as you predicted, I have received some solid advice.

[Chris Pile]

Let us know how it turns out, okay?

[Pura Vida]

Hi, Daniel.  Welcome to the forum.  It looks like you got a great answer to your issue from Chris (thanks, Chris!).  FYI, I heard that the smaller headstock was to help with weight distribution, so the guitars don't want to "dip" so easily.  And I think the smaller headstocks look better too.

[Rad]

If you must retune because your strings go sharp especially after aggressive bending it is almost always the nut.  On wider headstocks the nut slots must not only be angled down towards the tuning peg post, they usually are angled on the side of the nut slot, angled towards the particular tuning machine for that string. 

Take it to a good tech and have them properly dress the nut. 

And, if your strings go flat, it usually is not the nut.  Often times it is poorly wrapped strings on the posts. Try a good locking string wrap (youtube is your friend) with a bare minimum of wraps on the posts.

[SophisticatedBob]

Has anyone replaced their tuners on the archtops and, if so, what did you find that worked well with the existing holes?

SB

[Daniel Beckley]

Let us know how it turns out, okay?

Hi Chris,

So after really sitting with the guitar to get a feel for what was going on, I decided to purchase a 'bricksbiggsfix' which is basically a replacement bigsby tension roller that reduces the break angle between the saddle and the bigsby. I installed it and restrung the guitar with flatwound strings (which I had been planning to do anyway), and really went to town with pencil graphite in the nut slots and saddle string slots.
I am happy to report that the result is beyond my expectations. I can't get the guitar to go out of tune more than a couple of cents even when using the bigsby wildly. The guitar just feels right now and I am over the moon.
I may order a roller bridge in future if I feel it's necessary, but for now, I'm a happy man!

[Chris Pile]

Glad to hear it, play on!