Members airbags Posted March 25, 2010 Members Share Posted March 25, 2010 hi, all; just got a '98 epi les paul studio, and was wondering if anyone knew what the diamter was for the tuner holes? i need to replace two of the machine heads, and i fear it may turn into having to replace all six, and widening four of them to fit. here are pics of the exact same model, just not the same guitar. thanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members vintage clubber Posted March 25, 2010 Members Share Posted March 25, 2010 they are vintage Kluson style with the smaller holes. Exact replacements are available. I have two with these type of tuners and they work fine. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members alphamarquis Posted March 25, 2010 Members Share Posted March 25, 2010 Why are you replacing two of the machine heads? If its tuning instability...the nut is usually the problem...even the saddles... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members vintage clubber Posted March 25, 2010 Members Share Posted March 25, 2010 Why are you replacing two of the machine heads? If its tuning instability...the nut is usually the problem...even the saddles... +1 on the nut being the main culprit. All of mine either have graphite or TUSQ nuts now... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members airbags Posted March 25, 2010 Author Members Share Posted March 25, 2010 to be perfectly honest, it's all cosmetic in nature. i've had the guitar two days, and the previous owner before the previous owner (i suspect i'm owner #3) replaced two of the heads. the pictures below are of my actual guitar. i visited a shop tuesday afternoon to inquire if they had any black machine heads. i got a negative on that one, and after a cursory glance, one of the shop dudes had advised me that the middle two heads were a wider diameter than the original four. he suggested that the entire set be replaced, and that the other four black heads were not only sub-standard compared to the gibson vintage pearloid heads, but that the gibson vintage heads had a larger diameter, and the other four holes would have to be widened as opposed to having the two holes filled. just thought i'd find out as much as i can before i take it to shop to get looked at... a different shop ^_^ again, it's totally a cosmetic thing. i'm quite a fan of the black. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members airbags Posted March 25, 2010 Author Members Share Posted March 25, 2010 i'll snap better pics this afternoon... those are horrid! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members vintage clubber Posted March 25, 2010 Members Share Posted March 25, 2010 to be perfectly honest, it's all cosmetic in nature. i've had the guitar two days, and the previous owner before the previous owner (i suspect i'm owner #3) replaced two of the heads. the pictures below are of my actual guitar. i visited a shop tuesday afternoon to inquire if they had any black machine heads. i got a negative on that one, and after a cursory glance, one of the shop dudes had advised me that the middle two heads were a wider diameter than the original four. he suggested that the entire set be replaced, and that the other four black heads were not only sub-standard compared to the gibson vintage pearloid heads, but that the gibson vintage heads had a larger diameter, and the other four holes would have to be widened as opposed to having the two holes filled. just thought i'd find out as much as i can before i take it to shop to get looked at... a different shop ^_^ again, it's totally a cosmetic thing. i'm quite a fan of the black. If the two middle holes were reamed for 10mm to accomodate the modern screw in bushings, you can get the vintage adapter bushings for the Kluson style. Or you can ream the other 4 holes so you can get a matching set in there... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members airbags Posted March 25, 2010 Author Members Share Posted March 25, 2010 which begs the question if the standard heads were 9mm... i'm assuming so. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members cratz2 Posted March 25, 2010 Members Share Posted March 25, 2010 It's kind of confusing... with 6 inline tuners, usually if there's a nut on the top of the headstock, they are 10mm holes. If they are pressed fit, they are 5/16" holes. With 3+3 tuners, the larger holes are 10mm and the smaller Kluson types are called 9mm. I've always put Grovers on 3+3 guitars which require the 10mm hole. There are two different sizes of conversion bushings which should allow for any type of Kluson-ish tuner to fit in a 10mm hole. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members airbags Posted March 26, 2010 Author Members Share Posted March 26, 2010 here are some pics of the ACTUAL guitar (yep, that's my knee in the shot) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members irishstu Posted March 26, 2010 Members Share Posted March 26, 2010 Yes, as mentioned previously, those two middle holes will have been widened to 10mm. The other 4 are most likely 9mm (or whatever the imperial equivalent of that is). Your easiest fix is to get Kluson-style tuners and conversion bushings (the ones from Guitar Fetish should work fine and they're pretty cheap). Obviously you'll only need two of the conversion bushings. BUT... I'm not sure where you're going to get 2 black Kluson-style keystone tuners from and I've never seen black conversion bushings (that's not to say they don't exist), so good luck with your search. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members cratz2 Posted March 26, 2010 Members Share Posted March 26, 2010 Yup... just get six matching tuners with the 10mm hole. That's a sweet looking guitar. I almost always dig transparent black finishes. My only Epi is an older Korean Studio with dots instead of trapezoids. Not to rip on Gibson because I am not a Gibson hater, but I've played a lot of new Gibsons over the last 10 years that don't feel as good as my Epi. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members airbags Posted March 28, 2010 Author Members Share Posted March 28, 2010 Yes, as mentioned previously, those two middle holes will have been widened to 10mm. The other 4 are most likely 9mm (or whatever the imperial equivalent of that is).Your easiest fix is to get Kluson-style tuners and conversion bushings (the ones from Guitar Fetish should work fine and they're pretty cheap). Obviously you'll only need two of the conversion bushings.BUT... I'm not sure where you're going to get 2 black Kluson-style keystone tuners from and I've never seen black conversion bushings (that's not to say they don't exist), so good luck with your search. it looks like guitar fetish has the black conversion bushings, and wilkinson makes all-black vintage style machine heads that are all over ebay. i've learned a lot over the last few days, just reading and reading and reading... and while the easiet fix is to order the conversion bushings and two new black machine heads, i'm also considering enlarging the other four holes and installing grover-style tuners. they may not have the same button shape, but the alloy seems like it'll last longer than the urethane. decisions, decisions... suggestions? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members irishstu Posted March 29, 2010 Members Share Posted March 29, 2010 Suggestions? Well, if you're going to go for the Grovers, then make sure you get ones with the screw hole in-line rather than offset. I believe they will sit nicely in one of the screwholes already there, or at the very least hide one of the holes. In-line: Offset: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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