Bare Knuckle Pickups Forum
Forum Ringside => Guitars, Amps and Effects => Topic started by: gwEm on November 04, 2007, 09:56:45 PM
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fitted sperzels to one of my guitars a few months ago and have been very happy with the locking mechanism.
to prevent modification and a change in appearance the mentioned tuners from gotoh seem to be a good idea. whats the reality? are they realible? still sturdy after a few years?
thanks :)
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Gotohs are by far my favourite locking tuners, and they come in lots of different styles - Grover-types, Schaller-types, Kluson-types (for both Fenders and Gibsons).
They work extremely well, but I've only developed my locking tuner obsession in the last year or so, so I can't comment on long-term reliability. :wink:
Edit: Are you thinking of getting them for your Greco V? I reckon they'd be perfect. :)
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thanks for the comments philly
Edit: Are you thinking of getting them for your Greco V? I reckon they'd be perfect. :)
yes i am :) goddamn that guitar is sweet - best guitar i've ever owned.
ordered some bkps for it, but i specified the wrong covers, hopefully tim send the recovered ones soon... aching to play the thing again.
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ordered some bkps for it, but i specified the wrong covers, hopefully tim send the recovered ones soon... aching to play the thing again.
Mules?
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yes mules - i asked tim for something with the mids of the mule, with the bite of the riff raff. he suggested an A5/4 mule set or rebel yells. i liked the idea of an A5/4 mule set, so thats what i went for.
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they arrived yesterday, and i'm not too sure about them
on the one hand:
* tuning stability is alot improved
* no problem to fit
* looks 99% like a vintage tuner
* no need to 'stretch' string
* solid feel
on the other hand:
* twice as expensive as a normal tuner
* will there be enough meat left on the string after trimming to refit old strings?
* not certain which way to turn the tuner while its locking - the tuning post doesn't turn during this phase
* not convinced it will be faster to lightning fast change strings at a gig vs a normal tuner
i think it makes sense to fit to them to something like a vintage strat with tremolo, where the locking mechnanism is a strong benefit. need to live with them a bit more to answer my concerns before commenting more.
it is a clever design gotoh have come up with though
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* will there be enough meat left on the string after trimming to refit old strings?
Probably not - but that's true with all locking tuners. Why do you need to refit old strings anyway, you skinflint? ( :wink: ) You could always leave the ends untrimmed if it's an issue.
* not certain which way to turn the tuner while its locking - the tuning post doesn't turn during this phase
The same way you'd turn normal tuners!
* not convinced it will be faster to lightning fast change strings at a gig vs a normal tuner
That depends how small you make the hole in the post before inserting the string - if you (or your highly-paid guitar tech) can get that down to a fine art, the mechanism locks very quickly. Probably difficult in backstage lighting conditions though - I admit the Sperzel/Schaller design is quicker/easier in that respect. But you can't get them in vintage styles.
Sorry, I'm being defensive. I love my Gotohs! :)
I must admit I have sometimes forgotten which way to turn the heads of the tuners to loosen them (the ones on the plain strings have to tighten anti-anticlockwise for the design to work, which is counter-intuitive). I damaged the chrome plating on a couple by tightening them when I was thought I was loosening them.
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no worries philly, not to attack the gotohs :) just some initial thoughts. theres no doubt they lock and keep the strings in tune excellently. i admit i sometimes have luddite tendancies, need to get into the new design.
not knowing which way to turn the knobs is a bit of a problem though - i'll need to use my other guitars as a reference... lame that i can never remember ;)
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Were the tuners a good fit with the headstock bushings? When I put a set on my LP Jr I found the posts of the non-locking tuners were a bit thicker (although I'm pretty certain they're also Gotohs), so the locking tuners were a bit loose. Being a fussy git, I popped out the old bushings and used the Gotoh ones.
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exactly as you said
but its a gotoh thing i think. i fitted a few non-locking gotoh sets in my time and had the same issue. i think the weighter gotoh bushing adds subliminally to my confidence ;)
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i changed my mind philly - those tuners rock. definately worth the extra, no more reservations.
took me a few weeks to get used to them!
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Good man! :D