Bass won't stay in tune

[garnfeld]

Hi all,

 

I have been playing the bass for almost two years now (I got my bass in December 2020) and it's been pretty cool. I have an Ibanez Talman TMB30 (shortscale) and for the most part it has been wonderful. However, I have found that the E and A strings always struggle to stay in tune: due to school and frequent exams I've not really been able to properly tend to my bass so I'm not really sure how to go about solving this issue. I've not replaced the strings yet (Almost two years, I'm so sorry!) so could that be the main issue? Or perhaps is it something to do with the truss rod? Again I'm not particularly familiar with maintenance so any help/advice is greatly appreciated! 

 

Kind regards :)

 

[Bunion]

How may wraps around the tuning post has the strings got and how loose or easy are the tuning pegs to turn? 

[BigRedX]

Buy some new strings. That'll almost definitely be the problem with the tuning stability.

 

The truss rod has nothing to do with tuning so leave it alone.

[Newfoundfreedom]

Won't stay in tune over what timescale? If it won't stay in tune over a couple of songs, then there's probably something wrong. If it won't stay in tune over a couple of days, then that's fairly normal with temperature changes, humidity and any other number of reasons. 

[shoulderpet]

2 hours ago, garnfeld said:

I've not replaced the strings yet (Almost two years, I'm so sorry!) so could that be the main issue?

 

I am almost 100% certain that is the issue, assuming they are roundwounds that is a very long time to leave a set of strings on for

Edited June 27, 2022 by shoulderpet

[PaulThePlug]

Post a pic of the headstock and tuning pegs...

Number of turns round the pegs, and are they defo short scale strings with a thin bit around the peg, and not long scale strings cut down,

 

Remember when restringing... turn the winder, dont wrap the string, as you introduce a twist along the strings length...

[Doctor J]

Always tune up to pitch. If you go sharp, tune back down below the note, give the string a bit of a pull away from the fretboard around the 12th fret to release any slack, then try again, only ever tuning up to pitch.

 

[garnfeld]

21 hours ago, Bunion said:

How may wraps around the tuning post has the strings got and how loose or easy are the tuning pegs to turn? 

There are two wraps around each tuning post and the tuning pegs are fairly easy to turn.

[garnfeld]

21 hours ago, Newfoundfreedom said:

Won't stay in tune over what timescale? If it won't stay in tune over a couple of songs, then there's probably something wrong. If it won't stay in tune over a couple of days, then that's fairly normal with temperature changes, humidity and any other number of reasons. 

It won't stay in tune over a couple of songs, so like you said there is something wrong. It isn't just for standard tuning either, any tuning I try will not stay for more than a song or two.

[Reggaebass]

I’ve never come across this problem myself, have you tried just putting on another set of strings to eliminate if it’s them or something else 

[BigRedX]

The strings are two years old. Unless they are flat wounds or the bass has been barely played, they will be knackered and more than ready for replacement.

[garnfeld]

On 28/06/2022 at 17:57, BigRedX said:

The strings are two years old. Unless they are flat wounds or the bass has been barely played, they will be knackered and more than ready for replacement.

Ordered some new strings today, so like everyone else has agreed I hope it works. Thank you for the advice

[garnfeld]

On 28/06/2022 at 17:08, Reggaebass said:

I’ve never come across this problem myself, have you tried just putting on another set of strings to eliminate if it’s them or something else 

That's what I'm going to do now after everyone confirmed what the problem most likely is. Just haven't been able to get around to replacing them due to finance/school etc  Cheers!

[Reggaebass]

10 minutes ago, garnfeld said:

That's what I'm going to do now after everyone confirmed what the problem most likely is. Just haven't been able to get around to replacing them due to finance/school etc  Cheers!

Good luck, hopefully they will do the trick 👍