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favorite tuners?


sleewell

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Noob alert: I have never owned a guitar before with a nice set of locking tuners. They are awesome! Changed strings yesterday on the starla for the first time, it was so easy - for 15 years I've only ever used the regular wind around the pole type of tuners so this was like night and day. Anywho, the starla even more solidified itself as my #1; I love this guitar so much. Thinking about looking for a bigsby for it next week.

What are your favorite tuners and why?

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I personally love the Schaller locking tuners. They have a decent ratio [16:1], but not as high as some of the Gotoh or the Planet Waves. I have been interested in the Hipshot GripLock tuners. I remember someone on this forum getting a set of the regular tuners and loved them; I think it was Guitarbilly, but I could be wrong.

The Schallers are built very well, and that is why I choose to put them on all my guitars. I wouldn't mind trying some of the Gotoh 510 tuners someday.

I have also tried a set of the Grover Roto-Grips that worked very well, but one of the tuners started to flake off the chrome plating. Other than the flaking issue, the Grovers were solid too.

I have also used the Sperzel locking tuners too, and while they are built very well, I HATE their thumb wheel. Every time I tightened them down it felt like they were digging into my fingers. The Schaller and Grover styles do not do this at all!

These styles of tuners are so awesome and make changing strings so much faster! I am glad to hear that you are loving yours.

Cole

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I ended up selling the guitar that had those L90s in it... The L90 is still one of my favorite humbuckers, ever. They are right up there with the Rio Grande Crunchbox for favorites, but without a doubt are the clearest, most articulate pickups I have ever used. I had a set of L500XL/L500R in a Fender Contemporary that sounded great too, but they didn't come close to the L90 for tone [well at least the L500XL, the L500R is an awesome neck humbucker!].

I bought a used L600 from a forum member on the Wilde Gate Forum to try in one of my Pacifica guitars. I am just waiting on the delivery of some L280s so that I can install the L600 and new electronics. I am eager to hear this humbucker. It uses AlNiCo III magnet rods, which I have never tried before.

I almost considered getting another L90 and some L45s, but I was able to get a good deal on the L600 [which looks brand new]. All of their options are so amazing, it is hard to choose one over the other.

I am glad that I tried their stuff, their pickups are nothing short of amazing!

Cole

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Sperzel:
+ Cheap
+ Light weight
- Thumbscrew is kinda rough, uncomfortable to use
- Low gear ratio, not as precise tuning

Schaller:
+ Good gear ratio
- Heavy
- Has a thumbscrew for locking

Gotoh Magnum Lock:
+ Good gear ratio
+ Automatic locking, just put the string in and wind
+ Looks like regular tuners
- Getting strings off takes a bit more time than with the thumbscrew types

I absolutely love the Gotohs, they're the ones I'd pick if you're going to get aftermarket tuners. What tuners you decide on, just make sure that they fit the holes in your guitar as it's kinda annoying to fill those in and drill new holes.

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For my Fender Tele I just replaced them with the Fender locking tuners and I'm having great success so far. I think that's a Fender Fender thing. I don't think you can go wrong with Schallers though, I've had them on two guitars and always liked them.

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Quote Originally Posted by SnowStorm View Post
For my Fender Tele I just replaced them with the Fender locking tuners and I'm having great success so far. I think that's a Fender Fender thing. I don't think you can go wrong with Schallers though, I've had them on two guitars and always liked them.
Did you put the Ping Fender tuners on your Tele, or are they the Schaller Fender tuners? From my experience, the Ping version worked ok but were kind of clunky. The Schaller version are just like the other Schaller tuners, awesome!

Cole
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Quote Originally Posted by fretless View Post
I don't like 14:1 , always seems to miss the spot I'm looking for . I really like this newfangled satin finish too.

Lpaw15.jpg
Best Avatar ever^^^


Just curious, but what ratio do you prefer? Sperzels are 14:1? It never seems to bother me.
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Quote Originally Posted by Ron Burgandy View Post
Locking tuners do make for quick string changes but I've gotten good enough with regular tuners that the time saving is minimal.
This.


As much as I like the Grover locking tuners in my Trad Pro, I'm almost as fast in changing strings on the normal Grovers in my Hellraiser. And actually, I'd rather replace the locking with the normal ones, just so I don't have to worry about {censored}ing up a thumbwheel.
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My favorites by FAR are the planet waves auto trim tuners. Locking tuners that cut your excess string for you as you tun, and they have an 18:1 gear ratio which makes tuning WAY easier. I had sperzels before and the gear ratio was 12:1....tuning was challenging sometimes with those.

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