V3 Stealth (All Black) - Best Guitar Upgrade to Improve Tuning Stability

It's almost hard to give this little device the credit it deserves. That's because you practically forget about it once it's installed. Only after a while you remember all the G-string mayhem you went through before getting the Butler.It quietly takes care of business, never drawing much attention to itself, like a perfect butler should. The famous, classic Gibson headstock is a beautiful design visually, but a constant source of headaches nevertheless. The break angle of the center strings, D and G, is simply too big. With the D string this is not much of a problem, since it doesn't usually get bent, is much thicker, and wound. The G however is the annoying step child of Gibson players. Somehow, this note being slightly out of tune seems to cause more trouble than any other. A G chord might ring true, then you follow it with a D chord and suddenly your toe nails are curling up. Go from E minor to E major, and you want to die.I appreciate that the design of the Butler makes it possible to remove it without having caused any damage. Its "V" shape also makes it easy to install without running into trouble with the truss rod cover. I got the all black version, which on a black headstock is stealthy enough. The small change in looks is more than made up for by the increased tuning stability. The price is okay, not amazing for what it is in terms of materials and workmanship. I would say you pay about 25$ for the idea. That's fine by me. I have one on a Gibson BFG, and one on an Epiphone 335. They both have worked well for an extended period of time.

My beloved SG Special was always just a little out of tune during playtime. It was just enough to drive me crazy. Intonation was adjusted and accurate, but it would not stay in tune. I stopped playing it at gigs! A bandmate suggested The String Butler. Never heard of it at the time. After reading reviews and watching dozens of videos (especially Tim Pierce), I purchased one here at Amazon. It was so freaking easy to install and fits perfectly. I have the Version V2, the all black metal one. I installed it and put new strings on. I've been playing it every day since, to test it out. The new strings have settled in and FINALLY the SG stays in tune for me. Before, with this guitar, hitting those chords you play low on the neck with the open strings, like E or A or C or G? They were always sour sounding, with strings out of tune. The String Butler has cured it. I'll post again after some gigs if the product fails me, but I don't think it will. It really works well.

While this does work I had to "squeeze" things together to get them to fit. I installed this on Gretsch 5655TG which has an absolute boat paddle of a headstock. To get this to fit I had to remove the slightest amount of material form the inside of the slots to fit the tuner nuts. Once installed everything is great and it really does help with keeping the strings straight through the nut and therefore increases tuning stability.

Install this along with a new set of strings. I was concerned about the additional height added by the String Butler and washers. Installation in simple and it works fine with my locking tuners. With new strings, I'll have to play a bit to see if it actually helps with tune stabilization. Looks nifty though and nicely made. It's a bit expensive, so hoping it works.Update: I've had this installed for four days now. Tuning for each session is a minor process now. I'm convinced that these are a great solution for me. I have them on two guitars and the stability has improved dramatically on both. Rating this 5 stars now.

I was kind of giving up hope on getting my Les Paul to stay in tune reliably after I had a luthier friend carve the nut for me a bit and that still didn't do the trick. I decided to try this and am thrilled with the result. Give it a shot. Yes it's a shame that you have to do this in the first place, but it's worth it. Cheaper than a new guitar, anyway.

I installed this on my Epiphone Les Paul Traditional Pro four months ago, in addition to adding a Graph Tech Tusq nut and saddles, and auto trim tuning machines. Like the headline for this review states, tuning stability on the guitar is much improved. However, this can be because of the combination of all the things I did on the guitar. It does get rid of the bind of the strings coming over the nut before going into the tuning pegs but there is still an angle from the rollers to the tuners.The device has floating rollers on spindles, so they can move up and down to accommodate varying height angles coming over the nut, with string tension holding them in place. I think sometimes the rollers can move causing the guitar to go out of tune. And I found that if I do David Gilmour bends that the G and B strings do go out of tune, but by a few cents rather than a half step, with the G string going further out of tune than the B. I have had instances of practicing rhythm guitar, including aggressive scratch rhythms, where the guitar stayed perfectly in tune the entire time.I did have to modify mine slightly because the claws weren't wide enough for the tuning pegs to fit through. It is a little expensive for what you actually get but it is a custom piece and there is the cost of tooling and machinery to keep in mind. Overall, I give it four stars.

I have a Les Paul with a Corian nut, and it's great for tone, but not so great for tuning. The Corian seems to bind on strings 4, 3, and 2. They go sharp - and instantly from the moment you release the bend. If you bend any of those strings, the string will stay sharp. Even if you don't bend them, the strings progressively go sharp as you play. It got so bad that the LP was virtually unplayable. I tried nearly every lubricant - graphite, gun oil, WD-40 silicon lube and others. I thought about changing out the nut, but LPs are still prone to that kind of binding no matter what material the nut is made out of. So, I opted to try the String Butler. It solved my tuning problems instantly. String bends are no longer a problem - the guitar stays in tune like guitars with no string break angle issues at the nut - such as Fenders. I opted for the black V1 model, as it was the least obtrusive. The picture makes the String Butler look like it is somewhat white/silver. It's not, it is just a reflection of room light, but the reflection helps to illustrate how the V1 looks on a Les Paul. Otherwise, it is nearly invisible unless you get really close to the guitar. It's way more expensive than either a new nut or a new truss rod cover, but the String Butler solved a really vexing problem, did so without any guitar tech surgery or labor costs, and it and got me back my Les Paul. It was money well spent. I highly recommend the String Butler to any Gibson owner with string binding/tuning issues.

Actualmente tengo una Epiphone Les Paul y siempre había tenido problemas en mantenerla bien afinada, ademas de tiene un bigsby, había hecho algunos cambios de maquinaria con bloqueo, puente con rolers y incluso el hueso para intentar mejorar esto, pero no había sido posible.Ahora que instale el String Butler ha sido sobresaliente el desempeño de este accesorio, sin duda ha sido la mejor compra que he hecho para mejorar la afinación, no tuve que hacer ninguna modificación e incluso ni quitar las cuerdas para instalarlo, únicamente afloje A-D-G-B y con eso tuve el espacio suficiente para poder colocarlo, utilizando los mismos tornillos que llevaba la tapa de ajuste del alma.Si tienes algún instrumento con maquinaria 3+3 String Butler será la solución para tus problemas de afinación, identifica cual versión es la que mas te conviene.

Va perfecto para la afinacion

Installation rapide et simple sur une Gibson SG Standard.Au bout de quelques semaines je ne vois toujours aucune amélioration sur la stabilité de l'accordement de la corde G principalement et B.

I'm not entirely sure if this really has made a difference, but it does exactly what it says it's meant to. The device itself is well made, with small rollers to ensure the strings move smoothly. After fitting, which is a 5 minute job, and restringing the guitar, the strings are now routed through the nut in a straight line, rather than at an angle, which has got to be better...I've realised that on my other guitar, the headstock isn't rectangular, and is narrower at the top than the bottom, so the tuners are not in a straight line, meaning the strings are routed better through the nut, so the issue can easily be fixed by a better design, but as most acoustic guitars tend too look like mine, the string butler is a good alternative...