Guitar won't stay in tune? You may have a sticky nut. Don't replace it ... try this FREE fix first!

While tuning, you may hear a ping! as a particular string suddenly increases in pitch. You may also hear the pitch change after bending a note or strumming a chord. This unwanted pitch change is often caused by the string binding in the nut slot.

Luckily, the fix is extremely quick and simple. Use powdered graphite, or ... in a pinch ... an ordinary lead pencil!

Slip the string out of the slot in the nut. Better yet, do this when the guitar has its strings removed. Rub the tip of a sharpened pencil across the slots in the nut. The graphite powder will trickle down into the nut slots and keep them lubricated. When the string is replaced in the slot, friction will be greatly reduced. The result: no more annoying ping!

Pencil lead (actually graphite) comes in various hardness grades. The lower the number, the softer the graphite. Go for a lower number, such as a 2, to avoid scratching the nut material. Be sure to slide the side -- not the tip -- of the sharpened lead point across the nut slot.

Some guitars are more prone to this annoying behavior than others. Many of my favorite Gibson® SG® axes have had this condition. Some Fender® models must have had this problem, too, which is likely why the Strat® Plus and Deluxe models with humbuckers feature a roller nut.

If you're not concerned about reducing the collector value of your instrument, have your local luthier professionally replace your existing nut and install a graphite nut for you.

But if you're like most of us, and you don't want to destroy any possible future sale value of your instrument, there are several commercial products that work great. One in particular, GHS GraphitAll Guitar Lubricant, works great and is even white in color, so it basically turns invisible on your guitar nut! A friend of our webmaster uses it on his Fender instruments especially, since Fender uses bone nuts on most of their American-made products. He finds that it stays in place, doesn't discolor the nut, and cleans up easily if he accidentally puts a little too much in the nut slot.

So there you have it, a do-it-yourself method, a take-it-to-your-favorite Luthier method, and an inexpensive commercial product that will get rid of those annoying tuning problems forever!