Wilkinson EZ-LOK tuners

[Dewysoss]

Anyone ever used them? I'm interested seeing as I can get them cheap from guitar fetish...do they work as well as conventional locking tuners?

[Aahzz]

I was wondering about them myself, would love to hear an opinion from someone who's used them....

[BlackCat]

I have them on one of my Reverends. "EZ-LOK" is kind of a misnomer. I find them to be a pain in the neck to use. I

[scolfax]

I have them on my Reverend Roundhouse, and although they sound like a brilliant design on paper I don't really like them. I think the really sharp turn you have to make to use the second hole makes the string break at that point a lot easier. Also, it's difficult to remove a string - especially without needle-nose pliers.

 

The best thing you can say about them is that you can just ignore the second hole and wind them like standard tuners.

[Quarter]

As a basic tuner, they work great, but they are not going to make traditional lockers obsolite.

What I like best about them though is the high and low holes.

If you need a little more tension over the nut, then just string through the bottom.

[DSCHONAUER]

I put them on my squier strat. Not much better than stock.

[flyby]

Just bought some and they do seem a bit of a pain ..but on a brighter note..the high/low holes(as mentioned) can still give control for tension-over the nut..for trem use when strung normally. also the low E and A have a slightly longer shaft to reduce angle even further on those strings ..so not to bad in the end.

[Promit]

I tried them and couldn't figure out how the hell to make them work properly. I ended up using them as normal, non locking tuners, which they do a great job of.

[Inazone]

They tune up more accurately than Sperzels and are stable, but as others have said, they aren't going to put the "real" locking manufacturers out of business. I still consider them an upgrade over many stock tuners if I'm already modding a guitar, and switch to the more expensive Sperzels if a particular guitar is actually having tuner-related issues.

[newbuilder]

sperzels kick their ass. i put them on a guitar and was happy for the money spent. sperzels have a true locking tuner, wilky's are a two hole regular tuner. also the sperzels can be flipped to go on either side by reversing the guts.

[killyridols]

I just put a set of these on a strat build and so far I like 'em. The best thing about them (as some other posters have mentioned), is the ability to control the string break angle over past the nut, which elimintes the nedd for a string tree, and helps the guitar stay in tune during serious whammy use and string bending.

 

I think string changing is slightly easier than with normal tuners, and I haven't experienced any breakage problems. When I string with the tuners, I follow the suggested instructions to a T, except I don't actually put a kink in the string when pulling it through the other hole for the "locking" function. You just have the make sure you pull the string as tight as you can while tuning up to pitch. Stringing the guitatr this way, I feel the tuners work as advertised, the guitar stays in tune during serious whammy abuse (however I do have a well cut nut, and my tremelo - which is a vinage fender style six point - is set up to bend pitch down only).

 

Maybe they're not quite as good as traditional locking tuners, but I feel they stand above any tuning pegs in their price range.

[dabbler]

Yes, I have 2 sets and I will likely never buy a regular locker. Why?

 

1. They have no extra moving parts. I like their simplicity and reliability. They are the elegant locker.

 

2. Because of 1, they do not add mass to the headstock. If you don't know why I care about this, don't worry about it.

 

3. Even though they do require needle nose pliers for removing strings they DO NOT slip.

 

I guess from the posts that precede mine, they are not for everybody. That's alright, if you like reliability at a good price, EZLOKs are golden, IMO.

[Danny Ray Milligan]

I prefer them over mechanical locking tuners, because they utilize simple physics, to function. You pull the string all the way through the bottom hole, then go into the off-set top hole, and the string held in place by the friction created by the bend angle. No mechanic failure, no locking thumb wheel that loosens while you're trying to tune the string, etc. Sure, there are certain trade-offs to them. When the string must be replaced, it can be a bit of a struggle to get it out of the tuner again (which is part of why they lock so well, lol!), requiring needle nose pliers or a jeweler's screwdriver to free the string from the two holes. The little E and B strings can still slip a little, due to the fact that they don't have as much friction holding them in place, so the manufacturer recommends that on those strings, you pass them through the bottom hole, go around once, and then through the top hole. Myself, I prefer to pass them through the bottom, into the top, then back into the bottom again, then pull them tight and clip them.

Since I discovered these, I no longer will use mechanical lockers on the guitars I build.

-Danny Milligan, DMD Guitars