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Post by helmi on Jul 4, 2022 17:15:14 GMT -7
On both of my PRS singlecuts I have replaced the vintage tuners with Gotoh vintage locking tuners. they look identical to the original PRS tuners. they work absolutely great and hold the guitar in tune beyond well. On my Heritage 535, I wanted to also replace the stock Grover tuners with locking tuners. to keep the look the same, instead of going with a Gotoh locking tuner, I went with the Grover rotomatic 502c locking tuners. well, these things BLOW! don’t hold tune worth a crap, and never seem tight when turning. these were professionally put on. anybody else have these, and what are your opinions. Is it just me, or what?
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Post by premiumplus (Dave) on Jul 5, 2022 2:44:50 GMT -7
I've got some Sperzel locking tuners on my '92 Strat that I put on when it was new, and honestly I wish I'd never installed them. Not that they don't work well, but that I've personally come to believe that they don't help. If I string my other Strats up like this, they hold their tune just as well. I've done this for many years; I use the first method on the solid strings and the second one on my wound strings. It works great.
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Post by Don A on Jul 5, 2022 6:21:08 GMT -7
It sounds like something is wrong with those locking Gotohs. Gotoh generally makes a great product. I'd assume they're either installed incorrectly or being used incorrectly.
Here's how I string up my guitars. It's super easy to do and really easy to change a string during a gig. The guitars stay in tune really well, too. |
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Post by Don A on Jul 5, 2022 16:00:26 GMT -7
It sounds like something is wrong with those locking Gotohs. Gotoh generally makes a great product. I'd assume they're either installed incorrectly or being used incorrectly.
No, the Gotohs are great, it’s the Grover locking tuners that suck! Oops! In that case, same answer. I've had the Grover locking tuners on a Les Paul (actually, two sets- chrome with keystone knobs that I replace with a nickel set with kidney knobs) and they worked very well.
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Post by adam on Jul 5, 2022 16:00:29 GMT -7
Does anyone have any neat tricks for the old fender style tuners? Just wondering.
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Post by premiumplus (Dave) on Jul 5, 2022 16:36:31 GMT -7
The ones with a hole in the center? Maybe just the first wrap on top and the rest below...
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Post by headshrinker (Marc) on Jul 5, 2022 17:41:47 GMT -7
And I'm guessing it's implied in Dave's answer, use the hole. Then one over and at least three under.
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Post by daddyelmis (Greg) on Jul 5, 2022 19:06:02 GMT -7
For the fenders I just take “2 pegs” extra length, cut the excess, stick the end in the hole, bend down along the slot of the peg, hold tension and use the string winder. I end up with about 3 winds and I’ve never had a slip or problem in 40 years of Strats. I’ve even done this on stage during a song (without cutting the excess - but that’s an emergency procedure). I wish all guitars had these types of pegs.
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Post by zpilot on Jul 6, 2022 5:06:55 GMT -7
For the fenders I just take “2 pegs” extra length, cut the excess, stick the end in the hole, bend down along the slot of the peg, hold tension and use the string winder. I end up with about 3 winds and I’ve never had a slip or problem in 40 years of Strats. I’ve even done this on stage during a song (without cutting the excess - but that’s an emergency procedure). I wish all guitars had these types of pegs. Me too. But I use an extra trick. After inserting the string in the hole I wind it in an "x" pattern in the slot before I wind it around the post. Maybe it is overkill but it is quick and easy. You have 4 right-angle bends instead of just 2. Actually quicker than the time it takes to tighten a locking knob once you have done it a couple of times. The new Kluson Deluxe Vintage tuners are as good as any I have seen. On my Telecaster that has them it is not uncommon for me to play a 4-hour gig and never have to touch a tuner. As for the current Grover tuners, the ones that came on my 2020 Gibson '60s Les Paul Std. are rock solid. No complaints. They are not locking tuners though. |
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Post by adam on Jul 6, 2022 5:25:37 GMT -7
Thanks for the suggestions. I'll try both the over under and the x pattern. Never really thought to try that with those tuners.
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Post by Don A on Jul 6, 2022 5:38:58 GMT -7
Oops! Messed that up!
