Short Scale Tuning

[pingu]

I’ve got a cheapo Tanglewood
travel guitar
Its been very useful overall

its got a scale of about 22.5” inches
Ive got it strung with TI flats 12 top

the tuning stability is ok but not
great , I have to tweak it a bit

is this fairly normal or should I
maybe upgrade the tuners


I don’t think the bridge is slipping
and I think the nut is not binding either


to those with similar travel guitars
do yours have tuning issues ?

many thanks folks

[Mick-7]

I wouldn't think it would be a good idea to put such heavy strings on such a petite guitar, but on their website it says they recommend Elixir Nanoweb 12's. Wouldn't hurt to try 10's or 11's and see if it stays in tune better.

Here's someone complaining about this same issue:

Tuning machines on Tanglewood Crossroads (TWCR-O) - forum topic | Ultimate Guitar

[GuyBoden]

I have a short scale 23inch guitar and don't have any problem using TI Swing 12's.

But, 22.5inch inches is very short.

You could try changing the strings first. Ensuring that the pins are secure and the string is wrapped securely at the tuners.

If changing the strings doesn't fix the problem, you could replace the tuners with a better quality set. The tuners are usually smaller on travel guitars, so you need to measure them accurately.

These tuners below look to be a similar smaller size and screw hole position, but you have to measure your existing tuners accurately.

J807 Guitar Tuning Machine Heads – Northwest Guitars

[pingu]

thanks all

I will get some Gotoh’s

ive got them on another guitar
and they’re really good

[Jim Soloway]

Normal. Higher ratio tuners might help but the shorter the scale length, the less exact tuning becomes. If you want a better solution put on lighter strings and tune it higher, perhaps F#.

[pingu]

update ….
I lubed the nut slots with pencil
graphite ….
It is much more stable now

should’ve been the first thing
I did …. duh

[sgosnell]

I have an instrument that was sold as a mini guitar kit, but I use it as a 5-string electric mandola. The scale length is 16.75", and I find the tuning is very stable. I do have relatively heavy strings for the mandola tuning, and I think that helps the stability. IME lighter strings are harder to keep in tune, but I don't have a huge amount of experience with light strings.

[pingu]

yes i also find that
the heavier the strings
the more stable the tuning is

(btw my problem is solved now
it just needed some graphite in the
nut slots)