replacing machine heads

[Ratrod]

Wich flavors can I get?

I'll try that stuff.

[Drac]

Hello-
-If you play that guitar enough to bothered by bent,worn,original tuners,
& plan to keep that axe, or are NOT worried about the "original stock part" thing,  then I suggest bagging and tagging them, and spend for some creamy after market tuners-
-I think ye'll be very pleased that ye did.-lotsa luck from Drac

[aisuru]

Hello-
-If you play that guitar enough to bothered by bent,worn,original tuners,
& plan to keep that axe, or are NOT worried about the "original stock part" thing,  then I suggest bagging and tagging them, and spend for some creamy after market tuners-
-I think ye'll be very pleased that ye did.-lotsa luck from Drac

not trying to start an arguament here, but... why? why spend good money on replacing parts that work perfectly? why buy expensive aftermarket parts that are no better than the ones that came with the guitar?

[Drac]

No worries mate-
-I suggest upgrading parts, because if anything lay in the shadow of doubt,  and can be turned from a weakness/liability to a strongpoint/advantage, why not?
-Gibson , although on the top of many peoples lists, are notorious  for 'angels & demons' ( some better than others for no apparent reason) in regard to the axes they produce-
-If it's not "historically collectible" ( look at the serial number to see how many hundreds they produced that day), worth more as it is, and to be held for ransom on ebay, then hotrod that thing...
-Like with race cars, harleys,  or Pamela Anderson, the original parts are nothing to write home about, and investing in quality aftermarket  hardware ( or software in Pam's case...) makes for a tricked out high performance experience.
 Gibson  cuts many corners to keep production costs down-that their bargain accoutrements become desirable is a laugh & a half, when you hold the parts up to the light-compare stock pickups to BKs, for example...look at electronic components, and shielding thereof...white plastic nuts,cheap spongy ebony fingerboards,forgoing m.o.p. inlay for decals,  pathetic, but cheap-
Might be seen as sacrelige, but a set of Sperzels would rock that relic into the new millenium-they look great, feel solid & turn creamily, instead of feeling like they are full of sand, change strings in NOTIME, reliable, and  well, just better.Also agree with Ratty, gotohs drop right in, and  better than stock stuff.
I don't suggest spending just to spend -
sometimes money can buy happiness, though.It's his axe we're talking about!-
Don't get ripped off, and don't cheap out in regard to yer instrument.
-cheers from Drac

[HJM]

-Like with race cars, harleys,  or Pamela Anderson, the original parts are nothing to write home about, and investing in quality aftermarket  hardware ( or software in Pam's case...) makes for a tricked out high performance experience.
 

 :lol:  :lol:  :lol:

[tech33]

have to agree with drac on this one, gibson standard parts are not the best. especially the kuson style heads, as they are not sealed, just covered and overtime they will begin to lose there gears
if your not bothered by originality then def replace them with grovers, or i have even fitted locking sperzels to les pauls, which is a little overkill, but very effective

[Ratrod]

The stock Kluson style tuners on Gibsons are worthless IMHO. They can stay in tune when everything else is okay but turning them never goes smoothly. This makes it hard (time consuming) to get it in perfect pitch. The Grovers are very smooth and acurate. For anything with a non-locking vibrato I'd suggest locking Sperzels.

[jt]

:D Again we come to the age old argument of guitar manufacturers building guitars to a price inorder to maximise profits & lets be fare here Gibson are Notorious for this ! It`s one of the reasons why many of us don`t feel there guitars are worth the money there asking for`em ! All of Gibsons hardware is built down to a price. this means your not getting good or decsent hardware for the money your paying, & as Drac has rightly stated the chances that your Gibbo will be worth anything of value in 10yrs time is so remote it`s not worth worrying about so go put some decsent hardware on it & turn it into the guitar it should have been in the first place !

 :D  8)

[carlaz]

The stock Kluson style tuners on Gibsons are worthless IMHO. They can stay in tune when everything else is okay but turning them never goes smoothly. This makes it hard (time consuming) to get it in perfect pitch. The Grovers are very smooth and acurate.