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Post by Don A on Jul 6, 2022 5:40:58 GMT -7
Me too. But I use an extra trick. After inserting the string in the hole I wind it in an "x" pattern in the slot before I wind it around the post. Maybe it is overkill but it is quick and easy. Actually quicker than the time it takes to tighten a locking knob once you have done it a couple of times. I do this on the B and high E strings with this type of tuner. I've had the high E slip on occasion. |
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Post by The Bad Poodle Experience on Jul 6, 2022 8:31:05 GMT -7
I'm not sure what the exact model is but when i had the machine heads replaced on my Ovation earlier this year, the guy had a set of chrome locking Grovers in the shop and offered me a discount if i was ok with him using them. I swear they don't hold the tune very well at all.
Especially the G string. Definitely expected more from them.
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Post by daddyelmis (Greg) on Jul 6, 2022 10:49:30 GMT -7
Me too. But I use an extra trick. After inserting the string in the hole I wind it in an "x" pattern in the slot before I wind it around the post. Maybe it is overkill but it is quick and easy. You have 4 right-angle bends instead of just 2. Actually quicker than the time it takes to tighten a locking knob once you have done it a couple of times. That’s interesting. My Guild acoustic has a finicky G tuner - I may try the X method there and see what happens. 👍 |
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Post by The Bad Poodle Experience on Sept 27, 2022 13:17:13 GMT -7
On both of my PRS singlecuts I have replaced the vintage tuners with Gotoh vintage locking tuners. they look identical to the original PRS tuners. they work absolutely great and hold the guitar in tune beyond well. On my Heritage 535, I wanted to also replace the stock Grover tuners with locking tuners. to keep the look the same, instead of going with a Gotoh locking tuner, I went with the Grover rotomatic 502c locking tuners. well, these things BLOW! don’t hold tune worth a crap, and never seem tight when turning. these were professionally put on. anybody else have these, and what are your opinions. Is it just me, or what? Your opinion is correct. I have the 502ck's on my Ovation and they blow hard. I just string them up normally and ignore the locking aspect of the tuner. |
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Post by Seńor Verde on Sept 27, 2022 13:55:23 GMT -7
I'm not a fan of Rotomatics. I've had a few that didn't stay in tune and they're heavy. Talk about neck dive. I like Grover 135 tuners in their place, but since you have the nut (like a Rotomatic) you don't need to drill the second hole. Unfortunately I don't see them in locking, so I'm not much help. However, for a non-whammy guitar I don't think locking is necessary. I wind like Dave's 2nd video, bend a lot of notes and don't have any issues with my guitars going out of tune.
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Post by adam on Sept 27, 2022 15:56:31 GMT -7
Comments from the old guy in the basement -
Grovers - I like them, they are smooth and have a good tactile feel to them.
Traditional fenders - to be honest, they kind of hurt my hand trying to move them, like they are so hard to turn, are small, etc. Hard to be accurate with them. String changes are easy though.
Locking - I have some and have some over the years. They make string changes easy for sure. My EB luke3 guitar has them and that stays in tune incredibly well for a floating non locking trem. My old prs always stayed in tune very well with their locking tuners and trem.
Side note - I've really had a hard time for years with tuning stability on my LP standard. The nut finally wore out enough that the A and D really had no clearance to the first fret so it would buzz on open strings there unless the actions or relief was pretty high. Took it to a guy who did a fantastic job putting in a bone nut and now it pretty much stays in tune from day to day. Maybe odd too, but it really does sound better even though I think that makes no sense.
Newer prs 535 with locking tuners - stays in tune great. Kind of don't think the locking tuners really have anything to do with it though. Might also add that I hardly ever pick up that guitar and just prefer the sound of the Gibsons or fenders even though everything is basically perfect on the prs.
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Post by premiumplus (Dave) on Sept 28, 2022 9:44:57 GMT -7
I put a set of used Grover locking tuners on my Heritage H-535 and I've not had any issues at all. You can snug up the tuning key screw a bit to make them a little stiffer to turn if you want. I even had a set of strings on the guitar for a week before I installed the Grovers and used the old strings. I tuned it up Monday and just checked it. It's spot on.
One thing I do with all my guitars is to use some abrasive cord from StewMac to polish the nut slots. Every guitar I've had always has benefited from this. I can pull a string sharp behind the nut and it'll return to pitch by itself. The cord comes in different gauges and it's great stuff.
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