Bottom E string constantly going out of tune

Question

I have a white profile guitar which I'm sure is relatively old.. maybe from late 80's early 90's that I got second hand. I do not know how long the old strings were on it for, but they were pretty oxidized so I'm assuming they've been there for at least a year. When I was restringing the guitar I also noticed that there was 2 different brand of strings on it previously. I don't know if both brands were made out of nickle though.

All the strings are doing fine, but I noticed when I was winding up the (high)E peghead to put on the string it would wind so much, then drop a few notes. Even when I was winding up it would drop. I was able to get it on with persistence but now I can only play MAYYYBBEEE one song before the bottom string is horribly out of tune. The other strings have settled, and I'm surprised the bottom one hasn't yet, it's been a day of continual play in hopes it will 'settle'. Could the peghead need to be tightened? Or is it something else??

Answer 1

Hi Rocksy

You will have to replace the machine head. What happens is that , after so much tension, it slips and drops the tuning because their is too much strain on the gear itself.

They are not expensive and you can change all of them for $25 or just buy the one that is broken.

Answer 2

If the strings are brand new then they will take about a week to get tunded. Also you might need to get new pegheads or try tightening yours. If it doesn't work just get some new ones. I had to do that with one of my guitars that was about 20 years old. It fixed it up nice when I got new peg heads.  

Answer 3

It could be the tuner; they do wear out. I would first try a new e string to see if it isn't a bad string.