Yeah, the Klusons are what I've got on my Gibson LP Std, and I'm pretty sure they're the (cruddy) originals.  OK, it could be that my stringing technique is ... sloppy :) but I swear that over the past several years the G-string tuner has been getting funnkier and funkier, whatever my stringing technique is like

Can I drop in Grovers to replace the Klusons without much DIY drama?

[_tom_]

Yet again I have the urge to semi-hijack another thread  :lol: I'm having tuning problems with my Epi LP Custom, which has Grover Rotomatics I believe, will Sperzel locking tuners make any difference? Oh, and now on-topic, I remember vaseline in the nut slots working kinda well on my old strat copy for tuning, so I'll try that and report back to base  :lol: Gary reminded me of it in my thread so I thought I'd pass on the info!

[Drac]

Hello again,
 me bruthers...
 -What's up with these snake oils?!
-I guarantee you that if your tuners are ok,
your nut is shaped, slotted,spaced,and fastened in the appropriate place, your frets are true, and your bridge (well, maybe the 'right' one)solidly anchored in "the zone",
yer axe will sing, and you won't need any secret sauce to compensate for jobs not done, or not done right...
-Gibson Tune-o'matics are ok, but always need those bridge saddles deburred-sharp wind binding corners , and unshaped string slots will work against you-50% of all T.o'Matix I run across are exactly as they come from the factory, with string slots that are exactly the same size, regardless of the guage of the string that  occupies 'em...
on the other extreme, if they are corroded to the point where they look like they've been in a glass of cola overnight, change 'em out!-
T.O.M. saddles ( graphtech, too) come in 3 different heights, as well, and you need to disassemble the bridge, and measure a single unmounted saddle to be sure you are getting your replacements in a dimension that will protrude above the slot they sit/adjust in...I learned the expensive way ordering graphtechs by net, and they didn't match my bridge...
beware-
Check your Fret scale ,too...
-Go to the 12th fret--
First measure back to the nut-this should be exactly half the scale length-BASTA!-no slop allowed, here, and if the realization point (last contact as the string exits the slot) is not spot on, yer doomed-roller bridges are not desirable, and if you do use 'em,  make sure the rollover point is also spot on...they  require maintenance , are generally made for strats/LP's only, and don't last long...
 Then go back to the 12th fret, and measure half the scale length to the saddle on the e strings-It would be nice to have this be about one third to one quarter back from  "full forward", as all the strings will need to be compensated for, adding length to the scale to  play in tune-pushing down to fret the note bends the tone of the string  'sharp'-
 You might be surprised to find mismatched parts that defy the scale length, and they might look great, but their placement & dimensions could condemn playability-I run into this all the time with violin family instruments-or, like when yer car cr@ps out- pop the hood:"everything looks great", still doesn't work. DAMN.
 If everything's in the zone, then set your intonation- you don't need a strobe tuner to do this either...
Best of my best to ye all...Drac

[PhilKing]

Can I drop in Grovers to replace the Klusons without much DIY drama?

Unfortunately the answer is no.  To fit Grovers you have to open up the holes in the headstock.  If you want a good drop in replacement then Gotoh make a set that looks like the originals but are made so much better.  Schaller also make a set too, but I find their buttons too green.

[carlaz]

To fit Grovers you have to open up the holes in the headstock.  If you want a good drop in replacement then Gotoh make a set that looks like the originals but are made so much better.

Argh  :?

Well, better-made Kluson-style drop-ins will probably do, unless there's a noticeable gain to be made from getting a fix-it-up shop to to Grover-fitting surgery.  I don't care a whit about original Gibson parts or anything; I'm not planning on selling my guitar, just making it better :). On the other hand, I don't really like the idea of cutting holes in it that much.

I've googled around looking for a UK source for Gotoh-made Kluson-style 3-per-side tuners, but they seem scarce on the ground.  Anyone know a good source to bug, if I decide to go down this road?

(I just destroyed my bass's low E-string at a gig on Saturday :roll: and a new set of bass strings costs almost as much as new tuners! Durnit.)

[tech33]

I've ordered the locking klusons replacements from gotoh many times throught the shop, we get them from stentor music or allparts  uk. they are a direct replacement for the standard klusons and definetly do the job.

[tech33]

I've ordered the locking klusons replacements from gotoh many times throught the shop, we get them from stentor music or allparts  uk. they are a direct replacement for the standard klusons and definetly do the job.