Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Slowpaw Steve T on September 10, 2013 at 10:15pm

Open tuners are less robust than sealed tuners and need treating gently - i would send a replacement tuner to your buyer and put it down to a faulty unit, but too much stress causes the "hooks" to bend over time but can be repaired (-:

I bought some sealed tuners for £15.00 a set

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Wilkinson-Tuner-Machine-Heads-Sealed-Chro...

...but have found cheaper ones since for £6.00, tempted to try them but not sure if they will last...

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Permalink Reply by Clarky on September 10, 2013 at 10:25pm

I didn't realise closed tuners would be more robust, I had been using open ones because I liked the look of them.  They are pretty cheap ones so I suppose I should buy quality and charge a few extra quid for the guitars I sell to compensate.  I get mine from eBay.

I'll go and have a look at some more reputable sources.

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Permalink Reply by Randy S. Bretz on September 11, 2013 at 12:12am

I only use the sealed bushing type tuners and I get them from one of my seller`s in China, as I do a lot of my parts. I usually buy tuners in bulk and with free shipping [ wait time around 10 days - 2 weeks. ] it`s a great deal. I prefer to have parts in stock instead of buying parts just for a certain build. Just like making my rod bridges, I spend a week just making them for stock. Then when I need one for a build there`s plenty to choose from.  The average price for a set of 6 tuners runs about 9 bucks and with the free shipping you can see why I buy multiple sets. My seller also sells parts in lot groups...like 5 six pole mag pickups for one low price. Now I know about all the hype about only buying American made .....but in this hobby Chinese parts are way less cheaper and I haven`t had any problems in the years of dealing with them. Quality parts and a reasonable price and great service is what I like. Most of the tuners now a days are manufactured overseas, the ones that are not, are out of my price range.

 

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Permalink Reply by Clarky on September 11, 2013 at 2:32am

There's nothing worse than hanging around waiting for a part to arrive is there.  That's exactly the situation I'm in on my current build.  I'm trying to build up a stock of parts, I usually have enough of everything to at least build 4 or 5 but I quickly run out and forget to buy more.

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Permalink Reply by the anonymous pick on September 11, 2013 at 2:08am

also  . taking into account   what others  have said  .   installing     some     tuners    upside-down   can cause  this  also  . but  this  is  more so  for open  tuners  .  

many  get  an  inline  left or  right  side set ,   and   put a few   on each   side  of the  head stock ,  meaning   one  or  more  will  actually  be  upside down  ..  this  may  pull  the  shaft away   from  the  cog  and cause skipping  . 

the tuners    in  randy's picture are  great  .. and can be installed either way  with  no  probs  . 

  a    general  rule  is  keep  the round side  down  ;-)

 

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Permalink Reply by Clarky on September 11, 2013 at 2:20am

Thanks, that's some handy info folks, a lot of which I didn't know and just plonked tuners on thinking they'd be fine.  I was getting mine from an eBay seller in the UK at around £8 a set so I think I'd rather have peace of mind and spend a bit more on quality, I probably make two per month and sell one.

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Permalink Reply by The Phrygian Kid on September 11, 2013 at 3:39am

I've never had any problem with the sealed gotoh/schaller copies from eBay, even the really cheap ones ($5 a set for chrome, $8 or so for black) from China, and I must've used hundreds of individual units by now. I like gittys open geared ones for slot heads tho, I've only had one of those fail, and it wasn't drilled perfectly... With the really cheap tuners you have to expect the odd failure (maybe 1/100??) but I've had nowhere near that bad.. I say viva la cheap tuners, it's difficult to justify ninety bucks for a set of whatevers when the really cheap ones are as good as they are...

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Permalink Reply by Clarky on September 11, 2013 at 4:02am

I'll have a look at those thanks. I can't justify £50 or anything but definitely don't mind £15 if I've got peace of mind that they will work, and of course 6 tuners equals two cbgs ;-)

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Permalink Reply by Wade on September 14, 2013 at 1:30pm

Sealed tuners are a nice luxury to have on a CBG. Open tuners for me seem to need tuning adjustments more often. When I started building I stripped out a few open tuners from not having the holes drilled out at a perfect 90 degree angle to the headstock. If the angle is off you run the possibility of the tuner flexing and thats when the soft brass looking gear strips out.

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Permalink Reply by John Sawyer on September 14, 2013 at 2:58pm

At least Gitty sells replacement gears . . .  Just received 4 sets of their open gear tuners, they're longer than I thought they'd be... now I have to rethink my head design...

John

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Permalink Reply by Rob (Treadstone Guitars) on September 14, 2013 at 5:54pm

Hi Clarky,

I've found open gear tuners too flimsy for even the most basic CBG, but you don't need to spend a ton on decent sealed tuners.

If you don't mind waiting, I've used these Cheap and cheerful ones from China on my last 40+ builds and I've had just one fault. More often than not, the screw that holds the buttons together needs tightening a tad, but other than that, they're smooth. There's a few UK sellers that offer the same ones if you need them quicker. 

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Permalink Reply by Clarky on September 14, 2013 at 11:15pm

Thanks Rob I'll definitely check them out.

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