Reddit reviews The String Butler V3 Guitar Tuning Improvement Device - Best Guitar Upgrade to Improve Tuning Stability (Black Chrome)
We found 4 Reddit comments about The String Butler V3 Guitar Tuning Improvement Device - Best Guitar Upgrade to Improve Tuning Stability (Black Chrome). Here are the top ones, ranked by their Reddit score.
Addresses frustrating tuning issues found on many guitars with a 3 + 3 headstock configuration.The String Butler’s Patented Design attaches to the head of your guitar and corrects the angle of the strings as they pass through the nut.This guitar mod greatly improves the tuning stability of your guitar and it looks fantastic doing it!This German designed, all metal, chrome plated, guitar accessory is assembled in Germany so you know it is designed well and durable for many years of trouble free service.The rollers used on this guitar upgrade insure low friction as the strings are rerouted to the tuning machine heads.
Hello all. So anyway I recently got this brand new guitar, and apparently tuning stability issues are a common thing with these. TIL! This guitar seems to have it pretty badly on the G string, which is also quite common according to what I’ve found on google. Apologies if you guys know all about this already, and I’m sounding like a noob!
So like I’m pretty much retuning after every song. Considering a few options now, just wanted to see what anyone recommends?
Anyway, thanks!
Edit: A few people suggested lubing the nut with powdered graphite, etc, so I picked up a tube of the Big Bends Nut Sauce — it was cheap and worth a shot. I think it’s a huge improvement so far. Not quite perfect; I might still end up with the string butler too but just lubing the nut seems to have made some difference.
I wouldn't spend too much time changing the headstock, although what you propose sounds perfectly reasonable. That's probably how I'd do it if it was me. But for a cheap kit like this I'd rather just buy the String-Butler to get the strings to pull straight over the nut. Speaking of the nut, I'd expect the nut to be plastic and poorly slotted, so I'd recommend spending the $10 for a bone nut or better yet, $20 for a Tusq XL.
As for the rest of the kit - if it's anything like other cheap Chinese kits, the tuners will be hot garbage and should be replaced before you even put the thing together. Don't even bother installing them. Same might go for the pots, switches and pickups, but you might get lucky on those. The problem with the cheap components is that they're usually bought in bulk and QC is crappy at best, so a lot of lemons can make their way into kits. Pickups are not going to be high quality either, but they might be worth testing before tossing them. You can get decent ones from China - but not usually.
Oh, and of course, check the neck for fret sprout, especially if it's shipping from China. Temperature changes can shrink the neck wood, so the fret ends could slice your hand open. I also wouldn't be surprised if you needed to level the frets on this neck. AFAIK most kits require fretwork to be playable. That's certainly been my experience with the cheap necks I've handled.
I'd also be careful when sanding, because the top will be a super thin veneer and you can easily sand right through it if you're not careful. Basically, just go straight for a 320 grit and do it by hand just to get things smooth enough for a finish. Orbital rotary sander would be too aggressive for the veneer.
Good luck! And please post pictures of your progress!
You might want to take a look at something like the String Tree Butler.
It makes sure that the string pull is straight through the nut, ensuring smooth tuning.
Let me help you with making your task even harder by suggesting you thing about a String Butler:
https://www.amazon.com/String-Butler-Guitar-Tuning-Improvement/dp/B074CNX799