Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Wichita Sam on August 3, 2009 at 1:55am

Almost all tuners are going to be the same height as the thickness of a 1X2. Common first problem....

I posted this over on Building 101

"Three methods to deal with tuner vs. nut height...

Fender method.... thin the top of the head stock leaving the headstock to about 1/2" thick and use string trees... (I like using # 8 stainless steel panhead screws, but have sometimes used brass, chrome or wood bars)

Slotted head stock--- insert tuners crosswise thru the headstock... this lowers the strings 1/2 the thickness of the neck...

Add a seperate fretboard... a 1/4" thick fretboard will usually gain more than enough string break over the nut.

Don't get discouraged... this is a common issue with new builders.... There is one tutorial that suggests cutting 3/8" off the top of the headstock area and the gluing it to the underside of the headstock to "lower" the tuners...
good luck, the best,

Wichita Sam

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Permalink Reply by Jkevn on August 3, 2009 at 2:18am

Using the methods Sam described for the headstock will remedy most of your prob. If you must use the top hole in the tuner shaft, leaving a little extra string on and winding down the shaft will get your string down close to the headstock and improve the break angle over the nut.
As far as cheap/decent tuners I get mine local for around $12 per six, deals can be found on Ebay, try your local music/pawn shops first, you might be surprised what can be found for cheap

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Permalink Reply by Diydc on August 3, 2009 at 2:54am

Everyone has this problem first time around...
Check some of the tuners on ebay, you can actually get them pretty cheap, and, due to the fact that CBGs use thinner strings, you don`t need the best quality or vintage tuners at higher price.....

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Permalink Reply by Roger Martin on August 3, 2009 at 4:43am

If your planning on building a large number of cbg's, Stew Mac sells them in different numbers for different prices.
In July I sold 42 cbg's and Didly Bo's.
I"m thinking about ordering 24 sets from Stew Mac because the price savings is significant.
I go thru a LOT of tuners and the costs add up when your using 36 and up tuners a month.

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Permalink Reply by Mortimer Snerd on August 3, 2009 at 6:41am

Yep! Stew Mac is the place.

http://www.stewmac.com/shop/Tuners/Guitar,_solid_peghead_tuners/Eco...

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Permalink Reply by havin fun on August 3, 2009 at 6:46pm

Thanks everyone for the suggestions... Would it be easier just to get tuners with a second and lower hole for the string?

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Permalink Reply by Wichita Sam on August 4, 2009 at 3:15am

No, because if you don't "trim" a 1X2, the lower hole won't be exposed.... besides, without either lowering the headstock or raiseing the fretboard, you won't have sufficient break over the nut. Just suffer through like every new builder and figure out something that works. Once you get it down, it will be second nature and you'll laugh at how hard it seemed....

the best,

Wichita Sam



havin fun said:

Thanks everyone for the suggestions... Would it be easier just to get tuners with a second and lower hole for the string?

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Permalink Reply by Mark Werner on August 4, 2009 at 8:03am

I've been buying the Chinese-made "Ping" tuners from my local music store, the kind that come three-on-a side connected.

Pretty reasonable... I cut off one on each side for a 4-string CBG and then eventually I have enough extras for another...

These come with two holes, but you still have to thin the common 1" stock. I've used all the methods the guys mention, they all work fine. I even built a slotted headstock for my ukulele; that works well.

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Permalink Reply by havin fun on August 4, 2009 at 10:01am

Any idea if the posts from those are compatible with the stewmac tuners (the individual open gear ones)? Sounds like a visit to the local guitar shop is in the cards at any rate... there is one about 4 miles from my house.

Mark Werner said:

I've been buying the Chinese-made "Ping" tuners from my local music store, the kind that come three-on-a side connected.

Pretty reasonable... I cut off one on each side for a 4-string CBG and then eventually I have enough extras for another...

These come with two holes, but you still have to thin the common 1" stock. I've used all the methods the guys mention, they all work fine. I even built a slotted headstock for my ukulele; that works well.

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