G string constantly goes flat

[phishmarisol]

Any ideas on this one? I can tune up and play for a minute and my g string is flat. Bends make it worse of course but I don't do a lot of big bends in the first place, just a little vibrato. The guitar has a tune-o-matic bridge and the intonation also goes out in about a week on the G string. It's weird. I have upgraded 18:1 machine heads. Where do you think the problem is...bridge, nut, tuners?

[MichaelThomas]

Is it a Les Paul?

[procos]

Nut

[scottish]

you probably need to look at getting either the nut, the bridge saddles or both reshaped

[phishmarisol]

It's a Samick UM-3 (PRS copy). I am planning on getting an Earvana nut anyway and upgrade saddles since the stuff that comes stock on this guitar is mostly cheap.

[Bryan T]

Sounds like binding at the nut. Do you ever hear a 'ping' sound when tuning?

Bryan

[phishmarisol]

No ping when tuning. That's the one reason I've thought it might not be the nut because everyone said it made that sound if the nut was to blame.

[dunara]

If it was just the nut, you would be aware of it jumping 'sharp' again after you had compensated with the tuner. If it's not doing that, then it might be worthwhile taking a serious look at the tuning machine.
You're planning to change the nut and saddles, so there's no point in getting carried away with reprofiling the existing nut. You're taking the Earvana route at the nut end; I'd strongly recommend Graph tech string saver bridge saddles. That would rule out the bridge as a problem. At the nut I'd use Big Bends Nut Sauce as a nut lube. Don't use nut sauce on the graph techs, BTW - kills the sustain for some reason.

[slambango]

you could always remove the high-E string, and use the B tuner for the G string, and the E tuner for the B string, play it for a couple days with no high-E string, and if it continues then you know it's not the tuning gear.

[buddastrat]

I Have to ask the obvious, you changed the string?

Every so often I get a Daddario, and it will do that. It will keep slipping immediately after it's strung and stretched, at every bend, and then before you know it the string slips right off the little ball. I've read it's known problem and they send guys a bunch of strings to makeup for it. I've only had issues like that with their .010's.

[phishmarisol]

I Have to ask the obvious, you changed the string?

Every so often I get a Daddario, and it will do that. It will keep slipping immediately after it's strung and stretched, at every bend, and then before you know it the string slips right off the little ball. I've read it's known problem and they send guys a bunch of strings to makeup for it. I've only had issues like that with their .010's.

Sometimes it is the most basic thing. Unfortunately it's not the string in this case. This has actually been happening for a long time now I just wasn't as picky and probably spent a lot of the time playing out of tune.